The Osbournes

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The Osbournes
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Created by Jonathan Taylor
Directed by Donald Bull
CB Harding
Sarah Pillsbury
Todd Stevens
Starring Ozzy Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne
Kelly Osbourne
Jack Osbourne
Melinda Varga
Robert Marcato
Theme music composer Ozzy Osbourne
Randy Rhoads
Bob Daisley
Opening theme "Crazy Train"
performed by Lewis Lamedica
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 52 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) R. Greg Johnston
Jeff Stilson
Sharon Osbourne
Lois Clark Curren
Producer(s) Ann Meek
Cinematography Robert Erbeznik
Zach Kovek
Editor(s) Charles Kramer
Running time 24 minutes
Production company(s) iCandy TV
Big Head Productions
JOKS Productions
MTV
Release
Original network MTV (2001–2005)
Original release
5 March 2002 – 21 March 2005
External links
Website

The Osbournes is an American reality television program featuring the domestic life of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family. The series premiered on MTV on March 5, 2002, and in its first season, was cited as the most-viewed series ever on MTV. The final episode of the series aired March 21, 2005.

Overview

In addition to metal musician Ozzy, the show features his wife and manager Sharon, and their children Jack and Kelly. The Osbournes have another daughter, Aimee, who refused to participate in the show, and publicly criticized her parents for their antics on the show. In most family photos shown on the show, she is either absent or blurred. The series also followed the family as they dealt with major events such as Sharon's battle with cancer, and the aftermath of an ATV accident that nearly killed Ozzy.

The theme song for the show is a cover of Ozzy's song "Crazy Train", done in a jazz-swing style reminiscent of Pat Boone.[1]

Concurrent with the success of the series, Kelly Osbourne launched a brief career as a singer, while Sharon Osbourne hosted The Sharon Osbourne Show. The family also parodied their TV series during cameo appearances at awards shows, and in the film Austin Powers in Goldmember.

Jack and Kelly's friend Robert made regular appearances on the show;[2] Sharon took him in during the second season after his mother died of cancer. While a constant presence in front of the camera, few plots revolved around Robert and he had few lines. After the series ended, it was reported that the Osbournes had sent Robert back to Rhode Island to live with his father after spending a week at a psych ward. The Osbournes were assumed to have adopted Robert, but Sharon Osbourne has denied it.[3]

Another person making recurring appearances on the show is Melinda, Sharon's executive assistant and nanny, who is also married to Ozzy's tour manager.[4] She is often seen trying to get Jack out of bed while he berates and belittles her, telling her to "get a real job." Melinda is originally from Australia.[4]

Ozzy confirmed in an interview on BBC Radio 2 in May 2009 that he was "stoned during the entire filming of The Osbournes" and will not watch the episodes for this reason.[5]

Profanity was censored during MTV broadcasts of the series in the United States. In an interview Ozzy himself stated that while he was happy that the Canadian broadcasts were uncensored, he preferred the censored version because the cursing was more noticeable due to the bleeps.[citation needed] The Canadian broadcasts on CTV and UK broadcasts on MTV and Channel 4 are uncensored.[6] Some episodes were also aired uncensored to Australian audiences when shown on Network Ten.[7] It is broadcast uncensored on MTV Australia.

'Staging' controversy

It was long suspected in fan circles that The Osbournes was actually staged, and at least part of these suspicions were confirmed by Jack and Kelly, who stated in an interview that some of the antics on the show, including the visit from the dog therapist, were arranged by MTV producers.[8] Ozzy Osbourne's publicist denied these claims.[8] One episode ("Ozz Well that Ends Well"), in which Sharon's prized dog Minnie is supposedly killed, was revealed to be a prank in outtakes aired after the show. It was never revealed if this episode was made in response to charges of staging by producers.

After filming

Later, on November 30 and December 1, 2007, items belonging to the Osbournes and featured in the show were auctioned off to the public. The two-day event listed memorabilia as well as furnishings of the home. Bidders could bid through the Auction Network.[9][10]

In 2009, the Osbournes reunited for the debut of their new variety show Osbournes Reloaded for the Fox network. Produced by Fremantle Media North America, the series debuted on March 31, 2009 at 9:25PM ET/PT, following American Idol. The show consisted of sketches, stunts, celebrity cameos, music performances, and pretaped bits.[11] However the show was canceled after airing its first episode.[12]

On the show's debut, 26 Fox affiliates pre-empted or delayed the program, due to the show's racy content, which the stations felt was more appropriate for older viewers.[13]

Possible revival

On October 7, 2014, Sharon Osbourne announced on Loose Women that eight new episodes will hopefully be filmed in January 2015; they will serve as a catch-up for the original series as well as a chance for Ozzy to appear on the show sober, since he has confirmed he was intoxicated during every taping for the series' original run. In 2015, Sharon Osbourne confirmed that the show's filming will not continue any further. She said that she and MTV never continued their discussion about the show since they announced the show's revival. The new episodes that were filmed for the revival of the show were later scrapped and maybe released in the near future.

In October of 2015, Kelly Osbourne stated that she was open to the idea of a revival that was new and different, saying "...we did it on MTV and that had never been done before so if we're going to come back, we'd want to do it in a way that has never been done before either."[14]

DVD and album releases

Only seasons one and two (released in two sets as season two and two 1/2 or 2.5[15]) have been released on DVD.

A various artists compilation based on the show was released in June 2002: The Osbourne Family Album.

Awards and nominations

Along with the highest ratings in MTV history, The Osbournes won a 2002 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program.[16]

International airings

The series aired on CTV in Canada, Channel 4 in the UK and MTV UK and Ireland in Ireland and the UK, VH1 India in India, RTÉ Two in Ireland, Network Ten, MTV Australia in Australia, TV2 Denmark, MTV Finland and Nelonen in Finland, MTV Latin America in Latin America, MTV Portugal in Portugal, TV2 in New Zealand, MTV Germany in Germany, MTV Ukraine in Ukraine, MTV Brasil in Brazil, MTV Italia in Italy and MTV Nederland in the Netherlands.

In popular culture

The Osbournes TV show has a slot game adaptation created by Microgaming.[17]

See also

References

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  4. 4.0 4.1 Adams, Cameron. Ozzy Osbourne battles on. The Herald Sun. November 1, 2007.
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  8. 8.0 8.1 Osbourne Kids Says Some Shows Were Scripted. ABC News. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  9. Ozzie and Sharon Osbourne Auction
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  12. http://www.thewrap.com/ind-column/osbournes-over-and-out-fox_4939
  13. Washington Post: "It's Possible That 'Osbournes: Reloaded' Has Gone Too Far -- Even for Fox", 4/1/2009.
  14. http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/news/a671497/kelly-osbourne-wont-rule-out-a-revival-of-the-osbournes-wed-have-to-do-it-in-a-brand-new-way.html#~pqsoOu9bNkM2YN
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  17. http://www.slotsonline.com/online-slots/reviews/the-osbournes-1209.htm

External links