^Just what the subject said^
My thoughts is that:
1.) He'll die in a car accident either to or from where he works.
~~~~~~~~~~_-OR-_~~~~~~~~~~
2.) They'll set the show a week after his death w/ the remaining family coming home from his funeral, and they'll recall a lot of the stuff he said and did and show clips of it. It'll be kinda like a tribute: The Best John Ritter Moments of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter

Those are my thoughts. What are yours!? NO DUMB THOUGHTS HERE!

Originally posted by LizzieLover
^Just what the subject said^
My thoughts is that:
1.) He'll die in a car accident either to or from where he works.
~~~~~~~~~~_-OR-_~~~~~~~~~~
2.) They'll set the show a week after his death w/ the remaining family coming home from his funeral, and they'll recall a lot of the stuff he said and did and show clips of it. It'll be kinda like a tribute: The Best John Ritter Moments of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter

Those are my thoughts. What are yours!? NO DUMB THOUGHTS HERE!

Number 2 makes the most sense.

Since they went through the whole ordeal in reality, there seems no way that he would die in the first ten minutes of the episode and make them go through those emotions again.

Rather, the family coming back from the funeral would put them right where they stand now- and us as audience. It would be the more appropriate and fitting way to do it.

What a great idea!!! Having them show his best moments on the show, kinda like a tribute. Still, no matter how they have the death on the show, the cast will have to relive it again. The only difference, is they won't be acting through the tears, it'll be tears from the heart. How sad, omg, to have them go through that again. And the fans, I know I'll have a box of kleenex by my side the whole time. Do you know if it's gonna be an hour show or not yet?

I would hope they would have a lot of clips of John in the episode. I believe its an hour episode.

I hope it's an hour. I feel they should tribute the whole show to his memory, but I wonder if the cast and his family can go through it again. I didn't know him in person and I'm still having a hard time with it when I see him on T.V. or hear about him or read about him. His poor family.

A tribute would be a good idea; to show the cast and the audience how special he really was, but I think it would be a little hard on us all. There will probably be a lot of people blowing noses throughout the show!

Okay this is gonna sound kinda bad. But I don't mean it to be! Its so sad that John is gone now :( and the show won't be as funny without him. I think its good they're "retooling" the show. every episode is about Boys and Dating which is starting to get kinda old. They should be doing family stuff too ya know? now that theyre changing it, maybe they're gonna focus more on the family instead of who Bridget is going out with this week!

yeah I kinda thought there was too much on dating. there needs to be more family things going on in the show from now on.

I thought it would have been neat to end with the episode before the last because John and the Mom(Ok! My mind has gone sooo blank on her name!) were running out the door and Rory was shutting it. It would have been cool to start the next episode with car tires screeching and Rory opening the door a few seconds after that, looking in disbelief at what has happened. It could then cut to the next scene of everyone in the hospital waiting. :) My first choice would be to have a LIVE John but I'm afraid that will not happen.

~Chelle~

I think that Kate will come home to start the show from work and the kids will be doing there normal thing. Kate will wonder where Paul is and one of the kids will say that he went for pizza.
The kids and Kate will have some conversations and then the phone will ring and one of the kids will pick up. The will tell Kate it is for her and she will ask who it is and the kid will say that it is the hospital. She will tell the kid that answered the phone to take a message since she just got off work and doesn't want to be call back in. The kid will tell the person on the phone this and then ..with a serious look on his/her face.. say that it is an emergency. From there....I don't know what will happen but you can be sure it will be a VERY emotional show and that the tears coming from the cast will be true feelings..all the while trying to stay in character.

I think they'll have Paul die of a heart attack. Maybe Kerri will be upset with him for dying, feeling like he should have been in better health or something. Bridget will feel guilty about treating him badly for the past year and three eps. And Rory will be distant from everyone else, still in disbelief that his dad is dead. As for Cate, maybe she'd turn to the church for spiritual support. Maybe even Kyle and Tommy would drop by the house to give their condolences. As would the Doyles. In the end, the remaining Hennesseys would gather in the living room and just look at eachother, sad. Knowing that it's gonna be a rough ride ahead. Another sad thing is that I don't see how this show can ever be funny again. Not just because John is off the show, but because they have to deal with the fact that he's dead. Maybe in a couple seasons it could be funny. But if it's too dramatic early on, there probably won't be any more seasons. Which is a shame. The day before John Ritter died, I thought to myself how this show could probably go one for a long run.

Originally posted by mr roper
I would hope they would have a lot of clips of John in the episode. I believe its an hour episode.

I hope so too.

