Muscle is an Americansitcomtelevision series that aired on The WB from January 11 to May 24, 1995. It was set inside the fictional Survival Gym in New York City, and was a parody of prime time soap operas of the 1990s. The series was created by Rob LaZebnik, and was executive produced by Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas and Gary S. Levine. Muscle was one of the four sitcoms that aired as part of the original Wednesday night two-hour WB lineup, at 9:30/8:30c. It was the only one of the four that did not make it past the first season, and was also the first series to get canceled on the brand new WB. Like its inspiration, ABC's Soap from the 1970s, it ended on an unresolved cliffhanger after being canceled due to low ratings.
Synopsis
The central plot concerned the murder of "Big" Jim Atkinson, the president and founder of the chain of gyms, by poisoning in the first episode. His son Kent, a former alcoholic and drug addict, was determined to figure out who the killer was and bring him or her to justice. His original suspect was his stepmother and the new president of the company, Jane Atkinson.
Cast
Main
Dan Gauthier as Kent Atkinson, was the son of the founder of Survivor Gyms, Jim Atkinson. The two of them had a contentious relationship fueled by the fact that Kent never felt that his father thought he was good enough. This may have contributed to his various acts of rebellion against his father, such as his alcoholism, drug abuse and frequent womanizing.
Shannon Kenny as Jane Atkinson, was Big Jim Atkinson's beautiful, British, and much younger, wife. She was portrayed throughout the series as being very manipulative and was the series principal villain. Her character can in part be seen as a parody of Joan Collins' character, Alexis, on the television series Dynasty.
Amy Pietz as Bronwyn Jones, was Kent's cousin, and a local television news anchor. At the start of the series she was a closeted lesbian, Robert Bingham would try and blackmail her in order to keep her secret. Bronwyn would respond by outing herself at the end of one of her own news casts. This would cause the news director to exploit this fact. For example, he designed a news promo about problems in health care as: "Naughty Nurses" featuring two beautiful women in nursing outfits having a pillow fight. Then the announcer would say the local news channel's name, "...featuring Bronwyn Jones, lesbian!" By the series end Bronwyn was considering leaving the broadcast to escape exploitation.
Wendy Benson as Cleo, was a trainer and struggling actress working at the gym. Seen primarily as innocent and naive by her fellow gym staffers, she was in fact a woman with a mysterious past. This would be hinted at by the fact that she sometimes would speak with a Southern accent when she was alone. She routinely received phone calls from a mysterious woman, also with a Southern accent, who called her Lorna Louise.
Michael Boatman as Garnet Hines, was a successful criminal defense attorney. He was portrayed as being amoral and doing whatever it takes to get his client acquitted. One of Garnet's past clients was Robert Bingham, who he failed to get acquitted, but did get him a light prison term.
Nestor Carbonell as Gianni was a gigolo, who used the gym to meet potential "dates". Gianni grew up poor and was determined never to be poor again. Believing that he had few talents, he decided the only way he could live a life of luxury was living off of women. The woman who he would become involved with was a wealthy widow named Dottie.
Steve Henneberry as Sam Pippin, was a sweet, but not too bright and insecure bodybuilder, and trainer at the gym. Sam had a crush on Bronwyn, when he did not initially know she was a lesbian. His business partner Robert Bingham blackmailed Bronwyn, into going on a date with Sam in order to build up Sam's confidence. After Bronwyn came out, Sam attempted suicide by throwing himself off the Gym's roof, but Robert talked him down.
Jerry Levine as Robert/Roberta Bingham, was a former stockbroker on Wall Street, who was convicted of insider trading. At the start of the show he was just released from prison and on parole. While on parole he had been given an ankle monitor, which limited how far he could move inside the gym.
Alan Ruck as Dr. Marshall Gold, a psychiatrist who worked out at the gym. Marshall was notorious for constantly revealing things told to him in the confidence of his practice. He was the one who told Robert that Bronwyn was a lesbian. Dr. Gold admitted that if he was bored listening to a patient, he would reread some of the details about Bronwyn's sex life.
T.E. Russell as Victor, was the manager of the New York branch of Survival Gym and Kent's best friend. Victor was often poorly treated by Big Jim and thus became a suspect in his murder. Victor's friendship with Kent came into question when Kent told the police that Victor was probably the killer. After Big Jim's secretary confessed, Victor would refuse to be friends with Kent because he had suspected him of the murder.
Michole White as Angela, was a trainer at the gym who had a crush on Gianni. Her parents ran a pet store specializing in birds and fish. While they did not have much money, they did love each other deeply. This is what Angela wanted, someone she could share a romantic relationship with.
Notable guest stars
Adam West as "Big" Jim Atkinson, was the founder and president of the Survival Gym chain. Big Jim was seen occasionally in flashbacks and heard in voice-overs, after his death in the first episodes. Big Jim was portrayed as sort of a macho, self-promoting business man. He was constantly challenging people to feats of strength contests.
