BEDTIME {MARK MEETS NIKKI} {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)

Summary

The premiere of this drama series about the lives of six couples, viewed through their conversations and activities just before they go to sleep.

In San Francisco, California, young medical student Mark brings home Nikki, a woman he has just met. Nikki is a singer and feels passionately about her work; Mark is on a scholarship and has yet to determine what type of doctor he wishes to become. They have sex, and Nikki convinces Mark to let her tie his hands to his bedposts with neckties. Unbeknownst to Mark, Nikki has some sort of other boyfriend or husband, and she keeps her whereabouts a secret from him.

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, married couple Craig and Jenny experience problems when Jenny starts to question her life and relationship with the aid of a number of books and magazines about women’s issues. She makes a living by cutting hair out of her home, but she hopes to work in a salon and get out of the house more often. Craig seems insensitive to her plight and she tries to engage in a role-reversal exercise with him, which culminates in them making fun of each other and eventually having sex. She tries to tell him about the lack of communication in their lives and how she feels unfulfilled sexually, but Craig is unwilling to listen and tries to throw her books in the trash, believing that their lives together are good and that she shouldn’t yearn for anything more.

In Miami, Florida, older married couple Louis and Jean are brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed, having just moved into a new place. They both were previously married; Jean grew apart from her philandering husband and eventually divorced him, but Louis lost his first wife after a long battle with cancer, and he has still not fully emotionally recovered from her death. Jean is concerned that Louis seems to avoid talking about her and notes that no matter how hard she tries, she cannot replace her. Louis resolves the issue by stating that he still loves Jean and that he will learn to reconcile his feelings for his late wife, exemplified by their minor quibble over which side of the bed to sleep on.

In Raleigh, North Carolina, Bob and Jane make an attempt to conceive a child together, their latest in a series of attempts stretching back more than two years. They have become quite snippy with each other over the matter, especially since Bob seems more focused on his work than on Jane. They have an argument about his motivation to produce a child which ends in bemusement on both sides. After their latest attempt they reflect on the reasons why they wanted to have a child in the first place, and Jane laments that it went from something they wanted to do as an ultimate act of love to something they felt bound to do by some sort of duty. She also notes that she feels “old,” but Bob believes she is just tired of constantly attempting to get pregnant. They both admit that the prospect of not having a child together is difficult for them to deal with.

In Greenwich Village, NY, advertising worker Donna and bank executive Liz live together as a lesbian couple. Donna is open about her homosexuality but Liz is not, which becomes problematic when her parents announce that they are coming to visit. She proposes that they conceal their sexuality and pretend that Donna is merely her roommate, but Donna feels upset that Liz is ashamed of her and doesn’t want to fully incorporate her into her life. Liz is jealous that Donna can be open about being a lesbian, but Donna notes that it was a long, difficult, and ongoing process for her, and that her parents will never accept her unless she is truthful with them about the matter.

In Rockford, Illinois, Rick and Kathy argue about their child’s recent basketball game in which Rick served as a referee. He made a call against a player on their own team which Kathy argues cost them the entire game, although Rick vehemently disagrees. He is convinced that not only did he make the correct call, but that they would have lost the game even if he had called it differently. Kathy believes that the call was motivated by personal reasons; the kid he made the call against, Brandon, is someone he has disliked for a long time, and he hates Brandon’s parents as well. Kathy surprises Rick by telling him that she was asked to be the referee of the next game and accepted, even taking his prized whistle. He can do little to argue with her about this.

(This program contains audiovisual errors; there is missing content at ~0:01:51, ~0:05:45, ~10:38, ~12:35, ~14:32, ~16:30, ~18:27, ~21:23, ~23:19, ~25:16, and ~27:12. It represents the best copy available at this time.)

Details

• NETWORK: Showtime
• DATE:
• RUNNING TIME: 0:28:04
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: 117027
• GENRE: Drama
• SUBJECT HEADING: LGBT Collection; Drama
• SERIES RUN: Showtime - TV series, 1996
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Fred Silverman … Executive Producer
• Ivan Menchell … Co-Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
• Mary Jo Blue … Producer
• Fernando Roca … Associate Producer
• J.D. Lobue … Director
• Anthony Morina … Director
• James Patrick Dunne … Theme Music by
• Teri Austin … Cast, Jane
• Jim Holmes … Cast, Bob
• Gretchen Palmer … Cast, Nikki
• Kevin Lamont Smith … Cast, Mark
• Sally Murphy … Cast, Jenny
• Matt Battaglia … Cast, Craig
• Susan Gibney … Cast, Liz
• Felicity Huffman … Cast, Donna
• Judith Scarpone … Cast, Jean
• Tony Perez … Cast, Louis
• Karen Witter … Cast, Kathy
• Todd McKee … Cast, Rick