Thumper - played by Steven Eckholdt: A TV sports commentator. Easy access to celebrity sleaze and great source for babes and kiss and tell stories.
He later appeared on Melrose Place, It's Like You Know., Grapevine 2000, and a other projects
In June 1992 CBS introduced a very controversial TV series called Grapevine. Only six episodes were ever broadcast. The show was about relationships but was doomed because of too much sex. Modern romances are very complicated, and an important component is sex. This show tried to examine all aspects of relationships and was promptly cancelled.
On February 28th, 2000 CBS tried to aire the show again, and again it was cancelled after only six episodes.I wasn't surprised since I didn't like the new version. It was too soapy, poorly cast, and was too watered down. It didn't have any of the charm or humor of the original. Read the 2000 build-uphere and revisit the 2000 episodes here
.Three friends - Susan, David, and Thumper gossip about a couple they all know going through some kind of relationship crisis. Each week a new couple is introduced along with several supporting characters. The problems they encounter are always sexually related either directly of indirectly. The topics included virginity, infidelity, impotence, commitment, video taping, multi-person showering, masturbation and sex toys.
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Susan - played by Lynn Clark: Is an executive for a cruise line. This gives her a way to meet lots of people and provides endless storylines. |
| David - played by Jonathan Penner: Is a restaurant owner, also a great way to introduce new characters. |
| Thumper - played by Steven Eckholdt: A TV sports commentator. Easy access to celebrity sleaze and great source for babes and kiss and tell stories. He later appeared on Melrose Place, It's Like You Know., Grapevine 2000, and a other projects |
One frustrating thing about the show was that they didn't always run credits at the end of each episode. So I can only add the actors as I recognize them on other shows. Since many got there first taste of on-screen time on this show it has been really hard. Any info you could add would be great.
Pilot Aired 15 Jun 92
Janice is an HR executive at the cruise line with Susan and, believe it or not, is still a virgin. All her life she was very fat and men ignored her. Now, that she's lost the weight, and looks hot, she's ready to bed the right man. Brian, played by a very young Dean Cain, is a hunky auto mechanic that fixes her dead car battery. They begin to date until they run into Henry:(Stan Ivar) Janice's old boss. Henry wants her bad, now that he's divorced. Since Janice had always had a crush on Henry, she quickly dumps Brian. Henry quickly pops Janice's cherry and shortly afterward, afraid of losing her to a younger man, asks her to marry him. They fly off to Las Vegas for a quickie wedding. But, Liz (Victoria Bass), Henry's ex-wife, sends a prostitute to Henry's room while Janice it out getting a message. The wedding is called off when Janice catches Henry in the act. Janice returns to Brian for a happy ending. The funny interjections are made by the Nutritionist that helped Janice lose the weight.
 | Janice - A very young Liz Vassey who went on to fame as Captain Liberty (Maid America) on the Tick |
 | Brian - Brian just got out of the Army and is working in his dad's garage. Dean Cain went on to play superman in the TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and host Ripley's Believe it or Not. |
Episode 1- 2 Aired June 22, 1992
Katie,a TV journalist, is married Adam, an accountant. Their love life isn't very exciting and Adam can't say the word LOVE. Greg enters the picture as Katie's new boss and they fight at first. Katie is looking for adventure and soon she and Greg start having an affair. Eventually they decide to divorce their spouses and get together. But after Katie breaks up with Adam Greg gets cold feet and won't leave Marsha. This episode ends sadly ending with Katie and Adam moving to separate locations.
