Big Brother Jake

Big Brother Jake is an American sitcom starring Jake Steinfeld that aired on The Family Channel^[1] from September 2, 1990, to April 10, 1994. It is notable for being the first sitcom on The Family Channel.^[2]

Big Brother Jake
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Chris Auer
Directed by	Gary Shimokawa
Starring	Jake Steinfeld Barbara Meek Ben Siegler Josiah Trager Gabrielle Carmouche Jeremy Wieand Daniel Hifler Elizabeth Narvaez Melody Combs Rachelle Guzy Denise Devin Jane Connell
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	88
Production
Executive producer	Chris Auer
Producer	Christopher Frederick
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	NorthStar Entertainment Group Family Productions
Original release
Network	The Family Channel
Release	September 2, 1990 (1990-09-02) – April 10, 1994 (1994-04-10)

Plot

The show follows the life of Jake Rozzner (Steinfeld), a former Hollywood stuntman who returned to his Brooklyn foster home to help out his recently widowed foster mother, Connie "Ma" Duncan with her foster children. The foster family included Lou, Kateri, Jill, Andy, and Dave. Jill left the show after two seasons and a young, abandoned Asian girl, Caroline was in the care of Ma Duncan.^[3]

Gary was Jake's good friend from high school who was now a Manhattan lawyer and Jane was Jake's former high school girlfriend. Miss Morgan was the social worker before being replaced with Miss Domedian. The older youngsters attended Frederick Douglass High School. Jake was the narrator of the show.^[3]

Cast

• Jake Steinfeld as Jake Rozzner
• Barbara Meek as Connie "Ma" Duncan
• Ben Siegler as Gary MacClemore
• Josiah Trager as Loomis "Lou" Washington
• Gabrielle Carmouche as Kateri Monroe
• Jeremy Wieand as Andy King
• Daniel Hilfer as Dave King
• Elizabeth Narvaez as Jill Kenyon (1990–1992)
• Melody Combs as Jane O'Hara (1991–1993)
• Rachelle Guzy as Caroline (1992-1994)
• Denise Devin as Miss Meg Morgan (1990-1991)
• Jane Connell as Miss Roberta Domedian (1991-1994)

Episodes

Season 1 (1990–91)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Twin Pecs"	Gary Shimokawa	Ed Ferrara & Kevin Murphy	September 2, 1990 (1990-09-02)
2	2	"Who's Afraid of Thomas Wolfe?"	Unknown	Chris Auer	September 14, 1990 (1990-09-14)
3	3	"The 10% Solution"	Unknown	Chris Auer	September 21, 1990 (1990-09-21)
4	4	"Jake and the No. 2 Pencil"	Unknown	Chris Auer	September 28, 1990 (1990-09-28)
5	5	"Dinner for Eight"	Unknown	Chris Auer	October 5, 1990 (1990-10-05)
6	6	"The World of Mrs. Fong"	Unknown	Chris Auer	October 12, 1990 (1990-10-12)
7	7	"Dress Blues"	Unknown	Margaret Beddow Hatch	October 19, 1990 (1990-10-19)
8	8	"Satellites"	Gary Shimokawa	Jon Cooksey & Ali Marie Matheson	October 26, 1990 (1990-10-26)
9	9	"The Prodigal Dad"	Gary Shimokawa	Jon Cooksey & Ali Marie Matheson	November 2, 1990 (1990-11-02)
10	10	"What's Opera Jake?"	Unknown	Chris Auer	November 9, 1990 (1990-11-09)
11	11	"What's Wrong with This Picture?"	Gary Shimokawa	Maria A. Brown	November 16, 1990 (1990-11-16)
12	12	"The Rise and Fall of Vito Parchesi"	Unknown	Ed Ferrara & Kevin Murphy	November 23, 1990 (1990-11-23)
13	13	"They Call Me Mellow Cello"	Unknown	John Griffiths & Tom Sheppard	December 2, 1990 (1990-12-02)
14	14	"A Dreidel Spins in Brooklyn"	Unknown	Chris Auer & Jeffrey Sweet	December 9, 1990 (1990-12-09)
15	15	"Jake's Date"	Gary Shimokawa	Larry Balmagia	December 16, 1990 (1990-12-16)
16	16	"The Grocer Always Rings Twice"	Gary Shimokawa	Jim Lincoln	December 23, 1990 (1990-12-23)
17	17	"Stop Me Before I Paint Again"	Unknown	Maria A. Brown	December 30, 1990 (1990-12-30)
18	18	"Todd's Feast"	Gary Shimokawa	Chris Auer	January 6, 1991 (1991-01-06)
19	19	"Didn't You Used to Be Somebody Else?"	Unknown	Margaret Beddow Hatch	January 13, 1991 (1991-01-13)
20	20	"Marriage 101"	Unknown	Steve Sylvester	January 20, 1991 (1991-01-20)
21	21	"The Once and Future Kings"	Unknown	Jon Cooksey & Ed Ferrara & Ali Marie Matheson & Kevin Murphy	January 27, 1991 (1991-01-27)
22	22	"They Shoot Social Workers, Don't They?"	Unknown	Chris Auer & Stephen Wells	February 3, 1991 (1991-02-03)

