Coach (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Coach | |
|---|---|
| The cast of Coach Seasons 8+ </small> | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Creator(s) | Barry Kemp |
| Starring | Craig T. Nelson Jerry Van Dyke Bill Fagerbakke Clare Carey Kenneth Kimmins Katherine Helmond Kris Kamm Shelley Fabares |
| Country of origin | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | February 28, 1989–May 14, 1997 |
| No. of episodes | 200 |
Coach was an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from 1989 to 1997.
The series starred Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, coach of the fictional Division I-A college football team, the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles. The series also starred Jerry Van Dyke as Luther, Bill Fagerbakke as Dauber, assistant coaches under Nelson's character. The role of love interest Christine Armstrong Fox was played by Shelley Fabares. Rob Schneider also made occasional appearances, as did Lenore Kasdorf as Hayden's ex-wife.
The creator and producer of the show, Barry Kemp, was an alumnus of the University of Iowa. He named the main character of Coach (Hayden Fox) after the University of Iowa's long-time football coach Hayden Fry. Many of the exterior shots of "Minnesota State" are actually of the University of Iowa, usually of students walking around the Iowa Memorial Union in downtown Iowa City.
The fictional college Minnesota State University was intended to reflect the University of Minnesota and its team the Golden Gophers, but the U of M withdrew its approval. At the time no school was named Minnesota State University, but since then two schools in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System have renamed themselves such: Minnesota State University Mankato (formerly Mankato State University) and Minnesota State University Moorhead (formerly Moorhead State University). In the fictional world of Coach, Minnesota State takes the U of M's place in the Big Ten Conference; in several episodes the characters talk about games with Big Ten schools like The University of Iowa and Michigan State University. The Screaming Eagles reflect the reputation of the real-world Golden Gophers, widely seen as a poor football team, albeit one with a glorious past. The colors and logo of the fictional Minnesota State closely resemble those of Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont from the era the show was filmed.
In the 1995 season, Hayden's coaching staff is headhunted by the NFL to lead the fictional Orlando Breakers; these seasons are generally considered poor by fans of the show, some of whom believe them to be rehashings of plot elements from the first seasons.
Repeats of Coach aired in syndication for years from September 1993 onward, and today they air on USA Network. However, the order in which the episodes air does not appear to be in sequential order.
The first season DVD of Coach was released on June 13, 2006 from Universal Studios.
