ODAT wasn't that bad of a show. I remember as a kid though I didn't like it as much when Alex joined the cast and the girls were married off. I really like the early seasons. I guess poor syndication helped bury the memory of this show. I know a lot of people couldn't stand Bonnie Franklin, but I thought she did just fine on the show- braless or not! :lol:

I know everybody in my family except me hated this show when it was on, and everybody laughs at the mention of this show today if they remember it. I'm 33 years old and I have friends my age who don't remember this show at all! Sad. :( I'm really surprised at how much people can forget.

Hopefully the DVD set get released or somebody like Comcast can show it on Tube Time!

ODAT wasn't that bad of a show. I remember as a kid though I didn't like it as much when Alex joined the cast and the girls were married off. I really like the early seasons. I guess poor syndication helped bury the memory of this show. I know a lot of people couldn't stand Bonnie Franklin, but I thought she did just fine on the show- braless or not! :lol:

I know everybody in my family except me hated this show when it was on, and everybody laughs at the mention of this show today if they remember it. I'm 33 years old and I have friends my age who don't remember this show at all! Sad. :( I'm really surprised at how much people can forget.

Hopefully the DVD set get released or somebody like Comcast can show it on Tube Time!

Hey I am 43 and I have a clear memory of that show. Read my comments about Bonnie Franklin in the thread about the character of Ann Romano being the angriest character ever, "The character of Ann Romano was a head strong and quite high tempered. That's what made the character quite interesting. A matter of fact I loved her snide sarcastic remarks she would make.

Ann sure knew how to go off."

Here's more about how Bonnie helped the show became better.

"Yep I am going to buy the DVD set of the show. The first season was really bad. I hated the show at first and had a hard time accepting Bonnie Franklin at first. The third season the show hit its stride and so did Bonnie.

Watching Bonnie on Lifetime Intimate Portrait of her she had a strong voice in the storylines and the character. If it wasn't for that the show would not had lasted as long as it did. Pat Harrington stated when she showed up that Monday her script would be marked up and with questions raised on the storylines. MacKenzie Phillips stated as well that Bonnie was in charge and she had a standard and nothing lower than that was unacceptable.

Thank you Bonnie!!!!!"

I rememgber watching the show first run, and later in reruns on a local station.
It's hard to say why some shows like ODAAT seem to fade into oblivion, while other shows from the same period will be played forever in reruns on Nick At Nite.

I watched this show in the early 80s and it was Ok. I have to admit that I didn't like seeing reruns of the earliest episodes when Ann was dating David Kane and they were just a bit too pushy about the women's lib/divorce issues in the scripts. I actually remember seeing the episodes where Ann dated the married guy when they first aired in prime time in 1977-78. But I can stand the show more from season 5 onward when they began giving the girls husbands. If I could watch any episodes now they would be the ones from the last 3 seasons, those are most interesting because of the marriages and there is a bit more growth to the characters in those shows: I recall the last season 2 parter where Barbara and her husband tried to adopt a little latino child.

I remember this show had a good long syndicated run in the 80s and early 90s and it was on cable up top about 1999, but I guess it's sometimes strident feminism makes it a bit dated now.

As for Bonnie Franklin she seemed miscast in the part at first, she was too young and didn't look like any Italian American I've ever met, but I grew to accept her in the part, which is another reason why I prefer the 80s shows. Seeing her with Joe Campanella who played her ex-husband in the first few seasons was too strange- he seemed more like her uncle than her ex-husband.

I watched this show in the early 80s and it was Ok. I have to admit that I didn't like seeing reruns of the earliest episodes when Ann was dating David Kane and they were just a bit too pushy about the women's lib/divorce issues in the scripts. I actually remember seeing the episodes where Ann dated the married guy when they first aired in prime time in 1977-78. But I can stand the show more from season 5 onward when they began giving the girls husbands. If I could watch any episodes now they would be the ones from the last 3 seasons, those are most interesting because of the marriages and there is a bit more growth to the characters in those shows: I recall the last season 2 parter where Barbara and her husband tried to adopt a little latino child.

I remember this show had a good long syndicated run in the 80s and early 90s and it was on cable up top about 1999, but I guess it's sometimes strident feminism makes it a bit dated now.


