Still Standing

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Still Standing
The cast of Still Standing, from left, Brian, Linda, Judy, Tina, Bill and Lauren.
Genre	Sitcom
Creator(s)	Diane Burroughs Joey Gutierrez
Starring	Mark Addy Jami Gertz Jennifer Irwin Taylor Ball Renee Olstead Soleil Borda Joel Murray (2004-2006)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	88
Production
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes (21 min. 30 sec.)
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Original run	September 30, 2002 – March 8, 2006
Links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Still Standing was an American comedy television series that aired for four seasons from 2002-2006. The show was the first to be helmed by co-creators Diane Burroughs and Joey Gutierrez, who had previously written for Yes, Dear and the popular The Drew Carey Show. Still Standing debuted on CBS on September 30, 2002, and ended March 8, 2006. Lifetime obtained the U.S. syndication rights to the show in February 2005 and now airs four reruns on weekdays, with two at 5 pm and two at 7 pm ET/PT. In the fall of 2006, 20th Television, the syndication subsidiary of 20th Century Fox, brought the show to local syndication, replacing Yes, Dear.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Episodes 3 Main Characters 4 Guest / Recurring Roles 5 Production Background 6 Trivia 7 Theme Song 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Plot

A working class couple in Chicago try to instill good values in their three kids, but their own past experiences often conflict with the lessons they try to teach to their children.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Still Standing episodes

[edit] Main Characters

• Bill Miller (Mark Addy): The want-to-be cool father of the Miller family, he is often perceived as an overweight, lazy Homer Simpson-like idiot. Bill has a tendency to partake in "macho" activities such as watching sports, carpentry, and drinking beer. Although Bill is not the most intelligent person in the bunch, he still manages to be the family's main bread-winner, working at a Sears-like department store's toilet department.

• Judy Miller (Jami Gertz): The mother of the Miller family, she is a woman in her late 30s trying not to lose touch with her younger self and trying to be the cool mom while raising her kids. Judy works as a dental hygienist at a dentist's office. She is more intelligent than Bill (although that isn't saying too much).

• Brian Miller (Taylor Ball): The son and eldest child of the Miller family, Brian is a gifted senior in high school. However, Brian has a poor social life, is relatively unpopular at school, and is widely regarded as a geek, nerd, or lame. Although he is straight, Brian's sexual orientation has been questioned several times by his parents because he reads Vogue magazine (he justifies this by saying that "sometimes those models wear see-through clothes, and it gets cold in those studios"), twirls a baton, and is a school cheerleader (ultimately revealed as his way to meet cute girls). In later seasons he is ignored and even neglected by his parents.

• Lauren Miller (Renee Olstead): The typical irritable, hormonal, and spoiled teenage older daughter of the Miller family, Lauren is one of the popular girls at school, and is in her sophomore year. Lauren could be described as a typical teenage girl. She gets in trouble for breaking her parents' and the school's rules. She is smart, but doesn't apply herself as much as her brother Brian does. Lauren is shown in one episode to be a prodigious singer.

• Tina Miller (Soleil Borda): The youngest child and mismatched daughter of the Miller family, Tina could be described as an obnoxious second grader. Tina's family see her as a clueless child, but viewers see that she is one of the most clever in her family.

• Linda Michaels (Jennifer Irwin): Judy's younger sister, Linda spends much of her time hanging around the Miller house—much to Bill's chagrin. She suffers from low self-esteem and seems to feel sorry for herself. She later marries Perry, a singer in a Foghat cover band.

• Danny "Fitz" Fitzsimmons (Joel Murray): Bill's best friend for the rest of the show.

[edit] Guest / Recurring Roles

• Perry (James Patrick Stuart): Linda's husband, a musician who performs in Reno, NV

• Carl (David Koechner): Bill's best friend for the first two seasons

• Marion Fitzsimmons (Kerri Kenney): Danny's wife

• Scotty Fitzsimmons (Benjamin Knapple): Danny's son, who is gay

• Gene Michaels (Steven Gilborn): Judy's father

• Helen Michaels (Janet Carroll during seasons 1-2; Swoosie Kurtz during seasons 3-4): Judy's mother

• Al Miller (Paul Sorvino): Bill's father, a retired steelworker

• Louise Miller (Sally Struthers): Bill's manipulative mother who moved to Chicago after her divorce

• Bonnie (Ashley Tisdale): Brian's girlfriend (for a few episodes)

• Becca (Lauren Schaffel): Lauren's best friend. She is also very afraid of Judy.

• Ted Halverson (Kevin Nealon): The Miller's neighbor. He can be competitive.

• Matt Halverson (Shawn Pyfrom): Lauren's boyfriend in one episode. Ted's son.

• Shelly (Julia Campbell): The Miller's neighbor.

• Terry (Justine Bateman): The Miller's neighbor.

[edit] Production Background

• Still Standing filmed in Stage 20, a 14,000 sq. ft. space on the far edge of CBS Studio Center, sharing the lot with shows such as That '70s Show, Just Shoot Me!, Malcolm in the Middle, Will & Grace and Yes, Dear. Stage 20 has been previously occupied by The Naked Truth and Malcolm in the Middle. (Malcolm had since relocated to Stages 11 and 21.) The production offices for Still Standing could also be found onsite in the Mack Sennett Building, one of many remants of the silent film era. The show had a budget around $900,000 per episode and a cast and crew complement that totaled around 125.

