Season 1 Episode Guide
Version 2.12, October 2005. Printer-friendly version here (opens in new window)
Compiled by www.mansionsite.com, 1996-2005.
Special thanks to Avi Phillips for his invaluable assistance
Most Family Channel air dates courtesy the Pazsaz Entertainment Network
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Click on the episode name in the index below or scroll down for more details. The episodes are numbered according to the original running order on YTV. w stands for "written by," d for "directed by," y for the year of production, oad for the original air dates on YTV (Canada) and the Family Channel (United States), and i for additional information.
1-1. "The 10th Anniversary Special"
1-2. "Flystruck"
1-3. "Trapped Like Rats"
1-4. "Love Thy Neighbour"
1-5. "Fred's A-Courtin'"
1-6. "The Sandman Cometh"
1-7. "Good On Ya"
1-8. "Bring Me Harry Orca"
1-9. "Dad's Bummed Out"
1-10. "Webs, The Really Tangled Kind"
1-11. "National Security Risk"
1-12. "A Little Old Time Jazz"
1-13. "Hawaii Blues"
1-14. "Good Cheer On Ya"
1-15. "Brainiac Mansion"
1-16. "Little Big Fly"
1-17. "Money Dearest"
1-18. "Turner: The Boss"
1-19. "The Case of the Broken Record"
1-20. "The Live Show"
1-21. "Tina's Excellent Adventure"
1-22. "The Cliffhanger"
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1-1. "The 10th Anniversary Special"
w: John Hemphill, David Flaherty, and Eugene Levy
d: John Bell
y: 1990
oad: Sep. 17, 1990 (YTV); Sep. 14, 1990 (FC)
Fred is sleeping in the lab and dreams that the family is starring in a sitcom celebrating its tenth anniversary. Plans for an anniversary dinner at the Taiwan On go awry because they're spraying for medflies in the area. Instead, the family watches a home movie of Idella's trip to Dallas, Texas in 1963, and flashes back to Turner and Harry's accident and to the time Casey first had Fred's parents over for dinner. Turner runs up to his room, crying, because he thinks the family is laughing at him rather than with him. Fred talks to Turner and convinces him to rejoin the family in the living room. As Fred steps out of character to thank the cast and crew for ten great years on the air, Casey wakes him up, revealing that it was all a dream... or was it?
Colin Fox as Edward Edison
Patricia Gage as Elinor Edison
Jack Duffy as Parks Man
Casey Soutter as 2-yr old Turner
1-2. "Flystruck"
w: Eugene Levy and John Hemphill
d: Bruce Pittman
y: 1990
oad: Sep. 24, 1990 (YTV); Sep. 21, 1990 (FC)
Fred is experimenting with a giant chicken to try to get Harry back to normal. Meanwhile, Harry is spending a lot of time with a female fly, making Idella jealous. Watching a soap opera makes her decide to murder the other fly. As she's looking for it she flashes back to when she and Harry were young lovers and Harry was leaving for Vietnam. She's about to kill the fly when it flies into a window and dies. Idella and Harry make up and Fred disposes of the dead fly.
Nancy Cser as Kelly
Paul Hubbard as Kyle
Corinne Conley as Iris
Brenda Adams as Idella Stunt Double
1-3. "Trapped Like Rats"
teleplay by: Eugene Levy and Michael Short
story by: John Hemphill and Don Lake
d: John Bell
y: 1990
oad: Oct. 1, 1990 (YTV); Sep. 28, 1990 (FC)
Tina has a big date and wants to borrow Ike's leather jacket. He refuses so she takes it down to the lab with her while he's not looking. Turner follows them down and accidentally locks them in the Andromeda Chamber while they're negotiating. Turner tries to tell Fred but Fred sends him up to bed. Tina's date arrives to an awkward welcome from Fred, Casey, and Idella, who can't figure out where she is. Tina and Ike manage to communicate to Fred that he needs to get Tuner, who is asleep and dreaming of bunnies and ice cream. Turner can't remember the numbers he pushed on the keypad to lock Tina and Ike in, but just as the experiment is about to start Tina realizes that they were the numbers from his favourite song. They get out in time for Tina to go on her date.
Dylan Neal as Bo Riddley
1-4. "Love Thy Neighbour"
w: Michael Short and Eugene Levy
d: Bruce Pittman
y: 1990
oad: Oct. 8, 1990 (YTV); Oct. 5, 1990 (FC)
The Pratts, the Edisons' yuppie neighbours, are getting their house renovated and they reluctantly accept Fred's invitation to stay at the Mansion. They quickly wear out their welcome. Casey is fed up and dreams about performing experiments on them, then asks Fred to ask them to leave. While he's trying to figure out what to say to them, Harry takes matters into his own hands and scares them out of the house. Throughout the show Harry is carrying on conversations with ants.
