MovieChat Forums > Mr. Belvedere (1985) Discussion > Things that don't happen on this show

Things that don't happen on this show

posted 10 years ago by jarrodmcdonald-1
6 replies | jump to latest

Unless I missed an episode or can't remember a subplot or two--

I don't think we ever saw any of the Owens' relatives. No cousins or grandparents. Hard to believe George and Marsha would have both been an only child and that all four grandparents would be deceased. I suppose if the show had run longer, we might eventually have seen some relatives visiting. Not only do they not visit, I can't ever recall any of the Owens' extended family being mentioned in passing or being spoken to on the phone one-way.

We never learn what the Owens are paying Belvedere. Jokes are made that George is usually late with Belvedere's check and Belvedere complains it is a paltry sum to begin with, but the actual amount is never specified. Is it?

We never see the Owens basement. It is referred to several times. In the one where Belvedere goes to work for the queen, Wesley is shown having a casino night down in the basement, all off-camera. And in season 6's 'Love Fest,' Marsha confides to Belvedere that she and George were trying to reignite the spark in their love life by playing Tarzan in the basement.

We see Wesley in a grade school classroom, and we see Kevin in a college class, but we never see Heather in the classroom. There is an episode where she and Angela are trying out for the debating team but we can assume that is after school hours in a multi-purpose room.

Not sure if it is properly explained how Robert Goulet knows Belvedere and the family. Unless I didn't catch the explanation in his first episode as a guest star.

[–] bleech2 10 years ago

The basement was only shown in the early season 2 episode "Tornado", which is where the family went to seek shelter from, you guessed it, a tornado. Belvedere and George get into a heated game of pool while they wait for the storm to arrive. When they go back upstairs after the storm, the house is heavily damaged.

[–] jarrodmcdonald-1 10 years ago

Thanks bleech. I totally forgot about that scene in 'Tornado.'

[–] Edermike 10 years ago

The Alzheimer's episode "Grandma" is the only one that talks about their grandparents. Kevin knew Marsha's parents but Heather doesn't remember them very well and Wesley didn't meet them. Otherwise no family is ever mentioned.

"Heather's Monk" has her in chorus class and "The Competition" has her in ballet. I guess these are not math or science classes, but they take place in her school. Heather got the least amount of stories and most focused on her friends or conflicts with family. They also had her and Angela being very generous charitable teens so you see them volunteering a lot with the elderly etc.

Like so many other people, Mr. Belvedere just happened to know Robert with no real explanation given. In "Debut" he has him come by to try to talk George out of becoming a singer. George does a double take, and just accepts it. He would pop up from time to time from then on. In the DVD commentary they talk about him a lot, and Brice does a spot on impersonation of him.

[–] jarrodmcdonald-1 10 years ago

Thanks for the reply. I agree that Heather had the least amount of 'A' stories written for her, though she did have her share of 'B' and occasional 'C' stories. And I still think she was a well-developed character-- just not allowed to carry episodes like the other characters.

In most other sitcoms, relatives crawl out of the woodwork-- often played by ex-movie stars or people who were big TV stars a decade or two earlier, done as recurring roles meant to spike ratings. Mr. Belvedere, with the exception of the Goulet appearances, seldom resorted to that trick.

[–] jname96 10 years ago

1. Sex change
2. Giant killer bunnies
3. A special Bastille Day episode, to honor France.

[–] Edermike 9 years ago

The Bastille Day episode was pulled at the last moment. It was felt that the damage Wesley and Spot caused to the Louvre would have created an international incident. This despite Mr. Belvedere giving them a stern talking to about respecting art and the French in general.