F: Ferris Bueller

 

Ferris Bueller

Yes, a TV adaptation of the hit movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, one of several movie-to-TV adaptations during the 1990-91 TV season. This was on NBC Mondays. It premiered in late August 1990, ahead of most of the other new shows, and was cancelled in mid-December, with one leftover episode airing in August of 1991. The series was set in Santa Monica, California, even though the film had taken place in Chicago.

Charlie Schlatter stepped into the title role, with Richard Riehle as his nemesis, Principal Ed Rooney. Brandon Douglas was Ferris's friend Cameron Frye and Ami Dolenz (daughter of Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees) played Sloan Peterson, Ferris's love interest. Sam Freed and Cristine Rose were Ferris's parents and Judith Kahan was Rooney's secretary Grace. The most famous cast member, however, is Jennifer Aniston, who played Ferris's older sister, Jeannie. This was later the basis of an inside joke on a Friends episode. Jennifer Grey, who played Jeannie in the movie, appeared on Friends as Rachel's friend Mindy who becomes engages to Rachel's former fiancé, and asks Rachel to be maid-of-honor. (In a later episode focused on the said wedding, however, another actress played Mindy). 

I did watch this show, but I must admit I have never seen the movie in full. While in college I caught a piece of it on cable, but did not have the energy (and probably not the time) to sit through it all. The series ratings quickly declined, and the series suffered comparisons to the film as well as to another new series, the more successful Parker Lewis Can't Lose, on Fox. 

Below is the series intro and a clip on Aniston in the pilot episode (More from the show can be seen here):