Herman's Head Information

Herman's Head is an American sitcom that aired on the Fox network from September 8, 1991 until April 21, 1994. The series was created by Andy Guerdat and Steve Kreinberg, and produced by Witt/Thomas Productions in association with Touchstone Television. William Ragsdale stars as the titular character, Herman Brooks.

Synopsis

Research assistant Herman Brooks (William Ragsdale) works in the fact-checking department of a major magazine publisher, Waterton Publishing. Herman, from all outward appearances, embodies the ultimate young man on the fast track "? ambitious, clever and sensible "? but viewers are shown that, as in everyone, a struggle of contrasting personality traits are constantly working, and most often arguing, inside his head. His decisions and actions are dramatized with a "Greek chorus"-style interpretation of his thought processes.

The series begins with Herman as mild-mannered, but a typical guy in the sense of giving into every passing sexual desire, bedding a lot of women and not being above bending the truth about his life or career status in order to impress a woman. He did make attempts to settle down every once in a while, which wasn't hard due to his overall willingness to turn a strictly physical connection into love. However, despite his romantic repertoire with women, he would sometimes lose them over comical misunderstandings that would often never be resolved. These usually occurred as a result of Herman's boyish innocence getting him into trouble. During the next couple of seasons, Herman evolves into a more edgy character, more apt to developing outlandish schemes that would attempt to further him in his career as well as with women, and he becomes more opinionated in situations where previously, he would have conformed to rules, or have been a yes man.

The psyche

The four characters acting out Herman's emotions each represented a different aspect of his personality, or psyche. As they were intended to be one-dimensional, they often were lacking in other areas of their character, which led to frequent squabbles. The characters would act in unison when Herman's body is affected, such as having to sneeze, or crying out in pain after being punched in the stomach. They might also team up and form factions. The concept of inner conflict within a person is a common psychological concept; it is explored in Sigmund Freud's concepts of Ego, Superego and Id, and Eric Berne's transactional analysis.

• Angel (Molly Hagan) represents his sensitivity. As the only female character in his brain, Angel also represents his feminine side, or in Jungian terms the anima, and sometimes used this fact to manipulate the male characters.
• Animal (Ken Hudson Campbell) represents his basic drives of lust and hunger. He is an archetypal frat boy. In one episode, where Herman's personalities are assessing a sleazy man (Campbell in a dual role) dating Louise, Animal sticks up for him, because this man looks and acts exactly like him.
• Wimp (Rick Lawless) represents Herman's anxiety. He is a paranoid hypochondriac. But since he always expects the worst, he is often the best prepared to handle crises when the others could not decide.
• Genius (Peter Mackenzie) represents his intellect and logic and often clashes with the Angel's naïvete and Animal's stupidity. At times he can get overworked; as in one episode where Herman makes a ridiculous decision, Genius' face is blackened by soot and he exclaims "I think I blew a fuse!"
• Jealousy (Bobcat Goldthwait) only appears once, when Herman and his sister find themselves in competition for a job. He causes so much confusion and chaos that the original four selves throw him out the door, followed by a hand grenade.

Herman's "head" characters exist in a large attic room filled with toys, a lit Christmas tree, a rose-covered bower, theater seats, neon signs, pennants and memorabilia from Ohio State University, old furniture, and numerous file cabinets (with labels like "Memories", "Fantasies" and "Sexual Past"). They watch "films" of past events and enact possible scenarios for what might happen in Herman's various life situations, occasionally venturing into Hammer Films horror movie territory or (in the case of Animal) pornographic film.