Season 2 (1991–92)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
23	1	"Remodeling with the Enemy"	Gary Shimokawa	Chris Auer	September 1, 1991 (1991-09-01)
24	2	"Roberta's Flak"	Gary Shimokawa	Ed Ferrara & Kevin Murphy	September 8, 1991 (1991-09-08)
25	3	"Six Characters in Search of a Catcher's Mill"	Gary Shimokawa	Chris Auer	September 15, 1991 (1991-09-15)
26	4	"They're Not Booin', They're Louin'"	Gary Shimokawa	Jim Lincoln	September 22, 1991 (1991-09-22)
27	5	"Two Guys from Brooklyn"	Gary Shimokawa	Maria A. Brown	September 29, 1991 (1991-09-29)
28	6	"Dressed to Thrill"	Gary Shimokawa	Kris and Buzz McLaughlin	October 6, 1991 (1991-10-06)
29	7	"The Old Man and the C"	Gary Shimokawa	Jon Cooksey & Ali Marie Matheson	October 13, 1991 (1991-10-13)
30	8	"Friends and Big Women"	Gary Shimokawa	Michael Loman	October 20, 1991 (1991-10-20)
31	9	"It Came from Social Services"	Gary Shimokawa	Ed Ferrara & Kevin Murphy	October 27, 1991 (1991-10-27)
32	10	"An Immovable Feast"	Gary Shimokawa	Jon Cooksey & Ali Marie Matheson	November 24, 1991 (1991-11-24)
33	11	"Romeo, Juliet, Jake & Jill"	Gary Shimokawa	Sam Greenbaum	December 1, 1991 (1991-12-01)
34	12	"The Boys from Near Syracuse"	Unknown	Jim Lincoln	December 8, 1991 (1991-12-08)
35	13	"Open Season"	Gary Shimokawa	Chris Auer	December 15, 1991 (1991-12-15)
36	14	"Bohemian Rhapsody"	Unknown	Ed Ferrara & Kevin Murphy	January 5, 1992 (1992-01-05)
37	15	"True Lou"	Unknown	Mary Anne Cherry	January 12, 1992 (1992-01-12)
38	16	"The Son Also Rises"	Unknown	Jon Cooksey & Ali Marie Matheson	January 26, 1992 (1992-01-26)
39	17	"Five Easy Steps"	Gary Shimokawa	Kris and Buzz McLaughlin	March 1, 1992 (1992-03-01)
40	18	"The Song and Dance Man"	Gary Shimokawa	Stephen Wells	March 8, 1992 (1992-03-08)
41	19	"Presumed Guilty"	Gary Shimokawa	Arnie Wess & Dave DiGregorio	March 15, 1992 (1992-03-15)
42	20	"Who's Sorry Now?"	Gary Shimokawa	Chris Auer	March 22, 1992 (1992-03-22)
43	21	"Goodbye Ms. Phipps"	Gary Shimokawa	Steve Wells & Jim Lincoln	March 29, 1992 (1992-03-29)
44	22	"Reunion"	Gary Shimokawa	Lisa Swain	April 12, 1992 (1992-04-12)

