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I-40 Paradise is a 30-minute daily cable TV sitcom broadcast on The Nashville Network from March 1983, when the network was first launched, and lasted until at least April 1986.

The series was so popular that a weekly 30 minute spinoff, Pickin’ at the Paradise, began in December 1983.

Premise

"The havoc and hi-jinks involved in running a restaurant and entertainment spot just outside Nashville are explored with hilarious results" was how early television listings described the series.

The series was set in the small town of Crab Orchard, Tennessee, and most scenes took place in the roadside diner, I-40 Paradise, that had a separate-room tavern where country artists often stopped to perform. There was a house-band, The Mighty Notes, headed by singer Buck Taylor. Buck's younger brother, Randy, was also in the band.

Local residents frequented I-40 Paradise, and they were part of the episode storylines. Stories included: Sonny, Buck, Orvis and Calvin join a group that helps fatherless boys, but have to share Crab Orchard's only orphan; Will Georgia quit her job to pursue a career in art?; Lathrop is kidnapped and held for ransom; and Velma and Calvin consider marriage.

Cast

• Barbara George as Paradise owner LuAnn Bledsoe
• Bruce Camahan as mechanic Sonny Rollins
• John Ribble as bartender Stogie
• Trish Dougherty as waitress Georgia
• Jack Crook as singer Buck Taylor
• Lionel Cartwright as singer Randy Taylor
• Kelli Warren as singer Melody Dawn Rainey
• Bruce Borin as shoe factory worker Calvin
• Mike McElroy as pool hall owner Lathrop
• Park Overall as banker's daughter Tina Fudball (occasional role)

Guest stars

Country music performers would drop in on their way to Nashville and sing a couple of songs on each episode. One of the first guest stars to tape segments for the show was Helen Cornelius, and Ty Herndon was on several episodes before he became well known. Reba McEntire was on two episodes. In one she just sang, but the other had her take part in a conversation about video games, which was one of her first opportunities to act.

Production

The series was produced by Cinetel Productions in Knoxville, Tennessee. Producer Ross Bagwell rented a warehouse to use as a studio, and hired mostly local dinner-theater actors as regulars. Outside shots of the I-40 Paradise building were of the nearby Mount Olive Trading Post, a grocery store that closed in 1987.

Lionel Cartwright, who'd been working at the Wheeling Jamboree, wrote the series theme song, and acted as one of the house-band singers.

Spin off series

On December 25, 1983 Pickin’ at the Paradise began a six-week pilot run as a 30-minute Sunday series, advertised as a weekly visit to the Paradise's music room, where Crab Orchard residents would stop by to hear the house-band sing. Regulars included Lionel Cartwright as Randy, Jack Crook as Buck, and Kelli Warren as Melody Dawn. Lionel Cartwright wrote the series theme song.

The Cineteo Productions series was popular enough that additional episodes were made, and the series aired until at least March 1986.

References

1. Erlewine, Michael, All Music Guide to Country, page 78, Miller-Freedman, 1997
2. Daily Listings, The Times Recorder, March 18, 1983, page 15
3. Coming Soon! - TNN ad, The Germantown News (Germantown, TN), March 3, 1983, page 5
4. Television and Radio, The Boston Globe, April 25, 1986, page 23
5. ^ New special is paradise, The Daily News-Journal (Murfreesboro, TN), December 11, 1983, page 80
6. TV listing, Longview News-Journal, March 27, 1983, page 126
7. Cable Tonight, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, April 13, 1983, page 46
8. ^ Wolfe, Charles K, & Akenson, James E., Country Music Annual 2001 (ebook), University Press of Kentucky, page 16-17
9. Weekday TV, New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung (New Braunfels, TX) December 14, 1984, page 34
10. Weekday TV, New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung (New Braunfels, TX), November 4, 1984, page 55
11. Weekday TV, New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung (New Braunfels, TX) March 31, 1985, page 49]
12. Weekday TV, New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung (New Braunfels, Texas), December 23, 1984, page 43]
13. Otto, Becky, Actor wants to contribute to new theater movement, Kingsport Times-News (Kingsport, TN), January 1, 1988, page 90
14. Hull, Christopher, Actress learns to fly on television series, The Morning Star (Vernon, BC, Canada ), December 21, 1989, page 45
15. Davis, Doug, Country Happenings, The Times Recorder (Zanesville, Ohio), March 11, 1983, page 31
16. Oermann, Robert K., Herndon goes from 'pretty boy' to hit maker. The Tennessean, May 13, 1995, page 30
17. Sandvold, Jon, Softball to benefit from McEntire show, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 13, 1983, page 33
18. For Decades, Store Sold Beer On One Side, But Not On Other, The Herald-Sun (Durham, NC), May 17, 1987, page 41
19. ^ 'Chance' carries singer to top, The Tennessean, October 28, 1989, page 57
20. Pay Television, The Province, March 27, 1986, page 158

External links

• I 40 Paradise at IMDb

• 1980s American sitcoms
• 1983 American television series debuts
• 1986 American television series endings
• Television shows set in Tennessee
• The Nashville Network original programming