it was a show about three single middle aged woman with no ambition for or prospects for a better life than to work at a diner.:lol:


This was stated on another board. I wouldn't say the show was depressing just weird that 3 women that age was working at a diner for so long. But I still enjoyed it

it was a show about three single middle aged woman with no ambition for or prospects for a better life than to work at a diner.:lol:


This was stated on another board. I wouldn't say the show was depressing just weird that 3 women that age was working at a diner for so long. But I still enjoyed it

Wow! The 1st season is on DVD?? When did that happen?

I like Alice too but the depressing part is how the show has been completely forgotten and ignored and not shown anywhere or given any decent DVD release!

I believe it was a top 5 sitcom at its ratings peak!

Yeah Finally, it took long enough

I wouldn't say the show was depressing, but that poster does have a point. lol

I wouldn't say the show was depressing, but that poster does have a point. lol


You know if that was a black show the NAACP would have got involved and said..."Why are these black women working in a dirty diner without health benefits?:lol:

You know if that was a black show the NAACP would have got involved and said..."Why are these black women working in a dirty diner without health benefits?:lol:

You may be right

The NAACP I am sure weren't Alice fans anyway considering there was never a black character on it. (I think???)

You may be right

The NAACP I am sure weren't Alice fans anyway considering there was never a black character on it. (I think???)


Reurn from What's happenening off the top of my head

In real life, Alice probably could have gotten something better than working at Mel's Diner. She would not have worked there, for what, seven to nine years, making minimum wage plus tips?

Sorry, but Alice Hyatt (Linda Lavin) just sucked as a singer.

Even Flo and Belle were unrealistic because again, no one would work at Mel's for over a year before finding something else better to do. Flo went back to Texas and Belle went on to be in every single one of her daughter's films.

Vera was probably the most realistic because she was a goofy airhead and this was the best she could do. Note, the "straw explosion" in the opening credits was the only one used in the entire run of the show.

Mel was pretty realistic too, a working class character. Alice and him bonded because they were from the same geographical area. As a kid, this show actually taught me the word "Moonlighting" because Mel hated it so much.

Another unrealistic point, how many hours a day was this diner open? Unlike the movie, this place was never busy. Alice and the gals actually left this job early enough to "Moonlight"? I have been a server before and it is a hard job, and there are a lot of work besides just service to the customer. Cleaning, doing side work, running side work, you name it. One is so tired, there is no moonlighting. If you are over 40 like Alice was, one would look for less taxing work or find a husband.

Even if Alice was talented (she wasn't, but in the show's universe she was) her lot would be playing cowboy joints and piano bars and this is also WORK with little pay and reward.

The show lacked realism. I have not seen it since it went off the air in the early 80's and would love to see it again, especially for Flo. Flo kicked ass. The show should have been called Flo. Flo was the hit and this is why Lavin hated her. Oh well.

But the show was still good or even better with Belle and then Jolene.

As far as it being unrealistic, it's a TV show! They have to bend reality for the sake of the storyline. Just like how it made no sense how the roomates in 3's Company kept on having trouble getting just $100 each for rent every month when they all usually had decent enough jobs!

Why were they always broke?? Because it was often part of the storyline!

Alice ranks right up there with One Day at a Time as my least favorite long running sitcoms of all time.

The ALice sitaution is a lot more appealing than the One Day at a Time situation

3 waitresses working for a grumpy boss at a Diner

VS

a single mom taking care of two teenage daughters



I PICK ALICE:wave:

How many people work at their dream jobs? Alice did not stop looking for something better. she went to a local college and did moonlight in several episodes. I find the show realistic with real people not the phony people I see on tv these days. The reason many people are critical is because the show is about a blue collar restaurant and not some upscale Palm beach, New York restaurant

How many people work at their dream jobs? Alice did not stop looking for something better. she went to a local college and did moonlight in several episodes. I find the show realistic with real people not the phony people I see on tv these days. The reason many people are critical is because the show is about a blue collar restaurant and not some upscale Palm beach, New York restaurant


She was a waitress for 10 years.

She was a waitress for 10 years.

Yet, She secured her dreams of a singing career after 10 years. Dreams take time to achieve

Yet, She secured her dreams of a singing career after 10 years. Dreams take time to achieve


Well I will get to see how that happened one day on DVD or syndication

It was depressing because it aired on the Sunday before I had to go to school on Monday, and I forgot to do my homework.

