I really liked Family Affair. I was dissapointed when TV Land took it off. I guess if I had to have a favorite charachter it would be of course Mr.French what kid didnt wish of having a Mr. French around?

LOL, I loved Mr. French!

I agree with Mr. French being a man many families would like to have around. Yet I have always wondered what it was that really made him so appealing. He often speaks and acts out of deeply rooted traditions among the high serving classes in England, and the children do not understand. You would also think that typical American kids (in the 60's or now) would prefer pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers or tacos to the gourmet dishes he prepares. And especially in the first season of FA he often let it be known that he resented being a "nanny" when he was trained to be a "gentleman's gentleman" [valet].

So he was rigid, hard to understand, humorless, and he did not like the new family situation. Why then did the children in the show like him so much, and why did the viewers wish they had such a person? Perhaps it was his voice and diction that made such an impression; that coupled with knowing that if he had been brought up in America he would have been more easygoing and casual. As it was, he seldom thought twice about the traditions and strict principles he had inherited, which presumably is why he stayed with the Davis family and remained the steadying influence.