Sparks (TV series)

For other uses, see Sparks (disambiguation).

Sparks is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from August 26, 1996, to March 2, 1998. The series stars James Avery, Robin Givens, Terrence Howard, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Kym Whitley and Arif S. Kinchen. The sitcom is set in Los Angeles, California, and is about the everyday lives of a family of lawyers running a family-owned law practice. Reruns of the show aired on BET in the late 1990s.

Sparks
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Ed. Weinberger
Directed by	Wendy Charles Acey Mark Corry Stan Daniels Kim Friedman Leonard R. Garner Jr. Bob Moloney Ed. Weinberger
Starring	James Avery Robin Givens Terrence Howard Miguel A. Núñez Jr. Arif S. Kinchen Kym Whitley
Theme music composer	Billy Preston
Composer	Billy Preston
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	40
Production
Executive producers	Rob Dames Bob Moloney Lenny Ripps Ed. Weinberger
Producers	Greg Giangregorio Bruce Bayley Johnson Miguel A. Núñez Jr. Alison Taylor
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production companies	The Weinberger Company MTM Enterprises (1996-1997) (season 1) 20th Century Fox Television (1997-1998) (season 2)
Original release
Network	UPN
Release	August 26, 1996 (1996-08-26) – March 2, 1998 (1998-03-02)
Related
Good News

Content

The show stars James Avery as Alonzo Sparks, a lawyer running a family law firm with his sons Maxey (Miguel A. Núñez Jr.) and Greg (Terrence Howard) in inner-city Los Angeles, California.^[1][2]

Cast

Main

• James Avery as Alonzo Sparks
• Miguel A. Núñez Jr. as Maxey Sparks
• Terrence Howard as Greg Sparks
• Robin Givens as Wilma Cuthbert
• Kym Whitley as Darice Mayberry
• Arif S. Kinchen as LaMarr Hicks

Recurring

• Wanda-Lee Evans as Judge
• Phill Lewis as Detective Floyd Pitts
• Hawthorne James as Claude
• Rod McCary as Attorney Mason
• Michael Warren as Desmond

Special guest appearances

• Vanessa Bell Calloway as Monique
• Nell Carter as Barbara Rogers
• Terry Ellis as Deidre
• Pam Grier as Ms. Grayson
• Billy Preston as Himself
• Anna Maria Horsford as Wilma's Aunt
• Kenya Moore as Ms. Collins
• Ron O'Neal as Arthur Fairchild
• Jason Kidd as Himself

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	22		August 26, 1996 (1996-08-26)	May 19, 1997 (1997-05-19)
2	18		August 25, 1997 (1997-08-25)	March 2, 1998 (1998-03-02)

Season 1 (1996–97)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Viewers (millions)
1	1	"Pilot"	Ed. Weinberger	Ed. Weinberger	August 26, 1996 (1996-08-26)	5.2^[3]
2	2	"Palimony Suit"	Unknown	Unknown	September 2, 1996 (1996-09-02)	3.3^[4]
3	3	"How Papa Got His Groove Back"	Unknown	Unknown	September 9, 1996 (1996-09-09)	3.0^[5]
4	4	"A Day in the Life"	Unknown	Unknown	September 16, 1996 (1996-09-16)	3.6^[6]
5	5	"Sid, Lies and Videotape"	Unknown	Unknown	September 23, 1996 (1996-09-23)	3.3^[7]
6	6	"Penal Envy"	Unknown	Unknown	September 30, 1996 (1996-09-30)	3.2^[8]
7	7	"No Sweat"	Unknown	Unknown	October 14, 1996 (1996-10-14)	4.3^[9]
8	8	"Pillow Talk"	Unknown	Unknown	November 4, 1996 (1996-11-04)	4.3^[10]
9	9	"One on One"	Unknown	Unknown	November 5, 1996 (1996-11-05)	4.3^[10]
10	10	"Goode for the Gander"	Unknown	Unknown	November 11, 1996 (1996-11-11)	3.1^[11]
11	11	"Porky's Revenge"	Bob Moloney	Ed. Weinberger	November 18, 1996 (1996-11-18)	3.1^[12]
12	12	"Maxey Gets the Bird"	Unknown	Unknown	November 25, 1996 (1996-11-25)	2.9^[13]
13	13	"It's the Gospel"	Unknown	Unknown	January 13, 1997 (1997-01-13)	4.21^[14]
14	14	"I, Spy"	Unknown	Unknown	January 20, 1997 (1997-01-20)	4.25^[15]
15	15	"Won't You Be My Neighbor"	Unknown	Unknown	February 3, 1997 (1997-02-03)	3.93^[16]
16	16	"Love Conquers All"	Unknown	Unknown	February 10, 1997 (1997-02-10)	4.45^[17]
17	17	"Self Defense"	Unknown	Unknown	February 17, 1997 (1997-02-17)	4.39^[18]
18	18	"Hoop Schemes"	Unknown	Unknown	February 24, 1997 (1997-02-24)	4.63^[19]
19	19	"The Great Indoors"	Unknown	Unknown	April 28, 1997 (1997-04-28)	4.02^[20]
20	20	"Love in a Cup"	Bob Moloney	Mark E. Corry	May 5, 1997 (1997-05-05)	3.86^[21]
21	21	"Too Hot Not to Cool Down"	Unknown	Unknown	May 12, 1997 (1997-05-12)	3.65^[22]
22	22	"A Day in the Life II"	Unknown	Unknown	May 19, 1997 (1997-05-19)	3.68^[23]

