http://paulkatcher.com/020505.shtml

Gee, I thought MAude would've been #1 :lol:

There is some truth there. One Day at a Time was a "comedy" that never really made anyone laugh. I don't think any viewer ever laughed at anything portrayed on the show.

It was a popular show. But not for the comedy. I'm not sure what, to be honest.

http://paulkatcher.com/020505.shtml

Gee, I thought MAude would've been #1 :lol:



After finally seeing it I wouldn;t say it's the worst but I don;t understand why it was rated in the top ten for so many years. The best grade i would give this show is a C not a C+, a plain C

It was a great show

It was a great show

I don't know what it is about the show, but it was my favorite in my childhood years. It was great show until the girls got married and Alex came around. I can see why it wouldn't cut it with the TV Land fans because there weren't many "laugh-out-loud scenes" in it, but something made it work. Sometimes I wonder if they should've just made this a drama-type show like "Family" or "Eight Is Enough".

The show did run for nine years on CBS. Creator/producer Norman Lear said
that "he was trying to do for the divorced woman what ALL IN THE FAMILY
had done for the bigot--maker her comically respectable" (in the words of
Rick Mitz, author of "THE GREAT TV SITCOM BOOK"). On another post here,
Lear was quoted as saying ALL IN THE FAMILY was a satire, not a comedy.
Seems to be a matter of semantics. But I digress. Mitz goes on to say that
"the most surprising thing about the show was how successful it came to be"
and that "Unlike most other Lear ventures, there was little controversy surrounding the show. Not that it was bland. Just that it was sensible."

Re my favorite comic character on the show, Mitz says: "Schneider seems
to have been Lear's throwback to Archie Bunker, but over the seasons he
became more seasoned and softened. He started off as a romance-obsessed
character .. who had the hots for Ann. Then he became the friend of the
family, Uncle Schneider."

Summing up, Mitz says: "The key to the program, though, shows up in one
bit of dialogue--a little schmaltzy, to be sure, but sitcom-sophisticated. Ann
had just broken up with her married lover and was explaining to him why she
had to do it.

"'There is something that matters more than you do,' she tells him. 'My self-
respect.'

"Because if ONE DAY AT A TIME had anything, it had self-respect."

I don't know what it is about the show, but it was my favorite in my childhood years. It was great show until the girls got married and Alex came around. I can see why it wouldn't cut it with the TV Land fans because there weren't many "laugh-out-loud scenes" in it, but something made it work. Sometimes I wonder if they should've just made this a drama-type show like "Family" or "Eight Is Enough".


I absolutely agree. It wasn't a laugh out loud show, but a very entertaining show. It is kind of weird, but that is what it was. lol

The show did something right to run for nine years. But, like most of Norman Lear's sitcoms i.e. The Jeffersons and All in the Family, it ran into a victim of its own success by squeezing the blood out of it by keeping it on the air too long. The best of any sitcom is five years and/or 100 episodes whatever comes first. It was a good show and it portrayed divorced life in a honest but entertaining way. No other show have done it. That same season that ODAT came on Lee Grant starred in a sitcom called Fay and it did not last.

The show did something right to run for nine years. But, like most of Norman Lear's sitcoms i.e. The Jeffersons and All in the Family, it ran into a victim of its own success by squeezing the blood out of it by keeping it on the air too long. The best of any sitcom is five years and/or 100 episodes whatever comes first. It was a good show and it portrayed divorced life in a honest but entertaining way. No other show have done it. That same season that ODAT came on Lee Grant starred in a sitcom called Fay and it did not last.

I honestly remember (barely!) Fay being on TV at I must've been 5 years old. My mother likes Lee Grant so that is why she watched the show. Didn't that show only last 8 episodes?? I wonder if Universal would release it?:lol:

First, disregard the original link. It no longer applies to the topic. Second, even if you strongly dislike the show, and hate Schneider with the burning passion of 1000 suns, calling One Day at a Time the worst show of all time seems a bit much.

It's definitely on the Top 5 Worst of the 70's

5. One Day at a Time
4. Phyllis
3. Mash
2. Laverne and Shirley
1. Barney Miller

The Worst Show of All Time "accolade" I believe belongs to Small Wonder. ;)

Worst ever depends on point of view

Someone says they don't like ONE DAY or it's not funny, fine. Personal preference. Someone says it's the worst show ever, we're dropping the gloves.

I love all the drama and soap opera type stuff in this show, (the two and three even four part eps ROCKED) more than the comedy! But there still are funny moments too!!! Sometimes It can be boring and cheesy too. But it's a good 'comfort show"!! And it's fun to make fun of too, if the ep is bad or far fetched!!!

One Day At A Time is a sitcom mainly because of Schnieder. Most of the comedy in the show revolves around him, or scenes he's in. Ann and her two daughters aren't funny, they are less interesting dramatic characters and mostly involved with the drama in their lives. Barbara is occasionally given something funny to say or do because she's good looking. Schnieder is the comedy relief, the one who usually provides the laughs. He's an integral part of the show, and he's probably what kept the show on for nine seasons.

