There should be something on Celebrity Deathmatch with the three maids fighting with the help of one other!I'm sure Mrs.G would pick Jo!
Adalaide would pick Bob Hope because they're both very very very old!And Pearl would pick Alice from the Brady Bunch because they both shared the same friendly profession!
I like the maids in this order and I'll tell why they're where they are too.
1st:Adalaide Brubaker:She was hilarious she also nice friendly!
2nd:Edna Garret:She was the original DS maid meaning she was the most memorable one with her proverbs!
3rd:Pearl Gallegher:I don't hate her or dislike her I just think she was more y'know diff'rent from the others.

I also hated it when Sam came becasue Willis left!It was Arnold and Sam Sam and Arnold.
I think the seasons with Adalaide the best!Sam came and he made so mad when he had that bed-wetting problem!I was estatic when Arnold started teasing him it was so funny!
"What does a guy has to do to get a roll around here?Wet his chair?"
and when Sam went to the bathroom after the blanket bell rung Arnold opened the umbrella!
Hey if you want to see Danny Cooksey wacth "Salute Your Shorts"
And to beleive they had the show run two seasons like that with me asking questions where's Willis Where's Kimberly?
To tell you the thruth the episode with that Stuart there was no Arnold!
Then the theme song changed to be hipper and the closing theme had that annoying little keyboardy organy little melody!

------------------
All:Ahhhhh
Mrs. Garret: girls there's nothing to worry about.
Nancy:MIS-SUS GAR-RET!

Blair:I just got another one of my BRILLIANT ideas!
Jo:Don't yell Blair it's a lonely place up there.

Tootie:I just got the highest girls score.
Blair:Well it couldn't be little old me it couldn't be me.
Tootie:Yur right Blair it isn't you!
From the simpsons:
Announcer:Diners everywhere are going on strike saying chants like...
Florence Jean Castleburry:Kiss Mah Grits.

Prof.:That stuff can blow up.
Mary:My dishes
Ging:My jewlery
Skip:My nails
Howell:My golf balls
Miss.H:My goodness!

IN MY OPINION DIFFERENT STROKES LOST IT TOUCH WHEN DANA PLATO WAS FIRED.THATS WHEN DIFFERENT STROKES JUMPED THE SHARK!

Originally posted by APPLEI:
IN MY OPINION DIFFERENT STROKES LOST IT TOUCH WHEN DANA PLATO WAS FIRED.THATS WHEN DIFFERENT STROKES JUMPED THE SHARK!

I AGREE!! That's definatly when it jumped the shark.

------------------
-Jeff-

Check out my site @
http://jeffsfactsoflife.homestead.com/jeffsfactsoflife.html

willis actually never left the show.
he just was seen lesser and lesser, which was terrible. he wasn't even in the final episode.

Originally posted by APPLEI:
IN MY OPINION DIFFERENT STROKES LOST IT TOUCH WHEN DANA PLATO WAS FIRED.THATS WHEN DIFFERENT STROKES JUMPED THE SHARK!

I agree

I also credit the show's demise to the introduction of Maggie and Sam.

I also loved that episode with Sam wetting his bed! Arnold REALLY shafted him at the dinner table! I applauded!

I would have loved to see more of Kimberly in the later episodes...which would have probably openned doors for more FOL crossovers.

Diff'erent strokes lost touch because the show was over, as in they all were grown up
pluse they did so many ep. I didn't even know Mr. Drummend got marryed again!!

Diff'erent strokes lost touch because the show was over, as in they all were grown up
pluse they did so many ep. I didn't even know Mr. Drummend got marryed again!!
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/ubb/happyface.gif

Chelsea,it is spelled Drummond.
Not "Drummend"

------------------
What 'chyou talkin' 'bout Willis?

Drummond getting married and gaining a dorky stepson (Danny) was bad enough, but they added insult to injury when they replaced the original actress playing Drummond's wife (Dixie Carter) with someone else!

Thought the show was good with willis, Kimberly Arnold, and Mr. Drummand. and a maid. The show just wasnt as great when mr Drummand got married and a new kid moved in. Show just was hot with just the 4

I think that Drummond getting married did signify the end and Willis not being in as may episodes. What I realyy truthfullt think cut it off, Willis and Arnold didn't have that little time in their room like in every episode untill Drummond got married. Dana Plato should have been layed off for a season instead of fired but ABC did bring back Kimberly Drummond and she was praticallt their was the whole 8th season

If you want to see a bunch of other reasons Diff'rent Strokes started to get bad check out www.JumpTheShark.com (http://www.JumpTheShark.com) click A-Z click D and find Diff'rent Strokes

when phillip married that annoying woman

This isn't Gary Coleman's fault obviously, but I think the show began losing it's charm as Arnold got older and lost his cuteness. Usually cuteness is something people hate in a tv show like in the case of Sam, or the Olsen Twins, but I think most would agree that in the early years of this show Arnold's cuteness was one of the best parts. What really drove the nail in the coffin for me though was the addition of Sam. I don't hate the kid or anything, but I just found him extremely boring, and annoying.

