Complete Savages
Encyclopedia
Complete Savages is an American sitcom
that aired on ABC
from September 2004 to June 2005. It was part of ABC's final TGIF
comedy line-up. The show was created by Mike Scully
and Julie Thacker
and executive produced by Mel Gibson
. Although well received it was cancelled after its first season due to low ratings caused by a combination of a weak lead-in series, 8 Simple Rules
, in its final season, and suspect marketing of the show.
The theme song was composed and performed by Joseph Interlande, and appears at the beginning of each episode as a jam session
amongst the whole Savage family.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
that aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
from September 2004 to June 2005. It was part of ABC's final TGIF
TGIF (ABC)
TGIF was the name of an American family-friendly prime time television programming block on the ABC network. The name comes from the initials of the popular phrase "Thank God It's Friday"...
comedy line-up. The show was created by Mike Scully
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
and Julie Thacker
Julie Thacker
Julie Thacker is an American television writer. She has written for The Simpsons, and along with her husband The Simpsons writer and producer Mike Scully she has co-created The Pitts and Complete Savages.-The Simpsons episodes:...
and executive produced by Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
. Although well received it was cancelled after its first season due to low ratings caused by a combination of a weak lead-in series, 8 Simple Rules
8 Simple Rules
8 Simple Rules is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from September 17, 2002, to April 15, 2005, with 76 episodes produced over three seasons. It is based on the self-improvement book of the same name. The show starred John Ritter until his death on September 11, 2003...
, in its final season, and suspect marketing of the show.
Synopsis
The series focuses on single dad Nick Savage struggling to raise his unruly sons, Jack, Chris, Sam, Kyle, and T.J. alone, following the abandonment of their mother ten years previously, while working on call day and night as a firefighter with his brother Jimmy. His five sons are constantly stirring up trouble and creating unpredictable circumstances for the entire family to resolve in one way or another.The theme song was composed and performed by Joseph Interlande, and appears at the beginning of each episode as a jam session
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
amongst the whole Savage family.
Main cast
- Keith CarradineKeith CarradineKeith Ian Carradine is an American actor who has had success on stage, film and television. In addition, he is a Golden Globe and Oscar winning songwriter. As a member of the Carradine family, he is part of an acting "dynasty" that began with his father, John Carradine.-Early life:Keith...
as Nick Savage – the irritable patriarchPatriarchOriginally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
of the Savage family. His wife left him ten years previous to the pilot. He gets mad very easily. Although some of the stuff he does to the boys is regarded as unfair, he always shows that he has his sons' best interests at heart and is very concerned for their education and well being, despite his short temper and tendency to lash out at his boys. However, his solution to most problems is to get angry, a solution which seems to have been picked up by his sons Chris and Kyle and occasionally Jack. He works as a firefighterFirefighterFirefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
along with his younger brother Jimmy. Although up-tight and ill-tempered he is shown to be a "cool" dad allowing some things slide with his sons for their happiness usually with girls, such as in the episode Men in Uniform. He is shown to also have an addiction to smoking. - Shaun SiposShaun SiposShaun Sipos is a Canadian actor. Sipos is perhaps best known for playing David Breck on The CW series Melrose Place.-Career:...
as Jack Savage – the eldest son. He is considered the "cool" brother and has many girlfriends. He sings and plays the guitar. He bought and drove a red motorcycle, until he destroyed the front porch with it. Jack often takes on the role of leader for the boys and always organises stages and tries to hold them together, mainly against their father. Jack is often envied tremendously by Sam mainly due to the reason that Jack is popular in school and has lots of girlfriends while Sam is nerdy and finds it hard to get girls. However there are surprising changes through the series as Sam receives a hot girlfriends while Jack is single and when Sam gets promoted above Jack in a bra and panty store. Although Jack tries to seem independent, he often shows a lot of caring for his brothers, especially T.J. - Erik von DettenErik von DettenErik Thomas von Detten is an American actor. He is known for his roles in Escape to Witch Mountain, Toy Story, Brink!, The Princess Diaries, and So Weird.-Personal life:Von Detten was born in San Diego, California...
as Chris Savage – considered a dumb jock, as he fails five different school subjects. He does so badly in school, he has to pretend his last name is Rodriguez just to stay on the football team, but surprisingly learns to speak Spanish to do so convincingly. Chris seems to have a very strong conscience as opposed to Kyle, which is shown when he butchers his old class frog under peer pressure and then imagines the spirit of the frog coming back to haunt him. Chris often agrees with Jack due to Jack's great persuasion skills, combined with the fact that Chris is easily swayed. He also shows violence as a way of solving his problems as he's not good with words. He clearly shows his superiority over his younger brothers through his often used punishment "You're going in the pit" inherited from his father. - Andrew EidenAndrew EidenAndrew Michael Eiden is an American actor who comes from a family of theater folk including his sister, , his actor/writer mother, Susan Hunter Eiden, and his director father, Michael Eiden...
as Sam Savage – the middle son considered "black sheepBlack sheepIn the English language, black sheep is an idiom used to describe an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within a family. The term has typically been given negative implications, implying waywardness...
