# My Sister Sam

My Sister Sam is an American television sitcom starring Pam Dawber and Rebecca Schaeffer that aired on CBS from October 6, 1986, to April 12, 1988.

## Synopsis

The sitcom follows the lives of a 29-year-old San Francisco freelance photographer named Samantha "Sam" Russell and her 16-year-old sister Patti. Sam's life is turned upside down when Patti, who has been living with the sisters' Aunt Elsie and Uncle Bob in rural Oregon after the death of the girls' parents, shows up on Sam's door step and announces that she is going to live with Sam.
The supporting cast includes Sam's neurotic agent Jordan Dylan "J.D." Lucas, Sam's sarcastic assistant Dixie Randazzo and Jack Kincaid, Sam's womanizing photojournalist neighbor who frequently stops by her apartment.

## Cast

* Pam Dawber as Samantha "Sam" Russell
* Rebecca Schaeffer as Patricia "Patti" Russell
* Joel Brooks as Jordan Dylan "J.D." Lucas
* Jenny O'Hara as Dixie Randazzo
* David Naughton as Jack Kincaid

## Production

The series was created by Stephen Fischer and was developed by Pam Dawber's production company, Pony Productions (in association with Warner Bros. Television). Dawber and her Manager, Mimi Weber, spent three years searching for the most ideal television series project for their company to co-produce, but after screening several of them, Dawber had not found one that truly spoke to her. In the midst of this search, she and Weber produced a few TV movies under the Pony Productions nameplate, in which Dawber played lead roles.
By late 1985, Stephen Fischer and Diane English submitted their screenplay to Dawber and Weber, one centering on the life and times of a young photographer on the fast track who takes in her teenage sister, titled Taking the Town (based on the phrase "taking the town by storm"). At last, Dawber found a fulfilling script, and the creative team (she, Weber, Fischer and English) had the pilot successfully pitched to CBS. The network gave it a berth on its successful Monday night sitcom lineup for its 1986-87 fall schedule, originally as Taking the Town, with the title changing to My Sister Sam as summer pre-promotions ramped up.
The series was initially intended to be a starring vehicle for Dawber, who found success on television opposite Robin Williams in the ABC sitcom Mork & Mindy. Dawber later said that she wanted the focus of the show to be on the cast as a whole, stating, "I am not a comedian. I'm a reactor to all the zany people who revolve around me."
My Sister Sam was executive produced by Diane English and Mimi Weber and filmed at The Burbank Studio.

### Theme song

The series' theme song, "Room Enough for Two", was written by Steve Dorff and John Bettis and performed by Kim Carnes. Dorff won a BMI TV Music Award in 1987 for his work on the series.

## Episodes
### Season 1 (1986–87)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "Samantha Russell, Man Stealer" | Ellen Falcon | Gary Murphy & Larry Strawther | October 6, 1986 (1986-10-6) |
| 2 | 2 | "Patti's Party" | Ellen Falcon | Lisa Albert | October 20, 1986 (1986-10-20) |
| 3 | 3 | "Shooting Stars" | Ellen Falcon | Danny Jacobson | October 27, 1986 (1986-10-27) |
| 4 | 4 | "What Makes Samantha Run?" | Ellen Falcon | Tom Palmer | November 3, 1986 (1986-11-3) |
| 5 | 5 | "Roomies" | Ellen Falcon | Karyl Miller & Korby Siamis | November 10, 1986 (1986-11-10) |
| 6 | 6 | "The Aunt Elsie Crisis: Day One" | Ellen Falcon | Karyl Miller | November 24, 1986 (1986-11-24) |
| 7 | 7 | "Teacher's Pet" | Ellen Falcon | Lisa Albert | December 1, 1986 (1986-12-1) |
| 8 | 8 | "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall" | Ellen Falcon | Ramona Schindelheim | December 8, 1986 (1986-12-8) |
| 9 | 9 | "Babes in the Woods" | Tom Cherones | Tom Palmer | December 15, 1986 (1986-12-15) |
| 10 | 10 | "Jingle Bell Rock Bottom" | Ellen Falcon | Diane English | December 22, 1986 (1986-12-22) |
| 11 | 11 | "Club Dread" | Ellen Falcon | Larry Strawther & Gary Murphy | January 12, 1987 (1987-1-12) |
| 12 | 12 | "Anything for a Friend" | Ellen Falcon | Danny Jacobson | January 19, 1987 (1987-1-19) |
| 13 | 13 | "Almost In-Laws" | Ellen Falcon | Lisa Albert | January 26, 1987 (1987-1-26) |
| 14 | 14 | "Go Crazy" | Ellen Falcon | Danny Jacobson | February 2, 1987 (1987-2-2) |
| 15 | 15 | "Another Saturday Night" | Ellen Falcon | Korby Siamis | February 9, 1987 (1987-2-9) |
| 16 | 16 | "Family Business" | Ellen Falcon | Karyl Miller | February 16, 1987 (1987-2-16) |
| 17 | 17 | "Making Up Is Hard to Do" | Ellen Falcon | Dennis Danziger & Ellen Sandler | February 23, 1987 (1987-2-23) |
| 18 | 18 | "If You Knew Susie" | Ellen Falcon | Tom Palmer | March 2, 1987 (1987-3-2) |
| 19 | 19 | "Sister, Can You Spare a Fifty?" | Ellen Falcon | Story by : Karyl Miller & Korby Siamis Teleplay by : Korby Siamis | March 16, 1987 (1987-3-16) |
| 20 | 20 | "Exposed" | Ellen Falcon | Story by : Ramona Schindelheim & Diane English Teleplay by : Diane English | April 6, 1987 (1987-4-6) |
| 21 | 21 | "Campaign Contributions" | Ellen Falcon | Ramona Schindelheim | April 13, 1987 (1987-4-13) |
| 22 | 22 | "Fog Bound" | Burt Metcalfe | Story by : Stephen Fischer Teleplay by : Susan Beavers & Stephen Fischer | May 4, 1987 (1987-5-4) |

