TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT WAS AN INCREDIBLY FUNNY SHOW THE FIRST TWO YEARS IT WAS ON THE AIR.WITH THE BIRTH OF THE BABY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRD SEASON THE SHOW TURNED MUSHY AND UNENTERTAINING.

That's when it 'Jumped The Shark'. Babies will do that to many shows..

THE ONLY TIMES A NEW BABY MADE A SITCOM BETTER WERE "I LOVE LUCY"(ONE OF TELEVISIONS
FINEST MOMENTS "BEWITCHED"(ESPECIALLY)AND FAMILY TIES!(ONLY BECAUSE LITTLE ANDREW GREW UP SO FAST)

[This message has been edited by APPLEI (edited 04-23-2001).]

Me too ! The baby took away time the show could have been focussing on Lydia Cornell. And then when that stupid cousin moved in (real skinny girl with black hair) it was over. They should have stuck with original cast ! It worked !

Long Live Lydia Cornell ! http://www.sitcomsonline.com/ubb/heart.gif http://www.sitcomsonline.com/ubb/smile.gif http://www.sitcomsonline.com/ubb/heart.gif

Well i don't know the babies but i do know Josh Goodwin the boy who played Andrew when he was older and i must say the talent and cuteness of him makes us tease him even more now!!!

Having a baby is usually the last resort of an aging sitcom that's lost its edge. Too Close was only in its third season, so I don't see why they did that.

Besides, Ted was old enough to be the baby's grandfather!!

Well, I know the babies Andrew -- 24 years old now, and Billy and Michael couldn't be cuter! They are my brothers, after all, so of course I would think so! And they SO did not ruin the show. You all are nuts!

Having a baby is usually the last resort of an aging sitcom that's lost its edge. Too Close was only in its third season, so I don't see why they did that.

Besides, Ted was old enough to be the baby's grandfather!!

The reason why the baby was added to the show was because during the first season Nancy Dussault, who played Ted Knight's TV wife Muriel Rush, was unhappy with the way her role on the show was underdeveloped. She wanted Muriel to be more developed and to get laughs. That how her role got beefed up by adding a late in life pregnancy into the second season. But the irony is the second season was funnier than the first season because the cast got used to each and the rhythm and pace of the show was there. They could had Muriel go back to singing and feature some episodes of her being in some funny situations in her singing. Nancy Dussault got a powerful voice. Unfortunately Nancy is an excellent sitcom actress but she was underrated.

I didn't realize that the pregnancy was so soon in the series. It's been a few years since I saw this show, but it always seemed later.

Well, I know the babies Andrew -- 24 years old now, and Billy and Michael couldn't be cuter! They are my brothers, after all, so of course I would think so! And they SO did not ruin the show. You all are nuts!


Well, you are their sister, so of COURSE your opinion is biased. :rolleyes:

Bringing a baby into a tv show is the writer's way of saying "Well, *throwing up hands* we got nothin'!!" lol

Name any tv show that brings in a pregnancy to the life of a series regular and I'll pinpoint the moment that show jumps the shark.

Jenne3, babies on tv shows are live props. And the 3 who played Andrew were cute...as far as live props go lol. At least they didn't try to use him to eke out any "awwwwws" from the audience by having him say/do something "cute" and/or dumb.

Babies are usually one of the last gasps or completely kill the series.

Andrew's presence on this show is kind of depressing if you take into account, Ted Knight's rather premature death in 1986. Andrew Rush was born during the third season in 1982-83. So if we're going by real time, he should be about 40 going on 41 years old today.

And assuming that Henry Rush, the character died in 1986 just like Ted Knight, the actor, then Andrew has gone almost all of his life without his father being present. Ted Knight was already an awfully old looking guy to chasing around a pre-schooler.

I'm assuming this is why people are hard on (https://spermcheck.com/fertility/blog/the-dangers-of-older-dads/) men who have children at a decidedly more mature phase (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_fathers) in their lives (https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-some-famous-old-fathers/245810) like Robert DeNirio (https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/05/31/at-82-al-pacino-will-soon-beat-robert-de-niro-as-one-of-the-oldest-celebrity-dads/) and Al Pacino or if you want to go back a bit further, Tony Randall (https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/fashion/12dads.html).

This thread was started over 20 years ago, LOL.

I thought the baby was fine. I think they wanted to give Nancy Dussault a storyline but the late in life baby was probably not really necessary. By the time we got to the Ted Knight show we barely even saw Andrew anymore. He probably only made 3 appearances the entire season.

For me the show started losing steam when they started focusing more on Monroe and less on the girls especially around Season 4. They started writing Henry and Monroe like they were Laurel and Hardy while the girls' characters did not get developed.

I was watching this the other day and was in shock that Muriel's pregnancy was announced the first episode of season 2. Usually they dont bring babies along until the show suffers in ratings. Season 2 had the highest ratings. When the baby came ABC moved it to Thursday nights which killed the show. It went from #6 to #38.
I agree with the original poster that the baby ruined the dynamic of the show