Alice premiered in 1976. It was based on the movie "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" from 1974. This was a time in our country when there was a huge wage gap between males and females. Women made about 60 cents on the dollar as compared to men in the same exact job. Fewer women sought college educations in those days. Women were severely limited in their job options. Many worked as a waitress, a store clerk, a secretary, or in some other menial job even if they were over-qualified for it. Women were still expected to get married, have kids, and mind the house. In historical context that's why The Mary Tyler Moore Show was so ground-breaking. It showed a woman with a life plan and career path outside the cultural norm of the period.

So Alice, as an uneducated, thirty-something, single Mom was probably thankful to have any job - even at Mel's Diner. You have to pay the bills somehow, right? Ambition to be a singer? A pipe dream. She needed to work to feed her kid.

Maybe that's why the show was depressing. It didn't depict these women following their dreams and working in some fantastic job or exotic locale. It showed them grinding away day after day after day just to make ends meet. It showed the daily tedium of their lousy job and dead-end prospects. TV is suppose to be a fantasy. Take you away from your problems. Provide an escape if you will. Alice brought many people face-to-face with their own miserable existence. I can see why the show might be considered depressing although I would debate that it was their lack of ambition that was depressing. It was their prospects that were depressing.

Alice premiered in 1976. It was based on the movie "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" from 1974. This was a time in our country when there was a huge wage gap between males and females. Women made about 60 cents on the dollar as compared to men in the same exact job. Fewer women sought college educations in those days. Women were severely limited in their job options. Many worked as a waitress, a store clerk, a secretary, or in some other menial job even if they were over-qualified for it. Women were still expected to get married, have kids, and mind the house. In historical context that's why The Mary Tyler Moore Show was so ground-breaking. It showed a woman with a life plan and career path outside the cultural norm of the period.

So Alice, as an uneducated, thirty-something, single Mom was probably thankful to have any job - even at Mel's Diner. You have to pay the bills somehow, right? Ambition to be a singer? A pipe dream. She needed to work to feed her kid.

Maybe that's why the show was depressing. It didn't depict these women following their dreams and working in some fantastic job or exotic locale. It showed them grinding away day after day after day just to make ends meet. It showed the daily tedium of their lousy job and dead-end prospects. TV is suppose to be a fantasy. Take you away from your problems. Provide an escape if you will. Alice brought many people face-to-face with their own miserable existence. I can see why the show might be considered depressing although I would debate that it was their lack of ambition that was depressing. It was their prospects that were depressing.



Yeah I used to say the same thing and couldn't understand how someone could work at a diner year after year and never look for anything else lol

In real life, Alice probably could have gotten something better than working at Mel's Diner. She would not have worked there, for what, seven to nine years, making minimum wage plus tips?

Sorry, but Alice Hyatt (Linda Lavin) just sucked as a singer.

Even Flo and Belle were unrealistic because again, no one would work at Mel's for over a year before finding something else better to do. Flo went back to Texas and Belle went on to be in every single one of her daughter's films.

Vera was probably the most realistic because she was a goofy airhead and this was the best she could do. Note, the "straw explosion" in the opening credits was the only one used in the entire run of the show.

Mel was pretty realistic too, a working class character. Alice and him bonded because they were from the same geographical area. As a kid, this show actually taught me the word "Moonlighting" because Mel hated it so much.

Another unrealistic point, how many hours a day was this diner open? Unlike the movie, this place was never busy. Alice and the gals actually left this job early enough to "Moonlight"? I have been a server before and it is a hard job, and there are a lot of work besides just service to the customer. Cleaning, doing side work, running side work, you name it. One is so tired, there is no moonlighting. If you are over 40 like Alice was, one would look for less taxing work or find a husband.

Even if Alice was talented (she wasn't, but in the show's universe she was) her lot would be playing cowboy joints and piano bars and this is also WORK with little pay and reward.

