# Down to Earth (American TV series)

Down to Earth is an American fantasy sitcom series that ran on Superstation WTBS from March 10, 1984 to 1987. The series was originally produced by The Arthur Company, and later, by Procter & Gamble Productions and was the Superstation's first original series.

## Premise

The series revolved around Ethel MacDoogan (Carol Mansell), a free-spirited woman who lived the "Roaring 1920s" era. However, in 1925 she suffered a fatal accident, colliding with a trolley. Ethel waits in Heaven for 60 years for a chance to earn her wings, until finally she is sent to earth in the 1980s to help the Preston family.
The Prestons are a typical modern-day American family with modern-day situations: widowed father Richard (Stephen Johnson, then Dick Sargent) is a realtor, though he retired a few months after and began working as a licensing agent for new inventors; older son Duane (David Kaufman) is very class-conscious; teenage daughter Lissy (Kyle Richards) is very opinionated; Jay Jay (Randy Josselyn), the youngest, just wants someone who can fill their late mother's void. It is Jay Jay's prayer for an angel to come into their lives that summons Ethel, and he is the only one who knows her true identity.
Infiltrating the household as housekeeper and maid, Ethel is unsurprisingly clueless about even the simplest conveniences of modern-day 1980s family life. Jay Jay helps cover for her when it comes to adapting to the newfangled inventions of the past 60 years, and she eventually wins over the Prestons by successfully helping them deal with their problems.
Popping in from time to time is the Prestons' ditsy next-door neighbor Candy Carlysle (Marla Rubinoff), who became a regular character in 1985.
In addition to her earthly employer, Ethel is under the constant eye of her heavenly boss and their successors, who watch her every move—and her every mistake. Her first overseer, Mr. Divine (Lester Fletcher), kept a close eye on her. He was moved to another position in Heaven a few months after, and the very concerned but comical Lester Luster (Ronnie Schell) took over, followed by her ex-fiancé/con-man Jake (Michael DeLano), with the outrageous Stanley McCloud (Rip Taylor) taking over in the show's final years.
A few months after the show's beginning, a turning point occurred: Ethel's mission on Earth proved successful and she was ordered back to Heaven. Realizing how much the Prestons meant to her and vice versa, she begged Lester Luster to postpone her return to Heaven. Together, they created a deal that she would help him with any crises on Earth that he brought to her attention and that she would have to return to Heaven if she was unsuccessful.

## Production notes

The series made several changes to its cast. Besides the ethereal bosses, it changed the earthly father as well, becoming the second series in which Dick Sargent replaced another actor in the same role.
The show's central characters were jointly created, and the core format was jointly developed, by Sam Harris, who collaborated with Arthur L. Annecharico to do so. Harris also wrote several episodes of the show.
In addition to having run on WTBS, Down to Earth also had subsequent runs on Good Life TV.

## Reception

The Ocala Star-Banner called Down to Earth "one of the better sitcoms on the air nowadays".

## Cast

| Actor | Character |
| Carol Mansell | Ethel MacDoogan |
| Stephen Johnson | Richard Preston, 1984 |
| Dick Sargent | Richard Preston, 1984–87 |
| David Kaufman | Duane Preston |
| Kyle Richards | Lissy Preston |
| Randy Josselyn | Jay Jay Preston |
| Marla Rubinoff | Candy Carlysle, 1985–87 |
| Lester Fletcher | Mr. Divine, 1984 |
| Ronnie Schell | Lester Luster, 1984–85 |
| Michael DeLano | Jake Fiore, 1985–86 |
| Rip Taylor | Stanley McCloud, 1985–87 |
| Annie Golden | Starr Gardner, 1986 |

## Episodes
### Season 1 (1984)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "Happy Birthday to Me" | John Tracy | Sam Harris & Bruce H. Newberg | March 10, 1984 (1984-03-10) |
| 2 | 2 | "Make Mine Murder" | John Tracy | Sam Harris & Bruce H. Newberg | March 17, 1984 (1984-03-17) |
| 3 | 3 | "Back to Basics" | Unknown | Sam Harris & Bruce H. Newberg | March 24, 1984 (1984-03-24) |
| 4 | 4 | "Food for Thought" | John Tracy | Sam Harris & Bruce H. Newberg | April 4, 1984 (1984-04-04) |
| 5 | 5 | "Everything Old is New Again" | John Tracy | Sam Harris & Bruce H. Newberg | April 11, 1984 (1984-04-11) |
| 6 | 6 | "A View from Above" | John Tracy | Sam Harris & Bruce H. Newberg | April 18, 1984 (1984-04-18) |
| 7 | 7 | "Duane for President" | John Tracy | Sam Harris & Bruce H. Newberg | April 25, 1984 (1984-04-25) |
| 8 | 8 | "Aunt Roz" | John Tracy | Sam Harris & Bruce H. Newberg | May 2, 1984 (1984-05-02) |
| 9 | 9 | "For Better, For Worse" | John Tracy | Sam Harris & Bruce H. Newberg | May 9, 1984 (1984-05-09) |
| 10 | 10 | "Romance and Real Estate" | John Tracy | Sam Harris & Bruce H. Newberg | May 16, 1984 (1984-05-16) |
| 11 | 11 | "Rejuvenation of Richard" | John Tracy | Sam Harris & Bruce H. Newberg | May 23, 1984 (1984-05-23) |
| 12 | 12 | "Practical Jokes" | John Tracy | Sam Harris & Bruce H. Newberg | June 1, 1984 (1984-06-01) |
| 13 | 13 | "Selling the House" | John Tracy | Sam Harris & Bruce H. Newberg | June 8, 1984 (1984-06-08) |

