Parker Lewis Can't Lose is an early 1990s comedy television series produced by Columbia Pictures Television that was strongly influenced by the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The series originally aired on the Fox network from September 1990 to June 1993 (three seasons, 73 episodes), the last season sporting the simpler title Parker Lewis.
The series depicts the tribulations of the title character Parker Lewis, a Santo Domingo High School student, for whom nothing is impossible. Just like his best buds Jerry Steiner and Mikey Randall and his girlfriend Annie Sloan, his prime concern is achieving and maintaining coolness during the turbulent years of puberty. However, their efforts keep being thwarted by Parker's little sister, Shelly, and principal Grace Musso. Apart from various aspects of teenage life, embedded in a surreal, living-cartoon-like quality and the clever camera angles and filming techniques, an episode regularly contains more or less subtle references to movies, politics, and celebrities. The surrealism was toned down in the series' final season.
The TV spinoff Ferris Bueller, which was directly based on Ferris Bueller's Day Off, debuted on NBC during the same month, but it only lasted 13 episodes. Parker Lewis Can't Lose actually had lower ratings, but the Fox Network was still in its early years and thus had lower expectations.
Trendy high school student Parker Lewis (a character similar to Ferris Bueller), for whom, as suggested by his motto, "Not a problem," nothing is impossible. Like his best buds Mikey Randall and Jerry Steiner, and his girlfriend Annie Sloane, his prime concern is achieving and maintaining coolness during the turbulent years of puberty. However, their efforts keep being thwarted by Parker's little sister, Shelly, and principal Grace Musso. Apart from various aspects of teenage life, embedded in a wealth of cartoon-like special effects and camera trickery, an episode regularly contains more or less subtle references to movies, politics, and celebrities. Written by Peter Zweers
