Mr. Belvedere

This was a really fun show that is a good example of the old school, very family friendly, situational comedies that ate up most of my family's TV watching time throughout the wonderful decade of the nineteen-eighties.

The lead character (the title-named Mr. Belvedere) is a stuffy but very wise and very professional, stuck-in-his-ways butler who actually was the butler for the royal family. I forget why he leaves them and moves to the U.s.

Anyway he settles in with this American family of blue collar people in Pittsburgh, PA, where the father is a gruff former baseball player (played by Bob Uecker) and the youngest son Wesley is a trouble maker and a constant thorn in Mr. Belvedere's side but also becomes his best friend.

One of the more enjoyable family shows of the 80s, this one had a twist. One snowy December night, Englishman Lynn Belvedere shows up at the Owens residence looking for work as a housekeeper. He's heard theyre in need of someone to help out and all take an instant liking to him, except macho head of the household, George (Uecker). The two have their friendly moments over the years, but mostly butt heads most of the run of the show. They had great chemistry over the years, considering we're talking a trained theatrical actor (Hewett) and an ex baseball player (Uecker) playing the parts. But the core of the show was the relationship between Belvedere and the youngest child, Wesley. Played terrificly by Brice Beckham, the two worked so well off each other, the older uptight codger and the rambunctious, wild pre-teen. Together both of them had a lot of great moments over the shows 6 year run, the strongest probably being the final episode of year 5. Belvedere, in a coma after a car crash set in motion by Wesley, lies motionless as Beckham delivers an emotional, expertly acted passage of dialogue of how sorry he is. One of many notable spots from the six seasons. Others featured were Ilene Graff as mother Marsha, Rob Stone as older brother Kevin, and the gorgeous (ok so I had a big crush on her) Tracy Wells as middle child Heather. The show had several tough spots over the years, being yanked a number of times and then brought back to fill the Friday night gaps on ABC. But they managed to crank out over a 100 episodes and have a respectable farewell, with Belvedere ultimately getting married and leaving the family. Some good ones to look for are Wesleys night alone when lies pile up the next day, Belvedere and George delivering a baby, and a great tornado episode set in the family basement. Though not a ratings monster, Mr. Belvedere will always be recognizable and was one of the more underrated shows of recent years.

Wow! This was one of my favorite shows as a kid.

I always believed Mr. Belvedere was a very cool

guy with his sophisticated British accent. I feel

he was the highlight of the show.

This is a very good show. Every episode was fun to

watch and never a dull moment.

Every actor played their roles beautifully.

I am hoping Mr. Belvedere will stream on tv some

day, because it truly is a great show to watch.

I try searching and I've had no luck finding the

show anywhere. I would definitely binge-watch if

it's ever streaming online. It would be great.

This is a great comedy series in my opinion.

I saw the re-runs on TV and my whole family love it. I found out how talented Brice Beckham was. He plays Wesley, who always puts his family into trouble. My little sis fancys him. I mostly liked the looks on Mr. Belvedere's face- especially when he was caught by George while dancing in the opera music. I also liked the part that Wesley broke the TV and waving "Hallelujah!" to Mr.Belvedere to hide the smoke. The casts are great and "Mr.Belvedere" is one of the funniest shows in the 80's.

After a whirlwind period of two years where the American Broadcasting Company went from riding "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" in being the top network overall in the Nielsen's for 1999-2000 to having their worst season ever in 2001-02 where everything fell apart, ABC has decided that family-oriented T.V. will be their focus over the "mild raunch" (to us Canadians) of NBC and FOX and the reality-T.V. obsessed CBS. They've had a track record in the mid to late 80's and early 90's with Perfect Strangers, Head Of The Class, Full House, America's Funniest Home Videos, Growing Pains, and this cult comedy, still revered by many.

Mr. Belvedere is still a big favorite of the college crowd who have set up websites for it, and many people believed that Rob Stone, who played the oldest son, was the man who'd later become the infamous Marilyn Manson.

The late Christopher Hewitt is the title character, a very British butler who has served for many people over the years, including Queen Elizabeth II, who somehow finds himself lost in Pittsburgh. He gets a job with his latest bosses, the Owens family. The show worked because of its fish-out-of-water situation and the fact that the wacky Bob Uecker was in it. Although not a classic sit-com, it was decent enough, the acting was very good, and it relied on dry British comedy as well as family sit-com situations. Hey, any show where Uecker has to try to keep himself under control is enough reason to watch. I'd love to check this show out again someday, maybe when I go digital.