### Season 2 (1984–85)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 14 | 1 | "Heaven Can Wait" | Doug Rogers | Bruce H. Newberg | September 15, 1984 (1984-09-15) |
| 15 | 2 | "The Kazinsky Krunch" | Doug Rogers | Robert Bruce & Marty Weiss | September 29, 1984 (1984-09-29) |
| 16 | 3 | "Gone with the Wind" | John Tracy | Roger Garrett | October 15, 1984 (1984-10-15) |
| 17 | 4 | "The Buck Stops Here" | Doug Rogers | Stephanie Anderson & Jon S. Denny | October 29, 1984 (1984-10-29) |
| 18 | 5 | "The Ball's in Your Court" | Unknown | Robert Bruce & Marty Weiss | November 10, 1984 (1984-11-10) |
| 19 | 6 | "In Praise of Older Women" | Doug Rogers | Barry Rubinowitz | November 17, 1984 (1984-11-17) |
| 20 | 7 | "Jay Jay's Dream" | Alan Bergmann | William Bickley & Michael Warren | November 24, 1984 (1984-11-24) |
| 21 | 8 | "Uncle Roscoe's Watch" | Alan Bergmann | Sam Greenbaum | December 16, 1984 (1984-12-16) |
| 22 | 9 | "Luster Gets Stuck" | Alan Bergmann | George Hampton & Mike Moore | December 30, 1984 (1984-12-30) |
| 23 | 10 | "Ethel's Memory Loss" | Gary Shimokawa | George Hampton & Mike Moore | January 2, 1985 (1985-01-02) |
| 24 | 11 | "The Bully" | Mel Ferber | Richard Freiman | January 9, 1985 (1985-01-09) |
| 25 | 12 | "The Quiz Show" | Lee Shallat-Chemel | Roger Garrett | January 16, 1985 (1985-01-16) |
| 26 | 13 | "A Valentine for Valentino" | Bob Claver | Charlotte Dobbs | January 23, 1985 (1985-01-23) |

### Season 3 (1985)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 27 | 1 | "The Russian Defector" | Unknown | Unknown | February 1, 1985 (1985-02-01) |
| 28 | 2 | "Eskimo Shoes" | Unknown | Unknown | February 8, 1985 (1985-02-08) |
| 29 | 3 | "Art or Bust" | Alan Bergmann | Bruce H. Newberg | February 15, 1985 (1985-02-15) |
| 30 | 4 | "Epidemic" | Mel Ferber | Bruce H. Newberg & Bruce Kane | February 22, 1985 (1985-02-22) |
| 31 | 5 | "Obsolete Ethel" | Mel Ferber | George Hampton & Mike Moore | February 29, 1985 (1985-02-29) |
| 32 | 6 | "Name, Rank and Social Security Number" | Unknown | Unknown | March 3, 1985 (1985-03-03) |
| 33 | 7 | "Duane's Car" | Mel Ferber | Story by : Charlotte Dobbs Teleplay by : Warren Murray | March 10, 1985 (1985-03-10) |
| 34 | 8 | "House Arrest" | Mel Ferber | Bill Taub | March 17, 1985 (1985-03-17) |
| 35 | 9 | "Lost and Found" | Doug Rogers | David Ketchum & Tony DiMarco | April 1, 1985 (1985-04-01) |
| 36 | 10 | "The Radio Show" | Don Barnhart | Robert Bruce & Marty Weiss | April 8, 1985 (1985-04-08) |
| 37 | 11 | "Future Shock" | Unknown | Unknown | April 15, 1985 (1985-04-15) |
| 38 | 12 | "Remember When" | Unknown | George Hampton & Mike Moore | April 22, 1985 (1985-04-22) |
| 39 | 13 | "The Lissy Caper" | Unknown | Unknown | April 29, 1985 (1985-04-29) |
| 40 | 14 | "Luster/Jake Special" | Unknown | Unknown | May 6, 1985 (1985-05-06) |
| 41 | 15 | "Romeo and Juliet" | Russ Petranto | Stephanie Anderson & Jon S. Denny | May 13, 1985 (1985-05-13) |
| 42 | 16 | "A Star is Born" | Don Barnhart | Jim Rogers | May 20, 1985 (1985-05-20) |
| 43 | 17 | "Trading Places" | Unknown | Unknown | May 27, 1985 (1985-05-27) |

