What was your favorite season
I liked the Powell version. The one I grew up with

Pembroke... even though I grew up with the Powell version too, watching the show in reruns, I liked that version more.

Powells. Just liked it better and there was more then 1 season.

The Powell Family

The Pembrokes. :) Though both versions of the show are good.:)

The Pembroke's definitely. I liked how they treated Charles better. The Powell children were bratty, except for Sarah, of course.

The Pembroke's definitely. I liked how they treated Charles better. The Powell children were bratty, except for Sarah, of course.

I agree the Powell children treated poor Charles like crap (even Sarah had her moments lol), but still, I liked the Powells better than the Pembrokes. I thought the Powell episodes were more livelier and entertaining.

Jason Pembroke was a riot, so I vote the Pembrokes. Plus I love the early 80s more and that's the season I grew up with.

Didn't the Powells been reduced to four members, instead of five? The mother would have been a useless character.....so it would have made sense if was grandpa and the kids.

:confused: At least, in the Pembroke episodes, the parents and the kids were always there.

Even tho I grew up with the Powell seasons, I prefer the Pembrokes. They were a lot more realistic. The Powells were just...different. That's all. I liked both versions though, so don't get me wrong.

Though I voted Pembroke, I must say that the Dad was a bit annoying the way he expected Charles to handle everything (I realise it was needed to push the storyline along, but in real-life it looked like he was a lazy father).

Laila Pembroke was a bit over the top too. It's like you can tell she's acting all the time.

Big mistake with the Powells was the grandfather... having an old grouch spoiled the show.

Even tho I grew up with the Powell seasons, I prefer the Pembrokes. They were a lot more realistic. The Powells were just...different. That's all. I liked both versions though, so don't get me wrong.


Did you get the first season DVD set, Allison? :)

Laila Pembroke was a bit over the top too. It's like you can tell she's acting all the time.

Big mistake with the Powells was the grandfather... having an old grouch spoiled the show.


I think that Lila was a very realistic character. I think more girls are like Lila as teenagers then they are like either Jamie or Sarah. Not that I have anything against Sarah and Jamie.

I think having Grandpa Powell was unrealistic (after all, why do you need a nanny when grandpa is always around?) but grandpa was always funny so it doesn't bother me that it makes no sense for him to be there.

Did you get the first season DVD set, Allison? :)
Yup, on release day in February. I had other DVDs to watch first, so I didn't get to start on the first-season set until early last week. LOVED it! Of course, I've seen the episodes in (infrequent) reruns, but it was really awesome to be finally able to watch them all together. :)

Yup, on release day in February. I had other DVDs to watch first, so I didn't get to start on the first-season set until early last week. LOVED it! Of course, I've seen the episodes in (infrequent) reruns, but it was really awesome to be finally able to watch them all together. :)


I bought the set on February 14th too. I went over to Best Buy as soon as the store opened. :lol: I watched the entire season in a week and a half. Which I think is the fastest that I have ever watched an entire DVD set. Anyway, I am glad that you are enjoying it.:) Any favorite episodes?

Grandpa Powell....:lol: He was too funny......

Grandpa Powell....:lol: He was too funny......


Yeah, Walter was a riot. Especially when he was making fun of Buddy...which was like always.:lol:

Could I please pick Walter. He is so funny...


I love all his lines:

"What does he see in her?"

"Doorbell!"
:lol:

Could I please pick Walter. He is so funny...


I love all his lines:

"What does he see in her?"

"Doorbell!"
:lol:

:lol: I loved when Walter would bellow "doorbell!" and he'd be in the same room. Remember one episode when Charles said to him, "no, let ME get it." :lol:

:lol: I loved when Walter would bellow "doorbell!" and he'd be in the same room. Remember one episode when Charles said to him, "no, let ME get it." :lol:


Walter was lazy. :lol:

Walter was lazy. :lol:

no, I wouldn't call him lazy....merely bossy. He loved telling Charles and Buddy what to do. :lol:

"Doorbell! Doorbell!"

Hehehehe..:lol: gets me everytime.

Yeah, Walter was a riot. Especially when he was making fun of Buddy...which was like always.

(Buddy is holding a potted plant)
Walter: "Well, Lembeck, I see you've found your intellectual equal."
:lol:

The part I like about the DVD is it shows the full episodes without scenes cut out.

why was the show taken off the air during late 1985 & all of 1986 and oh yea i like the pembrokes better do you understand what i'm telling you? lol but it was a tough choice

It was not doing well in the CBS ratings, I suppose. Then syndication grabbed in '87.

The Pembrokes is favorite family. I grew up with both families in the 80's and early 90's but I loved me some Pembrokes.

The Powells all the way!:)

As a kid, I always found the Pembroke episodes to be boring. I always prefered the Powells. Plus, I like Buddy when he's at his dumbest (which are the Powell years). Then I got the season 1 DVD and thought it was great. I had finally come to like the Pembrokes, maybe more than the Powells. However, with my recent purchase of season two, I'm convinced. I still prefer the Powells. And Walter being there adds an edge that the Pembroke's season lacked.

Even though I like the Powells better, I can't help but wonder what the show would have been like if the Pembrokes had stayed for the duration of the show.

How could no one know Charles last name? The Pembrooks(spelling) or the Powell's hired him and how could they not know his last name?

Even Buddy how could he not know Charles last name?

Anyway I agree with most of you on here Walter Powell all the way. He was a riot.

That is because he had no last name. It was a sitcom, man. Don't you know that a sitcom can twist reality around? Scott Baio's character is regarded as the first name character ever with no last name, loosely based on the same name as Chachi Arcola. It was really just a in-joke on the producer's part. :lol:

That in-joke thing was a funny thing.

I bought the set on February 14th too. I went over to Best Buy as soon as the store opened. :lol: I watched the entire season in a week and a half. Which I think is the fastest that I have ever watched an entire DVD set. Anyway, I am glad that you are enjoying it.:) Any favorite episodes?

Did the two Families ever meet on camera?

Why do some audiences prefer the Pembroke family over the Powell family when the Powell family setup likely helped the series last four more seasons? The Powell parents were absentee and therefore, really made Charles invaluable to them as his job was to look after and guide the kids. That's where we (the audience) got to see Charles truly do his job as an live-in caretaker. In comparison, the Pembroke parents were in the house all the time with their kids, which kind of defeats the purpose of Charles' job, don't you agree?