Season 2 (1997–98)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Viewers (millions)
23	1	"To the Maxey"	Unknown	Unknown	August 25, 1997 (1997-08-25)	4.27^[24]
24	2	"Maxey Loses His Spark"	Unknown	Unknown	September 1, 1997 (1997-09-01)	3.63^[25]
25	3	"Rehearsal of Fortune"	Unknown	Unknown	September 8, 1997 (1997-09-08)	3.78^[26]
26	4	"Dog Gone"	Unknown	Unknown	September 15, 1997 (1997-09-15)	3.63^[27]
27	5	"When a Man is a Woman"	Stan Daniels	Lenny Ripps & Rob Dames	September 22, 1997 (1997-09-22)	3.63^[28]
28	6	"Defending Claude"	Unknown	Unknown	September 29, 1997 (1997-09-29)	4.36^[29]
29	7	"Don't Get Hooked on Me"	Kim Freidman	Allison Taylor	October 13, 1997 (1997-10-13)	4.67^[30]
30	8	"Bad Reception"	Unknown	Unknown	October 27, 1997 (1997-10-27)	4.58^[31]
31	9	"A Bride for Alonzo"	Unknown	Unknown	November 3, 1997 (1997-11-03)	3.91^[32]
32	10	"Brotherly Love"	Unknown	Unknown	November 10, 1997 (1997-11-10)	4.35^[33]
33	11	"Roots III"	Bob Moloney	Ron Nelson & Mark Steen	November 17, 1997 (1997-11-17)	4.83^[34]
34	12	"It's Good to Be Negative"	Unknown	Unknown	November 24, 1997 (1997-11-24)	4.21^[35]
35	13	"Silent Night"	Stan Daniels	Lenny Ripps & Rob Dames	December 16, 1997 (1997-12-16)	2.64^[36]
36	14	"Flirting with Disaster"	Wendy Acey	Ron Nelson & Mark Steen	January 12, 1998 (1998-01-12)	3.79^[37]
37	15	"She's Having My Baby"	Wendy Acey	Gisele Sanchez Rochet	January 19, 1998 (1998-01-19)	3.81^[38]
38	16	"Cain and Abel Sparks"	Unknown	Unknown	February 16, 1998 (1998-02-16)	3.23^[39]
39	17	"Till Your Well Runs Dry"	Unknown	Unknown	February 23, 1998 (1998-02-23)	2.73^[40]
40	18	"Blind Justice"	Unknown	Unknown	March 2, 1998 (1998-03-02)	3.54^[41]

Reception

Kevin D. Thompson of The Palm Beach Post gave the show a mostly-negative review, criticizing Avery's performances and the "normal cardboard cutout characters".^[1] Frederic M. Biddle of the Boston Globe also criticized the performances of the lead actors and thought that Núñez' and Howard's characters were "silently perpetuating stereotypes equating character with Caucasian features".^[2]

References

1. "Comic 'Sparks' has life but doesn't catch fire". Palm Beach Post. August 26, 1996. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
2. Frederic M. Biddle (August 26, 1996). "Givens is good, but 'Sparks' fizzles". Boston Globe. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
3. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. September 4, 1996. p. 3D.
4. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. September 11, 1996. p. 3D.
5. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. September 18, 1996. p. 3D.
6. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. September 25, 1996. p. 3D.
7. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. October 2, 1996. p. 3D.
8. Graham, Jefferson (October 9, 1996). "Baseball on NBC helps CBS". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
9. DeRosa, Robin (October 23, 1996). "Fox gets major league boost to No. 3". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
10. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. November 13, 1996. p. 3D.
11. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. November 20, 1996. p. 3D.
12. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. November 27, 1996. p. 3D.
13. "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. December 4, 1996. p. 3D.
14. "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 13-19)". The Los Angeles Times. January 22, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
15. "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 20-26)". The Los Angeles Times. January 29, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
16. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 3-9)". The Los Angeles Times. February 12, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
17. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 10-16)". The Los Angeles Times. February 20, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
18. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 17–23)". The Los Angeles Times. February 26, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
19. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 24-March 2)". The Los Angeles Times. March 5, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
20. "National Nielsen Viewership (April 28–May 4)". The Los Angeles Times. May 7, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
21. "National Nielsen Viewership (May 5–11)". The Los Angeles Times. May 14, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
22. "National Nielsen Viewership (May 12–18)". The Los Angeles Times. May 21, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
23. "National Nielsen Viewership (May 19–25)". The Los Angeles Times. May 29, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
24. "National Nielsen Viewership (Aug. 25-31)". The Los Angeles Times. September 4, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
25. "National Nielsen Viewership (Sept. 1-7)". The Los Angeles Times. September 10, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
26. "National Nielsen Viewership (Sept. 8–12)". The Los Angeles Times. September 17, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
27. "National Nielsen Viewership (Sept. 15–21)". The Los Angeles Times. September 24, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
28. "National Nielsen Viewership (Sept. 22–28)". The Los Angeles Times. October 1, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
29. "National Nielsen Viewership (Sept. 29-Oct. 5)". The Los Angeles Times. October 8, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
30. "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 13-19)". The Los Angeles Times. October 22, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
31. "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 27-Nov. 2)". The Los Angeles Times. November 5, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
32. "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 3-9)". The Los Angeles Times. November 12, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
33. "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 10-16)". The Los Angeles Times. November 19, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
34. "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 17-23)". The Los Angeles Times. November 26, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
35. "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 24-30)". The Los Angeles Times. December 3, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
36. "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 15-21)". The Los Angeles Times. December 24, 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
37. "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 12-18)". The Los Angeles Times. January 21, 1998. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
38. "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 19-25)". The Los Angeles Times. January 28, 1998. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
39. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 16-22)". The Los Angeles Times. February 25, 1998. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
40. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 23-March 1)". The Los Angeles Times. March 4, 1998. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
41. "National Nielsen Viewership (March 2–8)". The Los Angeles Times. March 11, 1998. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 

External links

• Sparks at IMDb