First off, nobody was a sufficient replacement for Mrs. Garrett. Especially Pearl she was by far the worst!

Secondly, the kids grew up, they dressed up Kimberly like a Madonna wannabe and Willis like a Michael Jackson wannabe. (In an obvious attempt to attract teen viewers at the time)

I wasn't crazy about Dixie Carter as Maggie but she was 100 times better than that chick they replaced her with in the final season on ABC. (Talk about over acting?!?! Just watch the episode where Sam is kidnapped. Oh brother!)

Sam, he wasn't cute he was annoying!

Waaaaaaay too many must see episodes: kidnapping, child pornography, Bulemia, hitch hiking gone bad, racism, bussing students, drug use, extortion, amnesia, ect, ect... How much crap can one family take?

Originally posted by briandamage

I wasn't crazy about Dixie Carter as Maggie but she was 100 times better than that chick they replaced her with in the final season on ABC. (Talk about over acting?!?! Just watch the episode where Sam is kidnapped. Oh brother!)


You mean Mary Ann Mobley? You know what I read about her? This kind of surprised me. I just got finished reading Adam West's book, 'Back to the Batcave' and he mentions that the producers wanted Mary Ann to be Batgirl.

I think what made DS lose its touch was Arnold growing older, but the fact they still kept him in kiddy type plots. I'm sure Gary was happy to see the Sam character come aboard, because it would kind of let his character grow up. The new cast members didn't help it. Like I read on another post, they had to add something because the show was losing more and more steam each show.

I think the Existential Shark Jump occured when NBC dropped Diff'rent Strokes and it switched to ABC for its last year. Also when Dana Plato was dropped after her pregnancy. This also makes a good shark jump.

But the biggest shark jump is the duo of:

Maggie #1 and Sam

Sam, much like Cousin Oliver, is entertaining at times, like the time he got Enuresis.

(a good summer homework assignment for the kiddies is to ask your Mom or Dad what Enuresis Means...and then go outside and play...Darn Kids Today!:D:D:D)

Amen.

Arnold's reaction to Sam's Enuresis was most entertaining that.

But be that as it may, Sam is similar to Cousin Oliver as a "Shark Port" but Maggie #1 was the Definitive "Shark Jump". For I always thought she and Mr. D were not each other's type; Maggie was more suited to Southern Living...and I don't see hanging w/the Yankees...or marrying Mr. D as living Southern Belle style. She was better in Designing Women, which was set in Atlanta.

Amen.

(another good homework assignment for you kids is to get a book called Gone With The Wind and read it. Failing that, find your Mom or Dad and watch the movie version w/...er....Humphrey Bogart.

Dingbat in T Minus 16 Minutes. Yep All In The Family's coming on Soon and Very Soon.

Gotta run.

Amen.

For I always thought she and Mr. D were not each other's type; Maggie was more suited to Southern Living...and I don't see hanging w/the Yankees...or marrying Mr. D as living Southern Belle style.

Maggie married Drummond for his money and very nice apartment... and sam.. don't get me started on that oddball

Season seven ( and probably eight ) should have never happened. With the exception of a few episodes I can't hardly even sit still to watch those boring episodes... they suck!!!! Jeez NBC you could you have put us out of our misery and just cancelled the show already!

In my opinion the show never did fully loose its touch.

When it reached season 5 there started to be some rubbish episodes and that kept happaning right through to the end, but even in the last season I think there's some really god episodes like Sam's Missing and Bulimia.

The show definitely should have ended when NBC cancelled it. Maybe they could have put together a nice farewell episode that'll place everybody their separate ways. It's a shame DS lasted as long as it did and had no finale!

Another thing that killed the show was when they totally made over the apartment. It was no longer warm and cozy, but rather cold and uncomfortable looking. Almost like a museum.