The show lacked realism. I have not seen it since it went off the air in the early 80's and would love to see it again, especially for Flo. Flo kicked ass. The show should have been called Flo. Flo was the hit and this is why Lavin hated her. Oh well.i always wondered how she had time to work ant mels during the day and sing at vinnies house of veal in lake havasu city at night? lake havasu city is a 5 hour drive each way from phoenix

It's been forgotten in this thread that the vast majority of elementary school teachers were women, along with a significant percentage of high school as well. And this profession for women had been seen on shows like Our Miss Brooks, Leave It to Beaver, Room 222, Little House, My Three Sons, and Family Affair, among many others. It's inaccurate to imply that women had only menial or unimportant jobs available to them. What about careers as nurses as well?

Also I might add that the series That Girl and Julia featured career women before Mary Tyler Moore.

I also dispute Yong Fang's statement to the effect that no one would work in a diner like Mel's for more than a year willingly without looking elsewhere for employment. I've worked menial jobs for more than 2 years at a time, knowing that there just wasn't anything else available to me and having grown tired of putting in applications that went to circular files (trash).

It's been forgotten in this thread that the vast majority of elementary school teachers were women, along with a significant percentage of high school as well. And this profession for women had been seen on shows like Our Miss Brooks, Leave It to Beaver, Room 222, Little House, My Three Sons, and Family Affair, among many others. It's inaccurate to imply that women had only menial or unimportant jobs available to them. What about careers as nurses as well?

Also I might add that the series That Girl and Julia featured career women before Mary Tyler Moore.

I also dispute Yong Fang's statement to the effect that no one would work in a diner like Mel's for more than a year willingly without looking elsewhere for employment. I've worked menial jobs for more than 2 years at a time, knowing that there just wasn't anything else available to me and having grown tired of putting in applications that went to circular files (trash).
I've remembered this show but I've never seen the movie. I have it and I'm going to look at it to compare it to the show. Also, the movie was more of a drama. Would it had if it was more of a drama instead of a comedy?

The theme closing is sad

it was a show about three single middle aged woman with no ambition for or prospects for a better life than to work at a diner


Not true. Alice had dreams and aspirations to be a singer. She worked at the diner to pay the bills and the rent until something came along where she could have a musical career. When she had a chance to sing, she did it.

Not true. Alice had dreams and aspirations to be a singer. She worked at the diner to pay the bills and the rent until something came along where she could have a musical career. When she had a chance to sing, she did it.


I also looked at it as maybe there was less opportunities for her job wise because of the area they lived in which was arizona. You know it's no way someone can be a waitress for 9 years in a big city like New York

I don't think it was a depressing show to watch. I thought the show was funny and I liked all the characters. Some people think too deeply into something that was a Television show of the time.

I don't think it was a depressing show to watch. I thought the show was funny and I liked all the characters. Some people think too deeply into something that was a Television show of the time.

I guess because of the age of Alice and the others made it look sad they couldn't get anything else

But the girls on Two Broke girls are still young so it doesn't look as bad. Alice was in her 40's LOL

Yes but, who thinks about that kind of stuff? Not me that's for sure.

Yes but, who thinks about that kind of stuff? Not me that's for sure.



It's called "message board conversation" and if you don't understand that then something is WRONG with you

Whatever :rolleyes:

it was a show about three single middle aged woman with no ambition for or prospects for a better life than to work at a diner.:lol:


This was stated on another board. I wouldn't say the show was depressing just weird that 3 women that age was working at a diner for so long. But I still enjoyed it

I've heard ppl say that, but I say WHY does everyone have to be the same>

I mean if 3 middle age women are HAPPY working in a diner that's totally fine. I dunno why so many ppl think everyone has to shoot for some big lucrative career and always have HIGHER goals to aspire to, perhaps some ppl are happy in the state they are in, not everyone has to be a doctor or lawer to be happy.

And why does it matter their ages, ppl put too much emphasis on age lie you have to be at a certain position in life just b/c youre a certain age, I mean I heard of a woman getting a college degree at 95. I say do your own thing and be happy, nothing says you have to be a certain thing at a certain age.

In real life, Alice probably could have gotten something better than working at Mel's Diner. She would not have worked there, for what, seven to nine years, making minimum wage plus tips?

Sorry, but Alice Hyatt (Linda Lavin) just sucked as a singer.

Even Flo and Belle were unrealistic because again, no one would work at Mel's for over a year before finding something else better to do. Flo went back to Texas and Belle went on to be in every single one of her daughter's films.

Vera was probably the most realistic because she was a goofy airhead and this was the best she could do. Note, the "straw explosion" in the opening credits was the only one used in the entire run of the show.

