not hold as many VIEWERS as Sanford and Son in it's first two seasons on Friday Night? The Decline in Viewers during 8:30pm was what made NBC move the show to Wednesday Nights which was even more of a disaster. So what do you think could have made the show a little better?

Well, I guess I'll be the first to answer you Tv Reseacher.
I wasn't around back then, but of course I've seen the shows. The main thing that I've heard about is that Freddie himself wanted better scripts. The show, to me, was hilarious, but some of the plots were a bit far fetched and Chico depended a bit more on slapstick comedy rather than the political comedy of the day. Now, Freddie's last season was coming a bit more to the political comedy and we saw a bit more of Chico's life before he came to Ed Brown's garage. We also had the prejudiced nurse and the son of the lady that Ed was dating and let's not forget The Barrio Better Business Bureau. I think it had to do with being different from the other shows in their approach, as to why viewers were not keeping the channel.

Well, I guess I'll be the first to answer you Tv Reseacher.
I wasn't around back then, but of course I've seen the shows. The main thing that I've heard about is that Freddie himself wanted better scripts. The show, to me, was hilarious, but some of the plots were a bit far fetched and Chico depended a bit more on slapstick comedy rather than the political comedy of the day. Now, Freddie's last season was coming a bit more to the political comedy and we saw a bit more of Chico's life before he came to Ed Brown's garage. We also had the prejudiced nurse and the son of the lady that Ed was dating and let's not forget The Barrio Better Business Bureau. I think it had to do with being different from the other shows in their approach, as to why viewers were not keeping the channel.


So you would say BETTER episode Topics would have made it better?

Maybe a bit more believable would be a better way to put it.;)

Maybe a bit more believable would be a better way to put it.;)


What was it that you felt wasn't BELIEVABLE about CATM?

The 1st thing that was not believable was Chico sleeping in the van. Kind of making it his home. He should've had a room.

The 1st thing that was not believable was Chico sleeping in the van. Kind of making it his home. He should've had a room.
Also, we were made to believe that Freddie was chicano. He wasn't. He was puerto rican. Although, there was no other hispanic figure that was on television in a sitcom that the hispanic could relate to, we (the hispanic community) took it for what it was worth.

I would have also liked to see Freddie OUTSIDE of the garage.

Also, we were made to believe that Freddie was chicano. He wasn't. He was puerto rican. Although, there was no other hispanic figure that was on television in a sitcom that the hispanic could relate to, we (the hispanic community) took it for what it was worth.

I would have also liked to see Freddie OUTSIDE of the garage.



So 90% of the eps that featured Freedie had the Chico character inside the Garage?

So 90% of the eps that featured Freedie had the Chico character inside the Garage?
Hell, it seemed like 99 percent is more like it. :lol: It was more of a comedy, like Sanford and Son. Not a show with a purpose like Good Times, All in the Family, etc.

Hell, it seemed like 99 percent is more like it. :lol: It was more of a comedy, like Sanford and Son. Not a show with a purpose like Good Times, All in the Family, etc.


Well that means that season 4 must really be hard to watch-lol Plus Ed, was IRRITABLEand BORING. Bad combo. Usually Irritable characters are funny like James Evans, and Archie Bunker

Well that means that season 4 must really be hard to watch-lol Plus Ed, was IRRITABLEand BORING. Bad combo. Usually Irritable characters are funny like James Evans, and Archie Bunker
Ed was rarely happy and jolly. That is annoying. At least James had great happy moments along with that mad, irritable attitude.

Ed was rarely happy and jolly. That is annoying. At least James had great happy moments along with that mad, irritable attitude.


But when James and Archie was irritable they made you laugh, Ed was just a COFFEE TABLE with a attitude-LOL

But when James and Archie was irritable they made you laugh, Ed was just a COFFEE TABLE with a attitude-LOL
Ed was friggin' sarcastic and he took that sarcasm too far. Rather than it being funny, it was just boring.

I think Ed was often hilarious when he would put Chico down; calling him thinks like an "enchillada yo-yo". And Chico gave it right back to him!
What I find far-fetched is why someone so intelligent and full of dreams for the future as Chico, would stay for so long with an alcoholic sour-puss with a floundering business, and live in a van, no less!
But I realize that's the premise of the show, and without it, you wouldn't have had that great comedy duo!

