# Thunder Alley (TV series)

Thunder Alley is an American sitcom that aired from March 9, 1994, to July 4, 1995, on ABC.

## Premise

The show stars Ed Asner as retired race car driver Gil Jones. The unaired original pilot episode featured Felicity Huffman in the role of Bobbi Turner, Gil's daughter. When ABC picked up the series, Huffman was replaced with Diane Venora. The pilot was reshot and Venora played the role for eight episodes before she was replaced by Robin Riker in the second season, who played the role for the remainder of the series.
The story involved Bobbi returning to her old hometown, after a divorce to live with her father. In tow were her three children: Claudine (Kelly Vint); Jenny (Lindsay Felton); and Harry (Haley Joel Osment). The new family quintet lived in Gil's home above Thunder Alley, the specialty racing garage Gil operated. Rounding out the cast was Gil's dim-witted mechanic sidekick, Leland DuParte (Jim Beaver). In the show's second season, Andrew Keegan joined the cast as Jack Kelly, a local boy who helped around the garage. The first season was set in Indianapolis, Indiana, followed by Detroit, Michigan in the second season. It also had a crossover from tv series Home Improvement with Zachary Ty Bryan guest starred on the show.

## Production and broadcast history

Thunder Alley was created and executive produced by Matt Williams, Carmen Finestra and David McFadzean for Wind Dancer Productions and Touchstone Television. The director of a majority of episodes was Robby Benson.
The show debuted to good ratings, finishing its first season the number 12th program with an average household share of 15.9, helped in part by its being paired with the hit Home Improvement, coming from the same producers. However, it struggled in its second season when it was slotted as the lead-off show on Wednesday nights. It was canceled in the spring of 1995.

## Cast and characters

* Edward Asner as Gil Jones
* Diane Venora (season 1) & Robin Riker (season 2) as Bobbi Turner, Gil's daughter
* Kelly Vint as Claudine Turner, Bobbi's eldest daughter
* Lindsay Felton as Jenny Turner, Bobbi's second eldest daughter
* Haley Joel Osment as Harry Turner, Bobbi's youngest son
* Jim Beaver as Leland DuParte
* Andrew Keegan as Jack Kelly (season 2)

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 8 | 8 | March 9, 1994 (1994-3-9) | May 4, 1994 (1994-5-4) |
| 2 | 19 | 19 | September 14, 1994 (1994-9-14) | July 4, 1995 (1995-7-4) |

### Season 1 (1994)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "The Prototype" | Barnet Kellman | Carmen Finestra & David McFadzean & Matt Williams | March 9, 1994 (1994-3-9) | 29.2 |
| 2 | 2 | "The Love Triangle" | Robby Benson | Robert Zappia | March 16, 1994 (1994-3-16) | 25.2 |
| 3 | 3 | "Chore Patrol" | Andy Cadiff | Tim Doyle | March 23, 1994 (1994-3-23) | 23.1 |
| 4 | 4 | "Girl's Night Out" | Robby Benson | Deborah Pearl | March 30, 1994 (1994-3-30) | 27.3 |
| 5 | 5 | "Bloodsuckers" | Robby Benson | Tim Doyle & Steve Gabriel | April 6, 1994 (1994-4-6) | 23.3 |
| 6 | 6 | "Happy Endings" | Robby Benson | Rita Hsiao & Robert Zappia | April 13, 1994 (1994-4-13) | 25.1 |
| 7 | 7 | "A Fist Full of Phyllis" | John Rago | Joey Murphy & John Pardee | April 20, 1994 (1994-4-20) | 20.8 |
| 8 | 8 | "As a Manner of Fact" | John Rago | Steve Gabriel | May 4, 1994 (1994-5-4) | 20.2 |

### Season 2 (1994–95)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 9 | 1 | "Never Say Die" | Robby Benson | Lissa Levin | September 14, 1994 (1994-9-14) | 20.4 |
| 10 | 2 | "Speak No Evil" | Robby Benson | Barry Gold | September 21, 1994 (1994-9-21) | 13.0 |
| 11 | 3 | "Easy Money" | Robby Benson | Jake Weinberger & Mike Weinberger | September 28, 1994 (1994-9-28) | 13.8 |
| 12 | 4 | "Get a Job" | Robby Benson | Bob Burris & Michael Ware | October 5, 1994 (1994-10-5) | 14.4 |
| 13 | 5 | "First Date" | Robby Benson | Robert Zappia | October 12, 1994 (1994-10-12) | 16.7 |
| 14 | 6 | "Give 'Em Hell, Bobbi" | Robby Benson | Steve Gabriel | October 19, 1994 (1994-10-19) | 15.1 |
| 15 | 7 | "Sex, Lies & Popcorn" | Robby Benson | Bob Burris & Michael Ware | October 26, 1994 (1994-10-26) | 15.4 |
| 16 | 8 | "The Garage Sale" | Robby Benson | Michael B. Kaplan | November 2, 1994 (1994-11-2) | 15.6 |
| 17 | 9 | "Accidentally at First Sight" | Robby Benson | Deborah Pearl | March 7, 1995 (1995-3-7) | 22.3 |
| 18 | 10 | "Are We There Yet?" | Robby Benson | Lissa Levin | March 14, 1995 (1995-3-14) | 19.9 |
| 19 | 11 | "Breaking Away" | Pat Fischer-Doak | Michael B. Kaplan | March 21, 1995 (1995-3-21) | 20.0 |
| 20 | 12 | "The Trouble with Harry" | Robby Benson | Robert Zappia | March 28, 1995 (1995-3-28) | 20.1 |
| 21 | 13 | "Workin' Man's Blues" | Robby Benson | Bill Freiberger | April 4, 1995 (1995-4-4) | 19.6 |
| 22 | 14 | "A Little Me Time" | Robby Benson | Barry Gold | April 11, 1995 (1995-4-11) | 19.1 |
| 23 | 15 | "I Am Spartacus" | Robby Benson | Michael B. Kaplan | April 18, 1995 (1995-4-18) | 15.3 |
| 24 | 16 | "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" | Pat Fischer-Doak | Jake Weinberger & Mike Weinberger | April 25, 1995 (1995-4-25) | 16.8 |
| 25 | 17 | "Just a Vacation" | Robby Benson | Paul A. Kaplan | May 2, 1995 (1995-5-2) | 20.2 |
| 26 | 18 | "Buzz Off, Buzzard Boy" | Robby Benson | Steve Gabriel | May 9, 1995 (1995-5-9) | 18.6 |
| 27 | 19 | "No Swing Set" | Robby Benson | Carmen Finestra & David McFadzean & Matt Williams | July 4, 1995 (1995-7-4) | 8.2 |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
| 1995 | Young Artist Awards | Nominated | Best Performance: Young Actor in a TV Comedy Series | Andrew Keegan |
| 1995 | Young Artist Awards | Nominated | Best Performance by an Actress Under Ten in a TV Series | Lindsay Felton |