Frank Leaves for the Orient

*Frank Leaves for the Orient*
Frank Leaves for the Orient
Created by	Michael Kaplan; John Sanborn
Starring	Stan Cahill; Peggy Jo Jacobs; Janet Carroll; Rebecca Chalmers; Chris Tallman
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Running time	23 minutes
Original release
Network	Comedy Central
Release	August 8 –; September 12, 1999

Frank Leaves for the Orient is an American sitcom produced by Comedy Central, which aired for 6 episodes over mid-1999. The series starred Stan Cahill as Frank, an American preparing to leave for Japan.

Plot

This stream-of-consciousness live-action comedy is a journey through the protagonist Frank's to-do list, as he tries to escape his everyday life by moving to Japan to teach English. Each episode of Frank Leaves For The Orient deals with another aspect of Frank's attempts to wrap up his life, break up with his girlfriend, quit his job, etc. The action becomes a surreal, rapid-fire, sometimes non-linear story that splits apart and then comes back together.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code
1	"The Girlfriend"	Tim Boxell	Michael Kaplan	August 8, 1999 (1999-08-08)	101
Frank has to break up with his girlfriend before moving to Japan.
2	"Quit Your Job"	John Sanborn	Michael Kaplan	August 15, 1999 (1999-08-15)	102
Frank has to quit his job before moving to Japan.
3	"Ed"	John Sanborn	Michael Kaplan	August 22, 1999 (1999-08-22)	103
Frank realizes his best friend wants to come to Japan with him, and has to figure out how to break up with a guy.
4	"Chloe"	John Sanborn	Jennifer Heftler, Lisa Page	August 29, 1999 (1999-08-29)	104
Just when he thought he was going to get away clean, Frank bumps into his dream girl, Chloe.
5	"Mom & Dad"	Tim Boxell	Michael Kaplan	September 5, 1999 (1999-09-05)	105
Over lunch at a Chinese restaurant, Frank tries to convince his parents that moving to Japan is a sane, responsible choice.
6	"Sell Your Stuff"	John Sanborn	John Sanborn, Michael Kaplan	September 12, 1999 (1999-09-12)	106
Frank holds the mother of all garage sales, trying to outrun all his past selves.

Critical reception

New York Daily News reviewer David Bianculli rated the show 3.5 out of 4 stars, writing that the show "has its own energy, its own pace and style, and...a clear and clever continuing plot line". He praised the use of fantasy sequences, musical numbers, and flashbacks.^[1]