 | Katie - Mariska Hargitay went on to huge success on Can't Hurry Love, ER, and Law and Order:SVU |
 | Adam (Michael Knight) is a boring account who loses his job and his marriage because he can't express himself. |
 | Greg (John Terlesky)is an asshole of a manager who alwyas makes a bad first impression. By today's rules he would have lost his job bigtime for sexual harassment in the work place. He hasn't worked too much, but you can spot him once in a while and has done some directing. |
Episode 1- 3 Aired June 29, 1992
Joey moves to Miami to be with his sick grandmother, where he meets Fran in the hospital who is caring for her sick grandfather. Joey can't stay in his grandmother's house because he's allergic to her cat, so he moves in with Fran. Fran waitresses in David's restaurant while finishing her Master's degree in marine biology. While Fran immediately falls for Joey, he doesn't feel the same and thinks of her as his little sister. Joey's infatuated with Olivia, the rich, exotic and famous woman of his dreams. Olivia is married to a famous Latin singer, Raphael and has a child. While Joey is in bed with Olivia she doesn't let him, “Do it.” Instead she turns to the night table and says she prefers something else. Then says to the camera “I don't like to have to depend on a man.” Meanwhile Fran is sleeping with her professor but can't stop calling him “Professor Kimbal” in bed. Olivia's gay friend has the best lines.
 |  | Fran played by Paula Marshall has gone on to many other series like Wild Oats, Chicago Sons, Seinfeld, Spin City, Snoops, Cupid, Hidden Hills, Out of Practice, and Veronica Mars |
 | Joey - An out of work piano player torn between two women. Joey confesses to David and Thumper that he is sleeping with Olivia but not having intercourse. “It's like playing in the game and being in the audience at the same time. ” | |
 | Professor Kimball - A professor having an affair with a grad student? | |
Special thanks to Dave in Miami - The only person in the world to have this episode recorded.
Episode 1- 4 Aired July 6, 1992
Lisa (Courtney Thorne-Smith) and Billy (Patrick Warburton) are engaged to be married. But a women from Billy's past, Karen (Yancy Butler) shows up and has an affair with him. There is also a rumor that Karen had an affair with her brother, who was killed running with the bulls in Spain.
  | Lisa - played by Courtney Thorne Smith: Long before she became a star on Melrose Place then Ally McBeal, she was a one time visitor to Grapevine. Here she played Lisa, an owner of a T-shop called, The Big Tease |
 | Patrick Warburton played Billy: A cowboy lawyer who is madly in love with Lisa but is about to make a big mistake with Karen. Patrick went on to a regular role on Designing Women, then Dave's World, huge fame as Putty on Seinfield and guest appearances on just about everything else. He finally got his own series playing The Tick. |
 
| Karen played by Yancy Butler: Is an artist who is in love with Billy and will do anything to get him. Yancy had two chances at a TV series: Mann and Machine and South Beach both of which tanked pretty quickly. Her movies, including Drop Zone didn't do too well either. Too bad, I really like her. |
Episode 1 - 5 Aired Jul 20, 1992
Allison (Brenda Strong) is cheating on her husband Ken (Brett Cullen) with their dentist. Ken kicks her out, only to be seduced by her younger sister, Laurie (Terry Farrell). Susan, David, and Thumper
get caught in the middle and have to choose sides.
| Allison played by Brenda Strong: Is a professor of English literature cheating on her husband Ken with the dentist. She's had numerous roles, but her best was the ship captain in Starhip Troopers. She can currently be seen on Desperate Housewives as the dead narrator, Mary Alice. |
 | Ken played by Brett Cullen: He catches his wife having an affair and has one of his own with her sister Laurie. |
  | Laurie played by Terry Farrell: She's the beautiful athletic soccer coach who supports Ken in his time of need. She went on to fame and fortune in Star Trek DS9 as Dax and then on Becker. |
Episode 1- 6 Aired July 27, 1992
 | Galyn Görg played Jessica, Tony's psychotic girlfriend. She doesn't take the relationship as seriously as he does, but threatens suicide if he leaves her. She later appeared in episodes of Xena and Star Trek. |
 | Michael Whaley played Tony, an advertising manager in love with Jessica. He went on to guest star on L.A. Law, Frasier, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and I'll Fly Away, and CSI:Miami. |
 | A picture of Ann, a single mom attracted to Tony. |
 | A picture of Helen, Tony's previous girlfriend and very good cook. Broke up with him because he was always looking at other women. |
 | The Pet Shrink that tries to reconcile her cat and his dog. |
Episode 1- 7 Never Aired
Guest Stars may have been Kristin Dattilo (Diane) and Amanda Pays (Paulina)
More links -
| Updated 25 May, 2007 spunbystefan@yahoo.com © 2007 Stefan Oestreicher |
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