Originally posted by willjarmon
I think that Drummond getting married did signify the end and Willis not being in as may episodes. What I realyy truthfullt think cut it off, Willis and Arnold didn't have that little time in their room like in every episode untill Drummond got married. Dana Plato should have been layed off for a season instead of fired but ABC did bring back Kimberly Drummond and she was praticallt their was the whole 8th season

She never left entirely. She was seen infrequently during the 84-85 season. You could have considered her a regular cast member during the last season because she and Willis practically had the same air time. LOL. Not being in so many episodes. I believe Dana was in four during that last season.

Originally posted by briandamage
Another thing that killed the show was when they totally made over the apartment. It was no longer warm and cozy, but rather cold and uncomfortable looking. Almost like a museum.

I loved the new apartment. After 7 seasons of not moving the furniture at all, it was time.

I've read some of posts where fans complain that Arnold wasn't allowed to grow up on the show. He was still being placed in juvenile storylines. I think the majority of DS fans didn't want to see Arnold grow up. They wanted the chubby cheeks and the sarcastic wit. The writers tried introducing Sam to replace Arnold as the "cute" one, but weren't successful. People loved the cute Arnold not the adult Arnold.

Originally posted by mdntrider7
This isn't Gary Coleman's fault obviously, but I think the show began losing it's charm as Arnold got older and lost his cuteness. Usually cuteness is something people hate in a tv show like in the case of Sam, or the Olsen Twins, but I think most would agree that in the early years of this show Arnold's cuteness was one of the best parts. What really drove the nail in the coffin for me though was the addition of Sam. I don't hate the kid or anything, but I just found him extremely boring, and annoying.

Agreed.

You said it too braindamage (BTW, how the heck did you come up with that username?).

Switching Maggies!

It was inedable. All shows lose their luster after being on a long time. You see it in DS, the last few seasons the writers became despret. Cast chages, redeculoes storylines, rippoffs of earlier episodes for example Sam getting his tounsals out is a rippoff of Arnold getting his apendex out also Drummand coaching Sam's baseball team is a rippoff of Drummand coaching Arnolds football team, and ofcourse the big name guest stars.

For once I would love to see a person in charge of a sitcom turn down the money and say "My show is not as good as it use to be that is it."

Though I hear Jerry Signfeld and the producers of Cheers say they did just that. Sorry those shows also lost their luster before they went off the air.

I agree with you that they definetly ran out of ideas on storylines.
Another similarity is Arnold's Bad Rep is realy similar to Growing Up episode were pretty much the same thing happpens to Willis.

I think all shows loose their touch eventually, you can only have a certain amount of good ideas for a show before you go low on steam.

Switching Maggies!!

sam

i think the show went downhill when mr. drummond got married. it wasn't just the marriage, it was a whole bunch of things.

People transplant all the time-referring to the southern Maggie moving north. What made her fit in is that she was a TV star (had her own TV exercise show) and New York is a good place for TV show personalities.

This isn't Gary Coleman's fault obviously, but I think the show began losing it's charm as Arnold got older and lost his cuteness. Usually cuteness is something people hate in a tv show like in the case of Sam, or the Olsen Twins, but I think most would agree that in the early years of this show Arnold's cuteness was one of the best parts. What really drove the nail in the coffin for me though was the addition of Sam. I don't hate the kid or anything, but I just found him extremely boring, and annoying.




Gary was still handsome looking even when he became a young teen.

I think that what made the show lose its fire was when Gary's character, Arnold, didn't seem as aggressive as he was with his sassy talk and smirky remarks as when he was little.

Gary was fast-approaching adolesence, and even though his voice didn't seem to change much, his charactor did, as it became less of a standout and he began to quiet down somewhat from the days when he had everyone glued to their TV sets to watch and hear him spew out a lot of sass.

He might have grown tired of the show, and when it ended, his leagal battles with his parents began, as he wanted the money from his parents that the show had earned. Both sides were actually big losers, in a way, because eventually, a bitter rivary had erupted from this and Gary never tried to reconcile with his parents, but neither did they try to reconcile with him.

I truly wish that this debacle was settled between him and his parents, but it is what it is, and it's something of a bitter hate that Gary ended up taking with him to his death bed!! :(

DS was starting tolose its touch w/ so many special eps.

But it really truely JtS/BtF'd when Mr. D. gets married and in came Maggie and Sam.

Maggie came off as somewhat naggy and Sam was annoying!

Got worse when S8 came along. The new Maggie didn't help matters, the updated theme song sucked.

He might have grown tired of the show, and when it ended, his leagal battles with his parents began, as he wanted the money from his parents that the show had earned. Both sides were actually losers because eventually, a bitter rivary had erupted from this and Gary never tried to reconcile with his parents, but neither did they try to reconcile with him.

