Picket Fences
Format	Drama, Comedy
Created by	David E. Kelley
Starring	Tom Skerritt Kathy Baker Costas Mandylor Lauren Holly Holly Marie Combs Justin Shenkarow Adam Wylie Fyvush Finkel Ray Walston Kelly Connell Don Cheadle
Opening theme	Picket fences by Stewart Levin
Country of origin	United States
No. Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance. Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and David Edward Kelley (born April 4, 1956) is a multi-Emmy award winning American Writer, Executive producer, and creator of the well-known Thomas Roy "Tom" Skerritt (born August 25, 1933) is an Emmy Award -winning American Actor who has appeared in over 40 films Katherine Whitton "Kathy" Baker (born June 8, 1950) is an Emmy - and Golden Globe Award -winning American Character actress Costas Mandylor (born 3 September 1965 Costas is also an avid Soccer fan and plays occasionally with Hollywood United F Lauren Michael Holly (born October 28 1963 is an American actress. Holly Marie Combs Donoho (born December 3 1973) is an American Actress. Justin Moran Shenkarow (born October 17, 1980 in Torrance California) is an American Actor best known for his roles of Matthew Adam Augustus Wylie (born May 23, 1984) is an American Television and Motion picture Actor, as well as a Broadway Philip “Fyvush” Finkel (born October 9, 1922 in Brooklyn New York) is an American actor best known as a star of Yiddish theater Ray Walston ( December 2 1914 – January 1 2001) was an American stage, Television and Feature film Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle (born November 29, 1964) is an Academy Award -nominated and Golden Globe Award -winning American The United States of America —commonly referred to as the of seasons	4
No.  of episodes	88
Production
Executive producer(s)	David E. Kelley, Alice West
Running time	42 minutes (60 with commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Original run	September 18, 1992 – June 26, 1996
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Picket Fences is a 60-minute television drama which initially ran from September 18, 1992 to June 26, 1996 on the CBS television network in the United States. David Edward Kelley (born April 4, 1956) is a multi-Emmy award winning American Writer, Executive producer, and creator of the well-known CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated The year 1992 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1992. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. The year 1996 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1996. Dramatic programming is Television content that is scripted and (normally fictional Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated The year 1992 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1992. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. The year 1996 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1996. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. A television network is a distribution network for Television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many Television stations The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This show was created by Emmy-award winning producer David E. Kelley. David Edward Kelley (born April 4, 1956) is a multi-Emmy award winning American Writer, Executive producer, and creator of the well-known The show sometimes struggled to maintain a stable prime-time audience, and had wildly fluctuating ratings. In its first season on the air, it only placed 80th in the prime-time Nielsen ratings, and in its second season it moved just slightly to 66th. Nielsen Ratings are audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research to determine the Audience size and composition of television

The series was rerun on FX Network in the late 1990s, and then on TNN. FX (for Fox eXtended is the name of a number of related subscription TV channels owned by News Corporation 's Fox Entertainment Group. A single episode aired on TV Land in 2004 to coincide with their special TV Land Moguls that featured Kelley. TV Land (originally Nick at Nite's TV Land) is an American Cable television network launched April 29, 1996. It currently does not air on American television.