Mark Wilson as Richard Pratt
Wendy Hopkins as Allasyn Pratt
Patrick Gillen as Kiefer Pratt
i: Kathleen Robertson is not in this episode; Tina is away at Mensa camp.
1-5. "Fred's A-Courtin'"
w: John Hemphill, David Flaherty, and Eugene Levy
d: John Bell
y: 1990
oad: Oct. 15, 1990 (YTV); Oct. 12, 1990 (FC)
Fred is spending so much time experimenting on his guinea pig Fats that he neglects Casey and misses a show they were going to go to. She finally gets over her inhibitions and tells Fred how she feels about his lack of attention to her by using an extended horse-racing metaphor. Fred is very distraught and his barber Tony suggests finding the one thing that will make Casey feel special. So Fred buys a home dance kit and sings her an ear-splitting rendition of "When a Man Loves a Woman." They dance and end up in each other's arms.
special appearance by:
Tony Rosato as Tony
also featuring:
John Dee as Louie
Helena Borovac as Ballroom Dancer
Bob Sandovski as Ballroom Dancer
i: George Buza is not in this episode
1-6. "The Sandman Cometh"
w: John Hemphill, David Flaherty, and Eugene Levy
d: Bruce Pittman
y: 1990
oad: Oct. 22, 1990 (YTV); Oct. 19, 1990 (FC)
Tina is politely trying to get her date to leave. Meanwhile, Turner has a loose tooth. After Casey puts him to bed it falls out, and Fred goes up to read him a story, missing most of the movie "Tara Tara Tara," a TV remake of "Gone with the Wind." In Turner's dream he's visited by the Sandman, a boring comedian who is excellent at putting people to sleep. Then he's visited by the Tooth Fairy, an Englishwoman, and then by Mr. Coffee, who has the wrong house. Harry closes out the show with a monologue.
Juul Haalmeyer as Red Butler
Linda Kash as Claret O'Hara
Nicolas Van Burek as Todd
1-7. "Good On Ya"
w: John Hemphill, David Flaherty, and Eugene Levy
d: John Bell
y: 1990
oad: Oct. 29, 1990 (YTV); Oct. 26, 1990 (FC)
Fred is playing around in the living room when Lenny Orca, Harry's long-lost twin brother, comes to the door. He's a boxer who grew up in Canada after a Canadian family chose him to adopt rather than Harry when Lenny tripped him. He tells the family that the reason he's come is is that his doctor told him he could die at any moment. Fred, Casey, and Idella decide not to tell him about Harry's condition because it might kill him. He finds out anyway, and survives. His doctor calls to tell him that they mixed the files up and he's going to live after all. He gives the kids loonies, promises to visit for Christmas, and makes up with Harry for the incident at the orphanage.
1-8. "Bring Me Harry Orca"
w: Micheal Short [sic] and David Flaherty and Eugene Levy
d: Bruce Pittman
y: 1990
oad: Nov. 5, 1990 (YTV); Nov. 2, 1990 (FC)
A gangster boss gets out of jail and sends two hitmen looking for the guy who testified against him, Harry Orca. Turner lets them into the house, and they hold the family hostage and almost kill Harry with breath freshener. Richard comes over to complain about a car blocking his driveway, but leaves without realizing the family is in danger. When the gangsters can't bring themselves to kill Fred, Idella takes the matter into her own hands and chases them out of the mansion right into the arms of Richard and two policemen.
guest starring:
Len Doncheff as Rico
Domenic Cuzzocrea as Marcel
Paul Jolicoeur as Leo
also featuring:
Mark Wilson as Richard Pratt
Paul De La Rosa as policeman
Donald Adams as waiter
1-9. "Dad's Bummed Out"
teleplay by: Paul Flaherty, Michael Short
story by: Paul Flaherty, Michael Short, John Hemphill
d: John Bell
y: 1990
oad: Nov. 12, 1990 (YTV); Nov. 9, 1990 (FC)
When another one of Fred's experiment fails to work, he gets very depressed. He flashes back to his graduation when Casey gave him "Success" and "Failure" stamps for his work. Meanwhile, the rest of the family is singing the Edison family song and Fred tells them to stop. Richard comes over and tries to convince Fred to move to Tacoma. The real-estate agent comes over during dinner and the family is shocked that Fred wants to sell the mansion. Fred passes out and Casey chases the agent out of the house. To comfort Fred, Casey reads him a letter he wrote her 16 years ago. He cheers up and comes upstairs to sing the Edison family song with the rest of the family.
