Benson (TV series)
Benson is an American sitcom television series that originally aired on ABC from September 13, 1979, to April 19, 1986. The show stars Robert Guillaume in the title role of Benson DuBois, the head of the household for Governor Eugene X. Gatling, played by James Noble. The show focused on the conflicts and relationships within the Governor's household, with Benson generally providing the sarcastic voice of reason. Inga Swenson, Missy Gold, Didi Conn, Ethan Phillips, and René Auberjonois all played long-term supporting roles. The series was a spin-off of "Soap" in which the character  Benson first appeared as the wise-cracking yet level-headed African-American butler for the highly dysfunctional Tate family. However, "Benson" avoided the soap opera format of its parent series for a more conventional sitcom structure, and the lead character eventually moved from his service position to a role as lieutenant governor. The series was created by Susan Harris, and produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions. In 1985, Guillaume won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in the series. Plot. Benson DuBois (Robert Guillaume) is hired to be the head of household  affairs for widowed Governor Eugene X. Gatling (James Noble) and his daughter Katie (Missy Gold). Governor Gatling was a cousin of Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond) from "Soap". Benson faces housekeeping dilemmas and interacts with German cook Gretchen Wilomena Kraus (Inga Swenson) and John Taylor (David Hedison, and later Lewis J. Stadlen), who assists Governor Gatling as chief of staff. After Season 1, character Taylor's job is filled by Clayton Endicott III (René Auberjonois). The governor's press secretary, Pete Downey (Ethan Phillips), is introduced in Season 2, and Benson's secretary, Denise Stevens (Didi Conn), is introduced in Season  3. They later marry, having a child in the show's fifth season. However, both were written out, with the reason given that Denise secured a job with NASA. Benson works his way up the ladder during the series, going from head of household affairs to state budget director, and eventually is elevated to the position of Lieutenant-Governor. Eventually, Benson runs for governor against Gatling. Series finale. The term-limited Governor Gatling runs for re-election as an independent candidate, with Benson securing the party nomination, setting the stage for the two to go head-to-head in the  general election. At the end of the series' final episode, Benson and Gatling, who had strained relations due to the race, make peace with each other and watch the tight election returns together on television. As the broadcaster begins to announce that a winner is at last being projected, the episode ends on a freeze frame of Benson and Gatling, leaving the series with an unresolved cliffhanger. Coincidentally, Guillaume's previous series, and the one from which "Benson" spun off, "Soap", was also canceled with unresolved cliffhangers, though Guillaume had moved on to "Benson" by that point. In 2007, "Benson  showrunner Bob Fraser said that the season ended on a cliffhanger at the request of the network. The show was cancelled after the cliffhanger had aired. Fraser indicated that, had the show continued, Gatling would have won the election and Benson would have become a United States senator. According to Gary Brown, who directed the finale and 20 other episodes of Benson", three outcomes were filmed, with Benson winning, Gatling winning, and a tie. The intent was to decide over summer break which outcome to use. Brown also stated that, regardless of the outcome, the long-term intent for the  next season was for Benson to become the governor. Home media. On July 24, 2007, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released Season 1 of "Benson" on DVD in Region 1. On April 3, 2012, Sony released season 2 on DVD. On August 27, 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment announced it had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including "Benson". They re-released the first and second seasons on DVD on September 2, 2014. Setting. The exterior shots of the "governor's mansion" are actually of a private home located at 1365 South Oakland Avenue in Pasadena , California. The same house was seen in the movie "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1993), in a 2006 U.S. television commercial for the RE/MAX real estate company, and in the "Columbo" episode "Etude in Black", as well as in Season One, Episode 11 of "Barnaby Jones", entitled, "To Denise, with Love and Murder", in which it was used as the outside view of the mansion belonging to the married couple played by Louise Troy and Bill Bixby. The home has some Palladian and Neoclassical features.