• Still Standing was initially pitched to FOX in the beginning of 2000. While the network declined on the pilot, the script inadvertently found favor at CBS, when Diane Burroughs and Joey Gutierrez sent the pilot as a writing sample. (At the time, the two were applying for Yes, Dear, slated to premiere that fall.) Since FOX still had the rights to the script, CBS had to successfully negotiate with the company, and did so in December of that year. This was done largely through the continued support of Wendi Goldstein, Senior Vice-President of Comedy Development at the CBS.

• Burroughs and Gutierrez initially had trouble casting the right couple to portray Bill and Judy Miller. It was CBS's suggestion that Mark Addy and Jami Gertz play the parts. And, in fact, neither auditioned for the roles, and they only met the day before the first table read. Original casting by Deborah Barylski and Lynn Mason, associate casting director.

• Tim Doyle joined Still Standing during its second season as executive producer and showrunner alongside Burroughs and Gutierrez. This was part of a development deal made between him and 20th Century Fox Television. Doyle's experience on shows such as Roseanne, Ellen, and Grace Under Fire was thought to bolster the series, as it moved to the vulnerable 8:30 time slot.

• Still Standing was challenged with changing time slots every season. The show premiered on Mondays at 9:30, but was moved to 8:30, and then to 8:00 that night. In the fourth season, CBS moved the show to Wednesday nights at 8:00 in attempts to establish two new sitcoms on its successful Monday lineup, Out of Practice. Still Standing faltered in the new timeslot, airing on a night where CBS has long struggled to establish comedies. During the mid-season, Out of Practice replaced Still Standing, which was moved to make room for Julia Louis-Dreyfus' new series, The New Adventures of Old Christine. The renewal of Still Standing for a fifth season was largely contingent on the performance of CBS' new comedies, and the renewal of The New Adventures of Old Christine for the 2006-2007 season sealed the fate of the show.

[edit] Trivia

• In one episode, Judy and Bill attend a Blink 182 concert. The camera zooms in on the two from behind the stage, where one member of the band (probably meant to be Tom DeLonge) is seen singing "First Date" while holding a microphone in both hands. Most fans of Blink 182 will remember that both Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus played guitar while performing live.

• Mark Addy was born in England and used an imitation of a Midwestern American accent in his portrayal of Bill Miller, an "average Joe" from Chicago.

• The name of Jami Gertz's character is Judy Miller. This was also the name of the over-imaginative little girl played by Gilda Radner on Saturday Night Live. Gertz played Radner herself in a TV movie. Jennifer Irwin, who played Linda on the show, also co-starred in that movie, playing the role of Jane Curtin.

• Sally Struthers is only 15 years older than Mark Addy, who plays her son on the show.

• 'You Make Me Happy' (the theme song) is sung by Will Hoge.

• Bill and Judy both graduated in 1982, as shown by the banner at their high school reunion.

• All episode titles begin with the word "Still".

• Lauren's middle name is Barley and Brian's is Hopps.

• The name of Linda's defunct cat, Nathaniel Pawthorne, comes from the name of the 19th century American novelist and short story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne.

• Bill and Judy both are huge fans of AC/DC.

• Judy has a tattoo of Aerosmith on her lower back, which she acquired during one episode.

• Judy suffers from high cholesterol. Ironically, Bill, who is much fatter than her, doesn't.

• In one episode, Linda and Judy's mother gives Linda her old dress for her wedding. And because Judy had always been the favorite, Linda continually rubs it in Judy's face (even though Judy isn't the least bit jealous). However, when she actually gets married, Linda wears a completely different dress. The original dress was virtually destroyed in an episode from two pudding stains. Fortunately, the pudding stains were dry-cleaned out and the dress sealed away until the week of the wedding. Unknowingly to Linda though, immediately before the dress was sealed in a box Bill had spilled meatballs with spaghetti sauce into the box.

• Dr. Gerber's (Judy's boss) wife's name is Beverly, and his mother's name is Evelyn.

• Bill wore #42 when he played linebacker for his high school football team.

• The show format is often compared to King of Queens whereby a fat and lazy man is paired with a much more attractive female counterpart.

• A recurring joke in the beginning of the series was Judy always asking Bill "What did you do?" with a suspicious tone everytime he tried to cover up some goof he did.

• Bill says the last line of the series: "You hear that, Judy? I'm dealing blackjack." In response to when Brian tells them he told all of his friends Bill is a CARDiologist.

[edit] Theme Song

You can read me baby like an open book

Stop me dead in my tracks

With only just one look.

Now when the lights go down

And when it comes to you and me girl,

Oooh you turn me inside out

I'm still in love with you today,

Cause you make me happy

[edit] References

• "Lifetime Adds Still Standing" (Variety)
• "Still Standing Readies for its Final Bow" (USA Today)
• "Still Standing Survives Critical Mass" (USA Today)
• Still Standing TV Character Biographies at TVacres.com
• List of Productions at CBS Studio Center
• "July 7th Development Update" (TheFutonCritic.com)

[edit] External links

• Still Standing at the Internet Movie Database
• Still Standing on Lifetimetv.com
• Still Standing on CBS.com
• Hooking the Showrunner: Ari Eisner, Still Standing writers' assistant, shares the story of Still the Man, his first episode ever produced
• Floorplan for Stage 20, Still Standing's home at CBS Studio Center
• Petition to get "Still Standing" on DVD