special appearance by:
Wayne Robson as Myles Furnquist
also featuring:
Mark Wilson as Richard Pratt
Patrick Gillen as Keifer Pratt
1-10. "Webs, The Really Tangled Kind"
w: Lyons N. Wells and Michael Short
d: Bruce Pittman
y: 1990
oad: Nov. 19, 1990 (YTV); Nov. 16, 1990 (FC)
Ike wants to see a scary movie about killer spiders but his parents won't let him. So he goes with Turner, who gets really scared. During the night, Harry gets caught in a spider's web and Turner is the only person there to get him out. But he's scared to touch the spider because of the movie Ike took him to see. He finally gets over his fear and picks up the spider just in time to save Harry. On Tina's suggestion, Ike's punishment is having to take Turner to every Saturday matinee for the next six months.
1-11. "National Security Risk"
w: Jamie Tatham, Chuck Tatham, and Michael Short
d: John Bell
y: 1990
oad: Nov. 26, 1990 (YTV); Nov. 30, 1990 (FC)
Tina wins a national essay contest so as a reward, the Vice President plans to visit the mansion. Her classmate Ryan who she wants to invite to dinner is an environmental activist who wants to spraypaint the Vice President green. Tina is reticent about this, and imagines that she's a fugitive on the show America's Best Criminals. However, a secret service agent comes over and tells that family that the Vice President won't be able to make it after all. Tina tells Ryan that spraypainting someone to make a statement is stupid and she's glad the Vice President isn't coming.
guest starring:
Jonathan Welsh as Agent Bower
also featuring:
Peter MacNeill as Morey Mellen
Rino Romano as Ryan Forrester
1-12. "A Little Old Time Jazz"
w: John Hemphill and David Flaherty
d: Bruce Pittman
y: 1990
oad: Dec. 3, 1990 (YTV); Dec. 7, 1990 (FC)
For Fred and Casey's 16th anniversary, Fred goes to the mall and gets her two tickets to see her old band-mate Jazz Pope. The family watches an old video of the band to see what Jazz is like. Later, Jazz' performance turns out to be really bad. Casey can't decide whether or not to tell Jazz the truth about her music. She finally decides not to, and Jazz comes over to the mansion where she and Casey sing a song for the family. Meanwhile, Fred is jealous when he hears about Casey's old boyfriend Snake.
guest starring:
Robin Duke as Jazz Pope
uncredited (band members):
Gord Forbes (key grip) - "Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand"
Ian Grieg (props assistant)
Mike McMurray (gaffer) - drummer
1-13. "Hawaii Blues"
story by: Jamie Tatham and Chuck Tatham
teleplay by: Lyons N. Wells and Michael Short
d: John Bell
y: 1990
oad: Dec. 17, 1990 (YTV); Dec. 14, 1990 (FC)
The familhy is making plans for a trip to Hawaii, but Ike learns that if his essay isn't good enough he will fail Social Studies and have to go to summer school. He can't bring himself to tell his family until he has a nightmare about trying to smuggle a failing report card to Hawaii via Turkey. The family is mad at him, and Fred decides not to go in and ask Ike's teacher to let him out of summer school. Ike spends the weekend on his essay and he thinks it just might be good enough to pull off a passing grade. The episode ends with the family lying on the sand relaxing and listening to the sounds of the ocean... on the back porch.
featuring:
Sandy Webster as Mr. Dodsworth
1-14. "Good Cheer On Ya"
w: John Hemphill and David Flaherty
d: Bruce Pittman
y: 1990
oad: Dec. 24, 1990 (YTV); Dec. 21, 1990 (FC)
Uncle Lenny is coming to the mansion for Christmas, but the family is worried about him because of a big snowstorm. Lenny's dogsled gets snowed in, he hitches a ride on a plane, falls off it, and collapses in the snow. Meanwhile, Keifer tells Turner that Santa Claus isn't real. Tina reassures Turner that he is real if you believe in him. Turner goes to sleep asking Santa to forget about all his other presents and just help his Uncle instead. Santa comes to Turner in a dream, takes him to where Lenny is lying in the snow, and brings Lenny to the mansion in time for Christmas morning.