### Season 2 (1987–88)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 23 | 1 | "Goodbye, Steve" | Barnet Kellman | Diane English | October 3, 1987 (1987-10-3) |
| 24 | 2 | "And They Said It Would Never Last" | Barnet Kellman | Diane English | October 10, 1987 (1987-10-10) |
| 25 | 3 | "Deep Throat" | Peter Bonerz | Dennis Danzinger & Ellen Sandler | October 17, 1987 (1987-10-17) |
| 26 | 4 | "Never a Bridesmaid" | Matthew Diamond | Korby Siamus | October 24, 1987 (1987-10-24) |
| 27 | 5 | "Who's Afraid of Virginia Schultz?" | Matthew Diamond | Danny Jacobson | October 31, 1987 (1987-10-31) |
| 28 | 6 | "Drive, She Said" | Peter Bonerz | Tom Palmer | November 7, 1987 (1987-11-7) |
| 29 | 7 | "Revenge of the Russell Sisters" | Peter Bonerz | Danny Jacobson | March 15, 1988 (1988-3-15) |
| 30 | 8 | "Play It Again, Sam" | Peter Bonerz | Karyl Miller | March 22, 1988 (1988-3-22) |
| 31 | 9 | "Ol' Green Eyes Is Back" | Peter Bonerz | Diane English | March 29, 1988 (1988-3-29) |
| 32 | 10 | "Life, Death and Admiral Andy" | Peter Baldwin | Tom Palmer | April 12, 1988 (1988-4-12) |
| 33 | 11 | "It's My Party and I'll Kill If I Want To" | Stephen Zuckerman | Irene Mecchi and Diane English | Unaired |
| 34 | 12 | "Good Neighbor Sam" | Zane Buzby | Tom Palmer | Unaired |
| 35 | 13 | "Patti, I Have a Feeling We're Not in Oregon Anymore" | Zane Buzby | Tom Spezialy | Unaired |
| 36 | 14 | "The Art of Love" | N/A | N/A | Unaired |
| 37 | 15 | "Camp Burnout" | N/A | N/A | Unaired |
| 38 | 16 | "Grand Prize" | Peter Bonerz | Danny Jacobson | Unaired |
| 39 | 17 | "Walk a While in My Shoes" | Stephen Zuckerman | Deborah Zoe Dawson and Victoria Johns | Unaired |
| 40 | 18 | "The Wrong Stuff" | James Gardner | Korby Siamis | Unaired |
| 41 | 19 | "The Thrill of Agony, the Victory of Defeat" | James Gardner | Korby Siamis | Unaired |
| 42 | 20 | "The Good, the Bad and the Auditor" | N/A | N/A | Unaired |
| 43 | 21 | "Earthquake" | Peter Bonerz | Story by : Karyl Miller Teleplay by : Korby Siamis | Unaired |
| 44 | 22 | "A Day in the Lives" | N/A | N/A | Unaired |

## Release

My Sister Sam premiered on October 6, 1986, scheduled between Kate & Allie and Newhart, both hit shows for CBS. The series earned solid ratings and was ranked #21 by the end of its first season. Due to its success, CBS renewed the series for a second season. CBS then moved My Sister Sam to Saturday nights opposite The Facts of Life, which was a part of NBC's successful Saturday night comedy lineup. By the end of October 1987, the show's audience had dwindled to one of the lowest on network TV ranking at #71. The series was put on hiatus in November 1987 but remained in production while the network decided its fate.
CBS brought the series back to the air on March 15, 1988, due in part to letters from fans and the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike which affected the production of other television series for CBS and the other two major television networks (NBC, ABC). CBS chose to move My Sister Sam yet again to Tuesday nights. By April, ratings had failed to improve and the series was again pulled from the lineup. CBS announced the series' cancellation in May 1988, leaving 12 episodes of the second season unaired.

### Syndication

After the series was canceled by CBS, the USA Network picked up syndication rights and eventually aired all 44 episodes, including those never shown on CBS.

### Home media

The show's pilot episode appeared on the bonus disc Warner Bros. 50 Years of TV Commemorative: Volume 2. It was packaged with some releases of Murphy Brown Season 1 DVD set

## Reception
### Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for My Sister Sam :
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
| 1987 | BMI Film & TV Awards | Won | BMI TV Music Award | Steve Dorff |
| 1987 | Primetime Emmy Award | Nominated | Outstanding Costume Design for a Series | Bill Hargate (costume designer) (For episode "Jingle Bell Rock Bottom") |

## Rebecca Schaeffer's murder

On July 18, 1989, more than a year after My Sister Sam had been canceled, series cast member Rebecca Schaeffer was fatally shot in the doorway of her Los Angeles apartment building by Robert John Bardo, an obsessed fan from Tucson, Arizona who had been stalking her for three years. The following month, Pam Dawber, Joel Brooks, David Naughton and Jenny O'Hara reunited to film a public service announcement for the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence in Schaeffer's honor.