its well known that we ds fans watched the show mostly to see the antics of Arnold/gary but gary miss a few eps in both season 4 and season 7 season 4 because of a pay dispute season 7 recovering from a kidney transplant but ever though most of the ep that he missed were subpar I did like the team from season 4 and sam adopts a grandparent in season 7 were there any of rhe Arnold/garyless eps that you liked?

Willis first day of Highschool

I'm not sure specifically as I haven't watched them in a while and don't know the series as intimately as I do some others, but I do like when Tootie shows up in the non-Arnold shows. :wave:

Wonder if the episode with someone breaking in Crazy Larry locker is without Arnold?

Wonder if the episode with someone breaking in Crazy Larry locker is without Arnold?Arnold/gary was in that ep
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Willis first day of Highschool
Yeah I liked that episode too because I thought that was what high school would be for me.

Only thing I didn't like was it seemed that Tootie was given Arnold's lines because she was acting unlike her normal likeable self on The Facts Of Life.

One of my favorite Gary-less episodes from "Diff'rent Strokes'" long, eight-season run is "The Gymnasts," which aired during "Strokes'" seventh season in late 1984.

Regi Green (perhaps best known for his unforgettable role as Tre, Ricky, and Doughboy's paraplegic pal Li'l Chris in John Singleton's immortal coming-of-age classic "Boyz N The Hood") delivered a memorable performance as Willis' wheelchair-bound buddy and once-promising gymnast Stuart Thompson, who is honored with a gymnasium named after him following a near-fatal automobile accident which cost him the use of his legs; unbeknownst to Willis, Stuart begins having self-doubts about himself following his accident and decides to give up on living the rest of his life as a paraplegic. Several members of the real-life United States Olympics Gymnastics team (including Olympic gold medalist Mitch Gaylord) also made guest appearances as themselves, performing a gymnastics routine during the episode.

I always wondered whatever became of Regi Green...I occasionally wonder if he's still active in the entertainment industry, or if he faced aversity and discrimination in Hollywood due to his paralysis (he was paralyzed by a stray bullet at the age of six) and decided to leave the acting profession behind altogether and call it a day.

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Willis first day of Highschool

I also enjoyed season four's "First Day Blues" as well, TVFactFan. Todd Bridges delivered a delightful and hilarious performance in that episode; in fact, "First Day Blues" is one of my all-time favorite Willis-oriented episodes of "Strokes."

Kim Fields also made a guest appearance as Tootie, and she also reappears as Tootie in "The Team," just two episodes later. To this day, I'm still puzzled by Kim's two appearances in both "First Day Blues" and "The Team"; much (if not all) of Tootie's dialogue in those two episodes seems strangely out of place for her character...I honestly believe that many of her lines in both "First Day Blues" and "The Team" were originally intended for Gary, who--along with his adopted parents, Willie ("W.G.") and Sue--was deeply embroiled in the middle of a contract/salary dispute with "Strokes'" producers.

Here's a bit of trivia for you, in case you already didn't know by now: Clarence Gilyard, Jr. (best known for his later roles on "Matlock" and Walker: Texas Ranger") guest-starred in both "First Day Blues" and "The Team," playing two different characters. Imagine that.

Thanks for commenting, TVFactFan! Enjoy your day, as well as your weekend!

Yeah I liked that episode too because I thought that was what high school would be for me.

Only thing I didn't like was it seemed that Tootie was given Arnold's lines because she was acting unlike her normal likeable self on The Facts Of Life.

I enthusiastically concur, Mace Dolex. As I mentioned in my initial comment on this thread, "First Day Blues" is one of my all-time favorite Willis-oriented episodes of "Diff'rent Strokes." Todd Bridges' performance in "First Day Blues" was both delightful and hilarious.

And I also have to agree with you completely on Kim Fields' performance (as well as her overall demeanor) as Tootie in "First Day Blues"; Kim portrayed Tootie in "First Day Blues" (Kim returned as Tootie in "The Team," just two episodes later) as a sassy smartass, with a completely different attitude from her typical portrayal on "The Facts Of Life"...it's obviously apparent that many, if not all, of Kim's lines in "First Day Blues" were originally intended for Gary, who was--along with his adopted parents, Willie ("W.G.") and Sue--deeply embroiled in a contract/salary dispute with "Strokes'" producers.

I had actually mentioned Gary's all-too-noticeable absences from both "First Day Blues" and "The Team" (as well as his all-too-brief appearances in "The Ski Weekend" and "Hello, Daddy," both of which also aired in season four) on another thread a few years ago, as well as Kim's appearances in "First Day Blues" and "The Team." Due to Gary's absences in "First Day Blues" and "The Team," it's mentioned by Drummond in both episodes that Arnold is having a sleepover at his pal Dudley's apartment while Tootie is a houseguest in Drummond's penthouse.

And I also explained (in either the same thread, or a completely different thread altogether) the fact that one of Kim's lines in "First Day Blues," originally intended for Gary, was redubbed and looped over by Kim herself, either after the episode had already been completed or many years later, when Kim had reached adulthood...when Tootie and Kimberly discover Willis' marijuana stash in Arnold and Willis' bedroom (Tootie actually mistook it for Abraham's fish food), Tootie quips, "This has got to be the goofiest fish in New York!" I theorize that the original line was, "This has got to be the HIGHEST fish in New York!" and Kim redubbed and looped over her original line--for unknown reasons--and replaced the word "highest" with "goofiest."

Thanks for commenting, Mace Dolex! Enjoy your day, as well as your weekend!

"First Day Blues"