" of the group, as he is responsible and does his school work. He enjoys studying and being with his girlfriend. Sam was always considered by the boys' father as the easiest one to break when the boys were staging a front. He often uses Sam and puts him under pressure to make him crack, this is shown in the pilot episode when the boys refuse to clean until their dad re-hires a maid. Nick tells Angela (Sam's dream girl) to come over to meet Sam, the boys then take pity on Sam and clean the house so Angela can come over. Another instance is when Jack buys a motor cycle, which Nick banned them to drive, which Sam falls off the back off and sprains his arm. When Nick finds out, he wants to arm wrestle Sam to try to get him to admit that they rode the bike. The majority of the plots surrounding Sam play him as the "straight" man in the comedy routine. He is not athletic shown by how he passed every subject but PE/Gym at school in the episode "Tutoring" and was still unable to successfully climb the rope. - Evan EllingsonEvan EllingsonEvan Taylor Ellingson is an American actor.Ellingson grew up in La Verne, California with his three older brothers.He guest-starred on MAD TV, and then had a regular role on the Fox sitcom Titus. In 2004, Evan was chosen to play Kyle Savage on the Mel Gibson-produced short-lived sitcom Complete...
as Kyle Savage – the is unruly and constantly causing chaos. He has little regard for the safety of himself or others. Unlike his brother Chris, Kyle shows a lack of a conscienceConscienceConscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms...
. He rarely feels bad or guilty about anything he does. When he admits to smoking for $5 his dad expresses that he is disappointed in Kyle, Kyle merely shrugs and goes back to eating dinner. As an April Fool's joke he pushes a postman down the stairs, and laughs as he tells his brothers about it. He frequently hangs around with his younger brother T.J., whom he often convinces to do stupid things. He shows signs of selfishness, for example, the time when he and T.J. stole a game from a ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
charity for kids and decided they want it for themselves, after a touching appeal on TV for presents, T.J. is convinced to give it back while Kyle simply states "wow...they almost had me". Also, when he gets his first girlfriend, he decides to take her out instead of going out with T.J. like he promised. Despite his misbehavior, he appears to be more mischievous rather than malicious. He does have a softer side, as seen by his willingness to quit smoking to help his dad quit, and also his baking of brownies for a girl he is smitten with. His favorite phrase is "Kyle Rules" as he spray paints it everywhere including on an elephant as a Halloween prank. He gets into lots of trouble in school resulting in detention nearly every day yet forging his dads signature on the slip to avoid being found out. He is reckless and proud. - Jason DolleyJason DolleyJason Scott Dolley , is an American actor and musician, best known for his roles on different Disney Channel projects. These include Newton "Newt" Livingston III on Cory in the House, Virgil Fox in Minutemen, Connor Kennedy in Read It and Weep and Pete Ivey in Hatching Pete...
as T.J. Savage – the youngest son who basically does everything Kyle tells him to do. He constantly shows his obsession of farts, during ThanksgivingThanksgiving (United States)Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
when everybody else claim to be thankful for girls, T.J. claims to be fond of farts. He asks his dads' girlfriend, who is a radio host, if she had ever said "fart" on the radio, to which she replies "no but when I do I will dedicate it to you". When Sam rings the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
in regards to a birthday card, before he can ring, he asks if Sam will ask if the president has ever said "fart" in the Oval OfficeOval OfficeThe Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.The room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end...
. T.J. is a typical little brother. Nick Savage seems to be proud of T.J. introducing him to his girlfriend along with Sam. He is considered cute but deceiving with a reckless side. - Vincent VentrescaVincent VentrescaVincent Paul Gerard Ventresca is an American actor, best known for playing Darien Fawkes on SCI FI's The Invisible Man .-Early years:...
as Jimmy Savage – Nick's brother who works as a firefighter along with Nick. His personality is quite the opposite of his brother's, and more inline of Nick's sons, and he seemed to lead a careless life. He has participated in dating ads and seems to be a complete savage.
Minor cast
- Brittany CurranBrittany CurranBrittany Elizabeth Curran is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role as Pamela in Go Figure and as Chelsea Brimmer on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.-Career:...
as Josie – Kyle's equally delinquent girlfriend which he met in detention and quickly liked. She was his first kiss and is practically Kyle in girl form for example her conscience and impulsiveness. - Autumn ReeserAutumn ReeserAutumn Alicia Reeser is an American actress and blogger. She has portrayed Taylor Townsend on the Fox series The O.C., Lizzie Grant on HBO's Entourage and most recently appeared as Katie Andrews on ABC's No Ordinary Family....
as Angela Anderson – Sam's girlfriend. She is very much like Sam, in that she was very studious. Doesn't show interest in him at first even though Sam is quickly smitten with her and works extremely hard to get her attention. - Kylie SparksKylie SparksKylie Sparks is an American actress, most known for having played the lead role in the 2005 feature film Pizza....
as Brenda – the neighborhood bully. She is in the glee club, and is not very liked by the Savage family, even Nick pranks her house on HalloweenHalloweenHallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
. She is big, brutal and impulsive; expressed interest in dating Sam in one episode. - Mel GibsonMel GibsonMel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
as Officer Steve Cox – a cop in a series of cheesy safety videos especially on motorcycles Nick shows to Jack to stop him riding his motorcycle. His videos normally had a good looking woman, Misty (Candace KitaCandace KitaCandace Kita real name Candace Bender, is a Japanese-American actress and former fashion model, who has appeared in roles in TV shows such as Complete Savages, Two and a Half Men, According to Jim, and Ugly Betty.-Acting:...
), in them, that would die at the end of it from a motorcycle related incident. - Betty WhiteBetty WhiteBetty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
as Mrs. Agnes Riley – the crotchety old neighbor. She has a heart attack in one episode, and was saved by the boys unconventional ways of CPR. In a different episode, it is revealed that she had a prosthetic leg. - Kelly as the Savages' nameless pet dog – she is not very fond of Sam but is practically part of the family; eating at the table and getting involved in all the mischief. She is well trained and probably more civil than the boys.
- Mrs Savage- The unseen Matriach of the family who Nick divorced after a string of incidents that ended with glass in his meatloaf. She is said to be insane by several members of the family and Nick thratens the boys several times with calling he back when they misbehave.
Episodes
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|