### Season 4

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 44 | 1 | "Real Candy" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 45 | 2 | "A Touch of Ethel" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 46 | 3 | "Play It Again, Ethel" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 47 | 4 | "Taking Stock" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 48 | 5 | "Frozen Rope" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 49 | 6 | "Hypnotic Ethel" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 50 | 7 | "Angelbusters" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 51 | 8 | "Chucky Chipmunk" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 52 | 9 | "The Dentist Show" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 53 | 10 | "Knight in Heavenly Armor" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 54 | 11 | "Money, Money" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 55 | 12 | "The Dummy Show" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 56 | 13 | "He Ain't Bozo, He's My Brother" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 57 | 14 | "Duane's Dilemma" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 58 | 15 | "Lusterado" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 59 | 16 | "The Burro" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 60 | 17 | "The Bag Lady" | Lee Lochhead | Harry Cauley | 1985 (1985) |
| 61 | 18 | "Easy Rider" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 62 | 19 | "Rear Window" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 63 | 20 | "Scenes from a Marriage" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 64 | 21 | "Perfect Match" | Howard Storm | Richard Miner & Joel Parks | 1985 (1985) |
| 65 | 22 | "Goodness Flakes" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 66 | 23 | "Lissy's Mother" | TBD | TBD | 1985 (1985) |
| 67 | 24 | "Christmas Story" | Don Barnhart | Karl Epstein & Marvin Braverman | 1985 (1985) |

### Season 5 (1986)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 68 | 1 | "The Inferior Decorator" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 69 | 2 | "Duane Takes a Wife" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 70 | 3 | "Stewed Ethel" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 71 | 4 | "The Russians Are...Here" | Unknown | Unknown | March 11, 1986 (1986-03-11) |
| 72 | 5 | "The Big Freeze" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 73 | 6 | "Sixteen Candles" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 74 | 7 | "Billie Jean is Not My Sitter" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 75 | 8 | "Angel Flu" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 76 | 9 | "Wish I May, Wish I Might" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 77 | 10 | "One Flew Over the Prestons' Nest" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 78 | 11 | "Amelia Earhart's Diary" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 79 | 12 | "Bird of Paradise" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 80 | 13 | "Comet Night Fever" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |

### Season 6 (1986)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 81 | 1 | "Peter Doesn't Live Here Anymore" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 82 | 2 | "Rich Man, Poor Man" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 83 | 3 | "Duane's Basic Training" | Unknown | Unknown | September 1, 1986 (1986-09-01) |
| 84 | 4 | "Princess Lissy" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 85 | 5 | "Rites of Passage" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 86 | 6 | "Comically Yours" | Don Barnhart | Earl Kress | 1986 (1986) |
| 87 | 7 | "Mama the Matchmaker" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 88 | 8 | "Saving Face" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 89 | 9 | "Requiem for a Paperweight" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 90 | 10 | "Caught in the Act" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 91 | 11 | "Cindy's Fella" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 92 | 12 | "Double Trouble" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |
| 93 | 13 | "Duane Moves Out" | TBD | TBD | 1986 (1986) |

### Season 7 (1987)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 94 | 1 | "Lissy's Secret Garden" | TBD | TBD | 1987 (1987) |
| 95 | 2 | "Angel of the Year" | TBD | TBD | 1987 (1987) |
| 96 | 3 | "Candy Gets a Job" | TBD | TBD | 1987 (1987) |
| 97 | 4 | "Educating Ethel" | TBD | TBD | 1987 (1987) |
| 98 | 5 | "As Lovely as a Tree" | TBD | TBD | 1987 (1987) |
| 99 | 6 | "Cruise: Part 1" | TBD | TBD | 1987 (1987) |
| 100 | 7 | "Cruise: Part 2" | TBD | TBD | 1987 (1987) |
| 101 | 8 | "Starrstruck" | TBD | TBD | 1987 (1987) |
| 102 | 9 | "Mama in Love" | TBD | TBD | 1987 (1987) |
| 103 | 10 | "I Love Lissy" | TBD | TBD | 1987 (1987) |
| 104 | 11 | "Invitation to the Dance" | TBD | TBD | 1987 (1987) |
| 105 | 12 | "Old with the Old" | TBD | TBD | 1987 (1987) |
| 106 | 13 | "Jay Jay's Birthday" | TBD | TBD | 1987 (1987) |

## Crew

* Executive Producer: Arthur Annecharico
* Producer: Rick Miner