Mel was pretty realistic too, a working class character. Alice and him bonded because they were from the same geographical area. As a kid, this show actually taught me the word "Moonlighting" because Mel hated it so much.

Another unrealistic point, how many hours a day was this diner open? Unlike the movie, this place was never busy. Alice and the gals actually left this job early enough to "Moonlight"? I have been a server before and it is a hard job, and there are a lot of work besides just service to the customer. Cleaning, doing side work, running side work, you name it. One is so tired, there is no moonlighting. If you are over 40 like Alice was, one would look for less taxing work or find a husband.

Even if Alice was talented (she wasn't, but in the show's universe she was) her lot would be playing cowboy joints and piano bars and this is also WORK with little pay and reward.

The show lacked realism. I have not seen it since it went off the air in the early 80's and would love to see it again, especially for Flo. Flo kicked ass. The show should have been called Flo. Flo was the hit and this is why Lavin hated her. Oh well.


I really dunno why ppl say this, I mean this DOES happen in real life quite a bit ppl end up working dead end jobs all their life, I know ppl who work in greasy spoon diners who have been there for years and years.

The only unrealistic thing about this show is how the girls talk to Mel, I don't think any boss would put up with it. And the way the pitched a fit when he wanted to put in a time clock, I mean what workplace doesn't havea timeclock.

The theme closing is sad
Wow! I always thought about that too!
With Alice humming... "la la la la... la la la... la la la..."

Wow! I always thought about that too!
With Alice humming... "la la la la... la la la... la la la..."


Yeah that closing theme just sounds like the ending of

a great vacation
your childhood
friendship that ended when they relocated


LOL

Yeah that closing theme just sounds like the ending of

a great vacation
your childhood
friendship that ended when they relocated


LOL
Yes, that closing theme does sound like the END of something. When I hear that, I am usually reflecting on certain things about my life. It's weird because the opening theme is so upbeat, but the closing sounds like reflective music. It is kinda sad sounding, but I like it. It's sort of like how the theme for The Young & the Restless sounds VERY depressing, but I love it. :crazy:

Yes, that closing theme does sound like the END of something. When I hear that, I am usually reflecting on certain things about my life. It's weird because the opening theme is so upbeat, but the closing sounds like reflective music. It is kinda sad sounding, but I like it. It's sort of like how the theme for The Young & the Restless sounds VERY depressing, but I love it. :crazy:


8 years later and I am still mad at ION for removing Alice after only 30 days

8 years later and I am still mad at ION for removing Alice after only 30 days
I think they played it for a little longer than that.

I think they played it for a little longer than that.


No they didn't. I remember it was April of 2007 and that was it. I will bump up the old thread

I think they played it for a little longer than that.

you right it was 85 days not 30 but I knew it was not that long.

I used to watch it every week, but, I dont think I would if it was on again. It was a tad depressing--maybe because it was set in that diner. Flo was the bright light on the show, so very funny and endearing. Too bad her spin off show didnt do well.

you right it was 85 days not 30 but I knew it was not that long.


Yeah I used to watch it than. I was mad when they took it off too! :mad: I remember there were ALOT of commercials though! :confused: It was on around 7:00 PST or so out here , because I remember it was on shortly after I got home from work! ;)

Yeah I used to watch it than. I was mad when they took it off too! :mad: I remember there were ALOT of commercials though! :confused: It was on around 7:00 PST or so out here , because I remember it was on shortly after I got home from work! ;)


I hate when a show is not on youtube, cable, digital tv, and DVD

LOL

I hate when a show is not on youtube, cable, digital tv, and DVD

LOL

Looking above , there's 4 seasons of Alice on DVD. Or did you mean you want it on ALL those platforms.

Looking above , there's 4 seasons of Alice on DVD. Or did you mean you want it on ALL those platforms.


Complete series on DVD

Complete series on DVD

:thumbsup:

What if that's the kind of life they enjoyed?

What if that's the kind of life they enjoyed?


Do you really think someone enjoys being a waitress? Is your first name MONGO?:lol:

Do you really think someone enjoys being a waitress? Is your first name MONGO?:lol:

Do you think EVERYONE wants the same things out of life? And do you think EVERYONE in real life is a doctor, or lawyer? The reality is some ppl are in jobs like this in their 40s and 50s and all their lives.

