Style & Substance (1998)

About

When famous but eccentric homemaker Chelsea Stevens' (Jean Smart) media empire is sold to the evil Ferber Corporation, she finds herself having to answer to naive Midwesterner Jane Sokol (Nancy McKeon). At first it's a chore for both of them, but soon the duo build a rapport. Also working in the office is flamboyant decorator Mr. John (Joseph Maher, in his final role before his death), abrasive food stylist Trudy Weissman (Linda Kash), Chelsea's lovably inept secretary Terry (Heath Hyche) who's a few cards short of a full deck, and lecherous lawyer Bobby (Vyto Ruginis), plus Chelsea's Elvis-wannabe handyman/gardener/spiritual advisor Earl (Alan Autry) makes frequent appearances.

Created by "Rescue Me"'s Peter Tolan (who plays a minor role in the show), legend has it that Martha Stewart, who also had a high-rated show on CBS at the time, was livid that she was being poked fun at, which led to the show's swift cancellation a month after it premiered - though all but the finale were burned off during the summer (as a P.S., Stewart's wrath also led to the cancellation of the similarly-themed Judith Light vehicle "The Simple Life"). "Style & Substance" garnered decent ratings and went on to develop a bit of a cult following, but over 20 years later, it's never been issued on DVD or made available on any streaming platforms -- and an earlier pilot starring Kathleen Turner has yet to see the light of day.

Episodes are arranged in production order, which drastically deviates from the order in which they were aired on TV. The first and 8th episode are broadcast quality, the rest are duplicated from studio VHS screeners. Also included is an excerpt from an episode of Biography in which Smart and McKeon discuss the show, as well as a clip from McKeon's interview with Tom Snyder, an assortment of CBS promos swiped YouTube, and Touchstone's press kit for the series, which includes some interesting information including Chelsea's "Helpful Hints."

Shared for archival purposes only, no infringement is intended.

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Archive

Internet Archive, in The VHS Vault

Licence or status

The Internet Archive states none for this item.

Credit

The Cloudland Company

Language

English

Who can watch

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