What a Country!
What a Country! is an American sitcom starring Garrett M. Brown and Yakov Smirnoff that aired in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 23, 1987. The series is based on the British sitcom Mind Your Language and was intended as a showcase for Ukrainian-American comedian Yakov Smirnoff, whose catchphrase provided the show's title. Five years previously in 1981, an episode of sitcom Diff'rent Strokes titled "Almost American" had served as a backdoor pilot for a US version of Mind Your Language but it was not picked up for a series.
Synopsis
What a Country! is set in a class of recent immigrants to the United States who are trying to pass the citizenship test. Their teacher, Taylor Brown, is a part-time substitute teacher looking for a high school soccer coaching job, while the students are:- Nikolai,
- Laszlo,
- Ali,
- Robert,
- Maria,
- Victor, and
- Yung Hi.
Cast
- Garrett M. Brown as Taylor Brown
- Yakov Smirnoff as Nikolai Rostopovich
- George Murdock as Laszlo Gabo
- Vijay Amritraj as Ali Nadim
- Harry Waters, Jr. as Robert Muboto
- Ada Maris as Maria Conchita Lopez
- Julian Reyes as Victor Ortega
- Leila Hee Olsen as Yung Hi
- Gail Strickland as Principal Joan Courtney
- Don Knotts as Principal F.J. "Bud" McPherson
Episodes