Because there could have been a plan to wrap up the series in the beginning of the 83-84 season or the 84-85 season. What was taking the writers so long to come up with a idea to end the series? So i guess CBS figured there was plenty of time to wrap up of the show and the fact there was no talk of HOW TO END the SERIES, the network just decied to cancel the show and be done with it. So the writers should have came up with a good way to end the series in the beginning of 84-85 season instead of letting the show continue to go one and on and on. I mean how long was they going to let the show go on and not come up with a way to end it? So i think CBS did the right thing.

I agree that the Jeffersons should have had a series finale. I also blame the writers. I guess they thought the show would never be cancelled considering it was on for over 11 years. CBS should've gave them some kind of warning that this was the end for the show.

I agree that the Jeffersons should have had a series finale. I also blame the writers. I guess they thought the show would never be cancelled considering it was on for over 11 years. CBS should've gave them some kind of warning that this was the end for the show.


Exactly, I guess no one wanted to stop working-lol

The Jeffersons did have a series finale when they toured the country with a play called "Jeffersons on Stage". What happened in that series finale?

In a way I see all of your points, but I can't think of anything that dramatic that they could have done in a last episode. George had considered retiring at least 2x, Florence had already got another job and came back, Lionel and Jenny had a baby and then split up and personally I don't think they should have had either Florence or Bentley get married. As odd as it is that this show had no real ending I prefer it that way. It left things open for the Fresh Prince appearances in the 90s.

As for the writers (and the cast) the minute CBS moved the show to Tuesdays it should have been obvious that its days were numbered. I guess everybody was in denial.

In a way I see all of your points, but I can't think of anything that dramatic that they could have done in a last episode. George had considered retiring at least 2x, Florence had already got another job and came back, Lionel and Jenny had a baby and then split up and personally I don't think they should have had either Florence or Bentley get married. As odd as it is that this show had no real ending I prefer it that way. It left things open for the Fresh Prince appearances in the 90s.

As for the writers (and the cast) the minute CBS moved the show to Tuesdays it should have been obvious that its days were numbered. I guess everybody was in denial.


Yeah the Jeffersons could not compete with the A-Team

In a way I see all of your points, but I can't think of anything that dramatic that they could have done in a last episode. George had considered retiring at least 2x, Florence had already got another job and came back, Lionel and Jenny had a baby and then split up and personally I don't think they should have had either Florence or Bentley get married. As odd as it is that this show had no real ending I prefer it that way. It left things open for the Fresh Prince appearances in the 90s.

As for the writers (and the cast) the minute CBS moved the show to Tuesdays it should have been obvious that its days were numbered. I guess everybody was in denial.
They had to have been. Alice was in the same boat. It got moved opposite the A-Team and was paired with The Jeffersons yet it found time to film a last episode. I knew as soon as they were moved that they were dead. I don't understand why the people involved couldn't see it.

I agree that the Jeffersons should have had a series finale. I also blame the writers. I guess they thought the show would never be cancelled considering it was on for over 11 years. CBS should've gave them some kind of warning that this was the end for the show.

They did the same thing to Archie Bunker in 1983, so why would they have any respect for George Jefferson. Apparently, CBS had no gratitude for shows that delivered big ratings for a number of years. No respect for Norman Lear shows in the '80s, that's for sure.:(

They did the same thing to Archie Bunker in 1983, so why would they have any respect for George Jefferson. Apparently, CBS had no gratitude for shows that delivered big ratings for a number of years. No respect for Norman Lear shows in the '80s, that's for sure.:(


There were plenty of chances for Archie to have a Finale but the show just went on too long. 13 years is way too long. Jeffersons was in it's 10th year.

All your responses are great but could someone please tell me what happened in the "Jeffersons on Stage"? They had their series finale there because they couldn't have it on tv.

Thanks

All your responses are great but could someone please tell me what happened in the "Jeffersons on Stage"? They had their series finale there because they couldn't have it on tv.

Thanks

If no one is answering your question, don't you think that means that no member on this site saw the Finale on Stage?

They did the same thing to Archie Bunker in 1983, so why would they have any respect for George Jefferson. Apparently, CBS had no gratitude for shows that delivered big ratings for a number of years. No respect for Norman Lear shows in the '80s, that's for sure.:(

One Day at a Time was a show that got out of its own choosing. In 1984 Bonnie Franklin and Valerie Bertinelli both quit, so the show had a chance to end on its own. Realistically, it is highly unusual for any situation comedy to run 9 years plus and still be entertaining. I'm probably one of the very few people who like the year 9 One Day at a Time episodes.

As for the Jeffersons I remember watching the show in the early 80s rather faithfully then I lost interest in it and forgot all about it. When I read that it was moving to Tuesdays I knew it was about to be cancelled. Quite frankly, I was wondering what it was still doing on the air. I'm catching local reruns of it now and they're currently running season 9. These are the shows lean years, but I'd rather watch them than virtually any current program.

One Day at a Time was a show that got out of its own choosing. In 1984 Bonnie Franklin and Valerie Bertinelli both quit, so the show had a chance to end on its own. Realistically, it is highly unusual for any situation comedy to run 9 years plus and still be entertaining. I'm probably one of the very few people who like the year 9 One Day at a Time episodes.

I did too. Sam Royer was a good choice to play Ann's husband. However, the fact that Ann got married pretty much undermined the premise of the series - a woman who married young who finally got her independence. So I think it was a wise decision to end the series. I'm not saying Ann shouldn't have gotten married - but this never would have happened early on. Remember what happened to David??