Series overview

The series follows the lives of the residents of the small town of Rome, Wisconsin, where weird things happen, including cows giving birth to human babies, transgender teachers, and a spate of people turning up dead in freezers. Wisconsin ( or wɪˈskɑnsɨn (French Ouisconsin) is one of the fifty United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States Struggling to maintain order in this odd community is Sheriff Jimmy Brock (Tom Skerritt). Thomas Roy "Tom" Skerritt (born August 25, 1933) is an Emmy Award -winning American Actor who has appeared in over 40 films He is married to the town doctor, Jill (Kathy Baker), his second wife. Katherine Whitton "Kathy" Baker (born June 8, 1950) is an Emmy - and Golden Globe Award -winning American Character actress They attempt to bring up their three children, Kimberly (Holly Marie Combs) (from Jimmy's first marriage), Matthew (Justin Shenkarow), and Zachary (Adam Wylie), normally. Holly Marie Combs Donoho (born December 3 1973) is an American Actress. Justin Moran Shenkarow (born October 17, 1980 in Torrance California) is an American Actor best known for his roles of Matthew Adam Augustus Wylie (born May 23, 1984) is an American Television and Motion picture Actor, as well as a Broadway Lauren Holly and Costas Mandylor played impulsive and immature sheriff's deputies Max and Kenny. Lauren Michael Holly (born October 28 1963 is an American actress. Costas Mandylor (born 3 September 1965 Costas is also an avid Soccer fan and plays occasionally with Hollywood United F Bombastic lawyer Douglas Wambaugh (Fyvush Finkel) usually irritated Judge Henry Bone (Ray Walston), whose rulings seemed to be directed more by his own moral compass than by point of law. Philip “Fyvush” Finkel (born October 9, 1922 in Brooklyn New York) is an American actor best known as a star of Yiddish theater Ray Walston ( December 2 1914 – January 1 2001) was an American stage, Television and Feature film After several prosecutors came and went, Don Cheadle joined the cast as John Littleton. Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle (born November 29, 1964) is an Academy Award -nominated and Golden Globe Award -winning American Kelly Connell played medical examiner Carter Pike, and Zelda Rubenstein portrayed police dispatcher Ginny Weedon. Zelda Rubinstein (exact date of birth unknown either 1933 or 1936 is an American actress best known as eccentric medium Tangina Barrons in the movies Other well-known actors who were in the cast included Marlee Matlin, Richard Masur, and Dabbs Greer. This is about the actress For the political professional see Mary Matalin. Richard D Masur (born November 20 1948) is an American actor who has appeared in over 80 movies during his career Robert William "Dabbs" Greer ( April 2, 1917 — April 28, 2007) was an American Character actor who performed

Picket Fences frequently deals with difficult subject matter, including abortion, homosexuality (and homosexual adoption), transsexuality, belief in God, medical ethics, polygamy, polyamory, adolescent sexuality (including nocturnal emissions), date rape, cryonics, the Holocaust, shoe fetishism, masturbation, spontaneous human combustion, and constitutional rights. An Homosexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of the same sex or to a Homosexual orientation. LGBT adoption refers to the Adoption of children by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgendered people Transsexualism is a condition in which a person identifies with a physical Sex different from the one with which they were born Faith is a Belief in the trustworthiness of an Idea. Formal usage of the word "faith" is usually reserved for concepts of Religion, as in Medical ethics is primarily a field of Applied ethics, the study of Moral values and judgments as they apply to Medicine. The term polygamy (a Greek word meaning "the practice of multiple marriage" is used in related ways in Social anthropology, Sociobiology, and A nocturnal emission is an Ejaculation of Semen experienced by a male during Sleep. See also Types of rape The term "date rape" refers to the non-consensual Sexual activity between people who are known to each other either platonically Cryonics is the low-temperature Preservation of Humans and other Animals that can no longer be sustained by contemporary Medicine until The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Shoe fetishism, also known as retifism (after Nicolas-Edme Rétif) is the attribution of attractive sexual qualities to Shoes or other Footwear Masturbation refers to Sexual stimulation especially of one's own genitals ( self masturbation) and often to the point of Orgasm, which Spontaneous human combustion ( SHC) refers to the belief that the human body sometimes burns without an external source of ignition A constitutional right is a Right granted by a Government 's Constitution (on the national or sub-national level and cannot be legally denied by that government Illustrative of the subject matter is that the regular cast included a judge, two lawyers, and a coroner. Religious issues were frequently discussed, and the characters of the town's Catholic priest and Anglican priest were frequently recurring roles. Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs

Mayors

One of the oddest aspects of the series is the revolving door of town mayors who never seemed to last very long. Holding one of the most risky positions in TV history, these are Rome's mayors (and their portrayers), with their fates on the series:

• Mayor Bill Pugen (Michael Keenen): spontaneous combustion after murder conviction
• Mayor Rachel Harris (Leigh Taylor-Young): hounded from office for starring in an adult film
• Acting Mayor Jill Brock (Kathy Baker): jailed, lost bid for re-election
• Mayor Ed Lawson (Richard Masur): entombed in a freezer by his wife, then decapitated
• Acting Mayor Howard Buss (Robert Cornthwaite): suffered from Alzheimer's Disease, fatally shot by his son
• Acting Mayor Maxine Stewart (Lauren Holly): shot and wounded by a shock jock’s fan
• Mayor Laurie "The Dancing Bandit" Bey (Marlee Matlin): mayor at series end, despite bank robbery convictions. Leigh Taylor-Young (born January 25, 1945 in Washington DC, as simply Leigh Taylor) is an Emmy Award-winning American Katherine Whitton "Kathy" Baker (born June 8, 1950) is an Emmy - and Golden Globe Award -winning American Character actress Richard D Masur (born November 20 1948) is an American actor who has appeared in over 80 movies during his career Robert Cornthwaite ( April 28, 1917 — July 20, 2006) was an American film and television character actor who began his acting career Alzheimer's disease ( AD) also called Alzheimer disease or simply Alzheimer's, is the most common form of Dementia. Lauren Michael Holly (born October 28 1963 is an American actress. This is about the actress For the political professional see Mary Matalin. She was offered the job as part of her 3,000 hours community service sentencing.

Main cast

• Tom Skeritt as Sheriff Jimmy Brock
• Kathy Baker as Dr. Thomas Roy "Tom" Skerritt (born August 25, 1933) is an Emmy Award -winning American Actor who has appeared in over 40 films Katherine Whitton "Kathy" Baker (born June 8, 1950) is an Emmy - and Golden Globe Award -winning American Character actress Jill Brock
• Costas Mandylor as Kenny Lacos
• Lauren Holly as Maxine Stewart
• Holly Marie Combs as Kimberly Brock
• Justin Shenkarow as Matthew Brock
• Adam Wylie as Zack Brock
• Fyvush Finkel as Douglas Wambaugh
• Ray Walston as Judge Henry Bone
• Kelly Connell as Carter Pike
• Zelda Rubinstein as Ginny Weedon
• Don Cheadle as D. Costas Mandylor (born 3 September 1965 Costas is also an avid Soccer fan and plays occasionally with Hollywood United F Lauren Michael Holly (born October 28 1963 is an American actress. Holly Marie Combs Donoho (born December 3 1973) is an American Actress. Justin Moran Shenkarow (born October 17, 1980 in Torrance California) is an American Actor best known for his roles of Matthew Adam Augustus Wylie (born May 23, 1984) is an American Television and Motion picture Actor, as well as a Broadway Philip “Fyvush” Finkel (born October 9, 1922 in Brooklyn New York) is an American actor best known as a star of Yiddish theater Ray Walston ( December 2 1914 – January 1 2001) was an American stage, Television and Feature film Zelda Rubinstein (exact date of birth unknown either 1933 or 1936 is an American actress best known as eccentric medium Tangina Barrons in the movies Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle (born November 29, 1964) is an Academy Award -nominated and Golden Globe Award -winning American A. John Littleton

Episodes

Main article: List of Picket Fences episodes

Picket Fences had a total of 88 episodes and four seasons. This is a list of Picket Fences episodes, in the order that they originally aired on CBS.

Crossovers

The series had two crossover episodes with another David E. Kelley series, Chicago Hope, one occurring in each series. Chicago Hope is an American Emmy Award -winning CBS Medical drama series created by David E In the first, on Picket Fences, Dr. Jill Brock accompanies Douglas Wambaugh to Chicago Hope Hospital over concerns of his heart. In the second, Wambaugh is back at Chicago Hope Hospital causing trouble for the doctors. Lauren Holly later joined the cast of Chicago Hope as Dr. Lauren Michael Holly (born October 28 1963 is an American actress. Jeremy Hanlon and Tom Skerritt appeared in a different role as a guest star. Thomas Roy "Tom" Skerritt (born August 25, 1933) is an Emmy Award -winning American Actor who has appeared in over 40 films

Also, as the story goes David E. Kelley and Chris Carter (creator of The X-Files) were talking in a parking lot on the Fox lot one day and thought it might be interesting to have Mulder and Scully visit Rome, Wisconsin for an X-Files episode. Christopher Carl Carter (born October 13, 1956) is an American Screenwriter, Film director and producer, best known The X-Files is a Peabody, Golden Globe and Emmy Award -winning American Science fiction television series created by Chris Carter Originally, the two shows would be shot with different viewpoints – one from the X-Files perspective and the other from Picket Fences. The official approval was never given by Fox and CBS, so the only remnants we have of this effort are the X-Files episode "Red Museum" and the Picket Fences episode "Away in the Manger" having similar plotlines involving cows. " Red Museum " was the tenth episode of the second season of The X-Files science-fiction television series created by Chris While every reference to Picket Fences has been purged from the X-Files episode, there still are some small winks left in the Picket Fences episode referring to the happenings at the X-Files and some minor characters there.

