The King of Queens

Despite the title, there are no actual kings or queens on the show.

The King of Queens is a popular American sitcom focusing on the life of IPS delivery worker Douglas Heffernan, the titular King of Queens (played by Kevin "Mall Cop" James). It also stars Jerry Stiller, Leah Remini, Gary "Evil Kevin James" Valentine, Victor Williams, and Patton Oswalt. Despite the title, there are no actual kings or queens on the show. The series ran on CBS from 1998 to 2007; after its cancellation, viewers initially feared that the King was dead, but the King lived long as the the series continues to rerun in syndication.

Plot[edit | edit source]

After King Arthur (Jerry Stiller) retired, he did not want his daughter, Princess Carrie (Leah Remini), to be crowned Queen, so he put his crown upon Doug's head one day and said, "Hear ye! Hear ye! From this day forward, Douglas Heffernan shall hereby be crowned... the King of Queens!!" Unlike King Arthur's uptight, angry and grumpy demeanor, King Douglas was very laid-back and extremely lazy. Surprisingly, he managed to keep his job at IPS even after all the trouble he got into. He had destroyed packages, planted bombs in packages, and even threatened to slaughter his boss for no good reason. Still, he kept his job like nothing ever happened.

After being crowned King, Doug bitterly quits his job at IPS and hires former co-worker Deacon Palmer of Nottingham (played by Victor "Robin" Williams) to be his royal adviser. He also hires a third friend named Spence (played by Patton Oswalt) to be the royal jester.

Cast[edit | edit source]

Doug Heffernan (Kevin James) – The so-called "King" of Queens, even though the United States has no monarchy. He works as an IPS delivery worker, and is very lazy and unworthy of his job. 34 years old.
Carrie Spooner (Leah Remini) – Doug's sharp-tongued and foul-mouthed wife. 32 years old. Smarter than her husband. The actress is funny, because Tom Cruise told her that.
"King" Arthur Spooner (Jerry Stiller) – Carrie's grumpy father, now retired and very grumpy. You don't want to make him angry! 75 years old.
Deacon Palmer (Victor Williams) – Doug's best friend. IPS employee. 33 years old. Married with two children. He hates the jazz statues Doug and Carrie once gave him, saying "They give my kids nightmares!"
Spence (Patton Oswalt) – Doug's friend and the resident nerd. Best friend of Lou Ferrigno. TiVo thinks he's gay, which infuriates him.
Danny Heffernan (Gary "Evil Kevin James" Valentine) – Doug's identical cousin, who often switches places with Doug to make him look bad. Has seen every movie with Christopher Lee.

She was shakin'.

Lou Ferrigno – Played TV's The Incredible Hulk. Now Doug and Carrie's neighbor. Spence once betrayed him by going to a nerd convention with Adam West instead.
Eddie Money – '80s rock singer whom Doug once paid to perform at his house in order to get rid of money he and Deacon had won, and Deacon's wife could have used in their divorce.→
Michael Moore – Turned up to make a documentary. He was thusly told it was a comedy. Leah knows he was in the series, but not of the actual incident.
Kathy Griffith – She succeeded in making the show more funny.
Mel Gibson – Just kidding. It is not a docu ... men ...tary ... (keeping my face sort of straight).
Rhonda Philips – Doug fantasises when she speaks in banking terminology. Turned on if you say float payment. Say also hit with, prime rate, or compound. Again: this is not a documentary.

Notable episodes[edit | edit source]

"Pilot"
"Arthur Moves Out"
"Arthur Moves Back In"
"Aw, Who Cares About Arthur?"
"Spence Invites Lou Ferrigno to a Nerd Convention, And Then Swaps Him for Adam West"
"Doug Attempts to Watch the Game, But Has to Babysit Deacon's Kids, and Deacon Doesn't Have Cable"
"Deacon Jumps the Shark"
"Eddie Money" – Doug and Deacon hire '80s rocker Eddie Money to perform at their house in order to get rid of money they had won ... all without Carrie finding out.
"Carrie Has Only a Short Time to Make Whoopee, But It Coincides With Doug's Parents Coming to Visit"
"The Queen of Queens" – Doug moonlights as a drag queen to pay the bills.
"TiVo Thinks I'm Gay"
"Precedent Nixin'" – Doug and Carrie stay at a cabin, which has nothing to do with the 37th President of the United States. Hilarity ensues.
"Doug Executes Spence" – Doug accompanies Spence at his job interview. Unfortunately, he bumps into another candidate, and their applications get all jumbled. Because of this, Spence gets an executive job he's totally unqualified for.
"Doug and Carrie Play Paintball with Eric Roberts"
"King Doug's Lonely Hearts Club Band" – Doug forgets the name of someone he just met, so he fakes a heart attack.
"Magical Mystery Whore" – Deacon meets Susan, who hooked up Doug with Roxy, unaware that he's already happily married. Unfortunately he has two dates at the same place at the same time, one with Roxy and the other with Carrie.
"The White Episode" – Deacon tries to find a black character for his son to dress up as for Halloween, but comes up short.
"Crabby Road" – Arthur runs for mayor in order to fix the roads.
"Let It Be" – The series finale.

Cancellation[edit | edit source]

The King of Queens was canceled in 2007 after nine seasons, because Kevin James and Leah Remini demanded more money than their contract provided. But others blame Jerry Stiller's wife, Anne Meara, for interfering too much and breaking up the King of Queens cast while they were at the peak of their creative prowess.