Jennifer Slept Here

Have you ever moved into a new place and discovered that something wasn't quite right?  For example, a pet would react to something non-existent, lights would turn on and off randomly, or small objects seemed to move from where you were certain you put them?  Perhaps the place is haunted, like the Elliot house in the fantasy sitcom Jennifer Slept Here.

Lawyer George Elliot and his family have moved from New York to Los Angeles, settling into the former home of Jennifer Farrell, a once-popular movie actress who had died tragically several years earlier.  The elder son Joey (John P. Navin Jr.) quickly finds out that Jennifer's ghost (Ann Jillian) is still around and he's the only one who can see her.  She takes on the role of mentor and confidant to Joey, helping guide him through his awkward adolescence.

The show is quite funny and emotional at the same time.  Joey's frustration mounts over the fact that he can't convince his family that he truly does see Jennifer's ghost, culminating in episodes where they suggest that Joey needs psychiatric help, and then hire an exorcist in an attempt to get rid of Jennifer completely.  (Ironically, the actress who played the exorcist was Zelda Rubinstein of the Poltergeist horror series.)

Sadly the series didn't have much of a chance, its first run airing on Friday nights from October 1983 to May 1984 opposite The Dukes of Hazzard.  The second run during the summer repeats found it on Wednesday evenings, which gained it a larger following and a nomination for a 1984 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Direction, but it wasn't enough to secure a second season.  To date there has been no official release of the 13-episode series to DVD.  Several episodes are currently viewable on YouTube.