Think about it this way, when Too Close for Comfort was retooled as The Ted Knight Show besides Muriel, Monroe was the only other character brought back. This is despite it really making zero sense, story-wise. Ted Knight also hated that episode where Monroe was sexually assaulted by two women, which was mind you, played for laughs (https://www.looper.com/137091/the-dark-side-of-these-80s-sitcoms/). It likely just went to show how little pull Ted Knight actually had on his own show.

Monroe was the funniest character on TCFC next to Knight so I'm sure that's why they brought him over.

Ted Knight had a LOT more important things to worry about at the time!

I read an interview with the lady who played Muriel. She said they got along fine, but Ted was the only one on the set who didn't know Jim was gay. .

I read an interview with the lady who played Muriel. She said they got along fine, but Ted was the only one on the set who didn't know Jim was gay. .

Nancy Dussault. She did such a great job as Muriel but was really underappreciated because no one has heard of her!

I find it hard to believe Ted didn't know Jim was gay. Everyone else knew!

Lots of quotes from Jm. J. Bullock here, about when he was a regular on late 1980s Hollywood Squares. He says Ted Knight knew he was gay but wasn't comfortable with it.

https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/the-new-hollywood-squares-oral-history

Nancy Dussault. She did such a great job as Muriel but was really underappreciated because no one has heard of her!

I find it hard to believe Ted didn't know Jim was gay. Everyone else knew!

Nancy was the first woman to co-host “Good Morning America” with David Hartman.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Dussault

Nancy was the first woman to co-host “Good Morning America” with David Hartman.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Dussault

Wow. But that didn't last long or she'd be famous like Joan Lunden. I'm guessing she lost out because Joan Lunden was hotter?

She wasn’t replaced by Joan Lunden. She was replaced by Sandy Hill.

Jm Bullock is nothing special. The producers made a lousy decision keeping him for season 6 but getting rid of both daughters. Quality of the show went downhill as a result. Besides, Ted Knight was already famous from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Jm Bullock was just a nobody.

Jm Bullock is nothing special. The producers made a lousy decision keeping him for season 6 but getting rid of both daughters. Quality of the show went downhill as a result. Besides, Ted Knight was already famous from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Jm Bullock was just a nobody.

I agree ! ! ;)

Yep - me too. You’ll notice that once the show went into first-run syndication (season 4), the role of the girls became smaller. Prior to that, they were becoming more prominent because the writers realized they could carry stories. They did some episodes where the girls were the leads and the parents were supporting. But accordingly to Lydia Cornell, Ted Knight didn’t like that and the new writers in season 4 were told to not feature them so prominently.

Yep - me too. You’ll notice that once the show went into first-run syndication (season 4), the role of the girls became smaller. Prior to that, they were becoming more prominent because the writers realized they could carry stories. They did some episodes where the girls were the leads and the parents were supporting. But accordingly to Lydia Cornell, Ted Knight didn’t like that and the new writers in season 4 were told to not feature them so prominently.

Who told the writers that??

Ted Knight had enough influence where HE could control the direction of the show you would think.

It was Ted Knight himself who made that decision, according to Lydia Cornell. According to her, he was very concerned that they might be featured more than him. Early on in the series, they did a photo shoot for some magazine, and the resulting magazine had a photo that showed Lydia in front, with Ted and Nancy in the background. He approached her after publication and told her, “Don’t forget - this is MY show!” Also according to Lydia, Deborah Van Valkenburgh got so fed up that she asked to be released from her contract, which is why Jackie disappears in the middle of the fifth season.

It was Ted Knight himself who made that decision, according to Lydia Cornell. According to her, he was very concerned that they might be featured more than him. Early on in the series, they did a photo shoot for some magazine, and the resulting magazine had a photo that showed Lydia in front, with Ted and Nancy in the background. He approached her after publication and told her, “Don’t forget - this is MY show!” Also according to Lydia, Deborah Van Valkenburgh got so fed up that she asked to be released from her contract, which is why Jackie disappears in the middle of the fifth season.

You'd think as long as they got big ratings then they'd get paid more money & they'd all be happy!