Ocean Heights 
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| Genre | Sitcom, comedy-drama, slice of life Romance, coming-of-age |
| Created by | Charlton Lee Patrick Dufour |
| Directed by | Charlton Lee Joseph Wood Lynn Edwards Nathan Kelly Matthew Green Sarah Hill |
| Written by | Charlton Lee Thomas Kutz Nathan Kelly Scott Forrest Alberto Moretti Sarah Hill |
| Cast | James J.K. Wilson Vernaide Tremoyne Anne-Marie Burdick Phelan Hews Demi Smith Billy Harris |
| Composer | Henry Yates (score) Head in the Clouds by Henry Yates and Satoshi "Steve" Honna, sung by Anne-Marie Burdick (opening theme) |
| Seasons | 6 |
| Episodes | 60 |
| Production company | Lovilago Television Studios Jungle TV Productions |
| Network | NTV-1 (1986-1992) Alphabet Television (reruns) |
| Original release | December 16, 1985 (pilot) April 11, 1986-October 17, 1992 (main series) |
Ocean Heights is a Lovian comedy-drama television series developed by Charlton Lee and Patrick Dufour, and co-produced by Jungle TV and Lovilago Film from 1986 to 1992 with a pilot episode released in late 1985. Widely seen as the first Lovian sitcom, the series is syndicated on national television to this day.
Ocean Heights concerns the daily lives of the Townsends, a working-class family residing in the eponymous Noble City public housing project and follows them over the span of six years. The show has received positive reviews for its sympathetic portrayal of family life and "familiar, yet still hugely likable characters" and is frequently compared to American films and television shows with similar concepts from the same decade. Despite its homely tone and warm sense of humor the show found a sizable following amongst Lovian teenagers and did not shy away from depicting societal issues concerning the youth of the time, such as mental health, peer pressure, bullying and substance abuse.
Ocean Heights spawned two made-for-TV films in 1994 and 2001 respectively which continued the story, and an hour-long Christmas special in 1986.
Synopsis[]
A close-knit family of five relocate from rural Clymene to a recently-built high-rise apartment complex in a coastal Noble City suburb after the father finds work at Nobel University. The family initially struggle to find themselves in their new environment but eventually grow to become staples of the local community.
Cast[]
- James J.K. Wilson - Vince Townsend, the family patriarch who relocates his brood to Noble City after finding a job as a mathematics professor at Nobel University
- Vernaide Tremoyne - Sandra Townsend (née Wilkins), the family matriarch, a small business owner in Bayside and a doting and loving yet overbearing mother to her three children
- Anne-Marie Burdick - Julie Townsend-Carrington, the eldest daughter, a teenage girl who struggles to find her place in the world - she marries her longtime boyfriend Jeff in the series finale (S6E10 - "The Wedding")
- Phelan Hews - Mike Townsend, the middle son, an oddball teenage boy with a passion for the latest technology
- Demi Smith - Samantha Townsend, the youngest daughter, a bratty, sassy little girl with a passion for the outdoors
- Billy Harris - Jeff Carrington, Julie’s on-and-off boyfriend and eventual husband, a talented musician with a sardonic sense of humor and a similarly-rebellious streak
Production[]
The show was largely filmed on location at the new development in large part to promote the area as a desirable place to live, with interiors such as the Townsends' apartment constructed and shot on soundstages at Jungle TV Studios in Noble City. For seasons 1 through 3, the show’s primary sponsor was the real estate developer KCI Rattigan, who built the titular residential complex between 1978 and 1985.
The show’s pilot episode premiered on NTV-1 on December 16, 1985, and was produced as a proof of concept for the network before the show was greenlit in its entirety. Written and directed by Nathan Kelly, the pilot focused on the family making the move to Noble City and leaving their past life in Sofasi behind. With the exception of Wilson and Tremoyne, it featured a different core cast from the remainder of the series and theme song—Nostalgia by The North Sea—and a more straight-ahead dramatic tone overall. Interestingly, the series started as a family drama, and comedic elements became more pronounced as Season 1 progressed; a laugh track was added from Season 2 onwards.
Reception[]
Legacy[]
The show’s popularity spawned countless pilots for similar TV shows all dealing with dysfunctional families, with the most successful attempt being My Family (1988-91). Often seen as an edgier ripoff of Ocean Heights to the point where Patrick Dufour briefly threatened legal action against the producers of that show, My Family was still highly popular and established Harris’ future Cops co-star Matt Richards as a TV star in his own right. Despite Dufour and Lee’s mutual dislike for both the show and its creators, by all accounts both production teams had “great respect” for each other. One of the directors and writers on Ocean Heights, Nathan Kelly, was good friends with Nick Johnson, the creator of My Family, having grown up alongside him in Abington; and often mediated between him and Dufour in times of tension.
Two hour-long made-for-TV films that continued the story laid out in the series were released in 1994 and 2001—New Beginnings and Spread your Wings. Produced by Patrick Dufour and later by William Harris, the films both featured the original cast reprising their roles, but were more serious in tone, in particular the latter. While New Beginnings was met with low ratings when it aired on NTV 1, Spread your Wings capitalized on the nostalgia for the show and was among the most popular Lovian programs of 2001.
A revival series was considered in 2006 for the show’s 20th anniversary, but plans were scrapped after the network received backlash from viewers. Similarly, a reboot was planned for 2023, featuring an all-new cast alongside legacy characters, but those plans also fell through.
Trivia[]
- The show marks the first official collaboration between William Harris and Matt Richards, who would go on to star together in the Cops series of action films over a decade later. Richards has a bit role in the episode "Lovin' Jules" (S3E4, 1988) as Craig, the tallest member of a dimwitted pack of bullies who constantly antagonize Jeff at every turn. Craig briefly tries to "hook up" with Julie for the homecoming dance but ends up being coldly rejected. Although the character was initially intended to be comedic, in a rather dark turn of events Craig is taken into police custody after taking his anger out on Jeff in response, beating him severely and landing him in the hospital fighting for his life.
- This episode was highly controversial due to the violence of the final scene and is to this day considered one of the most shocking in Lovian television history. The TV-13 rating was upheld by a 13-8 vote, however, after television censors briefly threatened to give it the more restrictive TV-16 rating, which would have relegated it to the post-9PM watershed instead of the show's daily 5PM slot on NTV-1. Producers convinced the board by arguing that Craig gets his comeuppance immediately following his assault on Jeff and that there is a clear anti-bullying message to be drawn from it.