# Flying Blind (TV series)

Flying Blind is an American sitcom that aired on Fox from September 1992 to May 1993. The series stars Corey Parker and Téa Leoni.

## Synopsis

The series revolves around an awkward recent college grad, Neil Barash (Parker), who meets and starts dating a beautiful libertine woman, Alicia (Leoni), with a wild past. The show explores the difficulties faced by self-conscious and repressed Neil in dealing with the erotic antics of Alicia and her eccentric roommates, Jordan (Robert Bauer) and Megan (Clea Lewis).
In the first half of the season, Neil lives at home with his parents, and works in an office with his father. In the second half of the season, producers re-tooled the show; Neil moves in with Alicia and her roommates, and takes a job working for an unusual couple (Charles Rocket and Mary Woronov) who make low budget exploitation movies.
Veteran comedy actor Peter Boyle guest starred in two episodes as Alicia's father, a former spy. Thomas Haden Church also appeared in two episodes as Alicia's ex. In addition to Leoni, an assortment of stars had guest spots or cameos in the series before they became famous, including Diedrich Bader, Jill Hennessy, Greg Grunberg, Lisa Kudrow, Adam Ferrara, Andy Dick, Willie Garson, and Noah Emmerich.

## Cast

* Corey Parker as Neil Barash
* Téa Leoni as Alicia
* Cristine Rose as Ellen Barash
* Robert Bauer as Jordan
* Clea Lewis as Megan
* Marcus Giamatti as Ted Sharperson
* Michael Tucci as Jeremy Barash

