I'm Dickens, He's Fenster

I'm Dickens, He's Fenster is an American sitcom starring John Astin and Marty Ingels that ran on ABC from September 28, 1962, to September 13, 1963.

Synopsis
The series starred John Astin and Marty Ingels as Harry Dickens and Arch Fenster, "inept Los Angeles carpenters" who were friends, and who worked for the Bannister Construction Company. Physical gags about activities of construction workers formed the basis of each episode.

Fenster was a single playboy who had a bachelor pad and a multi-volume "little black book". Marriage had eluded him despite his having been engaged nine times.

Emmaline Henry appeared as Harry's wife, Kate. That character was the first wife on a TV comedy who worked on a job. They had no children, and Harry Dickens (age 33) looked on Fenster as if he were his son. His personality traits included insecurity and jealousy, and he tended to be pushy and overbearing. Kate Dickens was "extremely patient" and put up with their home's being "always a work in progress" where painting and repairs were concerned.

Appearing regularly, at Dickens and Fenster's workplace, were Frank DeVol (as their mild-mannered boss Myron Bannister), David Ketchum (as Mel Warshaw), Henry Beckman (as Bob Mulligan), and Noam Pitlik (as Bentley). Mulligan and Warshaw were carpenters who provided little help when problems arose on a job site.

Actresses who portrayed Fenster's girlfriends included Yvonne Craig, Ellen Burstyn (as Ellen McRae), and Lee Meriwether.

Production
A product of Heyday Productions, the series was created and produced by Leonard Stern and filmed at Desilu. It was sponsored by El Producto cigars and Procter and Gamble.

I'm Dickens, He's Fenster was filmed in black-and-white in front of a live audience which, in that era, was unusual for a show not built around an established star such as Lucille Ball or Danny Thomas. The theatrical approach, combining witty remarks with moments of broad slapstick comedy, was well received by the audience, whose laughter sometimes drowned some of the dialogue.

Writers included Stern, Don Hinkley, Mel Tolkin, Sheldon Keller, Howard Merrill, Jerry Davis, Frank Fox, Marty Roth, Mel Diamond, Barry Blitzer, Walter Kempley, Ray Singer, Dick Chevillat, Fred Freeman, Garry Marshall, Wilton Schiller, Arthur Alsberg, and Bob Fisher. Among the directors were Stern, Norman Abbott, Claudio Guzman, and Arthur Hiller. Irving Szathmary composed the theme, "The Dickens and Fenster March".

The program followed the cartoon series The Flintstones and preceded 77 Sunset Strip on Fridays at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. It was programmed opposite Sing Along with Mitch and Route 66 (both of which had debuted earlier), and "it just didn't have good ratings". By the time I'm Dickens, He's Fenster had attracted a following and had beaten its competition, ABC had canceled it. The series ran for only 32 episodes and was canceled in 1963.

Critical response
The New York Times's review of the series's premiere episode suggested that the program "could be a surprise success of the television season." It noted that the series "has no established stars in its cast", with Ingels "the chief clown of the new series." Elements of the show reminded the reviewer of a vaudeville act that had "clumsy routines with hammers, boards, and other simple props".

Some reviews compared activities of Dickens and Fenster to those of Laurel and Hardy. Stern said that he received a fan letter from Stan Laurel and that Laurel said that the program "was the only TV show he watched."

Syndication
In May 1963 ABC Films released 32 episodes of I'm Dickens, He's Fenster for local broadcast.

Home media
On April 10, 2012, Lightyear Entertainment & TV Time Machine Productions released I'm Dickens, He's Fenster- 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition: Volume 1 on DVD in Region 1. The 3-disc set contains the first 16 episodes of the series as well as several bonus features.

Comic books
Dell published two I'm Dickens, He's Fenster comic books while the show was on the air.