Struck by Lightning (TV series)

*Struck by Lightning*
Struck by Lightning
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Arthur Fellows; Terry Keegan
Written by	Michael Russnow
Directed by	Joel Zwick
Starring	Jeffrey Kramer; Jack Elam; Jeff Cotler; Bill Erwin; Millie Slavin; Richard Stahl
Opening theme	"You Are So Beautiful"; performed by Joe Cocker
Composer	Tom Talbert
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	11 (8 unaired)
Production
Executive producers	Arthur Fellows; Terry Keegan
Producer	Michael Friedman
Cinematography	Keith C. Smith
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Fellows-Keegan Productions; Paramount Television
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 19 –; October 3, 1979

Struck by Lightning is an American television sitcom about Frankenstein's monster, which aired on CBS from September 19 until October 3, 1979.

This show was cancelled after three out of 11 episodes were aired in the United States, although all 11 completed episodes did end up being shown in the United Kingdom on ITV in 1980 and six out of the 11 episodes were screened on ATN-7 Sydney in Australia from 26 December 1980 to 1 March 1981.

Premise

Ted Stein (Jeffrey Kramer) is a science teacher who inherits a spooky old New England inn inhabited by its hulking, good-naturedly homicidal caretaker Frank (Jack Elam). It turns out that Ted is the descendant of the original Dr. Frankenstein and Frank is the Monster who needs a special serum every 50 years to stay alive, and he wants Ted to recreate it for him ("If you don't, I'll die," he explains, "Let me put it another way, if you don't, you'll die"). Ted agrees to stay and continue his ancestor's experiments while keeping Frank's identity a secret.

Cast

Jack Elam as Frank
Jeffrey Kramer as Ted Stein
Millie Slavin as Nora
Bill Erwin as Glenn Diamond
Jeff Colter as Brian
Richard Stahl as Walt Calvin

Episode list

11 episodes were made, but only the first three were aired in America.

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Struck by Lightning"	Joel Zwick	Fred Freeman & Lawrence J. Cohen	September 19, 1979
2	"Toot, Toot, Tutor, Goodbye"	Unknown	Phill Lewis	September 26, 1979
3	"The Movie"	Unknown	Michael Russnow	October 3, 1979
4	"Frank Meets the Press"	TBD	TBD	N/A
5	"Happy Birthday Frank"	TBD	TBD	N/A
6	"The Main Event"	TBD	TBD	N/A
7	"Frank the Crank"	TBD	TBD	N/A
8	"Rich Frank, Poor Frank"	TBD	TBD	N/A
9	"Looking Out for Number 2"	TBD	TBD	N/A
10	"Frank the VIIIth"	TBD	TBD	N/A
11	"My Mystery Guest"	TBD	TBD	N/A

Production

Elam claimed in an interview in Variety that he accepted the role of Frank after being told by the producers that he would not have to wear monster make-up because his naturally gnarled and bulgy-eyed appearance was already perfect for the part.

Availability

As of 2010, Struck by Lightning had not been released on home video.