Wait Till Your Father Gets Home
| Wait Till Your Father Gets Home | |
|---|---|
 DVD menu showing the series title altogether, unlike the series itself. | |
| Network | NBC |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera |
| Distributor | Taft Broadcasting |
| Original release | September 12, 1972—October 8, 1974 |
| Run time | 23 minutes |
| Starring | Tom Bosley Joan Gerber Kristina Holland David Hayward Jackie Haley Lennie Weinrib Willie Aames Frank Burns |
| Executive producer(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Producer(s) | R.S. Allen Harvey Bullock Zoran Janjic |
| Music composed by | Richard Bowden |
| Writer(s) | Jack Elinson Norman Paul Charles Anthony Mark Scott |
| Animation director(s) | Peter Luschwitz |
Wait Till Your Father Gets Home is an American animated comedy-drama television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for NBC. It ran from 1972 to 1974, airing 48 episodes that spanned three seasons. It was the last prime time animated sitcom from Hanna-Barbera, up until Capitol Critters in 1992. Although geared towards adults, its apparent accessibility for the whole family allowed it to be aired on Cartoon Network and Boomerang in their heydays.
In a small American neigborhood, Harry Boyle—a middle-aged conservative suburbanite—must deal with the problems his family presents him, which includes wife Irma, and their three kids; the outspoken feminist, yet boy-crazy daughter, Alice, long-haired and unemployed first son, Chet, and second younger son, Jamie. Despite his old-fashioned values and wisdom, he also has to deal with his next door neighbor, Ralph Kane; an ultra-right wing, anti-communist conspiracist.
The last episode of the series is a crossover with the short-lived 1960s TV series Car 54, Where Are You?, in which returning cast member Joe E. Ross, the only actor to do so, reprises his role as Officer Gunther Toody, who is revealed to be the brother-in-law of Irma. For some reason, however, Gunther's wife's name was changed from Lucille to Louise.
Only the first season is available on DVD, while the second and third seasons are currently unlikely to be released due to clearance issues with animated celebrity guest stars.
Production
Development
Following the success of Norman Lear's TV sitcom All in the Family, Hanna-Barbera created the series by using Lear's show as its inspiration.[1][2] By using it as the basis, the series managed to focus on topics such as the generation gap, sex, and bigotry; topics that were seldomly brought up in TV animation prior.[1] Whereas their two previous sitcoms—The Flintstones and The Jetsons—were set in fantastical time periods, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home set itself apart by taking place in the then-current, modern world. Hanna-Barbera brought in Playboy magazine artist Marty Murphy to design the characters of the show.[1]
Like many animated series created by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, the show contained a laugh track created by the studio.[3]
The pilot, "Love and the Old-Fashioned Father," made its debut on the TV anthology series Love, American Style, on February 11, 1972. Following the pilot, the first episode of the series aired on September 12 of the same year.
Music
The music was composed by Richard Bowden, who was credited as musical director, with musical supervision from Paul DeKorte.
Episodes
Release
Dates are in order of release:
- United States: September 12, 1972 at 7:30 pm on ABC
- United Kingdom and Ireland: September 11, 1973 at 5:20 pm on ITV
Cast
- Tom Bosley as Harry Boyle
- Joan Gerber as Irma Boyle
- Kristina Holland as Alice Boyle
- David Hayward (season 1) and Lennie Weinrib (seasons 1-3) as Chet Boyle
- Jackie Haley (season 1) and Willie Aames (seasons 1-3) as Jamie Boyle
- Frank Burns as Ralph Kane
Celebrity guests
Merchandise
Home media
In 1997, a "bumper edition" VHS containing seven season one episodes was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
On June 5, 2007, Warner Home Video released Wait Till Your Father Gets Home: The Complete First Season on DVD.
References
- ^ a b c Lyons, Michael (September 19, 2022). Make Toon For Daddy: The 50th Anniversary of “Wait Til Your Father Gets Home”. Cartoon Research (2022). Retrieved on October 14, 2022.
- ^ "Wait Till Your Father Gets Home". TVGuide.com. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ Iverson, Paul: "The Advent of the Laugh Track". Hofstra University archives; February 1994.