I truly wish that this debacle was settled between him and his parents, but it is something of a bitter hated that Gary ended up taking with him to his death bed!! :(

He had grown tired of the show. He said he was happy at first when Danny was introduced in the show because he could play the part of an older brother for a change, but it didn't last for long.He was just fed up with "Diff'rent Strokes", and burnt out by years of hard work basically, not to mention his physical & mental health.

He once said in '98 that he usually didn't talk about his battle with his parents anymore because it was over and he and his parents had moved on...So not true.

He had grown tired of the show. He said he was happy at first when Danny was introduced in the show because he could play the part of an older brother for a change, but it didn't last for long.He was just fed up with "Diff'rent Strokes", and burnt out by years of hard work basically, not to mention his physical & mental health.

He once said in '98 that he usually didn't talk about his battle with his parents anymore because it was over and he and his parents had moved on...So not true.




Yeah, neither side would reconcile with the other, as Gary grew increasingly angry and bitter over this and he ended up carrying this grudge right to his grave!

Gary withdrew into himself, as he began to trust fewer & fewer people. The explosive argument between himself and the cast members on The Insider, could very well have been the frosting on the cake for him. Not to mention him having suffered a seizure backstage on the set. So tragically sad that we lost a great actor!!!!! :(

DS was starting tolose its touch w/ so many special eps.

But it really truely JtS/BtF'd when Mr. D. gets married and in came Maggie and Sam.

Maggie came off as somewhat naggy and Sam was annoying!

Got worse when S8 came along. The new Maggie didn't help matters, the updated theme song sucked.


Clearly, when Drummond and Maggie got married, and brought on Sam. It was very obvious as Gary was getting older he had grown tired of being the precocious cute kid. So I believe they brought in Sam's character to recreate that cutesiness that we saw with Gary in the earlier years of DS.

It was also noticeable that Kimberly and Willis' roles had deteriorated greatly around this time. So with the addition of Maggie and Sam, the show was able to keep that family setting.

i personally felt after the first season of Maggie and Sam should've been the end of the series. IMO, it really had run its course.

He had grown tired of the show. He said he was happy at first when Danny was introduced in the show because he could play the part of an older brother for a change, but it didn't last for long.He was just fed up with "Diff'rent Strokes", and burnt out by years of hard work basically, not to mention his physical & mental health.

He once said in '98 that he usually didn't talk about his battle with his parents anymore because it was over and he and his parents had moved on...So not true.

Todd Bridges himself, explains it (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Deb9nHiJB4), Gary's parents were making him go to work while he was sick. I don't think that people fully realize just how ill Gary was when he was making Diff'rent Strokes. I believe that he had and correct me if I'm wrong, two kidney transplants during that time period. And he was regularly on dialysis, even while on set.

Simply put, the introductions of both Maggie McKinney and (eventually) her precocious son, Sam, midway through Strokes' sixth season marked the beginning of the beginning of the end for the long-running sitcom, along with Dana Plato's abrupt termination--due to her real-life pregnancy--upon the conclusion of that aforementioned season.

And let's not forget the rise and eventual success of lighthearted and lightweighted eighties family sitcoms such as Family Ties, Growing Pains, Who's The Boss?, and, of course, The Cosby Show that contributed to Strokes' downfall and later cancellation.

Perhaps this article I just discovered on http://www.popculturereferences.com will finally shed some really bright floodlights on Diff'rent Strokes' eventual decline in both quality and popularity during the second half of its overlong, eight-season run (seasons five through eight); turns out the arrivals of both Maggie and Sam were only the tip of the proverbial Nielsen ratings iceberg that ultimately sank Strokes. Enjoy.

http://www.popculturereferences.com/when-did-diffrent-strokes-jump-the-shark

I always thought that Mr. D loved Maggie more than she loved him. And while it's mostly true about love and romance that it's rarely 50/50, I just felt that Maggie had little regard to Mr. D's children. I thought her character came off cold.

And that's how I also felt about the third housekeeper, Pearl.

I always thought that Mr. D loved Maggie more than she loved him. And while it's mostly true about love and romance that it's rarely 50/50, I just felt that Maggie had little regard to Mr. D's children. I thought her character came off cold.

And that's how I also felt about the third housekeeper, Pearl.

Interesting observation, rusty spike. Although Philip Drummond fell head over heels in love--practically overnight, mind you--with feisty aerobics instructor and hostess Maggie McKinney (and her eternally precocious son, Sam) midway through Strokes' sixth season, it was painfully obvious Maggie didn't give two f**ks about Arnold, Willis, or Kimberly after she and Sam both became permanently ensconced in Drummond's luxurious two-story Park Avenue penthouse in the heart of midtown Manhattan.