One Day At A Time certainly isn't the worst show of all time. Far from it, since it lasted nine seasons. The writing is above average as far as sitcoms go. However, without Schnieder, I don't think the show would have lasted as long as it did.

OK I'm not trying to score points with Opus here!!! LOL!!!! But I know he will like my post!!!

I think a big reason the show was really popular for so long was Valerie Bertinelli!!! I think she was the shining star of the show with a lot of fans! The guys loved her and the girls liked her too!! She was a good girl, a nice, sweet girl. But not a nerdy type annoying goody two shoe type. she was cool!! She's somebody you would want as a friend, or a sister. And I think the adults liked her in a daughter type way!!! Also Mackenzie ,but not as much as Valerie. But she brought lots of drama to the show! She was fun too, I could see being friends with her too ,and getting into trouble!! Than when she wasn't in the show a lot, viewers tuning in to see if she was coming back, and following her saga from the tabloids and stuff!!! And in a morbid way, seeing how bad she looked from ep to ep!!

So to sum it up, I think Barbara and Julie were basically how the show stayed afloat for such a long time! That is my humble opinion!!

Barbara was popular, for obvious reasons. But Schnieder was funnier. Both were important to the show, for different reasons. Barbara was eye candy, Schnieder provided the humor.

Julie I never cared for. I think the producers of the show were too lenient with Mac and her addiction problems. They shouldn't have let her back on the show after they cut her loose the first time. As far as I'm concerned, they could have wrote her out of the show completely and created a reason why she's gone. She ran away, she went back to live with her dad, whatever.

Barbara was popular, for obvious reasons. But Schnieder was funnier. Both were important to the show, for different reasons. Barbara was eye candy, Schnieder provided the humor.

Julie I never cared for. I think the producers of the show were too lenient with Mac and her addiction problems. They shouldn't have let her back on the show after they cut her loose the first time. As far as I'm concerned, they could have wrote her out of the show completely and created a reason why she's gone. She ran away, she went back to live with her dad, whatever.

When I watched the show during its original run. Those were the two characters I watched it for, Barbara and Schneider. And I definitely wasn't watching Barbara for her comedy skills.

When I watched the show during its original run. Those were the two characters I watched it for, Barbara and Schneider. And I definitely wasn't watching Barbara for her comedy skills.
Yea I agree. Those were the two I mainly watched it for. I don't understand the Schneider hate because I don't remember any at the time it originally aired. I think he was even nominated for an Emmy.

I think he was even nominated for an Emmy.

And won [Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series - 1984 ]. It's hard to tell what's being debated here , popularity or comedic talent. It doesn't seem fair to compare the comedy of a guy who's first TV credit was 1949 vs. a girl who started in 1975. So going with popularity, I agree with bonnie it was Valerie who kept the show alive in the later years. I say if she had agreed to a spinoff at the end instead of Pat, while no success was guaranteed, CBS would have picked it up and it would have at least been given a shot. And to not leave out the other two characters, I say it was the Ann/Julie dynamic that kickstarted the show at the beginning.

I say it was the Ann/Julie dynamic that kickstarted the show at the beginning.

The Ann/Julie tension was on display early in the series, Julie running off with that deadbeat guy, then shacking up with him at that flea bag motel/flophouse, whatever it was. Driving her mother nuts with worry. Julie was no good, she was always trouble. :lol:

Since the three main characters in the show were female, it needed a male presence to kind of balance things out. That's what Schnieder's role was. Until towards the end of the series when Ann hooked up with Sam.

The consensus (https://web.archive.org/web/20171001062807/http://forums.previously.tv/topic/5426-old-shows-that-dont-stand-up-to-the-test-of-time/?page=8) that I've read is that One Day at a Time (https://web.archive.org/web/20061031125340/http://www.jumptheshark.com/o/one_day_at_a_time.htm) is among the TV shows to have the benefit of lasting as long as it did, to have aged the absolute worst. The big talking points for why this show was a deal-breaker in hindsight were:

The Schneider character, who was supposed to be the main comedic foil really coming across as obnoxious

Hardly anything about the show when you get right down to it, was truly funny (http://www.manic-expression.com/random-thoughts-the-other-diffrent-strokes-curse/)

All everybody does is yell at each other. Ann Romano in particular, always seemed angry and miserable.

Bonnie Franklin (https://www.google.com/search?biw=1440&bih=785&ei=EKaLW7bTOam-jwSf4oqgBw&q=site%3Adatalounge.com+Bonnie+Franklin&oq=site%3Adatalounge.com+Bonnie+Franklin&gs_l=psy-ab.3...1073.4324..4596...0.0..0.119.1896.1j17......0....1..gws-wiz.K5oERg2uZXk) is one of the worst actresses to ever be the lead on a sitcom