I was watching FOX's Truth Behind Sitcoms and he said he asked for money andthey told him no so he said he left the show and he was absent in FOUR EPS. He said they were the worst 4 eps of One Day at a Time? Anyone have an idea when Schenider was missing for 4 eps?-lol

I was watching FOX's Truth Behind Sitcoms and he said he asked for money andthey told him no so he said he left the show and he was absent in FOUR EPS. He said they were the worst 4 eps of One Day at a Time? Anyone have an idea when Schenider was missing for 4 eps?-lol

LOL! It sounds like a case of sour grapes. The episodes the Schneider character isn't in are the worst. I believe the show could've went on if he had left permanently.

NO WAY!! Pat Harrington Jr. was a great comedian and actor. Before ONE DAY
AT A TIME, he was a regular on Steve Allen's classic TV show (with such future
legends as Don Knotts, Tom Poston, Louis Nye and Bill Dana) and recorded a
funny comedy album. As far as I'm concerned, he was the best element of
the show ONE DAY AT A TIME (well, with the exception of Valerie Bertinelli).

I personally feel that I could have watched eps without Schneider because he wasn't funny at all to me. His character defintely was the STAR of the show

Isn't it usually true that a supporting character steals every scene in most
popular shows? Besides Schneider, I could cite Barney Fife, Arthur Fonzarelli,
Granny Moses, Pvt. Doberman, Ed Norton, etc., etc. I liked Schneider because
he reminded me of Groucho Marx. Loved his witty sayings (e.g., "Please remember, and don't ever forget: It is better not to have been in love than to
hever have loved at all"). What a character.

That should show you how important he was, because I didn't even know. lol

Schneider was a good character but Ann and the girls were the stars. I think he was needed more though after Julie left the show.

Schneider was a good character but Ann and the girls were the stars. I think he was needed more though after Julie left the show.



I agree with that, there was defintely a hole after she was fired

I agree with that, there was defintely a hole after she was fired

I know the show suffered a lot when Julie left. Even as a little kid I knew the show went downhill some when she was gone. I think you needed the conflicts between her and her mother.

by the time she left, the show was going downhill anyway.

by the time she left, the show was going downhill anyway.


I don't know about that Brian, Mackenze was fired in the 1979-80 season and the ratings after that was

1980-81-#11
1981-82-#10
1982-83-#16


So the show started going down hill after 1982

Didn't she come back and left again? I hated when Julie and Barbara got married. That was the end of the show for me.

Didn't she come back and left again? I hated when Julie and Barbara got married. That was the end of the show for me.
Yea she came back in 1981 but was fired again in 1983, right after the start of the last season.

Yea she came back in 1981 but was fired again in 1983, right after the start of the last season.


I have a People Magazine on the way saying she was fired in 1980. Are you sure she was fired in 83?

I have a People Magazine on the way saying she was fired in 1980. Are you sure she was fired in 83?
The second time she was fired was in 1983. She was fired twice.

The second time she was fired was in 1983. She was fired twice.


Oh Ok, so what I'm receiing is information on the first firing

I have a People Magazine on the way saying she was fired in 1980. Are you sure she was fired in 83?

Yes she was fired in 1983. Look at the episodes in the 82-83 season and you can tell she got back on drugs. In the final season she passed out on the couch during rehearsal and the producer asked her for a urine sample. She said no but the producer told that they have to do it so she left and she got fired. It was sad but she is now clean and sober.

Yes she was fired in 1983. Look at the episodes in the 82-83 season and you can tell she got back on drugs. In the final season she passed out on the couch during rehearsal and the producer asked her for a urine sample. She said no but the producer told that they have to do it so she left and she got fired. It was sad but she is now clean and sober.


Well I'm not sure if Comcast will show the 82-83 season, hopefully they do

Well I'm not sure if Comcast will show the 82-83 season, hopefully they do

Look at Episode #181 during the 82-83 season and you can tell MacKenzie was back on drugs. Her weight was dropping off rapidly on that episode. She did not look healthy.

She was not like that towards the beginning of that season. I believe that it was toward the ending of that season's eps, you can definitely see it. When the last season began, she looked like a lost cause. It was sad and unfortunate. She was my favorite.

She was not like that towards the beginning of that season. I believe that it was toward the ending of that season's eps, you can definitely see it. When the last season began, she looked like a lost cause. It was sad and unfortunate. She was my favorite.

When that particular episode, #181 The Letter, it was towards the end of the 82-83 season and you can see that she got back on drugs. The episodes with her in it earlier that season she was still looking good. The episode when Ann and Sam got married she did not hardly have any lines and no close up camera shots was done on her. But in the 83-84 season when she was going full time as a regular was sad. It was stated when she drove off the last time they thought she was going to die that night. The plug should had been pulled at the end of the 83-83 season. The final season was sad and the ran its course. It was obvious.

That should show you how important he was, because I didn't even know. lol
:yeahthat With all due respect to Mr. Harrington, I just didn't care for Schneider. A little of him went a very long way.

Yes she was fired in 1983 after the third episode was shot. She was asleep on the couch during rehearsals and everyone knew that she was back on drugs. You can tell towards the end of the 82-83 season she back on it when the episode the Letter and it was very obvious when she was so skinny and bad looking. Hardly any closeup shots was done on her. The associate producer woke her up and asked her for an urine sample because it was apparent that she was back on drugs. She asked if she can wait until the following day to do it and the producer said no so she left and from that point she was fired again. When that happened that marked the end of One Day at A Time even though it went on a few more episodes. There was some good potential storylines with Julie and Barbara, as married women, sharing the house together with their husbands. From that point on Bonnie Franklin had enough and the show ran its course.



You already answered that question.

You already answered that question.
Sure did.

When Pat Harrington stated that shows he was not in were the four worst shows they did when he was asking for more money. He was wrong. The episode when Francine came back gave way for good comedy between Bonnie Franklin and Shelley Fabares. Too bad the show did not explore into that partnership more with storylines involving them. Those two were funny together and their style of comedy constrast well. They could had used that angle after Mackenzie Phillips no longer could do the show. I was glad that there was no Schneider spinoff because the character would not been good as a leading character. He is a supporting player and with his underlying want for Ann made way for great comedy as well.