As for Bonnie Franklin she seemed miscast in the part at first, she was too young and didn't look like any Italian American I've ever met, but I grew to accept her in the part, which is another reason why I prefer the 80s shows. Seeing her with Joe Campanella who played her ex-husband in the first few seasons was too strange- he seemed more like her uncle than her ex-husband.

Seasons three and four were very good seasons for the show and it began to hit its stride. The first season shows were weak and Bonnie Franklin looked too young to play a mom of teenagers plus they made her look too homely at first. In season three you began to see Bonnie looking more prettier especially when she cut her hair in season 4. Season five was tragic because it was when MacKenzie Phillips' drug and alcohol problems became apparent and obvious. Those episodes were sad to watch because you can see the downward spiral she was in and how horrible she looked and sound. When she was let go from the show the following season you can see the big hole that was left in the show. Ron Rifkin and Glenn Scarpelli did not do a good job filling the void. I thought Ann's romantic relationship with Nick was not very good and no chemistry betwen Rifkin and Franklin whatsoever. Season 7 got better when Julie began making appearances and the show pick up its stride again but it was beginning to age some. Season 8 was full of transitions and changes and that should had been it final season. Here was all that happened that year:


Mark and Barbara got married.
Julie and Max gave birth to Annie.
Ann met Sam, Mark's father, and they began dating, got engaged and got married.
Alex began dealing with losing his father.
Grandma Romano facing her husband's death.


About most of the 8th season was dealing with many changes of the characters. The final season was a yawn and it showed that it wore its welcome out. It was good to see Ann Romano came out on top with a husband and the opportunity to run her own agency in London. She came a long way.

I did love the addition of Francine played by Shelley Fabares. I definitely had a crush on her but I could not stand the character of Francine. She reminds me of many of my co-workers.

Also another thing to look at. Her and her former husband, Ed, were many years apart in age. You can look at them and tell they were at least ten years apart in age. Joe Campanella and Bonnie Franklin did not seemed compatible. I thought her and David Kane were. The co-dependency those two had would had got tired and old quick.

I ALWAYS liked this show and I am looking forward to the DVD :)

I hated the latter seasons when the girls got married off. The first season was allright, but I think the second season was very strong with their "A Very Special" type episodes.

I'm 28 and I clearly remember ODAAT... might not start buying the dvds until the later seasons though.

The early seasons were the best but I still enjoyed it even in its later years.

I'm with you Nighthawk.ODAAT remains among my favourite shows to this day.And I have every intention of buying the dvd when it comes out.My parents couldn't stand the show.But I think that was because their marraige was not a happy one,and the common termoils that took place on the show kind of reminded them of their predicaments.

I remember watching the show when I was little, in syndication. Then, in 1996, I mananged to catch it on E! Entertainment Television in reruns. I was so flabergasted, that I taped it. While in high school at the time, two Chicago radio personalities were discussing the show on the radio, and mentioning that it was on E!.

I taped episodes like crazy, because I knew it would be cancelled again (like all shows), and that when it was cancelled, I would not miss it since I had the tapes.

Now, in 2005 the show airs once a week on METV. METV is like TVLAND 2, but better than TVLAND. They actually air Johnny Carson reruns in his original time slot.

But anyway, they are currently airing episodes from the 9th season at the time of this writing. I am also looking forward to season one on DVD, but do not know when it is scheduled for release. I missed the reunion show, but hopefully they will repeat it this summer.

I agree with many on this post who says that the show has had poor syndication. There are not too many people from my generation who know the show exists. One time I mentioned the show, and a friend said, "Oh, yeah, that's that show that they were making fun of on Family Guy." They never seen the show. How does Sony Pictures think they can gain exposure for a show that most Americans (from the X and Y) generations do not know exist, or have no interest for such a program? The style of television has changed drastically, and they might find the show "booring." I don't know. I guess we'll see.

I agree, not being seen in syndication in 9 years will not help DVD sales.

I'm staying confident this show is coming to TV Land.

