Pink Lady is an American variety show that aired for five weeks on NBC in 1980, starring the Japanese musical duo of the same name. The show is also referred to by the title Pink Lady and Jeff, referring to co-star Jeff Altman. The show was riddled with complications, including a dispute over the title: agents for the starring parties were never able to settle on one, and the show was advertised both ways during its run. Other difficulties included scriptwriting disagreements, guest star booking mishaps, taping and touring conflicts, and the inability of Mie and Kei, the members of Pink Lady, to understand or speak English.

Pink Lady was massively popular in Japan and even enjoyed a hit in the U.S. with the English-language song "Kiss in the Dark". A television show for the duo was proposed and swiftly approved. The show's developers, Sid and Marty Krofft, pursued the project under the erroneous assumption that the stars spoke both English and Japanese. When the reality became apparent, network executives insisted that Mie and Kei not only perform their English dialog phonetically, but also sing in English. The resulting clumsy diction compounded the show's other problems, and despite the infusion of expensive co-stars, the series did poorly and was cancelled after five episodes. The series ranked #35 on TV Guides "The 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time" list.

Synopsis

The series starred Japanese female singing duo Pink Lady, composed of "Mie" (Mitsuyo Nemoto) and "Kei" (Keiko Masuda), and American comedian Jeff Altman. The format of the show featured musical numbers alternating with sketch comedy. A running gag of the series was the girls' lack of understanding of American culture and of English; in reality, Pink Lady spoke no English at all. On the show, Jeff attempted to translate and explain, leading to more confusion.

The series featured Pink Lady performing songs, usually English-language disco and pop songs such as "Boogie Wonderland" or "Yesterday", and interaction with celebrity and musical guests. The group would end the show by jumping into a hot tub together. After the poorly rated series premiere, NBC moved Pink Lady to Friday nights and added Jim Varney as a character actor. The move and retooling failed to help ratings and the series was canceled after five episodes. then president and CEO of NBC, who wanted to replicate the success he had had at ABC and CBS. After seeing a Walter Cronkite story about Pink Lady on the CBS Evening News, Silverman thought their Japanese success could be translated to the American market, so he brought in Sid and Marty Krofft to produce a variety show for them. At the time, Pink Lady had recently achieved their first and only top-40 hit on the U.S. 'Billboard Hot 100, when their song "Kiss in the Dark" peaked at no. 37 in August 1979. The Krofft brothers were told that the ladies were fluent in English, which they were not.

thumb|Pink Lady and host Jeff Altman in a promotional photo

Comedian Jeff Altman had a contract with NBC, and on that basis, was offered work hosting the show to compensate for the leads having no knowledge of English. Writer Mark Evanier previously worked with the Kroffts on The Krofft Superstar Hour and the pilot Bobby Vinton's Rock 'n' Rollers and was brought on board as head writer, and seasoned variety show director Art Fisher (The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour) was brought in to direct. According to Evanier, Fisher disliked the show and only participated because he was contractually obligated.

The language barrier proved to be the biggest obstacle. Mie and Kei had to hold English conversations using an on-set translator. Other stars who had previously worked with the Kroffts were also brought in, including Florence Henderson (The Brady Bunch Hour), Donny Osmond (Donny & Marie), Red Buttons (Side Show) and Bobby Vinton (Bobby Vinton's Rock 'n' Rollers). To ease the need for live, in-person performances, Pink Lady incorporated pre-recorded music videos in lieu of musical acts. Alice Cooper was friends with the Kroffts and submitted an original performance from his upcoming album as a favor to them. Cheap Trick's music video for "Dream Police" was shown as were Blondie's videos for "Shayla" and "Eat to the Beat," both shot for a then-newly released home video.

Each show ended with a tuxedo-clad Jeff getting lured, pushed or pulled into the on-set hot tub by Mie and Kei. This gag originated with Sid Krofft, NBC's promos occasionally referred to the show as Pink Lady, whereas at other times the voice-over announcer referred to it as Pink Lady and Jeff. In print advertisements for TV Guide the show was always titled Pink Lady and Jeff, though it was cited as Pink Lady in the text TV listings.

Episodes

Syndication

Pink Lady and Jeff reruns were seen on Trio for a brief period.

Home video

On June 26, 2001, Rhino Entertainment released the complete series on Region 1 DVD in the United States.

Harry Shearer appeared as Carl Sagan on Saturday Night Lives spoof "Pink Lady and Carl" with Gilda Radner and Laraine Newman playing the singing duo and Paul Shaffer as special guest star Marvin Hamlisch.

References

  • Writer Mark Evanier's notes
  • producer Marty Krofft on Pink Lady and Jeff