'' was an
American Television Sitcom series which ran from
August 31 ,
1976 to
July 2 ,
1985 on
CBS .
The series was based on the movie ''
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore '' (1974).
Finding herself an unemployed widow after her husband, Donald, was killed in a truck accident, Alice Hyatt and her young son, Tommy, moved out of their home in
New Jersey and began traveling to
Los Angeles in hopes that she would find a singing career. Her car broke down in
Phoenix, Arizona and she took a job as a waitress at Mel's Diner where she worked alongside Mel (the grouchy, stingy owner/cook) and fellow waitresses (and friends) sassy, man-hungry Flo and neurotic, scatterbrained Vera.
In the middle of the
1979 -
1980 season, Flo left (to go to her own spin-off series ''
Flo '') in the storyline of '', she left to take a hostess job in
Houston but then decided to run her own restaurant) and
Diane Ladd (who played Flo in the film version) joined the cast as Belle, a hard-edged but kind-hearted woman who had a past with Mel and had a failed catchphrase in "my little voice." In spite of Ladd's talents, the character never gelled with most of the fans and the ratings began to decline. In early
1981 , Ladd left the series and was replaced by theater actress
Celia Weston , who played the good-natured, boisterous truck driver Jolene. In the storyline of the show, Belle left to take a job as a backup singer in Nashville.
Jolene brought a softer edge to situations than Flo and Belle had, and with the changes, the program returned to the top 10 for several seasons. The series then began to focus on character development, such as the courtship and marriage of Vera and loveable cop Elliot. By the
1984 -
1985 season, many of the situations had been exhausted and Lavin seemed disinterested in continuing the character of Alice (Alice was absent several times in the last year due to Lavin directing a number of episodes or playing another role as Vera's wizened landlady). The series was canceled in 1985. In the last episode of the series, Mel sold the diner and (surprisingly) gave each of his waitresses a $5000 farewell bonus; Jolene opened a beauty parlor; Vera had become pregnant and planned to be a full-time mother and Alice finally got a recording contract (after nine years of trying to get it) and moved to Nashville.
Vic Tayback (Mel Sharples) died in
1990 , but most of the other cast members have continued to appear fairly regularly in theater, television and the occasional film.
Flo's
Catch Phrase , "Kiss my grits" was briefly popular at the time the show ran.
On June 27, 2006, 6 episodes of ''Alice'' will be released on DVD as part of the Warner Brothers' Television Favorites Compilation. The episodes are as follows:
- Alice Gets a Pass, 08/31/76 - Pilot episode.
- The Odd Couple, 02/26/77 - When Flo's trailer is stolen, Alice allows Flo to move in with her. Alice finds Flo's habits difficult to deal with.
- Close Encounters of the Worst Kind, 01/22/78 - Alice's use of psychology causes tension among her coworkers.
- Block Those Kicks, 10/22/78 - The waitresses decide to give up their bad habits in order to encourage Mel to give up his gambling habit.
- Cabin Fever, 12/02/79 - The waitresses, Mel and his girlfriend unknowingly book the same cabin during the same weekend.
- Flo's Farewell, 02/24/80 - Flo leaves Mel's diner for a hosting job at a restaurant in Texas.
A popular computer game,
Diner Dash , features a character named Flo who tries to build a restaurant empire, working as waitress and busboy as well as owner. However, this Flo comes from a background in finance/accounting (per the opening of the game), with no known prior restaurant experience.
The waitress that works for Dex at the diner in the movie Star Wars: Episode II, Attack of the Clones, is named F.L.O. and even has a "southern" robotic accent. This may have been inspired by the ''Alice'' episode "The Robot Wore Pink", where Mel uses an automated waitress to replace Alice.
