Tumble out of bed/and stumble to the kitchen/pour yourself a cup of ambitionAnd yawn and stretch and listen in as Susan and Sharon talk "Nine to Five": The TV Series with podcaster and founder of Weirding Way Media, Chris Stachiw.
On this special cross-over episode with The Kulturecast, we dig into one of the strangest, funniest and least-known film-to-TV transplants: Nine To Five. The film “9 to 5” debuted on December 19th, 1980 starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton.
Running 85 episodes from 1982-1988, and executive produced by Jane Fonda, Nine to Five went on a wild journey -- from ABC (1982-83) to first-run syndication (1984-88), from film to video, and featuring an amazing and ever-changing cast that included Rita Moreno, Sally Struthers, Peter Bonerz, Jeffrey Tambor, Jean Marsh, Jack Reilly, Herb Edelman, Valerie Curtin -- and Dolly Parton’s sister, Rachel Dennison!
THE CONVERSATION- HOW A MOVEMENT SPURRED A MOVIE: The “9 to 5 Labor Movement”, which sprang up with the influx of women in the workplace in the early 1970s, caught the attention of Jane Fonda, who decided she wanted to make a movie about how “You can run a business without the boss – but not without the secretaries.”
- Why a television series? Maybe beause the movie was a massive hit, earning over $100 million dollars making it the second highest-grossing film of 1980, behind “The Empire Strikes Back”?
- WHERE’S THE SHOW? From 20th Century Fox to the Disney vault – why is it so hard to find Nine to Five?
- “When The Secretaries Met The Nanny”… Who’s that locked up in a jail cell with Rita Moreno, Valerie Curtin and Rachel Dennison (Season 2, Episode 15, “The Oldest Profession”)? Yup -- it’s The Nanny, Fran Drescher
- From Dabney Coleman in the movie to Jeffrey Tambor (“Arrested Development”, “The Larry Sanders Show”, “Transparent”) and Peter Bonerz (“The Bob Newhart Show”) in the TV show – who’s your favorite “Boss From Hell”?
- How – and why – the Franklin Hart character transformed from a misogynistic predator in the film to a bumbling incompetent in the TV series.
- IT WAS A MUSICAL, too!?! The “9 to 5: The Musical” premiered in 2009! Featuring songs by Dolly Parton (including her unforgettable title song), and written by the screenwriter of the film, Patricia Resnick, running six months on Broadway.
- The long-delayed “9 to 5” film reunion – Well, practically happened when Dolly Parton guested on Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin’s Netflix show Grace & Frankie.
So join Susan and Sharon – and Chris – as they talk sexual harassment, singing telegrams – and the 1986 “The Real Ghostbusters” animated cartoon show!
AUDIOGRAPHYListen to Susan and Sharon talk about “9 to 5” (the movie!) on Chris Stachiw’s movie podcast “
The Kulturecast” on
Apple or
Spotify or
Podlink.
Learn about the 9 to 5 Labor Movement at
9to5.org.
Read the book: Working 9 to 5: A Women's Movement, a Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie. Check it out at
Bookshop.
Watch the Netlfix documentary: “
9 to 5: The Story of a Movement”.
Watch all the opening title sequences of all five seasons of 9 to 5 on
YouTube.
Follow Rita Moreno on Twitter at
https://twitter.com/TheRitaMoreno CONNECTLet us know your thoughts on 9 to 5 and if you have any ideas where to watch all the episodes - Email us at
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