Delta House 4561270 195818842 2008-03-04T16:04:40Z Moosetvtv 6494616 /* Theme song */ '''''Delta House''''' was a short-lived follow-up to the smash [[1978 in film|1978]] film ''[[National Lampoon's Animal House]]''. ==Cast members from ''Animal House'' on ''Delta House''== Several cast members from ''Animal House'' reprised their roles on ''Delta House'': [[John Vernon]] (Dean Vernon Wormer), [[Stephen Furst]] (Kent 'Flounder' Dorfman), [[Bruce McGill]] (Daniel Simpson 'D-Day' Day), and [[James Widdoes]] (Robert Hoover). ===The absence of John Belushi/John 'Bluto' Blutarsky=== The most notable absence on ''Delta House'' was [[John Belushi]] and his character John 'Bluto' Blutarsky. In Belushi/Bluto's place came [[Josh Mostel]] as Bluto's brother Jim 'Blotto' Blutarsky. Despite Bluto's absence, the scriptwriters made running references to his character. In one episode, Blotto announced that he'd received a letter from his brother Bluto, prompting a Delta brother to respond ''"I didn't know Bluto could write!"'' and another Delta brother to riposte ''"I didn't know Blotto could read!"'' ''Delta House'' also served as an early vehicle for future star [[Michelle Pfeiffer]], who played The Bombshell. ==Production and scheduling problems== ''Delta House'' seemed to be doomed from the start. The main problem was the fact that ''Delta House'' was based on a raunchy and irreverent [[R-rated]] movie that was now being transferred to [[prime time]], [[Terrestrial television|over-the-air television]]. Network television in [[1979 in television|1979]] simply couldn't afford to offer the bawdy humour, drug references, and obscenity-laced dialogue that helped make ''Animal House'' popular to begin with. Another obstacle facing ''Delta House'' was its considerably poor scheduling. [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] scheduled ''Delta House'' at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday nights (typically a low [[Nielsen Ratings|rated]] night for television). In addition, the other two broadcast networks rushed onto the airwaves their own sitcoms that were "inspired" by ''Animal House'': [[NBC]]'s ''[[Brothers and Sisters (1979 TV series)|Brothers and Sisters]]'' and [[CBS]]' ''[[Co-Ed Fever (TV series)|Co-Ed Fever]]''. Surprisingly, despite its shortcomings, ''Delta House'' did fairly well in the ratings. However, executive producers [[Matty Simmons]] and [[Ivan Reitman]], who also produced the movie, had enough fights with ABC to doom the show after 15 episodes. ==Theme song== The theme song was written by [[Jim Steinman]] and Michael Simmons. Steinman later reworked the lyrics into the song "Dead Ringer for Love", made famous by [[Meat Loaf]] and [[Cher]] from the album ''[[Dead Ringer (album)|Dead Ringer]]''. In the episode ''[[Lady in Weighting]]'', a song ''[[Pizza Man]]'' was performed during a beauty pageant talent showcase. It was taken from [[National Lampoon]]'s [[Off-Broadway]] sketch revue ''[[Lemmings]]'', a send-up of the [[Woodstock Festival]] where it was originally sung by actress [[Alice Playten]]. ==Cast== *[[John Vernon]] .... Dean Vernon Wormer *[[Stephen Furst]] .... Kent 'Flounder' Dorfman *[[Bruce McGill]] .... Daniel Simpson Day (D-Day) *[[James Widdoes]] .... Robert Hoover *[[Josh Mostel]] .... Jim 'Blotto' Blutarsky (Bluto's Brother) *[[Peter Fox]] .... Eric 'Otter' Stratton *[[Gary Cookson]] .... Doug Neidermayer *[[Richard Seer]] .... Larry 'Pinto' Kroger *[[Susanna Dalton]] .... Mandy Pepperidge *[[Wendy Goldman]] .... Muffy *[[Brian Patrick Clarke]] .... Greg Marmalard *[[Lee Wilkof]] .... Einswine *[[Peter Kastner]] .... Prof. Dave Jennings *[[Michelle Pfeiffer]] .... The Bombshell ==External links== * {{imdb title|id=0078597|name=Delta House}} * {{Tv.com show|id=3555|title=Delta House}} * [http://www.jumptheshark.com/forum/delta-house/536 Jump The Shark - Delta House] [[Category:1970s American television series]] [[Category:1979 television series debuts]] [[Category:1979 television series endings]] [[Category:American Broadcasting Company network shows]] [[Category:American television sitcoms]] [[Category:Period television series]] [[Category:Television programs based on films]] [[Category:Television series by NBC Universal Television]]