I never watched the show when it aired originally but was wondering about the crossovers with Hello Larry. Those episodes appear in the syndication package for Diff'rent Strokes with Diff'rent Strokes opening and closing credits. I was wondering if those episodes originally aired with Hello Larry opening and closing credits.

The crossover episodes served as a backdoor pilot for Hello Larry, so they had the usual Diff'rent Strokes opening theme.

Hello Larry is not a spin off of Diff'rent Strokes so I doubt it was a backdoor pilot. They did crossovers to boost ratings for Hello Larry which was not doing to well at the time.

Hello Larry is not a spin off, Facts of Life is the spin-off. Both shows (DS and HL) debuted in 1978 but, while DS was an instant hit, HL was a complete failure so NBC came up with idea of "connect" the two shows to attract more viewers. Mr. Drummond said he and Larry were old army buddies. The crossover episodes were three, one during season 1 and two during the second season. As we know, HL flopped and was cancelled at the end of its second season. The first part of the crossovers were normal episodes of DS, the second part originally aired as episodes of HL but, when DS' dvd set came out, they added this second part on DS and they replaced the opening and closing of Hello Larry with DS theme.

Hello Larry is not a spin off, Facts of Life is the spin-off. Both shows (DS and HL) debuted in 1978 but, while DS was an instant hit, HL was a complete failure so NBC came up with idea of "connect" the two shows to attract more viewers. Mr. Drummond said he and Larry were old army buddies. The crossover episodes were three, one during season 1 and two during the second season. As we know, HL flopped and was cancelled at the end of its second season. The first part of the crossovers were normal episodes of DS, the second part originally aired as episodes of HL but, when DS' dvd set came out, they added this second part on DS and they replaced the opening and closing of Hello Larry with DS theme.


I saw the Hello Larry crossover a few months ago for the first time. It was painful. To go from MASH to Hello Larry - what was McClean Stevenson thinking? I did read an interview with Loretta Swit who said he told her he couldn't stand not being the lead on a show and she tried to talk him out of it. I'd rather be second banana on MASH than first on the call sheet on Hello Larry.

I can confirm what FOL-FAN-ITA said: part two of the Thanksgiving crossover originally aired as a Hello Larry episode. The producers repackaged this as a DS episode (replacing the credit sequences), so the whole storyline could be shown. Otherwise, people would watch half a Thanksgiving story on DVD.

Since HL needed a bigger fan base it aired originally as an HL episode. In syndication and DVD it airs as a DS episode

I saw the Hello Larry crossover a few months ago for the first time. It was painful. To go from MASH to Hello Larry - what was McClean Stevenson thinking? I did read an interview with Loretta Swit who said he told her he couldn't stand not being the lead on a show and she tried to talk him out of it. I'd rather be second banana on MASH than first on the call sheet on Hello Larry.

Agree. It was really a terrible show. Stevenson should have never left MASH. I always skipped the crossovers when I have a rewatching

I saw the Hello Larry crossover a few months ago for the first time. It was painful. To go from MASH to Hello Larry - what was McClean Stevenson thinking? I did read an interview with Loretta Swit who said he told her he couldn't stand not being the lead on a show and she tried to talk him out of it. I'd rather be second banana on MASH than first on the call sheet on Hello Larry.

McLean Stevenson starred in a couple of different sitcoms in between M*A*S*H and Hello, Larry. There was The McLean Stevenson Show and then there was In The Beginning. He starred in a sitcom called Condo a few years after Hello, Larry was canceled. Hello, Larry, The McLean Stevenson Show and Condo all have at least one episode on YouTube.

McLean Stevenson starred in a couple of different sitcoms in between M*A*S*H and Hello, Larry. There was The McLean Stevenson Show and then there was In The Beginning. He starred in a sitcom called Condo a few years after Hello, Larry was canceled. Hello, Larry, The McLean Stevenson Show and Condo all have at least one episode on YouTube.

I cant find the crossover eps on youtube:(

Anyone wants to see it, try Dailymotion (think of it as a cut rate YouTube)

Hope the link works.....

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x541gtc

Anyone wants to see it, try Dailymotion (think of it as a cut rate YouTube)

Hope the link works.....

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x541gtc

Thanks, had no knowledge of this

McLean Stevenson left MASH because he wanted to be more of a central character. He didn't care if his next show was not as good as MASH as long as he got top billing.

MASH got better after he left. Col. Blake was such a cartoonish character. Harry Potter was a much more authentic character and was right in the move of MASH from being a comedy to a comedy-drama.