guest starring:
Chris Wiggins as Santa Claus
also featuring:
Mark Wilson as Richard Pratt
Wendy Hopkins as Allasyn Pratt
Patrick Gillen as Keifer Pratt
Casey Soutter as Little Turner
1-15. "Brainiac Mansion"
w: Lyons N. Wells and Michael Short
d: Stephen Surjik
y: 1990
oad: Jan. 29, 1991 (YTV); Jan. 4, 1991 (FC)
Tina's classmate Dexter plants a virus in her computer because his parents are pressuring him to defeat her academically. Her computer is hooked up to the computer in the lab, so Fred's experiment turns Buck into a mutant monster. Dexter, torn between pressure from his parents and his crush on Tina, goes to the mansion to confess what he's done. His parents come over and argue with him, but they finally agree to stop pushing him so hard. He fixes the virus he put in the computer and Buck is changed back to normal.
guest starring:
Kate Lynch as Erlene
Michael Donaghue as Lester
and
Sean Roberge as Dexter
uncredited:
Dug Rotstein (continuity supervisor) as Real-Estate Channel Host
1-16. "Little Big Fly"
story by: Michael Short and Peter Wildman
teleplay by: Lyons N. Wells and John Hemphill, David Flaherty
d: Bruce Pittman
y: 1990
oad: Feb. 12, 1991 (YTV); Jan. 11, 1991 (FC)
Seeing Fred and Casey interact with each other makes Idella miss her relationship with her full-size husband. When she tells Harry, he gets Fred to turn him into a giant fly to save his marriage. Idella is delighted, but every time someone comes over to the mansion Harry has to hide. He's sick of this, and confesses how he feels. Idella accepts that Harry was happier as a fly, and they decide that he should be shrunk back, after they attend a costume party. Finally, Idella decides to start sharing the cooking for the family but it doesn't go over too well.
1-17. "Money Dearest"
story by: Michael Short and Joe Flaherty
teleplay by: Michael Short and David Flaherty
d: Stephen Surjik
y: 1990
oad: Feb. 19, 1991 (YTV); Jan. 25, 1991 (FC)
Fred is the Chairman of the Board of the company his grandfather founded, the L.L. Edison Corporation, which entails going to a meeting once a year and signing some forms. Fred shows the board a solution he invented to dissolve garbage and help the environment, but new board member Rupert Totterton rejects it because he wants the company to focus only on making money. Idella suggests that Fred call his father, but Fred wants to solve the problem on his own. Idella comes to a meeting, gets Fred to sign all his shares over to her, and tells the board that Totterton is a junk bonder who buys companies and then dumps them. Fred delivers a lengthy speech and convinces the board to return to the company's original values. To celebrate, the family orders from the Taiwan On and Fred's father comes over to tell Fred that he's proud of him.
guest starring:
Peter Boretski as Rupert Totterton
also featuring:
Colin Fox as Edward Edison
Terry Doyle as Lyle Monroe
Jank Azman as Board Member #1
Esther Hockin as Secretary
Bunty Webb as Old Lady
1-18. "Turner: The Boss"
w: Michael Short and David Flaherty
d: Bruce Pittman
y: 1990
oad: Feb. 26, 1991 (YTV); Mar. 15, 1991 (FC)
Casey gets mad at Turner for ruining the toaster so he goes up to his room to play with his dollhouse. But he stops in Tina's room on the way and ruins her tape. Casey gets even madder, and Turner decides to hold his breath until he passes out. While he's out, he dreams that he's the boss of the family. In the dream his kids are bothering him and the tax man wants to put him in jail, so he learns how hard it is to be a parent. He apologizes to the family, and is then made King of the house until bedtime, for 44 minutes. Meanwhile, Idella reads a very thick letter from Lenny.
featuring:
Julian Richings as Tax Man
1-19. "The Case of the Broken Record"
w: Lyons N. Wells and Tom Nursall and Michael Short
d: John Bell
y: 1990
oad: Mar. 5, 1991 (YTV); Feb. 8, 1991 (FC)
Fred is going to teach Tina the twist for her sixties dance, but his Hank Ballard and the Midnighters record is broken in two. Fred and Casey blame the kids, and try to find out which one of them did it. Someone comes downstairs during the night and replaces the broken record with a new one. The adults lecture the kids about the record, and trick Tina into confessing to replacing the record, but not to breaking it. Then Turner says that he broke the record, but he really didn't. It turns out that the record was broken by an explosion from the lab, and Fred and Casey apologize to the kids.