One thing I noticed was that the first and second season showed the growth and friendship between Chico and Ed. It was very believable how gradually their relationship grew and Ed was more forgivable in his gruffness. But it seems that in the third season they regressed and Ed became more irritable and he and Chico's friendship seemed less believable. I even noticed it between Ed and Louie. The writers seemed more concerned with stirring up old drama and not keeping up with the growth of the characters.

It's the same thing that happened on Welcome Back Kotter. Gabe Kaplan wanted the sweathogs to go to junior college as the actors were getting too old to play highschool students. But the writers wanted to stay on the same formula. They lost viewers torward the end as well.

I think a lot of what was going on by the third season was the growing instability of Freddie Prinze. I think the drugs were taking the edge off of his comedy. I think the best season was the second in the fact that Freddie, Jack and the writers were finding a groove for the characters that was tension filled but lovable. I liked a lot of the scripts from the first and third season, don't get me wrong, in fact some of those story lines might have been better than the second season, but in the first season we were trying to understand the characters, and Ed was coming off almost a bit too bitter, but he started to mellow by second season, at least toward Chico. I think since the show was a bigger hit the first season, owing to its fresh premise IMHO, the writers and producers of the show felt that the second season lost a bit of that edge when Chico and Ed grew in their friendship toward one another. Ed did become more cantankerous the third season, not directing it at Chico so much as the other characters on the show. It has been more than speculated that Della Reese was brought on the show to give it back the edge, since it looked like Freddie would not be able to have his character effectively be Ed's sparring partner, one: because Chico and Ed were getting along better, and it wouldn't really be believable to have them go back to arguing all the time, and two: Freddie was losing his edge as an actor/comedian to the drug abuse. I look at the way George Lopez and the actress who plays his mother are on his show, they keep their edge because they will always maintain that love/hate relationship going on the show. When the dynamic between a pair of characters on a show changes from the type of relationship that brought the viewers interest into the show to something different, viewers tend to lose interest. I think it was a natural order of life to have Chico and Ed either become friends or have Chico leave the garage because he got tired of Ed's bitterness. There were only two choices, and the writers opted for the first because the second would have changed the premise of the show. I think Freddie in his good days and Jack were able to carry this off well, but when Freddie died, it was hard to replace him in the dynamic of the show. We can only speculate how the show would have progressed if Freddie had gotten the help he so desperately needed instead of what did happen. I do know that he was trying to break into movies, so maybe the show wasn't meant to last too long anyway. If Freddie had been successful as a movie actor, I am sure he would have eventually given up TV situation comedy, this has happened with a lot of actors and actresses.

Well said, Luckymama! CATM has always been one of my favorite shows; not because of the plotlines or the believability, but because of hilarious (and sometime vaudeville-like) banter between the two main characters.

I agree with ya. She put it very well. Those 2 could make any bad plot enjoyable because they worked so well together. They had a great chemistry...

The show itself was never really boring, but some of the plots were a bit far fetched, even for a sitcom. The formula for the shows seemed to that one would be in trouble and then the other would help him out of it. Chico came to Ed's rescue and Ed came to Chico's. That's one reason that I love Chico so much more than Sanford and Son. Chico and Ed fought, but they helped each other when they needed to. Fred and Lamont always plotted against each other.
Saying Freddie lost his edge is a bit harsh. To me anyway because I wouldn't say he lost his edge in his comedy. I will say that he lost the sparkle in his eye, but when you've got so much on your plate.......well, lights do dim sometimes.:(
I have read in several places that Della was brought in to take some of the pressure off Freddie and to keep Ed haggling with someone. By the time of the third season, Ed did refer to Chico more as a son than an employee. In that sense, I wouldn't say that they regressed because Ed did have more of an affection toward Chico, but he still didn't want to show it very much.
One last thing to say......sorry for such a long post. Chico was not totally Mexican American. That seemed to be a big misunderstanding way back when, but the Chicano community opposed Freddie playing a Chicano because he was Puerto Rican, so to appease La Raza, Chico was made to be half Mexican and half Puerto Rican. His father was, of course, Mexican and his mother was Puerto Rican. This also meant that Aunt Connie was Puerto Rican. It wasn't played up very much, but Chico did explain his heritage at least once.

