Private Benjamin (TV series)


Private Benjamin is an American sitcom television series based on and set during the events of the 1980 movie of the same name that aired on CBS from April 6, 1981, to January 10, 1983. Eileen Brennan, who reprised her role from the film, won an Emmy and Golden Globe Award for her work on the series.

Synopsis

Like the movie, the series is about a spoiled young socialite named Judy Benjamin adjusting to life in the army. She's popular among her fellow enlisted personnel, but not with her superiors. Most of the humor in the series is derived from Benjamin and her friends' attempts to evade the watchful eye of their sergeant.
Although some of the actors from the film play the same characters on the TV show, the title role is acted by Lorna Patterson instead of Goldie Hawn.
While the series was initially shot on film and featured many outdoor scenes, later episodes were more like a standard sitcom, shot on video on soundstages and complete with a laugh track.
In the fall of 1982, Robert Mandan joined the cast as Colonel Lawrence Fielding, the pompous, well-meaning, but ineffectual, head of the camp. In late 1982, Eileen Brennan was struck by a car and Polly Holliday was brought in as Captain Amanda Allen, intended as a temporary replacement for Brennan's Captain Lewis character, but the show was cancelled shortly thereafter.

Cast and characters

Awards and nominations