Friends, co-workers and bosses

Much of the show's action is situated at the Waterton research department, where personal situations (ranging from old friends from the past, various dates, sexual liaisons, and the like) seem to cross professional ones for Herman on a daily basis. Herman also has a studio apartment located downtown, which, in a first season episode, is indicated as being a somewhat lengthy subway ride from the Waterton offices. The only other recurring setting is MacAnally's, a restaurant and pub, which presumably is located between Herman's residence and the Waterton offices. It attracts a rather upscale clientele, and it most often sets the stage for Herman's and the other characters' romantic pursuits. The regular real-life characters are as follows:

• Jay Nichols (Hank Azaria) is Herman's best friend, a resident writer for Waterton who works upstairs. Prior to the timeline of the series, he had helped Herman land a job as a fact checker in the research department. A smooth-talking ladies' man, Jay often is more gutsy when it comes to pursuing women, and typically, is subject to periodic rejection from women who don't tolerate his machismo and cliched pick-up lines. He is often looked to by Herman as a level of confidence to aspire to, while Jay eventually ponders how Herman's more cautious, "nice guy" persona could work to his advantage. He has also made Herman feel insecure at times because of his position in the company being higher than Herman's. A frequent visitor to the research department, Jay always drops in to have spirited conversation with his best buddy, whom he always calls "Hermo", "The Hermster", or some variation thereof. Originally, Jay is exclusively seen chasing after flashy, status-conscious women, most notably Heddy Thompson, who continually turns him down and gives him very little acknowledgement during his visits to the research department. By the third season, Jay falls off the wagon and develops a surprising attraction to Louise Fitzer, and the two become an item.
• Heddy Thompson (Jane Sibbett) is a fact checker in the research department who works alongside Herman. She is an ice princess obsessed with financial and social status, and is inclined to step on anyone she can in order to get ahead. She most often attempts to manipulate Herman, whom she sees as an easy target due to his mild-mannered disposition and honest work ethic. Heddy's most common ploy is to blame her sometimes chafing work effort on Herman, especially when it would come to the attention of her boss, Paul Bracken. Her aggressive nature sometimes leads her over the edge, as when she deliberately steals a speech that was to be read at a party celebrating Mr. Bracken's 20th anniversary at Waterton, which Herman had wrote for himself. She claimed the speech as her own after Herman had too much alcohol to drink (in an effort to combat his nervousness), forcing him to make a drunken display at the party which nearly gets him fired. Heddy somehow loses to Herman in the end each time, and does receive discipline from Mr. Bracken, but remarkably, she always remains in her job. Overtime, Heddy and Herman gain a better understanding of each other's personalities and lives, and move toward becoming allies. Heddy moves into Herman's apartment building in the third season, and shortly thereafter, the two actually admit to romantic feelings, and begin to date. Keeping true to her character, however, Heddy soon breaks up with Herman, citing that his financial prospects aren't up to her standards.
• Louise Fitzer (Yeardley Smith) is the diminutive, devoted secretary to research department head Paul Bracken. She is honest, diligent and sweet, but alternates these qualities often with a large dose of sardonicism. Her dedication to service and accuracy is matched with Mr. Bracken, so much that she is able to recite random, encyclopedic facts in quick succession, without taking a breath, when Mr. Bracken requests them on the fly. Louise is often the more innocent force in the office, compared to the rapid-fire interraction between Herman, Heddy and Jay. She is arguably the most sound source of advice for Herman in the physical world, aside from the reasoning that Angel, Animal, Wimp and Genius do in his brain. Louise also shows sympathy for Herman whenever he plays office politics with Heddy, or occasionally, with Mr. Bracken. She is portrayed as having low self-esteem, which has led to a stagnant dating life, and gets comfort from Herman in this regard. Louise eventually finds herself attracted to Jay, who indeed returns the feelings, and with Herman's urging, the two agree to a date. This culminates in an on-again, off-again relationship between the two.
• Mr. Paul Bracken (Jason Bernard) is the head of research at Waterton Publishing. A strict but fair man who, in the first season, is celebrating twenty years with the company, Mr. Bracken often has forfeited vacation time and attention to his wife in order to fully serve in his job. Mr. Bracken puts on a gruff, hard-nosed facade and takes great pride in throwing around his weight, but can soften up and offer praise when it is due, especially to Herman, who is more than likely the hardest working fact checker in the department. In fact, Mr. Bracken is so partial to Herman that he saves him from getting fired, by telling company executive Mr. Crawford and other chairmen that he has never known Herman to be a heavy drinker, after Herman's erratic behavior at his anniversary party. Conversely, Mr. Bracken is all too knowing of Heddy's behavior, and swifty rebuffs her kissing up to him, as well as all the lies she tells about her work progress. Bracken also suffers a heart attack early in the run, which convinces him to loosen up and, finally, pay more attention to his wife. His daughter Susan (played by Victoria Rowell) surfaces for two episodes in the second season, and turns out to be none other than Herman's ex-girlfriend. Bracken also has a niece, Rene (played by Karen Malina White), who guest stars early in the third season, when Herman convinces her to audition for the role of a Fly Girl on In Living Color (which was a promotional tool by Fox, as Herman's Head had then moved to Thursday nights, airing alongside In Living Color).
• Mr. Crawford (Edward Winter) is the occasionally seen Waterton executive. His seemingly honorable persona always masks an unbelievable cluelessness, and more often, he is found putting his foot in his mouth. Crawford, like Mr. Bracken, takes time to compliment Herman on his fine work, but despite doing so numerous times over the course of the series, can never remember Herman's name.

