Unhappily Ever After - Synopsis

Synopsis

The series was initially intended to be a starring vehicle for Stephanie Hodge, whose character of Jennie was the focus of the first few episodes. However, the series concept was soon re-worked. The character of Jack (who had been kicked out of the house and was living in an apartment) was brought back home, and began living in the basement. Soon, Geoff Pierson's character, Jack — a schizophrenic family man whose only friend is a talking toy rabbit — became the central character of the show, along with the rabbit, Mr. Floppy (a reference to the movie Harvey). Also in seasons one and two, Joyce Van Patten played Jennie's mother, Maureen Slattery. When she left the show, she was killed off and buried (off-screen) in the backyard.

By the show's third season it became apparent that Tiffany (Nikki Cox) was becoming a breakout character and the de facto co-star of the show along with Pierson. Stories began focusing on Tiffany and Ryan's high school (and later community college) escapades, and the producers attempted to kill off the increasingly unnecessary character of Jennie, who returned as a ghost. After doing so, however, they quickly reversed their decision because of negative audience reaction. On the show, the character was brought back to life in a deliberately bizarre sequence in which a network executive wandered on to the set and announced Jennie's character was no longer dead. Nevertheless, Jennie was soon gone again, as several episodes later, the character abandoned her family for a lesbian lover (Stephanie Hodge left the show) and was never seen again.

Nikki Cox was already signed to star in a new series for the WB when Unhappily... ended, and the final season focused more on the character of Tiffany. Wendy Benson was added to the cast, playing Tiffany's rival Barbara Caufield. The series wrapped up with a final episode in which Jack finally made enough money to send Tiffany to Harvard University. Once Jack started making money, he didn't need Floppy anymore and his schizophrenia was cured; Floppy went back to being just a stuffed animal, literally dying. Jack soon went insane again, however, bringing Floppy "back from the dead".