Charles in Charge was a half hour sitcom broadcast on American television network CBS. It premiered on Oct. 3, 1984, just a few months after the Vectrex Arcade System was discontinued.
| Charles in Charge | |
| Created by | Michael Jacobs Barbara Weisberg |
| Starring | Scott Baio Willie Aames Julie Cobb (season 1) James Widdoes (season 1) April Lerman (season 1) Jonathan Ward (season 1) Michael Pearlman (season 1) Jennifer Runyon (season 1) Sandra Kerns (seasons 2-5) Nicole Eggert (seasons 2-5) Josie Davis (seasons 2-5) Alexander Polinsky (seasons 2-5) Ellen Travolta (seasons 2-5) James T. Callahan (seasons 2-5) Justin Whalin (season 4) |
| Number of seasons | 5 |
| Number of episodes | 126 |
Synopsis[]
The show was a vehicle for teen heartthrob Scott Baio, who portrayed Chachi Arcola in both Happy Days (1977 - 1984) and its spinoff show Joanie Loves Chachi (1982 - 1983). In Charles in Charge, Baio played Charles, college student and live-in babysitter to a family known as the Powells. He eventually essentially became a member of the family. Various comedic situations ensued. The show was cancelled after five seasons.
Trivia[]
- While not an official spinoff, its notable that Chachi's given name in Happy Days was "Charles" (with "Chachi" being a nickname). In Charles in Charge, Baio played "Charles"; his last name was never revealed over the course of 5 seasons. His mother in both Happy Days and Charles in Charge was played by the same actress (Ellen Travolta).
- In the Vectrex Regeneration app that was released on various platforms, which emulated the Vectrex and it included the majority of its originally-released GCE lineup upon download, while looking about the room where the Vectrex is stationed, there is a note that can be seen that says "killing Martians". This was in regards to a line stated by the Douglas Pembroke character (played by Jonathan Ward) in the pilot episode, which one of the staff behind the Vectrex Regeneration app had hinted to Vectrex wiki founder Darrylb500 that something in the final product (before it was released) would be included in the app that had a nod to the wiki.
The Role of the Vectrex Arcade System[]
While the show generally was not critically received and did not achieve a very lengthy run, it's of interest to Vectrex fans for featuring the world's only home vector arcade system in a minor role in the pilot episode. In the episode, Douglas Pembroke can be seen playing one. It is obvious that he is playing Mine Storm (the Minelayer ship can be seen at one point), although when Charles asks him what he is doing, he replies that he is "killing Martians". Charles then unplugs the Vectrex. Later on in the episode, Pembroke plugs the Vectrex back in to play some more, which Charles unplugs it right away, causing Pembroke to deadpan "A whole planet...gone".
Vectrex-playing dweeb ruins Chachi's stay-in dream date
The Vectrex makes its sitcom debut in Charles in Charge, Oct 3, 1984.
This article was featured from May - June, 2017.