Benson

Benson DuBois (one of the reasons why Soap is a success and is my favorite character of that show) is moving on from being the Tate's butler/cook to being the head of household affairs, but his sharp, sarcastic wittiness hasn't changed one bit.

While Soap was a soap opera parody with continuing storylines and occasional cliffhangers unresolved until the following episode answers those questions, Benson was purely a mostly self-contained sitcom with politics sprinkled in the mix.

Benson works with Governor Eugene X. Gatling (played to perfection by James Noble), who has a daughter, Katie (played by the cute and adorable Missy Gold). The governor does have his dimwitted and airheaded moments, but he does take his job seriously, for the most part.

Outside of Benson, the other consistent member of the governor's staff is his cook Gretchen Kraus (played to perfection by the late Inga Swenson). Throughout the series, Benson and Ms. Kraus do take jabs at each other but would become friends later in the show's run.

Another character that occasionally gets on Benson's nerves is the governor's chief of staff, the snobbish Clayton Endicott III (played by the late, great René Auberjonois), and their rivalry were also parts of the reason why it became successful back then.

Other characters include the governor's first chief of staff John Taylor (played by David Hedison in the pilot and Lewis J. Stadlen for the rest of S1) until he was dropped and replaced by Clayton starting with S2, the governor's secretary Marcy Hill (played by the lovely Caroline McWilliams) who would leave early in S3 after getting married, Press Secretary Pete Downey (played by Ethan Phillips) who joined in S2, while Marcy's replacement and later Pete's wife Denise Stevens (played by the lovely Didi Conn) joined the following season until they both leave early in S6, and the governor's new chef Rose Cassidy (played by Billie Bird).

Like its parent show Soap, Benson also ended on a cliffhanger, deciding on who would win and become the governor. Despite that, Benson is still remembered for being charmingly funny.

Produced by the team that bought you "Soap",and later on "The Golden Girls", "It's A Living",and "Empty Nest"(under the supervision of executive producers Susan Harris, Paul Junger-Witt,and Tony Thomas),the sitcom "Benson" became one of the biggest hits to come out of the late-1970's and continue its streak into the mid-1980's. This series was basically a spin-off from the soap opera parody "Soap"(the title character,portrayed by Robert Guillaume,had originally first appeared on the earlier series as the wise-cracking yet level-headed African American butler for the highly dysfunctional Tate family);however,"Benson" discarded the soap opera format of its parent show in favor of a more conventional sitcom structure,which was created by Susan Harris who also served as executive producer of this series.

In the show,Benson DuBois(Guillaume) had been hired to be the head of household affairs for the scatterbrained and widowed Governor Eugene Gatling(James Noble),and his daughter Katie(Missy Gold). Governor Gatling was cousin to Jessica Tate(Katherine Helmond),and Mary Campbell(Cathryn Damon),the two sisters on whose families the stories centered on "Soap". The state of which Gatling was governor remained unidentified with the series,although "Soap" had taken place in Connecticut. The series revolved around Benson's housekeeping dilemmas,his fights with the German cook Gretchen Kraus(Inga Swenson,one of Guillaume's fellow alumni from "Soap" and his interactions with John Taylor(former "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" alumnus David Hedison in the pilot episode,and during the first season Lewis J. Stadlen),who assisted Governor Gatling as the chief of staff. After the first season,Taylor's job was filled by Clayton Endicott(Rene Auberjonois for the remained of the series run)who was written out by having him run for political office and actually snub his employer's endorsement. He lost the election,but returned when Benson asked him to. But in spite of their adversarial relationship(during the early years of the series)the insults between Kraus and Benson were intense at times but still became good friends. Benson also have very good relations with the Governor's secretary,Marcy Hill(Caroline McWilliams),and her successor,Denise(Didi Conn). Marcy left after the second season after getting married. Denise and Pete Downey(Ethan Phillips),the Governor's press secretary(who were introduced in Season 2)met and later married while working in the Governor's mansion and were expectant parents for most of the third-to-the-last season.

Throughout the course of the series,Benson worked his way up the ladder going from the head of household affairs to state budget director,and eventually was elevated to the position of Lieutentant Governor(by the show's final season)and almost was elected Governor in the show's final episode(which was a two-part series finale) where Benson DuBois was running against his former employer Governor Gatling. "Benson" was mostly seen on ABC's Friday night line-up of great shows,and it was a immediate hit spanning seven seasons on the air from September 13,1979 until the show's final episode on April 19,1986. A total of 158 episodes were produced. Over the course of the show's seven-year run,it was nominated for an impressive 17 Emmys. It won two including Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Guillaume(beating out Sherman Hemsley of The Jeffersons)marking the only time an African American has won the award.

I watched Benson before I saw any episodes of Soap so I never knew the connection. I remember watching an episode with the lovely Katherine Helmond guest starring reprising her soap role. Her character's date ends up dead and it could be scandalous. Her character turns to Benson for help. Of course, he helps out rather than let his beloved friend in trouble. His character's rise from governor's head housekeeper to Lieutenant Governor is a bit unrealistic but he makes it believable for the audience. I remember him winning an Emmy. I think it's a first for an African American actor to win for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. I remember cast of characters including an understated actress named Inga Swenson who played Olga. Peter Noble who played the widowed Governor very well. Rene Aubernois who played Benson's nemesis. I won't write enemies because they weren't. I remember them being at odds with each other. I loved Didi Conn who played secretary and the man who played her on screen husband. They left before the show ended after 7 seasons. I also remember Missy Gold, Tracey's Gold's older sister, who played the Governor's daughter. I'm kind of sad that it's been twenty years since it left our airways. Friday nights were never the same on the ABC network. Good shows like Benson are hard to come by nowadays.

Excellent series. Without a doubt, my favorite episode was when Robert Guillaume sang "O Holy Night" during one of the Christmas-time episodes. This was one of the best of this series, of which there were many fine episodes. Actually, the series finale was just weird in that we never found out who actually won the election. Perhaps though it is just as well. Another excellent episode was when Benson saved Krause's life by using the Heimlich Manuver. Years later a young child (maybe pre-teen, I forget) saved the life of a friend using this technique because this child saw this particular Benson episode. Amazing show by some very talented actors.

This was a show of all shows that was one of ABC-TV's brilliant Friday night lineup schedule back in the late 1970's and throughout the mid-1980's.The producers of this show(Paul Junger Witt and Terry Thomas) went on to create other successful series to follow like "It's A Living" and "The Golden Girls",and "Empty Nest",but "Benson" is one of their best works ever. This was actually a spin-off on a earlier show called "Soap" in which Robert Guillaume's character was changed from a household servant to Lt. Governor of a huge party of characters and so forth. The reason I watch this show was that of Robert Guillaume's character...He was witty,humorous and hilariously funny. The result made Robert Guillaume a household name not to mention putting this show at the top of the Nielsen ratings during it's run. His constant squabbles with Rene Auberjonois(Clayton Endicott) and Inga Swenson(one of Guillaume's fellow alumni from "Soap")not to mention Governor Gatling(James Noble) made that show was it was and it was the most funniest show on the air during its day. Over the course of the show's run,it was nominated for a total of 17 Emmys. It won two including Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Guillaume's second-to-last season portraying the title character,marking him second to The Jeffersons' Sherman Hemsley as the only African-American actor to win the award. The show lasted seven seasons on ABC-TV producing 158 episodes that aired from the debut episode on September 13,1979 and ending with the two-part series finale on April 19,1986. Most recently,the Antenna TV Channel has brought "Benson" back on the air after missing in action on television for merely a decade since it's original broadcast.