Plus the waitresses seemed reasonably happy, being with their friends, families, etc...perhaps for some ppl that is enough, and there's no need for some huge demanding career.

Watch the original film "Alice doesn't live here Anymore", with the scene where Alice works in the diner, and the place is absolutely swamped with people, and this is hot, stressful work. I know because I have done it before. Doing this job all day is exhusting work, hard on the feet, mentally taxing, and sometimes emotionally challenging when dealing with difficult people.

The TV show, the place was never that busy. The bar (breakfast bar, dining bar?) sat five people, two booths which sat 5 people each and a couple of "four top" tables. Mel could have made it with one waitress full time and one part time. Mel was the only one cooking, how busy could they have been. Plus, Mel was selling chili which could be made in large batches at one time which can be frozen and saved for a period of time.

In real life, middle aged women out slinging hash are just too damned tired to go out and do stuff with their coworkers. I knew these women who were lifers at waiting tables and basically they do their job, wash clothes and sleep. Also, unlike Alice, a lot of these people changed jobs frequently, there is greener pastures somewhere else.

There are lots and lots and lots of people out there working in diners, truck stops, fast food, restaurants, you name it, people who cannot make enough money to save, much less retire and hopefully makes it to old age so they can live on a fixed income of social security until they are dead. That is the people who did not drink and smoke themselves to an early grave to relieve the tension and boredom of their not so great life.

Watch the original film "Alice doesn't live here Anymore", with the scene where Alice works in the diner, and the place is absolutely swamped with people, and this is hot, stressful work. I know because I have done it before. Doing this job all day is exhusting work, hard on the feet, mentally taxing, and sometimes emotionally challenging when dealing with difficult people.

The TV show, the place was never that busy. The bar (breakfast bar, dining bar?) sat five people, two booths which sat 5 people each and a couple of "four top" tables. Mel could have made it with one waitress full time and one part time. Mel was the only one cooking, how busy could they have been. Plus, Mel was selling chili which could be made in large batches at one time which can be frozen and saved for a period of time.

In real life, middle aged women out slinging hash are just too damned tired to go out and do stuff with their coworkers. I knew these women who were lifers at waiting tables and basically they do their job, wash clothes and sleep. Also, unlike Alice, a lot of these people changed jobs frequently, there is greener pastures somewhere else.

There are lots and lots and lots of people out there working in diners, truck stops, fast food, restaurants, you name it, people who cannot make enough money to save, much less retire and hopefully makes it to old age so they can live on a fixed income of social security until they are dead. That is the people who did not drink and smoke themselves to an early grave to relieve the tension and boredom of their not so great life.


Yeah I never got the impression that Mel's Diner was hugely busy, for one thing, if I remember right, the diner closed on Sunday! I'm thinking WHAT restaurant is closed on SUNDAY!?! Sunday is one of the busiest eat-out days. Many ppl like to go out and eat after church, and on Sun. night too.

If Mel had to be closed a day, it seemd he'd been closed a week day. Many of our restaurants around here seem to close on MONDAY, for some reason.

Yeah I never got the impression that Mel's Diner was hugely busy, for one thing, if I remember right, the diner closed on Sunday! I'm thinking WHAT restaurant is closed on SUNDAY!?! Sunday is one of the busiest eat-out days. Many ppl like to go out and eat after church, and on Sun. night too.

If Mel had to be closed a day, it seemd he'd been closed a week day. Many of our restaurants around here seem to close on MONDAY, for some reason.

There is a sushi restaurant not far from me that is closed Sundays! I hate sushi , but I go there for their delicious chicken teriyaki ! Anyway I guess they close Sundays because they are near a lot of office buildings and I guess they do enough business all week from working people at lunch time or picking up takeout after work!;) They are open Saturdays though! :)

But a diner is more of a family oriented place and you would think would be opened on Sundays! ;)

There is a sushi restaurant not far from me that is closed Sundays! I hate sushi , but I go there for their delicious chicken teriyaki ! Anyway I guess they close Sundays because they are near a lot of office buildings and I guess they do enough business all week from working people at lunch time or picking up takeout after work!;) They are open Saturdays though! :)

But a diner is more of a family oriented place and you would think would be opened on Sundays! ;)


Yup definitely for Sunday Brunch

Sunday is The Lord's Day. Up until the mid '80s everything was closed on Sundays in Vancouver. It was Expo '86 that changed that.