As for Drummond's fourth housekeeper, the cheerful Pearl Gallagher, she may not have been as sympathetic as Mrs. Garrett, but at least she was an improvement over the grumpy Adelaide.

Thanks for commenting! Enjoy your day, bro!

I think bringing in Maggie was ok for Philip to have a companion but there was no need to bring in Sam that by doing that it didn't let the show evolve and kept it as a safe kiddie show.

Interesting observation, rusty spike. Although Philip Drummond fell head over heels in love--practically overnight, mind you--with feisty aerobics instructor and hostess Maggie McKinney (and her eternally precocious son, Sam) midway through Strokes' sixth season, it was painfully obvious Maggie didn't give two f**ks about Arnold, Willis, or Kimberly after she and Sam both became permanently ensconced in Drummond's luxurious two-story Park Avenue penthouse in the heart of midtown Manhattan.

As for Drummond's fourth housekeeper, the cheerful Pearl Gallagher, she may not have been as sympathetic as Mrs. Garrett, but at least she was an improvement over the grumpy Adelaide.

Thanks for commenting! Enjoy your day, bro!

Mary Ann Mobley's interpretation of Maggie when the show moved to ABC for its final season, was actually much more traditionally warm and maternal than Dixie Carter's take. Some of the comments (https://moviechat.org/tt0077003/Diffrent-Strokes/58c733775ec57f0478f8aae0/I-cant-imagine-Dixie-Cater-In-the-Sams-Missing-Episode) that I've read elsewhere have argued that Dixie's portrayal came across as too stern and cold hearted. Basically, Mary Ann gave the character (https://moviechat.org/tt0077003/Diffrent-Strokes/58c733755ec57f0478f8a92a/Dixie-Carter-vs-Mary-Ann-Mobley) a much nicer demeanor and seemed more like a woman that you would genuinely want as your mother than Dixie's more nonsense approach.

Dixie Carter created the role. Mobley was mostly OK, but I think her understandable angst when Sam was missing came across as over-acting. She made it sound like a 1950s soap opera; the only thing missing was the organ.

Dixie Carter created the role. Mobley was mostly OK, but I think her understandable angst when Sam was missing came across as over-acting. She made it sound like a 1950s soap opera; the only thing missing was the organ.

I couldn't agree with you more, stevea. Mary Ann Mobley's overall uneven performance as the second Maggie--replacing, of course, the late Dixie Carter--in the eighth and (sadly) final season of Strokes leaves a whole hell of a lot to be desired, particularly in the aforementioned season eight premiere "Sam's Missing." Mobley's overacting in that otherwise disappointing hour-long episode--can you actually believe "Sam's Missing" was an hour long?--makes Elizabeth Berkley's performance as the caffeine pill-addicted overachiever Jessie Spano in the infamous Saved By The Bell episode "Jessie's Song" look Oscar-worthy by comparison.

Simply put, the introductions of both Maggie McKinney and (eventually) her precocious son, Sam, midway through Strokes' sixth season marked the beginning of the beginning of the end for the long-running sitcom, along with Dana Plato's abrupt termination--due to her real-life pregnancy--upon the conclusion of that aforementioned season.

And let's not forget the rise and eventual success of lighthearted and lightweighted eighties family sitcoms such as Family Ties, Growing Pains, Who's The Boss?, and, of course, The Cosby Show that contributed to Strokes' downfall and later cancellation.

Diff'rent Strokes, when it debuted was probably more in-line with the Norman Lear (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctf1rVu6MNU) brand of sitcoms of the day, which was very confrontational and socially conscious. Sitcoms (like the ones that you mentioned) as the '80s wore on, became more aspirational (https://www.cnn.com/2014/01/23/showbiz/tv/bill-cosby-new-show-family-tv/index.html) so in that regard, Diff'rent Strokes (https://nostalgiarush.blogspot.com/2014/06/random-thoughts-other-diffrent-strokes.html) kind of looked out of place in a post-Cosby Show world.

I think bringing in Maggie was ok for Philip to have a companion but there was no need to bring in Sam that by doing that it didn't let the show evolve and kept it as a safe kiddie show.

When Sam came along, they pretty much plugged him into Arnold's old spot and shifted Arnold into what was otherwise, Willis' role. It felt like by this point, the show didn't really know what to do with Willis, especially when Kimberly was no longer in the main cast.

I don't think the show ever lost its touch. It was good til the end.