I agree with your post 100% Dani. I don't think Freddie ever lost his edge, I just think in retrospect everyone is looking for clues to his depression because we know how it all ended. So somethings you read things into a show or situation that weren't really there. I thought Freddie's performance was nothing short of brilliant right up to his final appearance on the show.
That's my opinion only!

I see this thread has went in the wrong direction, I was asking all of you CATM fans what could have made the show BETTER, not why you liked the show. Can anyone tell me what they wished were DIFFERENT about the show?

I see this thread has went in the wrong direction, I was asking all of you CATM fans what could have made the show BETTER, not why you liked the show. Can anyone tell me what they wished were DIFFERENT about the show?
Ok, what may have improved the show? I think maybe if there could have a bit more drama added would have been a big improvement. All in the Family, Good Times, those shows were great in that they had hilarious moments with serious subjects. Chico would have definitely benefitted from a lil more of a dramatic twist.

Ok, what may have improved the show? I think maybe if there could have a bit more drama added would have been a big improvement. All in the Family, Good Times, those shows were great in that they had hilarious moments with serious subjects. Chico would have definitely benefitted from a lil more of a dramatic twist.


Ok so it was kind of like the Jeffersons and Sanford and Son which means not really any serious topics.

Good observation, Dani. I think having a serious issue would have improved the show, I think they tried a few times, I am remembering the episode about hiring senior citizens...

I always wondered how the show would have been if they had a few episodes where Chico visited his father in Mexico with Ed and maybe Louie. Who knows, if Freddie had lived, maybe they would have made one. I am thinking of some of the sitcoms like the Brady Bunch who went on vacations... that would have been cool. I still remember the stories Suz wrote, her saga about Suzanne, Chico and Mando, and her Las Vegas stories.... Sometimes you have to get out of that garage, and not just to local businesses....

It just hit me after reading what ya'll said. On Sanford & Son they had an ep where they went to Hawaiii. They could've done something similar with Chico and Ed. That would've been neat. Sadly Freddie died before they ever got the chance to do something like that...

It just hit me after reading what ya'll said. On Sanford & Son they had an ep where they went to Hawaiii. They could've done something similar with Chico and Ed. That would've been neat. Sadly Freddie died before they ever got the chance to do something like that...


So 90% of the eps were inside the Garage?

In regards to the 90%...I think so....


BTW I had a cool thought yesterday to go along with the fact that it was Cinco de Mayo..... it would have been cool to see the gang have an old fashioned block party to celebrate Cinco de Mayo on the show..... Della would cater it and it would have been a blast.... Chico could have played guitar with the local mariachi band! LOL

In regards to the 90%...I think so....


BTW I had a cool thought yesterday to go along with the fact that it was Cinco de Mayo..... it would have been cool to see the gang have an old fashioned block party to celebrate Cinco de Mayo on the show..... Della would cater it and it would have been a blast.... Chico could have played guitar with the local mariachi band! LOL


Yeah well that would probably be the reason. The Jeffersons was almost cancelled for that same reason and then they starting having the characters get out that High Rise Manhattan Apt. That probably would have happen evenually with CATM if Freddie had not committed Suicide

i'm a little late here, and this isn't about catm so much for me as about james on god times, as long as he was mentioned
he was so mean tempered i thought and it was in every show. i liked it much better when he was no longer on there

The Cinco de Mayo party would make a great fan fic. Hint, Hint to our fan fic writers. :) Too bad they didn't do an ep like that...

talking of episodes they should have done, i wish they would have done a Christmas episode with chico and ed.

talking of episodes they should have done, i wish they would have done a Christmas episode with chico and ed.


Oh so No Christmas ep in 74, 75, or 76?

No, there was only one holiday episode. That was the New Years show for 1977.

No, there was only one holiday episode. That was the New Years show for 1977.


Ok, So never a Christmas ep. sounds like the Cosby Show-lol

no, and there was a thanksgiving show with Raul....