There is a sushi restaurant not far from me that is closed Sundays! I hate sushi , but I go there for their delicious chicken teriyaki ! Anyway I guess they close Sundays because they are near a lot of office buildings and I guess they do enough business all week from working people at lunch time or picking up takeout after work!;) They are open Saturdays though! :)

But a diner is more of a family oriented place and you would think would be opened on Sundays! ;)


Come to think of it we DO have one restaurtant here that closes on SUN. And he opens at about 11pm and closes at 7pm....except for fri and sat and he closes at 8pm... PLUS he closes for all holidays and fair week!... I dunno how he stays in business lol

I think contrary to what others have said, "Alice" may have been depressing in ways because it reflected a very HONEST reflection of the working class, who don't always graduate to professions above that level. Lots of things happen when you have kids in tow, so risk taking was not necessarily something she could do when she had to provide a roof, clothes, and food on the table for her kid.

People not of that generation also don't realize that minimum wage TRULY was minimum. She was lucky if she was making $2.50 an hour back in those days. Hell in the early 80's minimum wage was only $3.25 and it took allot to move up. Today's generation is a joke. Minimum wage $7.50? And soon to be doubling to maybe $15.00 an hour? That's hilarious. Uneducated and lazy and get paid $15 an hour. Insane. So yeah, I can see where some might consider this show depressing. People had to work for a living and do it without allot of pride except through what dreams they had of doing better.

I don't see it as a depressing show. I always thought it was a sweet uplifting show. Alice was suddenly without a husband and her car broke down before she made it to California to pursue a singing career. OK that is depressing. But things ended up turning out not too bad. Being a diner waitress is physically hard for sure. But she became friends with the other waitresses there, the customers liked her. So even if it wasn't the best paying job and tiring work, it was steady work. She could put a roof over her son's and her head, and there apartment seemed OK, not fancy but safe and clean!

Tommy seemed happy and she had a steady job, friends and her boss was a pain sometimes, but hey who's boss isn't? Even in the best, high paying jobs a boss is still a boss and can be a pain in the butt , right?

So therefore, I think it wasn't depressing, she was showing the bright side of not having the best job or situation, but you can still be happy! Heck, my life wasn't that much different than hers when my boys were young, I was divorced , and I had the kids on my own , worked (I never had the best paying jobs either) and I always stayed positive!

I don't see it as a depressing show. I always thought it was a sweet uplifting show. Alice was suddenly without a husband and her car broke down before she made it to California to pursue a singing career. OK that is depressing. But things ended up turning out not too bad. Being a diner waitress is physically hard for sure. But she became friends with the other waitresses there, the customers liked her. So even if it wasn't the best paying job and tiring work, it was steady work. She could put a roof over her son's and her head, and there apartment seemed OK, not fancy but safe and clean!

Tommy seemed happy and she had a steady job, friends and her boss was a pain sometimes, but hey who's boss isn't? Even in the best, high paying jobs a boss is still a boss and can be a pain in the butt , right?

So therefore, I think it wasn't depressing, she was showing the bright side of not having the best job or situation, but you can still be happy! Heck, my life wasn't that much different than hers when my boys were young, I was divorced , and I had the kids on my own , worked (I never had the best paying jobs either) and I always stayed positive!


Yeah I think "depressing" is relative, I think Alice was happy being with her friends, son and having her own life... I don't think everyone needs a big career to be happy.

Also I noticed that the further back you go the theme song is "sadder" sounding. As the series progresses the theme song get faster and peppier and more happy.


I always thought maybe that was reflecting Alice's attitude on life.

Sunday is The Lord's Day. Up until the mid '80s everything was closed on Sundays in Vancouver. It was Expo '86 that changed that.

This is what I dislike about Sunday, in that, even now, it is "different" than the other six days of the week. In my city, one cannot buy a bottle of liquor or wine on Sunday, because it was Sunday. The banks were closed, which sucks because Sunday is a day where a lot of people are off work and can do their business, instead of having to do it at lunch or right after work when there are a hundred other people doing the same thing. I also hated that the shopping mall was closed on Sunday (at least when I was younger in the 80's-90's) Many times as a kid on summer vacation, "Hmm, let's go to the mall and shop and hang out..oh sh*t, it's Sunday, nevermind. Lastly, some states have asinine laws that forbid car dealerships to be open on Sunday....why since most people are off on Sunday from work and can look for a car.