Dave Madden provided voiceover narration of the show's concept during the first season's opening title sequence.

Episodes

See List of Herman's Head episodes for more information

Reception and cancellation

The show suffered from poor ratings and was canceled after three seasons.

In the final episode of the series, Herman is hit by a car and spends the episode lying in a hospital room near death. His co-workers speak of remembering Herman as they first met him, and we see each of the selves filling in for the emotion the friend first saw Herman displaying. Meanwhile, William Ragsdale appears as a head character, Herman's "Spirit". He announces his determination to keep the group alive, declaring "I'll be all that's left after Herman Brooks is gone." Animal immediately moans, "Oh my God, you're our student loan!"

Proposed storyline plans

When Herman's Head was still on the air, one of its writers was a regular contributor to an online BBS forum devoted to Fox shows. He had stated in the forum that if the series were to continue for a fourth season, that four new "head characters" were going to be added for Heddy, so that viewers could see the inner workings of her head. Thus, a new angle to the show would have been added, as it would have been finally understood what made Heddy tick, and had motivated her to be so haughty and manipulative. Her head activity would have run in tandem with Herman's. With Fox's cancellation of the series after season three, the exploration of "Heddy's head" was never introduced.

The Simpsons impact

Both Hank Azaria and Yeardley Smith are cast members of The Simpsons, which debuted on Fox two seasons earlier. One episode had Yeardley Smith's character, Louise, after hanging up the telephone, asked her colleague across the room, "Herman, I don't sound like that Lisa Simpson, do I?" The Simpsons also referenced Herman's Head when Lisa (voiced by Smith) is asked what she is laughing at in the episode "Duffless"; she replies that she has just remembered "A joke I saw on Herman's Head". In an episode years later, when Marge Simpson asks him to sign a petition, Comic Book Guy (voiced by Azaria) explains that he only signs petitions to bring back television shows, exclaiming "America needs the wisdom of Herman's Head now more than ever." Further, Lisa is revealed to have a Herman's Head-like Chorus of her own, seen when she's processing feelings of jealousy over Marge's publishing a novel. When asked about Herman's Head on a Simpsons commentary, Azaria said people were discussing shows that actors would rather forget, stating that he "always had that. I didn't love Herman's Head, really."

Participation in television history

During the November 17, 1991 broadcast of Herman's Head, the very first commercial advertisement for condoms aired in the United States. This landmark occurrence, along with the involvement of the series, was later developed as a question over a decade later on the Meredith Vieira-hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

2011 Reunion

During the 2012 US Presidential election, former Herman's Head actors Molly Hagan, Ken Hudson Campbell and Peter Mackenzie reunited to make a video for the comedy site Funny or Die; titled "Herman Cain's Head", it referenced then-presidential candidate Herman Cain. The video was true to the format of the original, in which it replicated the style of the original opening credits for Herman's Head, as well as the interplay between the characters of Angel, Animal and Genius. Rick Lawless' character of Wimp did not appear, nor was he referenced in this video.

International airings

The show was also shown on Channel 4 in the UK between 1993 and 1994, on channel STS in Russia between 1996 and 1997, ICTV in Ukraine, and M-Net in South Africa. In Germany 54 episodes were shown on Das Erste between 1993 and 1994, later all 72 episodes on Super RTL in 1997.