## Production

The series was created by Richard Rosenstock, who later went on to write for Fox's Arrested Development. The theme song for the show was "A Million Miles Away", written and performed by David Byrne which appeared on his spring 1992 album release Uh-Oh.
The production companies were Sweetum Productions, and Paramount Network Television in association with (eventual corporate sibling) Viacom Productions. The series later became owned by CBS Media Ventures.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code |
| 1 | "Pilot" | James Burrows | Richard Rosenstock | September 13, 1992 (1992-09-13) | 3026 |
| Neil meets Alicia. ||||||
| 2 | "Smiles of a Summer Night" | Michael Lembeck | Richard Rosenstock | September 20, 1992 (1992-09-20) | 3301 |
| Neil and Alicia plan their first sexual encounter. ||||||
| 3 | "Crazy for You... and You" | Michael Lembeck | Ellen Byron & Lissa Kapstrom | September 27, 1992 (1992-09-27) | 3304 |
| After Neil and Alicia break up, Neil dates his high school sweetheart. ||||||
| 4 | "Single White Eurotrash" | Michael Lembeck | Douglas Wyman | October 4, 1992 (1992-10-04) | 3305 |
| The twin of Alicia's dead boyfriend moves in with Alicia. ||||||
| 5 | "The Week of Living Dangerously" | Michael Lembeck | Bob Stevens | October 11, 1992 (1992-10-11) | 3302 |
| A former boyfriend of Alicia's threatens to kill Neil. ||||||
| 6 | "Prelude to a Brisket" | Michael Lembeck | Terri Minsky | October 18, 1992 (1992-10-18) | 3303 |
| Alicia spends an evening with Neil's parents and wants to become like them. ||||||
| 7 | "Desperately Seeking Alicia" | Dennis Erdman | Terri Minsky & Michael Borkow | October 25, 1992 (1992-10-25) | 3306 |
| Neil's cousin Leslie visits and wants to be like Alicia. ||||||
| 8 | "Lovers and Other Strangers" | Ellen Falcon | Richard Rosenstock | November 1, 1992 (1992-11-01) | 3307 |
| Jonathan returns with news that he's getting married, and Alicia doesn't believe him. ||||||
| 9 | "The Heartbreak Id" | Peter Bonerz | Bob Stevens | November 8, 1992 (1992-11-08) | 3308 |
| When Neil and Alicia have problems in bed, Alicia goes into therapy. ||||||
| 10 | "The Secret of My Great Dress" | Ellen Falcon | Ellen Byron & Lissa Kapstrom | November 15, 1992 (1992-11-15) | 3309 |
| Alicia becomes a fashion designer and has no free time for Neil. ||||||
| 11 | "A Woman Under the Influence" | Peter Bonerz | Richard Rosenstock | November 22, 1992 (1992-11-22) | 3310 |
| Alicia is jealous when Neil flirts with the Hochman Fudge Girl. ||||||
| 12 | "Dad" | Ellen Falcon | Bob Stevens | December 13, 1992 (1992-12-13) | 3311 |
| Alicia's Dad returns to terrorize her current boyfriend. ||||||
| 13 | "Ted Over Heels" | Ellen Falcon | Linwood Boomer | January 10, 1993 (1993-01-10) | 3312 |
| After Ted ruins his career at Hochman Foods, Megan instantly becomes attracted to him. ||||||
| 14 | "Panic in Neil's Park" | Stan Daniels | Richard Rosenstock | February 7, 1993 (1993-02-07) | 3313 |
| Neil is fired from Hochman Foods and begins searching for a new career. ||||||
| 15 | "The Player" | James Widdoes | Terri Minsky | February 14, 1993 (1993-02-14) | 3314 |
| Neil accidentally interrupts a movie shoot and is hired by the director. ||||||
| 16 | "Escape to New York" | Jeff Melman | Michael Borkow | March 7, 1993 (1993-03-07) | 3315 |
| Neil moves in with Alicia, but it may ruin their relationship. ||||||
| 17 | "My Dinner with Brad Schimmel" | Stan Daniels | Rick Copp & David A. Goodman | March 14, 1993 (1993-03-14) | 3316 |
| Neil uses Alicia to impress an old rival. ||||||
| 18 | "Unforgiving" | Jeff Melman | Terri Minsky | March 21, 1993 (1993-03-21) | 3317 |
| Meg gets back at Alicia by writing a B-movie about her. ||||||
| 19 | "The Bride of Marsh Man 2: The Spawning" | Jeff Melman | Mark Reisman | March 28, 1993 (1993-03-28) | 3318 |
| Alicia agrees to reprise her role as Bride of the Marsh Man, but only if Neil directs. ||||||
| 20 | "The Spy Who Came in from the Old" | Joshua White | Tom Maxwell & Don Woodard | April 11, 1993 (1993-04-11) | 3319 |
| Alicia's dad announces that he's leaving the spy game and getting married. ||||||
| 21 | "The People That Time Forgot" | Peter Bonerz | Rick Copp & David A. Goodman | April 25, 1993 (1993-04-25) | 3320 |
| Neil has to choose between an art opening with Alicia and a sports memorabilia show with an old high school friend. ||||||
| 22 | "The Long Goodbye" | Peter Bonerz | Michael Borkow and Ellen Byron & Lissa Kapstrom | May 2, 1993 (1993-05-02) | 3321 |
| Neil and Alicia break up after Neil reads Alicia's diary. ||||||

## Reception

The series got generally favourable notices upon its debut. Ken Tucker gave the show a B+ in Entertainment Weekly, "Flying Blind's pilot episode is so well written, so zippily sexy, that it immediately stands out among Fox's usual run of self-consciously crude comedies. But even if it soon crashes and burns, this pilot for Flying Blind is easily one of the best debut shows of the year." People also graded the pilot a B+ and stated "The show may never again attain the sustained comic brilliance of last week's pilot. But this is a rarity for Fox: a sophisticated and clever sitcom." Howard Rosenberg of the Los Angeles Times wrote "It's not only the episode's sharp writing but also its eroticism and its balance between the naivete and predictability of Neil and the spontaneity and instability of Alicia that give "Flying Blind" its uniqueness. What a nice beginning." Mike Duffy of the Detroit Free Press wrote, "Rosenstock has a terrific sense of irreverent non-sexist humor, the sort of contemporary, self-deprecating wit that makes Neil and the outlandishly attractive Alicia most enjoyable. Plus, Flying Blind stars Parker and Leoni share a very nifty comic chemistry in this hip, fast-talking and contemporary romance." The show only lasted one year and has never been released on DVD. Joel Keller of The Huffington Post remarked "I'm not sure why the show only lasted one year, given the talent both in front of and behind the camera (James Burrows directed some episodes, and Linwood Boomer was one of the writers). But when it was on the air, it was mostly an enjoyable show to watch."