And then she hooked up with Nick, who went undercover(the whole thing about him dying was to get away from his annoying son Alex), changed his name to Sloane and is now on Alias.:D

I did too. Sam Royer was a good choice to play Ann's husband. However, the fact that Ann got married pretty much undermined the premise of the series - a woman who married young who finally got her independence. So I think it was a wise decision to end the series. I'm not saying Ann shouldn't have gotten married - but this never would have happened early on. Remember what happened to David??

And then she hooked up with Nick, who went undercover(the whole thing about him dying was to get away from his annoying son Alex), changed his name to Sloane and is now on Alias.:D

Good to know I'm not the only one who liked those last episodes.

The later Jeffersons episodes have a certain charm to them. I recently saw an episode called The List from year 10 with Rosey Grier as a guy who bullied George in his grade school days. George made a list of things he wanted to achieve in life and one item on it was to beat up Rosey Grier. Louise and Helen go to his pool hall in Harlem to save George wh isn't there and instead end up having to run for their lives from a huge female bouncer. the return home disheveled (Louise's wig is all messed up) to find that George changed his mind and is sitting at home eating ice cream and watching tv. This episode was rather entertaining I must say. Maybe it was one of the better episodes from the later era.

One thing I can say about Jeffersons and ODAAT in the 80s is that Norman Lear and his people picked top caliber actors to be in his shows so that even if the writing was on the decline the actors still held things together and I really like the theatrical feel of those series which is really missing from today's programs.

I admit I also lost interest in the later episodes and missed Mother Jefferson after she passed away. The Jeffersons should have gotten a final episode, as well as ABP, and Maude.

On a side note regarding Bonnie Franklin, I seen her in an episode of The Munsters. It was the one where Herman tries to rescue Grandpa from a girls dorm. Bonnie is one of the girls in the dorm, they also show her walking along a corridor.

I admit I also lost interest in the later episodes and missed Mother Jefferson after she passed away. The Jeffersons should have gotten a final episode, as well as ABP, and Maude.

On a side note regarding Bonnie Franklin, I seen her in an episode of The Munsters. It was the one where Herman tries to rescue Grandpa from a girls dorm. Bonnie is one of the girls in the dorm, they also show her walking along a corridor.

She must've been a youngin' then...:D Was she hot??

She must've been a youngin' then...:D Was she hot??
I also saw her in an episode of The Man From UNCLE in 1964. She looked pretty much the same as she would a decade later, actually she looked better. It was a B&W episode but she looked like she had the orange hair back then.

Yeah the Jeffersons could not compete with the A-Team

I know that's right. I am an A-Team nut. And season three will be out on January 31st.

I know that's right. I am an A-Team nut. And season three will be out on January 31st.


Well I would have choose the Jeffersons-lol

Well, the writers had nothing to do with it. CBS abruptly cancelled "The Jeffersons" in the spring of 1985. The series was cancelled a few months after production ended on the 11th season. The cast and crew expected to return, but instead, the show was cancelled. There were talks to do a "farewell" episode in the fall of 1985/spring of 1986 but much of the cast was so disgusted with the abrupt cancellation, they declined to return.

I agree that the Jeffersons should have had a series finale. I also blame the writers. I guess they thought the show would never be cancelled considering it was on for over 11 years. CBS should've gave them some kind of warning that this was the end for the show.
I agree.

I also saw her in an episode of The Man From UNCLE in 1964. She looked pretty much the same as she would a decade later, actually she looked better. It was a B&W episode but she looked like she had the orange hair back then.
Seeing her in the Munsters too, I will say she is very cute and attractive.

Well, the writers had nothing to do with it. CBS abruptly cancelled "The Jeffersons" in the spring of 1985. The series was cancelled a few months after production ended on the 11th season. The cast and crew expected to return, but instead, the show was cancelled. There were talks to do a "farewell" episode in the fall of 1985/spring of 1986 but much of the cast was so disgusted with the abrupt cancellation, they declined to return.


So they wanted the cast to return in the spring of 86 for ONE Farewell episode?-lol

I still don't understand how the writers didn't realize the show was coming to an end. The ratings had tanked and the show had lost over half their viewers. They must have been having a case of denial.

I still don't understand how the writers didn't realize the show was coming to an end. The ratings had tanked and the show had lost over half their viewers. They must have been having a case of denial.



I guess the writers wanted to stay EMPLOYED-lol But they had to know if the show was in it's 11th season that it was time to wrap it up.

The problem with some long-running shows is that unless they're a huge hit for the network, the network gets tired of them and deliberately sabotages the show by poor scheduling or outright cancellation, regardless of whether or not the show's ratings warrant it.

It's too bad in any event that they didn't get to come back for a final episode in the fall. I think an hour-long show could have given them a chance to say a proper goodbye and farewell.

Then again, they did it to Archie Bunker two years earlier, so I guess they don't care how much of a landmark or well-loved show it was.

how u think the jeffersons schould of ended.i know on Fresh Prince they bought the banks mansion so that is kind of final for both shows

To me, the series finale should have been the two-part Sayonara episode. It had the makings of a final episode and it signaled the end of an era: Lionel and Jenny's divorce and the end of a family for Jessica.

To me, the series finale should have been the two-part Sayonara episode. It had the makings of a final episode and it signaled the end of an era: Lionel and Jenny's divorce and the end of a family for Jessica.


I don;t think it would have been a good idea to end the series on a sad note