guest starring:
Larry Reynolds as Gordie Forbes
also featuring:
Gene Mack as Sgt Preston
1-20. "The Live Show"
w: John Hemphill and David Flaherty
d: Bruce Pittman
y: 1991
oad: Mar. 12, 1991 (YTV); never aired on FC
The cast is doing the episode live on stage in Toronto. Fred is too sick to go to the zoo but the rest of the family doesn't seem to mind. He gets depressed about this, collapses and dies, and spends the rest of the show observing in a monologue how the family deals with his death. They all miss Fred a lot, and Casey remarries, to a scientist who runs off with the Edisons' money. The lights go out and the family comes back to find Fred lying on the floor, as his death was just a dream. Meanwhile the production is beset with technical problems, including a sandbag that hits Idella in the head. The cast is unhappy with how the episode turned out, and Fred blames it on producer Jamie Paul Rock.
featuring:
Gord Forbes as Idella's Double
1-21. "Tina's Excellent Adventure"
w: Joe Flaherty and Deborah Theaker
d: Joe Flaherty
y: 1991
oad: Mar. 19, 1991 (YTV); Mar. 1, 1991 (FC)
Tina is preparing for her class trip to Europe, and Idella is telling her stories about how romantic it is. Meanwhile, because of a hair disaster, Casey tells Fred that their collaboration on experiments is over. Tina overhears them and thinks that they're talking about their marriage. She dreams that Fred and Casey are dancing a Flamenco in Spain, that she's a gondolier rowing them to the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, and that the family is singing a Puccini aria. She wakes up, sees Fred and Casey make up, and feels better.
uncredited:
David Flaherty as Guitarist
1-22. "The Cliffhanger"
w: Lyons N. Wells and Michael Short
d: Bruce Pittman
y: 1991
oad: Mar. 26, 1991 (YTV); Mar. 22, 1991 (FC)
While cleaning up the computer files, Fred and Tina finally discover a way to get Harry and Turner back to normal. But Turner doesn't want to be small again, and Casey is upset that Harry and Idella are planning to move out. Turner and Harry get into the chamber and the experiment begins, but Ike points out that they forgot the ball. When the experiment finishes, the family looks at Turner and Harry and start screaming. The director yells "cut," the season ends, and the wrap party starts. At the party everyone is different: Idella talks with a Caribbean accent, Fred is a pompous baboon, Lenny is a boor, Turner is going to the desert with a biker gang, Harry is planning to do a fishing show, Casey is a ditz and is leaving the show, Ike's voice is changing, and Tina is overeating. Fred is considering leaving the show, but gets up to give a speech and breaks down. He decides never to leave because Maniac Mansion is his family. Fred wakes up and realizes that the whole episode was just a dream. But he takes one look at Casey and starts screaming. The season ends with the words: "The End?"
guest starring:
Eugene Levy as himself
Jayne Eastwood as Avi's mother
and featuring:
B.J. Woodbury as Thug #1
uncredited (on-screen crew and party guests):
Seaton McLean (supervising producer) - "Mr. Pendleton" the director
Jamie Paul Rock (producer) - assistant director (grey shirt, talks to director on way to party)
Andrew Potter (2nd camera assistant) - cameraman (striped red and black shirt)
Dug Rotstein (continuity supervisor) - follows McLean and Rock at beginning of their walk (black shirt, carrying a binder)
Mike McMurray (gaffer) - follows them then sits at table (black shirt, mustache)
Tim Bider (art department coordinator) - walks between them (with frog)
Michael Short (supervising producer) - waiter serving Eugene Levy
Barry Jossen (executive producer) - asks everyone "What's going on?"
Gord Forbes (key grip) - first in shot of Harry's interview, then a band member
Lou Natale (in charge of music) - band leader (pony tail)
Ian Grieg (props assistant) - other band member
Kayla Popp (craft service) - waitress ("orange juice")
Robert Cochrane (dolly grip) - gives envelope to Mary Charlotte Wilcox, tells Joe Flaherty to say a few words
Terry Botwick (executive in charge of production) - talking on cellular phone
John Bell (director) - beside Casey during interview (yellow jacket)
Peter Sussman (executive producer) - beside Casey during interview (brown jacket)
Penny Charter (3rd assistant director) and Walter Gasparovic (1st assistant director) chatting behind Eugene Levy the second time he picks from Michael Short's tray
David Flaherty (writer) - talking to Avi Phillips and his mother
Sharon (stand-in) - between Barry Jossen and Eugene Levy during Joe Flaherty's speech (blue blouse)
Marvin Midwicki (1st camera assistant) - behind Avi Phillips and his mother during Joe Flaherty's speech (wearing Red)
i: Turner and Harry's accident took place on March 18, 1988 at 4:17 PM.