I watched this show from the very first ep. I remember all the guy's at school being in love with Valerie Bertinelli (and then me being jealous when she married Eddie Van Halen!!) ;) :lol:

I don't think it was really hated, it was quite popular when it first ran and I have seen it (albeit for short runs) on Nick. I agree, the latter episodes were bad, but with MacKenzie Phillips and all that was going on there, they had to so something different I guess.

Since that recent reunion show I wish they'd rerun it again SOMEWHERE. I figured that special was setting up something like that. Oh well :confused:

I agree with many on this post who says that the show has had poor syndication. There are not too many people from my generation who know the show exists. One time I mentioned the show, and a friend said, "Oh, yeah, that's that show that they were making fun of on Family Guy." They never seen the show. How does Sony Pictures think they can gain exposure for a show that most Americans (from the X and Y) generations do not know exist, or have no interest for such a program? The style of television has changed drastically, and they might find the show "booring." I don't know. I guess we'll see.[/QUOTE]

TV has changed a lot since this show was on and with a zillion other viewing choices anyone who didn't grow up with this series probably would find it dull. In a sense the viewing audience has jumped the shark.

I liked the show for the first few seasons, until the girls got married... Valerie got more gorgeous every year on that show... but it still wasn't worth watching toward the end imo...it just went on way too long...

I liked the show for the first few seasons, until the girls got married... Valerie got more gorgeous every year on that show... but it still wasn't worth watching toward the end imo...it just went on way too long...

Agreed

I liked the show for the first few seasons, until the girls got married... Valerie got more gorgeous every year on that show... but it still wasn't worth watching toward the end imo...it just went on way too long...


I heard the first season was really really entertaining and That's why I want to see it. Plus I want to see Ann dancing to the song-"The Hustle"

I heard the first season was really really entertaining and That's why I want to see it. Plus I want to see Ann dancing to the song-"The Hustle"

It's the little things that make you happy Solomon. :lol:

It's the little things that make you happy Solomon. :lol:


I heard so many good things about season one and now it's time for me to watch it-lol Ann doing the Hustle is just one of many reasons I want season one

I wanna see Ms. Romano strutting around in front of the girls and Schneider without a bra. :happyface I don't remember that at all. I was too young and maybe that was a good thing!! That is another thing that probably wouldn't go over with an audience of today along with Schneider barging in all the time.

I wanna see Ms. Romano strutting around in front of the girls and Schneider without a bra. :happyface I don't remember that at all. I was too young and maybe that was a good thing!! That is another thing that probably wouldn't go over with an audience of today along with Schneider barging in all the time.


Out of the 5 eps of One day at a time i watched, I saw 3 with Julie and I can already tell she would be my least favorite character-lol She was already unattractive to begin with and to be dramatic and unattractive is a Horibble Combination-lol On the otherhand, Barbara was pretty and nice. I think it should have been the other way around, the Julie character "nice and unattractive" and the Barabara character "pretty and dramatic".

Out of the 5 eps of One day at a time i watched, I saw 3 with Julie and I can already tell she would be my least favorite character-lol She was already unattractive to begin with and to be dramatic and unattractive is a Horibble Combination-lol On the otherhand, Barbara was pretty and nice. I think it should have been the other way around, the Julie character "nice and unattractive" and the Barabara character "pretty and dramatic".

When I watched this show as a little kid Valerie Bertinelli was my favorite and then Bonnie Franklin and Mackenzie Phillips was last.

After watching the reunion show I think Julie would be my favorite nowadays.It is because I thrive off her dramatic antics. Julie was outspoken, troublemaking, bold, and very in-your-face. That is why I would get a kick out of her now. VAlerie was cute, but her character was the goody-goody wallflower. VB was my favorite when I was 8 or 9 because I thought she was hot and MP was my least favorite because I thought she was mean and ugly. The guys in school probably liked Julie because she was outgoing and troublemaking. The guys probably saw beyond her looks because of those reasons. I can also see MP's character being the Plain Jane type who moaned that she never got any guys, and VB could've been the hot, wild, smartmouthed out of control daughter.

http://nostalgiarush.blogspot.com/2014/06/random-thoughts-other-diffrent-strokes.html