Season 3 (1992–93)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
45	1	"Snap Decisions"	Unknown	Jon Cooksey & Ali Marie Matheson	October 4, 1992 (1992-10-04)
46	2	"Surprise, No Party"	Unknown	Arnie Wess & Dave DiGregorio	October 11, 1992 (1992-10-11)
47	3	"Louis Armstrong Slept Here"	Unknown	George Yanok	October 18, 1992 (1992-10-18)
48	4	"Just a Gigolo"	Unknown	Ed Ferrara & Kevin Murphy	October 25, 1992 (1992-10-25)
49	5	"Tis a Pity She's a Grouch"	Unknown	Story by : Cary McNeal Teleplay by : Ed Ferrara & Kevin Murphy	November 1, 1992 (1992-11-01)
50	6	"Fathers and Sons"	Unknown	Jim Lincoln	November 8, 1992 (1992-11-08)
51	7	"The Unbearable Politeness of Being"	Unknown	Jon Cooksey & Ali Marie Matheson	November 29, 1992 (1992-11-29)
52	8	"Symbolic Gesture"	Unknown	Sherri Ziff	December 6, 1992 (1992-12-06)
53	9	"Jake's Next Date"	Unknown	Terry Erwin	December 13, 1992 (1992-12-13)
54	10	"As Time Goes By"	Unknown	Jon Cooksey & Ali Marie Matheson	January 3, 1993 (1993-01-03)
55	11	"The Importance of Being Ernest"	Unknown	Ed Ferrara & Kevin Murphy	January 10, 1993 (1993-01-10)
56	12	"The Mousetrap"	Unknown	Chris Auer	January 17, 1993 (1993-01-17)
57	13	"Enemies: A Law Story"	Gary Shimokawa	Dave Rodgers & Dan Studney	January 31, 1993 (1993-01-31)
58	14	"It's All in Your Family"	Unknown	George Yanok	February 7, 1993 (1993-02-07)
59	15	"Heroes"	Unknown	Ben Siegler	February 21, 1993 (1993-02-21)
60	16	"The Apes of Wrath"	Unknown	Stephen Wells & Dennis Green	February 28, 1993 (1993-02-28)
61	17	"A League of His Own"	Unknown	Jim Lincoln	March 7, 1993 (1993-03-07)
62	18	"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"	Unknown	Ed Ferrara & Kevin Murphy	March 14, 1993 (1993-03-14)
63	19	"Front Window"	Unknown	Terry Erwin	March 21, 1993 (1993-03-21)
64	20	"Rebirth of a Salesman"	Unknown	Chris Auer	March 28, 1993 (1993-03-28)
65	21	"Cyrano Domedian"	Unknown	Jim Lincoln	April 11, 1993 (1993-04-11)
66	22	"Burma Shave"	Unknown	Chris Auer	April 18, 1993 (1993-04-18)

Season 4 (1993–94)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
67	1	"The Chocolate Bear War"	Unknown	Story by : Peter T. Kenny & Jim Lincoln Teleplay by : Jim Lincoln	September 12, 1993 (1993-09-12)
68	2	"Loneliness of the Long Distance Kateri"	Unknown	George Yanok	September 19, 1993 (1993-09-19)
69	3	"Awakenings"	Unknown	Jon Cooksey & Ali Marie Matheson	September 26, 1993 (1993-09-26)
70	4	"Desperately Seeking Daryl"	Unknown	Ed Ferrara & Kevin Murphy	October 3, 1993 (1993-10-03)
71	5	"Coup for Two"	Unknown	Chris Auer	October 10, 1993 (1993-10-10)
72	6	"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Bubba"	Unknown	George Yanok	October 17, 1993 (1993-10-17)
73	7	"The Buddy System"	Unknown	Jim Lincoln	October 31, 1993 (1993-10-31)
74	8	"Embrace You"	Unknown	Ed Ferrara & Kevin Murphy	November 7, 1993 (1993-11-07)
75	9	"Never on a Sundae"	Unknown	Tom Mardirosian	November 14, 1993 (1993-11-14)
76	10	"Rain Men"	Unknown	Julie Curtis Ames & Andrew Ames	November 21, 1993 (1993-11-21)
77	11	"Requiem for a Heavyweight"	Unknown	Jon Cooksey & Ali Marie Matheson	December 5, 1993 (1993-12-05)
78	12	"I'll Be Sick for Christmas"	Unknown	Chris Auer	December 12, 1993 (1993-12-12)
79	13	"The Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Player"	Unknown	Ed Ferrara & Kevin Murphy	January 9, 1994 (1994-01-09)
80	14	"The Turkey and I"	Unknown	Barry Harman & Harve Brosten	January 23, 1994 (1994-01-23)
81	15	"The Lost Detail"	Unknown	Jon Cooksey & Ali Marie Matheson	February 13, 1994 (1994-02-13)
82	16	"And Baby Makes Two"	Unknown	Jon Cooksey & Ali Marie Matheson	February 27, 1994 (1994-02-27)
83	17	"How I Got Into College"	Unknown	Jim Lincoln	March 5, 1994 (1994-03-05)
84	18	"Lomax: A Suitable Case for Treatment"	Unknown	Ed Ferrara & Kevin Murphy	March 13, 1994 (1994-03-13)
85	19	"The Don is Done"	Unknown	George Yanok	March 20, 1994 (1994-03-20)
86	20	"The Charade's the Thing"	Unknown	Timothy Williams	March 27, 1994 (1994-03-27)
87	21	"Betty Blue"	Unknown	Jim Lincoln	April 3, 1994 (1994-04-03)
88	22	"My Own Private Dakota Park"	Unknown	Jim Lincoln	April 10, 1994 (1994-04-10)

References

1. Cohn, Robert (October 3, 1990). "'Big Brother Jake' - a warm, affecting, ethnic situation comedy". St. Louis Jewish Light. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
2. "The Family Channel debuts its first sitcom". The Bradenton Herald. September 2, 1990. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
3. Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 – Present (seventh edition), pages 97 - 98, Ballantine, 1999

External links

• Big Brother Jake at IMDb