I found her to be quite an interesting character in season 1, and sometimes in season 2, but by now she's just...dull. Bland. Boring. She has no quirks, no spice, no zing.

All through last night's episode where she was held up in Mel's Diner late at night, I kept thinking how much more interesting a show it would have been if if had been Flo, Vera, or Mel held up instead. But Alice? ZZZZzzzzz...

It's ironic that some folks here are saying the show really hit its stride in this, the 3rd season. Vera, Flo, and Mel are really shining and have come into their own as whole personalities, but Alice just fades to the background without much to get interested in. Maybe she would be more interesting if she had more storylines and interactions with Tommy like earlier in the series, but even he has barely been on the show lately.

That's why I couldn't stand her as a lead character. No personality.

Anyway, about yesterday's episode, the only problem I had was how sound sleep Mel was. I mean, he just went into the storage room for a nap, and you'd think he was passed out from drinking. Not even water couldn't wake him up. He woke up when it was too late.

The show does hit its stride now. But not because of Alice. Because of the whole ensemble. Flo's lines last night were funny as hell. Vera and her quirkiness makes for some funny moments.

The show does hit its stride now. But not because of Alice.

No, I'm saying the opposite, lol. That's what I find ironic, now that the main star has plateaued into "boring" (at least for now, I don't know if she gets more interesting in the future), the rest of the show is great.


...the whole ensemble. Flo's lines last night were funny as hell. Vera and her quirkiness makes for some funny moments.

Yup! :)

No, I'm saying the opposite, lol. That's what I find ironic, now that the main star has plateaued into "boring" (at least for now, I don't know if she gets more interesting in the future), the rest of the show is great.




Yup! :)
Oh, ok. I read your post tooooo fast. :lol: Yep, you are correct, I mean, Alice is like a bit player at times while the rest of the cast have these great scenes and lines.

Yeah, and for a star who's ego inflated to the size bigger than Flo's trailer, that must've really put a bee in her bonnet. ;)..."This is MY show, *I* sing the theme song, it's named after MY character, and everybody else is getting all the laughs and fan letters! What about me?!?" And then unfortunately, Flo got bigger and funnier and became extinct. *sigh*...

Yes she did. The only she got was more attractive. Linda Lavin start looking better and more glamorous in the third season especially with her hair and she had scenes where she dressed up more outside the diner. Plus they gave Alice a dating life.

It was season three where Linda got into power games with Polly Holliday. The show took off where the cast had their rhythm down in their parts plus Polly Holliday had Flo down to a science. Everytime Polly opened her mouth you would scream out loud in laughter.

Season 4 you can see the tension between Linda and Polly. Diane Ladd experienced the same with Linda as well as a few guest stars. I am surprise that Martha Raye did not experienced anything with her because she was funny as Mel's mom. Alice paid the price once Flo left. You can see it was an entirely different show especially when Jolene came on. It was not the same anymore and I did not like Jolene. Linda Lavin did not feel threatened by Jolene plus the Alice character did nothing but got in everyone's business trying to solve everyone's issues but her own.

I cant believe it was on the air for 9 years! I dont even remember it being on so long?

I cant believe it was on the air for 9 years! I dont even remember it being on so long?


Same here, I always thought it was on for about 5 or 6 seasons tops.

The episode with Mel being lonely... they had yet another ending theme:eek: :lol:

I think that when Flo left the show, Alice (the character) really became boring because she had no one to feed off.

A big problem with problem with the character of Alice Hyatt is that her skill-set did not fit the setting of the show. She was a was a singer from New Jersey, who wanted to make it as a singer......in Phoenix, Arizona? Wouldn't have been more sensible to have sent her to Las Vegas, when she did get a singing gig.

I think that Alice was dull because she didn't have a defining character trait beyond her passion for singing. The supporting cast were more fun to watch because there was something interesting about them. There was Mel with his cranky personality, Flo's sassy personality, and Vera's goofiness. I'm guessing that the intent was for Alice to be the straight-woman, but you just sensed that Linda Lavin's ego wouldn't have been comfortable with that.

she wasnt great as a lead. much prefered the rest of the cast!!

Watching season 1 recently on Antenna TV, I will say that Linda was funnier in that first season as Alice. Maybe it was a combination of better writing for the character, and Linda zooming out of the gate, excited to have her own show, etc. Later on, she had some humorous moments, though on the whole, I'd say the Alice character was funniest in the first season.

The show should've been called: "Mel's Diner"