Well, here's my theory. Sitcoms had gotten into a rut of playing it safe (or to use another word, cheap!). Not with the topics per se, but with the format they used. Really, go back to watch an episode of Silver Spoons and what do you see? It feels like someone is recording a stage play. The characters are pretty bland. The kids are cute and the parents just react to their antics with a smile and a wave of their head (this is one of the major things Bill Cosby threw out the window). Romances were very clean, major issues were discussed quietly, and all problems were resolved at the end with two (or more) characters talking out the issue and ending with a big hug or a laugh. Oh sure they tried to handle tough issues, but it falls flat when it's the same formula every episode. The formula was this:


Problem comes up
Problem is discussed
Problem is resolved
Resolution is discussed, show ends with a hug or a laugh. And of course, nothing that happens in the episode will in any way affect the next episode.


Next week focus on a different character then Lather, rinse, repeat.

For this article I decided to watch an episode of "One Day at a Time". I randomly picked one on YouTube, which aired in 1979. First, awesome theme song! First thing I noticed was the laugh track, laughing at nothing. Yeah they say it was taped in front of a studio audience but that has to be most stilted studio audience ever. And why are they laughing at things that aren't funny? That format I mentioned is totally there. The episode is like a stage play. The problem is introduced, discussed, and resolved. A little less speeches and more character moments would be nice. Now it's true this is one episode and it's not fair to judge a whole series on it. That being said while there were some good jokes the dialogue did not feel natural at all. And everything takes place in the living room which is annoying. How about a B story? There's a reason shows have those. This show was a hit for a very clear reason-the actresses were very good. Bonnie Franklin, Valerie Bertinelli, and Mackenzie Phillips really stand out. And Schneider is funny. That's great but it still feels like a stage play. I admit I hit the scroll bar at least once out of boredom. The worst part is when I jumped ahead a few minute I had missed nothing.

http://nostalgiarush.blogspot.com/2014/06/random-thoughts-other-diffrent-strokes.html

I agree.

Shows from that era (70s) often do look like stage plays when viewed today, largely because they were recorded on video tape, which doesn't allow for the same kind of feel that film does.

ODAAT, All in the Family, Good Times, all those shows... video taped. And they all look like stage plays when viewed today, compared to the film that everyone uses now.

We went from shows being on film (60s) to videotape (70s & much of the 80s) and later back to film (90s-present). Going to video tape was obviously a cost-cutting measure... but film is better, you can do more things with it.

I wanna see Ms. Romano strutting around in front of the girls and Schneider without a bra. :happyface I don't remember that at all. I was too young and maybe that was a good thing!! That is another thing that probably wouldn't go over with an audience of today along with Schneider barging in all the time.

I know that comment was from 10 years ago (very interesting looking back in these forums). But I think Schneider's character would be well received today. His timing when barging in was impeccable, always happening a just the right moment to create a laugh. And Pat Harrington was absolutely perfect in that role. Perfect balance between very annoying and very likable. He was likable because he always looked out for Ann and the girls. His cluelessness about how annoying he was was actually kind of an endearing quality.

I haven't seen this show in many years, so I'd have to see it again to find out if I still feel that way. But those are my immediate thoughts.

I think there's something to the "stage play" notion, specifically that Bonnie Franklin had been mainly a stage actress. Nearly everything she did in front of the camera was exaggerated, which is something you have to do when you're playing for a thousand people but is very irritating if you're in someone's livingroom. She didn't ever seem to show the kind of delicacy that good TV actors show when the camera is up close.

Excellent point. She did have a background as a stage actress and, when playing for live audiences, you have to do things a little differently on "stage" that you would if you know you have TV cameras available to focus on whatever you want the audience to see.

I like Bonnie Franklin, but I was never crazy about her as an sitcom actress.

Shows from that era (70s) often do look like stage plays when viewed today, largely because they were recorded on video tape, which doesn't allow for the same kind of feel that film does.

ODAAT, All in the Family, Good Times, all those shows... video taped. And they all look like stage plays when viewed today, compared to the film that everyone uses now.

We went from shows being on film (60s) to videotape (70s & much of the 80s) and later back to film (90s-present). Going to video tape was obviously a cost-cutting measure... but film is better, you can do more things with it.

