Besides obviously, the different families that Charles worked for (the Pembrokes in the first season on CBS and the Powells in the subsequent episodes in 1st run syndication). I'm not trying to make a discussion over which era you consider better by the way.

Well, Charles did have a bit of a different setup and interaction with the Pembrokes than he did with the Powells. For one thing, both Mr. and Mrs. Pembroke were present in the house, whereas with the Powells, only Mrs. Powell was there. Mr. Powell was stationed away overseas somewhere with the Navy and only appeared very infrequently. (I know he showed up at least once in the series, but I think he may also have been mentioned as coming back for a visit, but didn't actually make an appearance.)
With the Pembrokes, Charles had the dynamics of dealing with a teenage girl, a middle school age boy and an older elementary school age boy.
With the Powells, Charles had to deal with a teenage girl and another girl right on the cusp of teenagerhood and a middle school age boy.
Also, Charles had a steady girlfriend in the form of Gwendolyn Pierce in the first season (she also shows up again in the Powell years). During the Powell years, Charles dates a number of women and has steady girlfriends only for a brief time.
And I would also say Buddy seemed to be a lot more intelligent in the first season and less of the goofball that he became in the Powell years. (Though he was still a bit of a goofball in the first season- but it wasn't quite to the same level of lunacy that the later seasons took him to.)

One similarity with both families is that Charles had a grandparent figure to deal with that he was at odds with at times- with the Pembrokes, he had Grandma Irene (who showed up twice.) And with the Powells, he had Grandpa Powell that he dealt with regularly.

The CBS season had more heart. It had some serious heartfelt moments mixed in with the comedy. Whereas, the syndicated episodes just seemed sillier, goofier and more fun but also had less substance.

So yeah, the show got a lot wackier in the syndicated episodes.

I like the network version better. It had a lot more heart. There was a bond between Charles and the Pembroke children that was special. Also, I loved the relationship between Charles and his friends. The Buddy friendship was a lighthearted one where as the one with Gwen was more serious. It provided a nice balance.

Plus in the CBS season (the Pembroke-era) Charles dressed more like a college preppy guy w/ normal hair w/ a business-like dress shirt and tie often and business dress pants suspenders than he ever did in the syndie years (the Powell-era) though there were moments during the CBS-era that Charles did dress in his none business-like clothes.

And even though I don't get into this show as much as I did as a kid, the CBS episodes were hands down the better episodes.

he CBS season had more heart. It had some serious heartfelt moments mixed in with the comedy. Whereas, the syndicated episodes just seemed sillier, goofier and more fun but also had less substance.

So yeah, the show got a lot wackier in the syndicated episodes.


I probably had a much different perspective since I grew up watching the syndicated episodes before I ever saw the original first season on CBS. Thus, I was a fan of Charles and the Powells originally- and I still am. However, I have since seen the first season and I also love Charles and the Pembrokes. But I don't think I would say the Powell family episodes didn't have heart- perhaps the first season had more, but I think there were heartfelt episodes throughout the entire series. It wasn't all just silliness. Of course, I think there are probably more outright hilarious episodes in the syndicated years- and those are some of the episodes I love best since it is a situation comedy primarily, after all.
There are serious and comedic moments all throughout the series in my opinion. And I think Charles had a great bond with both families and his friends all throughout. I love their relationships.
I do agree about Charles wearing more business-like, preppy outfits in the first season. If you read the two novelizations from the series, those books give some insight into that phenomenon. When Charles first started college, he had the idea that college students should be more serious. I think at least partly from Buddy's influence (if not mostly), he loosened up as time went on.

I probably had a much different perspective since I grew up watching the syndicated episodes before I ever saw the original first season on CBS. Thus, I was a fan of Charles and the Powells originally- and I still am. However, I have since seen the first season and I also love Charles and the Pembrokes. But I don't think I would say the Powell family episodes didn't have heart- perhaps the first season had more, but I think there were heartfelt episodes throughout the entire series. It wasn't all just silliness. Of course, I think there are probably more outright hilarious episodes in the syndicated years- and those are some of the episodes I love best since it is a situation comedy primarily, after all.
There are serious and comedic moments all throughout the series in my opinion. And I think Charles had a great bond with both families and his friends all throughout. I love their relationships.
I do agree about Charles wearing more business-like, preppy outfits in the first season. If you read the two novelizations from the series, those books give some insight into that phenomenon. When Charles first started college, he had the idea that college students should be more serious. I think at least partly from Buddy's influence (if not mostly), he loosened up as time went on.

A few years ago, I watched every episode in order on DVD and that's when I noticed the shift in tone. I know there's an episode that I thought would be "a very special episode", where Buddy went to the hospital and almost died but instead of it being all serious, Charles fell asleep and had a funny dream, which took up most of the episode.

The show always had heart to it. I just think it's more obvious in the CBS episodes.

I prefer the Powells and I love how silly/dumb Buddy got later on.

The show always had heart to it. I just think it's more obvious in the CBS episodes.

I prefer the Powells and I love how silly/dumb Buddy got later on.

Okay- cool. I can agree with that.:) :cool:

I always thought the one difference was Buddy. Remember he was somewhat serious in the beginning and got stupider as the show went on. It could be somewhat annoying.


Also, there was no Gwen after the Pembroke years and the hangout place changed 3 times. In the first season, it was called "The Lamp Light" then Sid's and then Charles' mom had the "Yesterday Cafe."

I also the transition from the Pembrookes to the Powell's was weird. Charles comes in the house and Mrs. Pembrooke tells him that there moving. With the exception of the kid, not the nerdy one, nobody else was there. Seemed very fast, almost out of sight out of mind, to me.

the transition from the Pembrookes to the Powell's was weird. Charles comes in the house and Mrs. Pembrooke tells him that there moving. With the exception of the kid, not the nerdy one, nobody else was there. Seemed very fast, almost out of sight out of mind, to me.

