Benson was a half-hour Sitcom that aired on ABC from 1979-1986. A Spin-Off of Soap, it starred Robert Guillaume as Benson DuBois, who took over as head of household affairs at the Govenor's Mansion under Gov. Eugene Gatling (James Noble) - cousin to Jessica and Mary of Soap. This put him in immediate conflict with Kraus (Inga Swenson), the head cook who coveted the position for herself. Other characters included Katie (Missy Gold), Gene's daughter; Clayton Endicott III (Rene Auberjonois), Gene's Chief of Staff; Pete Downey (Ethan Phillips), the Governor's official press secretary/photographer; and Denise Stevens Downey (Didi Conn), Benson's ditzy personal secretary.As the show went on, Benson climbed up the political ladder, thanks to Gov. Gatling's trust in him, going from working in the mansion staff to state Budget Director, and then to Lt. Governor, before finally running for Governor himself in the final season.
The second Christmas Episode had him sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem" with the extra bonus of lighting the tree with his music.
Season five's "Too Pooped To Pip" let him do a duet with Gladys Knight.
Chess with Death: Or in this case, Trivial Pursuit with Death—for the fate of a busload of schoolkids. "G.Reaper" ends up losing because he missed a question on Charles Bronson—the answer was "Death Wish."
The first, "Mary and her Little Lambs," had Kraus sing a German version of "Silent Night," followed by the above bit of Benson singing "O Holy Night."
The second was an Itsa Wonderful Plot where Benson had a serious car accident and the spirit of his late mother was trying to convince him to go back to Earth. Benson sang "O Little Town of Bethlehem."
Keep Circulating the Tapes: Only seasons 1 and 2 have been released on DVD so far, despite every season of its parent program Soap being readily available on DVD and on Netflix, and the show rarely plays in reruns anywhere (though it began airing in the U.S. on Antenna TV in 2012).
Left Hanging: The show was cancelled at the end of its 7th season. The series finale ended on a freeze frame of Benson awaiting the election results. Conflicting accounts exist for this - one is that the staff shot three different endings to cover three scenarios, but wasn't satisfied with any of them and used the freeze frame instead. The other, from a staff member of the show, suggests the network insisted on the cliffhanger and planned to cancel the series due to dissatisfaction with the storyline of a potential 8th season.
Let's Put On A Show!: Season four's "Kraus Sings the Blues" has the gang having to take over an entire Jerry Lewis-style telethon, complete with having to fill in for the acts.
Loophole Abuse: Gene uses a loophole in the state constitution to run for a third term, despite the fact that he'd already endorsed Benson in the race.
Losing The Team Spirit: One episode has Gene's sister convince him to put Katie in a boarding school—and the whole cast is depressed afterwards without Katie. Benson and Gene later drive through the night to get Katie back to the mansion the next day. Everyone's happy, with Katie asking Kraus for "a big bowl of her oatmeal."
Also, the second Christmas episode, where a Bad Future happened when Benson didn't survive a car accident.
Pointless Civic Project: In one instance, federal auditors discover an unexpected budget surplus of $8 million and insist that the state spend that money or their federal distribution will be reduced by twice that much the next fiscal year (which starts tomorrow). Benson & Clayton try to find a way to spend it before the end of the day. In the end Benson decides that's stupid, and just announces that they have a surplus.
Trash Talk: A duel between Benson and Clayton is decided when Benson opts to have them "playing the dozens" and use insults at the weapon of choice. By the end Clayton is punch-drunk from being on the receiving end while Benson shows why he's the Master.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Benson and Kraus evolve into this by the end of the series.
Viva Las Vegas: A sixth-season episode had them going there for a lieutenant governor's convention.
What Might Have Been: A show runner revealed that if the show hadn't been cancelled, the eighth season would've featured Gene winning re-election and Benson becoming a Senator.
Where The Hell Is Springfield: The state Benson was set in was never revealed, nor was the name of the city the mansion was located in.
The capital city is always referred to as...Capital City. That might be its proper name.
Which would theoretically put it in the same state as the Trope Namer?
They do mention a "Springfield" in one season 3 episode, which is good enough for this troper to make it an official WMG.
You Look Familiar: Both from the parent show, Soap. Inga Swenson (Kraus) played Corrine's birth mother Ingrid Svenson. Caroline McWilliams (Marcy) played Burt's secretary, who claimed to have had an affair with him at the behest of Svenson. It was never mentioned on Benson.
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