Not to mention that going out for lunch on Sunday is impossible unless you want to wait an hour because of all the Churchies swamping these places, working staff to death on the Sabbath. Ugh.
_________________________________

Concerning Mel's Diner, it could be that the clientele were mostly working people like the telephone guy who went there for lunch everyday because it was on his route, or near the factory. Your regulars can keep you going for six days a week, and there would not be that many customers on Sunday because these people have the day off and have their wife cook for them after eating Mel's garbage all week.

Lots of Mom and Pop restaurants might be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. I remember in the 1990's when I lived in Rankin County Mississippi (a suburb of Jackson and actually pretty nice for Mississippi), and needed a haircut. Went on a Monday. Had to go to several different shops to realize that none of them were open on Monday. It's if all the barbers of Rankin County came together and made this compact so another guy would not steal someone's regular customer or something. Good old Mississippi.

Around here our mall is open on Sunday and most restaurants, but the mall is pretty dead. But none of the banks are.

" She was lucky if she was making $2.50 an hour back in those days. Hell in the early 80's minimum wage was only $3.25 and it took allot to move up. Today's generation is a joke. Minimum wage $7.50? And soon to be doubling to maybe $15.00 an hour?"
When I was age 18 the Massachusetts federal wage was $2.35. The state wage was $2.10. This was 1976. My boss where I worked was only required to pay the state, so I was gypped a quarter. I worked as kitchen help in a restaurant. Waitressing I alway heard were paid lower than minimum wage for they were expected to get great tips. So Alice might have made the first year $1.75. I think it is still that way. Payment is lower than min wage for you are getting tips. One reason I never went into waitress other than it hard hard work, is if you didn't get customers you were stuck only with a poor pitiful wage. You needed the tips to survive. As for Alice staying so long. She had nice friends???.

" She was lucky if she was making $2.50 an hour back in those days. Hell in the early 80's minimum wage was only $3.25 and it took allot to move up. Today's generation is a joke. Minimum wage $7.50? And soon to be doubling to maybe $15.00 an hour?"
When I was age 18 the Massachusetts federal wage was $2.35. The state wage was $2.10. This was 1976. My boss where I worked was only required to pay the state, so I was gypped a quarter. I worked as kitchen help in a restaurant. Waitressing I alway heard were paid lower than minimum wage for they were expected to get great tips. So Alice might have made the first year $1.75. I think it is still that way. Payment is lower than min wage for you are getting tips. One reason I never went into waitress other than it hard hard work, is if you didn't get customers you were stuck only with a poor pitiful wage. You needed the tips to survive. As for Alice staying so long. She had nice friends???.


If it does increase to $15 an hour places like Target and Mcdonald's will only offer 10 to 15 hours a week

If it does increase to $15 an hour places like Target and Mcdonald's will only offer 10 to 15 hours a week


TOTALLY!!! That is what I was thinking too! If minimum wage goes up to 15 dollars an hour, so many jobs are going to just offer short part time hours! :(

TOTALLY!!! That is what I was thinking too! If minimum wage goes up to 15 dollars an hour, so many jobs are going to just offer short part time hours! :(

Exactly, how the hell could they remain in business if they didn't cut the hours lol


And I ain't paying $10 for a Big Mac:lol:

Alice like One Day at a Time were '70s era CBS sitcoms that featured single parent households and problems related to that. Perhaps that theme was a big downer for much of the female audience. Alice Hyatt and ODAAT's Ann Romano didn't live a desirable lifestyle like Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. They also weren't example "alpha females" who got to dominate the show with their funny, sarcastic remarks like on Maude and Roseanne. Alice had a dead end job through out the whole series and maybe the show seems a bit too much like real life for some women. It just reminds successful women of an earlier part of their life they would just as soon forget.

it was a show about three single middle aged woman with no ambition for or prospects for a better life than to work at a diner.:lol:


This was stated on another board. I wouldn't say the show was depressing just weird that 3 women that age was working at a diner for so long. But I still enjoyed it

If it was such a depressing show then why did it last 9 seasons?