I personally find something unique about sitcoms on videotape that I wouldn't find in filmed ones. Videotaped ones do feel like a live stage play, and thus, have an organic quality. Not to mention, one's voice sounds more natural on videotape than it does on film.

I think it was a good move on Norman Lear's part to have All in the Family be on videotape (like its British counterpart Till Death Us Do Part), when they did the two pilots, and then eventually, the first taping of the actual series in 1970; thus beginning a trend that lasted well into the early 2000's with the end of The Steve Harvey Show.

Shows from that era (70s) often do look like stage plays when viewed today, largely because they were recorded on video tape, which doesn't allow for the same kind of feel that film does.

ODAAT, All in the Family, Good Times, all those shows... video taped. And they all look like stage plays when viewed today, compared to the film that everyone uses now.

We went from shows being on film (60s) to videotape (70s & much of the 80s) and later back to film (90s-present). Going to video tape was obviously a cost-cutting measure... but film is better, you can do more things with it.

Also from my understanding, Norman Lear did that (since just about all of the shows that you mentioned were produced by him or from his production company) as a direct reaction to many of the single-camera, laugh track sitcoms of the '60s. In effect, the videotaped look was meant to give the viewers a better feeling of being in the studio (as if you're actually present w/ the characters).

The downside of course, is that videotaped sitcoms made the productions look cheaper and unpolished/unsophisticated when compared to those shot on film. Videotaped sitcoms also look bad to modern eyes because they (especially the older ones) have a very washed-out, overly-lit look to them. Also, the acting in videotaped sitcoms, especially those from Norman Lear, come across as too strident (going back to the whole "televised stage play" suggestion).

One observer that I recently came across said that most of ODAAT plays like a dramatic play written at a local community center's feminist playwriting workshop. In a nutshell, the early and middle years of ODAAT read more like a drama with comic elements. It wasn't a decidedly more "standard" sitcom like say other shows of its time like Alice.

Jealousy that their show isn’t as good.

The show had its good moments, but there were a LOT of stinker filler episodes in the series.

The first seasons were the best. Losing Phillips really hurt the show a lot and adding Alex didn’t really work. Schneider and his schtick got so old so fast and they kept featuring that.

The only episodes I didn't like were the ones with Ginny, and they lost her pretty fast. Then they did a 180 and got Shelley Fabares, which was a brilliant move. She played a goody-two-shoes on the Donna Reed Show, and she was the total opposite on ODAAT.

I really don't think they made any casting errors in the later seasons, but it sounds like that's a minority opinion.

I really don't think they made any casting errors in the later seasons, but it sounds like that's a minority opinion.

Lots of people seem to love Howard Hessemen everywhere except for the time he served here the last 2 years.

I never had any problem with Howard or Glenn Scarpelli. He gets the same grief that almost all add-a-kids do.

I really don't think they made any casting errors in the later seasons, but it sounds like that's a minority opinion.

Actually, I prefer the later seasons when the girls were married.

Too much yelling and hitting. Also, barring Barbara, the show’s characters weren’t very likable.

The Ann Romano character could be so unlikeable at times. I think they made her character a born loser, as in a person who not only suffers great tribulations and calamities, but also is never satisfied with making an alternative choice even if it turned out better.

I used to have my share of Ann when I worked retail. They weren't our regular shoppers, but ones who ONLY came to the store when the store ran a flyer about cheap products sold at ridiculously low prices. So here I have Ann making a huge scene (today they are Karen and recording themselves) about a snow covered figurine [Santa Shop] which is neither playing a note jingle nor lighting up. Additionally, she is complaining about her ruined Xmas party, spilled egg nog on the carpet, guests who had driven 30 miles to see her lighted toy shop figurine, traffic jams, taking her cat to the vet and having to get wet (it was raining outside the store). All of this because a 12 dollar (on sale for 9) cheap-o decoration wasn't working.

The store manager offered to not only exchange it for a working one, but offer an additional refund of five dollars. Or she was offered her money back. No, she wanted a new unopened box and her money back. She and the manager continued to squabble and she walked away with 8 dollars in her pocket.

And then she complained loudly about every other store which had ripped her off since she had moved to the area in 1974.

There are times when watching ODAT that I want to tape Ann's mouth shut.