Voting Station

Benson

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TV Series

The Resume

    (September 13, 1979-April 19, 1986)
    Aired on ABC
    Spin-off of Soap
    Robert Guillaume as Benson DuBois
    James Noble as Governor Eugene Gatling
    Missy Gold as Katie Gatling
    Inga Swenson as Gretchen Kraus
    Lewis J. Stadlen as John Taylor (1979-80)
    Rene Auberjonois as Clayton Endicott III (1980-86)
    Caroline McWilliams as Marcy Hill (1979-81)
    Didi Conn as Denise Stevens Downey (1981-85)
    Ethan Phillips as Pete Downey (1980-85)
    Premise: Benson leaves 'Soap' to run a governor's household

Why Benson might be annoying:

    The state Gatling was governor of was never named.
    In one episode, Benson has to defeat the Grim Reaper in death-themed Trivial Pursuit to save a bus full of children threatened by a storm. (There's a lighthearted sitcom moment for you.)
    Even in sitcom-land, butler to lieutenant governor is an unusual career path.
    The show ended with an unresolved cliffhanger: Benson and Gatling both run for the governor's office, and the winner is never revealed.

Why Benson might not be annoying:

    It lasted nearly twice as long as the show it spun off from.
    An unknown comedian named Jerry Seinfeld made his TV debut playing a messenger in three episodes.
    It was the first network TV show to have characters using the internet. (For any nitpickers out there: technically, they used ARPANET, the government and military predecessor of the internet.)

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 20 Votes: 5.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 74 Votes: 43.24% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 12 Votes: 41.67% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 113 Votes: 46.90% Annoying