DVD release

20th Century Fox has released the first season of Picket Fences on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the Home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio

Awards

Picket Fences won fourteen Emmy Awards (including "Best Dramatic Series" twice) and one Golden Globe in its four-year run. The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and Television programs given out each year during a formal dinner A substantial following for the show persists to today, and it's popular as reruns in western Europe, especially in France, Germany, and Denmark. A rerun or repeat is a re-airing of an episode of a Radio or Television broadcast. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe It is currently being rerun in French in Canada on Radio-Canada under the title Bienvenue a Rome, USA, it is currently airing in the UK on The Hallmark Channel. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Hallmark Channel is a Cable television network that broadcasts in over 100 countries

Trivia

• There are two actual towns called Rome in Wisconsin, one 75 miles north of Madison and the other 45 miles west of Milwaukee. Rome is a town in Adams County in the US state of Wisconsin. The population was 2656 at the 2000 census Madison is the capital of the US state of Wisconsin and the County seat of Dane County. Rome is a Census-designated place (CDP in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, along the Bark River. A long-running story arc about busing black children in from Green Bay, Wisconsin suggests neither of the real Romes is the location for the fictional Rome. Desegregation busing in the United States (also known as forced busing or busing) is the practice of attempting to integrate schools by assigning students to Green Bay is a city in and the County seat of Brown County in the U A map on a TV news report (within Picket Fences) during this storyline showed Rome east of Green Bay, rather near Kewaunee, Wisconsin. Kewaunee is a city in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, United States.

• Exteriors for the show were mostly shot in Monrovia, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. Monrovia is a city located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Generally these were simple exteriors of buildings such as City Hall (side entrance to Monrovia City Hall), the Hogan County Courthouse (the United Methodist Church of Monrovia) and Dr. Jill Brock's Office (a Red Cross office at the time, now an Annex to Monrovia City Hall) shot by the second unit. In Film, the second unit is a team that shoots Footage which is of lesser importance for the final Motion picture, as opposed to the first unit which shoots Over the period of 1992-1996 several extensive and large scenes were also filmed in town, including two parades where many citizens and organizations within Monrovia participated in the filming.

• Kathy Baker was the runner-up actress in terms of a number of episodes an actor appeared in. Katherine Whitton "Kathy" Baker (born June 8, 1950) is an Emmy - and Golden Globe Award -winning American Character actress She appeared in almost every episode of the series, between 1992–1996, missing only one episode in the final season, for a total of 87 of the 88 episodes produced. Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar)

• In the first season, Ray Walston had a recurring role, but since his character proved to be so popular, he was offered a starring role beginning with the 1993 season. Ray Walston ( December 2 1914 – January 1 2001) was an American stage, Television and Feature film At that time, after he joined the cast, he didn't miss a single episode of the show.

• In the sixth episode of the first season, "Remembering Rosemary", Kimberly states that she is going to a party at Jimmy Berluti's house, the name of a main character from The Practice. It is assumed that Berluti is the name of a friend of Kelley's.

• Michelle Pfeiffer (Kelley's wife) appears uncredited in the episode, "Freezer Burn. Michelle Marie Pfeiffer ( IPA: /mɪˈʃɛl ˈfаɪfɜr/ born April 29 1958 is an American Actress. " Producers snuck the footage on to surprise Kelley, and CBS wasn't aware until the episode was broadcast. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network.

• Finkel and Walston attempted to reunite in 1996 (after the series' cancellation) in the half-hour sitcom, "Mixed Nuts" which NBC bought after CBS passed. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. The pilot did not go to series.

See also

• Chicago Hope
• The Practice
• Ally McBeal
• Boston Legal

References