Five carefree young men in their early 20s who all had been friends since high school discover a derelict boat in the harbor at San Pedro, California. They take possession of it, name it Our Boat, and move aboard to use it as their houseboat. Buddy is smart, tough, streetwise, always confident, and the group's self-proclaimed leader; the shy, nervous, and not very bright Dancer is so nicknamed because he is too fidgety to sit still; Stuf is intellectual and sophisticated and a compulsive eater and gourmand who sees beauty in being overweight; Moose is large, muscled, and stupid, but gentle; and Boychick is a Clark Gable-like ladies man. Headquartered aboard Our Boat, they experience many slapstick, almost cartoonish adventures. Suzi Camelli, Julie, and Ralphie are friends of the Bums, Margie is a lifeguard, and Louise is the waitress at Tina Teena's Beach Café.
Production
On May 13, 1977, ABC broadcast the pilot for The San Pedro Beach Bums, a 90-minute movie entitled The San Pedro Bums which told the story of the "Bums" finding Our Boat and moving aboard. Although a similar premise had not worked in the unsuccessful NBC comedy-drama It's a Man's World in 1962-1963, ABC believed enough in the concept that it picked up the show as a weekly one-hour situation comedy for its fall 1977 schedule. Concerned that the use of the word "bums" in the pilots title could be construed as negative and drive some viewers away unless softened by a more lighthearted connotation, ABC changed the name of the weekly series to The San Pedro Beach Bums. A cast change also took place, with Jeff Druce, who played Boychick in the pilot, replaced by Christopher De Rose in the weekly series. To boost viewership for The San Pedro Beach Bums, ABC scheduled it as the lead-in for the 1977 season of the popular ABC Monday Night Football. To garner extra attention for the shows premiere in September 1977, the women who starred as the "Angels" in the hit ABC program Charlie's Angels - Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, and Cheryl Ladd - guest-starred as themselves in the episode. Aaron Spelling and Douglas S. Cramer were the shows executive producers. E. Duke Vincent wrote and produced the pilot, and Barry Shear directed it. Episode directors were Jack Arnold, Allen Baron, Earl Bellamy, Gene Nelson, George Tyne, and Don Weis. Episode writers included Earl Barret, William Raynor, and Myles Wilder.
Broadcast history
The San Pedro Beach Bums aired at 8:00 p.m. on Mondays throughout its run. ABC broadcast new episodes weekly from September 19 to October 31, 1977, followed by one more in November 1977 and two December 1977. Despite heavy promotion, highly favorable scheduling, and cross-marketing with more successful ABC shows, The San Pedro Beach Bums never gained much of an audience, and ABC cancelled the show after the broadcast of its 10th episode on December 19, 1977. An 11th episode did not air.