Yes. If you had just spent a year babysitting and living with three kids, you would want to say goodbye to all three of them. Saying goodbye to only one of them isn't very realistic.

Of course, they probably couldn't get most of the fired actors to reprise their roles, leading to a weird episode where only two of the original family members say goodbye to Charles.

Yes. If you had just spent a year babysitting and living with three kids, you would want to say goodbye to all three of them. Saying goodbye to only one of them isn't very realistic.

Of course, they probably couldn't get most of the fired actors to reprise their roles, leading to a weird episode where only two of the original family members say goodbye to Charles.
And one of those wasn't played by the original actress!!

Yes. If you had just spent a year babysitting and living with three kids, you would want to say goodbye to all three of them. Saying goodbye to only one of them isn't very realistic.

Of course, they probably couldn't get most of the fired actors to reprise their roles, leading to a weird episode where only two of the original family members say goodbye to Charles.


That was a big disappointment. No one was fired from the show though. Julie Cobb chose not to return because they were going to pay her less and Jonathan Ward was on another show. That's why the producers had to com up with a different cast. I read that Michael Jacobs, the creator and co-executive producer, didn't like the direction the show was going in during the syndicated version and quit the series.

It seemed like the show was ok either way. The only difference was the cast, to me. Btw, I thought Julie Cobb was in the episode where she said goodbye to Charles?

Also, James Widdoes who played Mr. Pembrooke in Season 1 was in the movie Animal House as Robert Hoover.

I read that Michael Jacobs, the creator and co-executive producer, didn't like the direction the show was going in during the syndicated version and quit the series.

That seems weird to me since Michael Jacobs did pretty much to Eric Matthews on "Boy Meets World" what was done to Buddy Lembeck on "Charles In Charge." In other words, they both started off semi-normal then got dumber and dumber and ended each series almost as a cartoon character.

I thought the second season premiere episode "Amityville" worked well enough, considering that it had been about three years in between the CBS run and the start of the syndication run. I'm glad they got Michael Pearlman to reprise his role as Jason- he seemed to have the strongest connection with Charles in the first season (particularly evident in the Christmas episode "Home for the Holidays".) And at least they had someone there to play Mrs. Pembroke too, even though it wasn't Julie Cobb.
Sure, it could have been better if it they had been able to get all the cast to return, but they did the best they could with what they had- I think it worked okay. From what I recall of the episode, I think the explanation was that for whatever reason, it was a rush deal and the family had to hurry up and get moved for the father's new job in Seattle- and so, unfortunately, they just couldn't all wait for Charles and Buddy to get back from their trip.
In any case, it probably doesn't bother me much since I didn't grow up watching the series all the way through and transitioning from the Pembrokes to the Powells- I grew up with the Powells. But I've since seen all the episodes in order and I enjoy the Pembrokes season as well- it's all good.:) :cool:

It seemed like the show was ok either way. The only difference was the cast, to me. Btw, I thought Julie Cobb was in the episode where she said goodbye to Charles?

Also, James Widdoes who played Mr. Pembrooke in Season 1 was in the movie Animal House as Robert Hoover.

James Widdoes is now a prolific sitcom director. He directed an episode of the 2005 WB sitcom, Twins, where I attended the filming in person, and he's a frequent director of Two and a Half Men now.

Well, Charles did have a bit of a different setup and interaction with the Pembrokes than he did with the Powells. For one thing, both Mr. and Mrs. Pembroke were present in the house, whereas with the Powells, only Mrs. Powell was there. Mr. Powell was stationed away overseas somewhere with the Navy and only appeared very infrequently. (I know he showed up at least once in the series, but I think he may also have been mentioned as coming back for a visit, but didn't actually make an appearance.

And once Charles' mom, Lillian, became a regular, Mrs. Powell's appearances became more sporadic, because after the show entered syndication, the program budget was slashed, and as a result, executive producer Al Burton could not afford to have both characters in the same episode.

I thought the second season premiere episode "Amityville" worked well enough, considering that it had been about three years in between the CBS run and the start of the syndication run. I'm glad they got Michael Pearlman to reprise his role as Jason- he seemed to have the strongest connection with Charles in the first season (particularly evident in the Christmas episode "Home for the Holidays".) And at least they had someone there to play Mrs. Pembroke too, even though it wasn't Julie Cobb.



Actually, it hadn't been three years. It was actually a year and a couple of months. Now, you want to talk about three year gaps, then "It's A Living" would fall into that category. ;)

A lot of things were different between the cbs episodes and syndicated ones that I noticed. Particularly the look was different. Scott Baio's hair was different and clothes were definitely different. He went from preppy and proper looking to casual. Also Buddy getting dumber and wackier as the show went on into syndication, which personally I liked :lol:

Okay- yeah, you're right. Sorry. It's about a year and a half. I was thinking of the start of the series in 1984 and then Season 2 resumed in 1987 and got mixed up.

James Widdoes is now a prolific sitcom director. He directed an episode of the 2005 WB sitcom, Twins, where I attended the filming in person, and he's a frequent director of Two and a Half Men now.

Ironically, the creators of Two and a Half Men, Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn, were former writers on Charles in Charge.

What was the exact story behind (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE7405BVQXg) the syndicated (https://www.collectors.com/entertainment-item/scott-baio-willie-aames-1987-ad-charles-in-charge-mca/-2462100886631073988) run to begin with? I know that the absolute basics are that CBS didn't give it a second season because of low ratings. But what exactly happened (https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/01/arts/independents-buying-new-sitcoms.html) in-between besides it being picked up for syndication in the middle of the 1986-87 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/202569018492) TV season and the Pembroke family actors' contracts being released.