Originally posted by TVAdam
I think they'll have Paul die of a heart attack. Maybe Kerri will be upset with him for dying, feeling like he should have been in better health or something. Bridget will feel guilty about treating him badly for the past year and three eps. And Rory will be distant from everyone else, still in disbelief that his dad is dead. As for Cate, maybe she'd turn to the church for spiritual support. Maybe even Kyle and Tommy would drop by the house to give their condolences. As would the Doyles. In the end, the remaining Hennesseys would gather in the living room and just look at eachother, sad. Knowing that it's gonna be a rough ride ahead. Another sad thing is that I don't see how this show can ever be funny again. Not just because John is off the show, but because they have to deal with the fact that he's dead. Maybe in a couple seasons it could be funny. But if it's too dramatic early on, there probably won't be any more seasons. Which is a shame. The day before John Ritter died, I thought to myself how this show could probably go one for a long run.

Wow, it sounds like you have it all worked out. Now that I read your post, It sounds exactly like what they'll do. I still cannot believe he is gone. How is the cast gonna move on from this, I can't imagine. Those poor people. How many episodes do you think they'll have where everyone is still sad?

I think that they'll only have them be sad for one episode and then sporadically throughout the rest of the season.. The producers/cast probably don't want to focus the rest of the season on his death so I think that after the next episode they'll try to steer the show in a different direction.

i think a big problem will be getting the audience to laugh. You know it will be hard to laugh a hard time when they start airing episodes of the show after Johns dead. You dont expect the death show to start of normal and the audience to laugh do you? It would just be too hard.

Hi all,
This is really a tough question.

Looking back, probably three of the most memorable shows ever for me -- and three that still touch me -- are the episode of "M*A*S*H" in which Henry Blake died, the episode of "All In The Family" in which Edith Bunker died and the episode of "Good Times" in which the family learned of James Evans' death. In all three cases, however, it was different in that we all knew each time that an actor had merely quit a show, and he or she was fine in real life. So, I think that John Ritter really being gone will make that first Paulless "8 Simple Rules" episode even more special, more moving and more memorable.

On one hand, I can see ABC wanting to make it an extra special episode, considering how important John Ritter was to the network and considering that the show will probably air during the November sweeps. On the other hand, I can't see ABC wanting to capitalize on such a tragedy for the sake of ratings . . . or leaving themselves open to such an accusation.

Remember also that ABC has been down this road before. She may not have been as big a star for the network at the time as John Ritter was through the years, but Diana Hyland died after completing only one season of playing the mother on ABC's hit series "Eight Is Enough." When the second season of that show began, they merely mentioned that the mother had died somehow -- some time "last year." The kids were seen struggling through it. One kid in particular (Tommy) had a really hard time accepting it, in at least one specific heart-wrenching episode, while the other kids were sad but still remained strong. On "8 Simple Rules", I can see Rory being that kid who takes it really hard, maybe Kerry. Anyway, on "Eight Is Enough", before long, the father was in love with somebody else, whom he married. Betty Buckley (the second wife) ended up spending much more time on the show than Diana Hyland had. And by the end of that series, Diana Hyland's character had been almost completely forgotten about.

Whatever they do with "8 Simple Rules", they'll probably jerk a few tears, but remain true to what John Ritter lived for -- making people laugh. Hey, wouldn't it be something if Cate remarried a character played by Ed O'Neill (her former "Married . . . With Children" husband, Al Bundy)? I read somewhere that he *is* a planned guest star for a future episode of "8 Simple Rules."

I also hope that the network will remain true to John Ritter's memory, and not let Paul be eventually forgotten like the first Mrs. Bradford on "Eight Is Enough."


Later,
Art

Originally posted by Artfiore1
Hi all,
This is really a tough question.

Looking back, probably three of the most memorable shows ever for me -- and three that still touch me -- are the episode of "M*A*S*H" in which Henry Blake died, the episode of "All In The Family" in which Edith Bunker died and the episode of "Good Times" in which the family learned of James Evans' death. In all three cases, however, it was different in that we all knew each time that an actor had merely quit a show, and he or she was fine in real life. So, I think that John Ritter really being gone will make that first Paulless "8 Simple Rules" episode even more special, more moving and more memorable.

On one hand, I can see ABC wanting to make it an extra special episode, considering how important John Ritter was to the network and considering that the show will probably air during the November sweeps. On the other hand, I can't see ABC wanting to capitalize on such a tragedy for the sake of ratings . . . or leaving themselves open to such an accusation.

Remember also that ABC has been down this road before. She may not have been as big a star for the network at the time as John Ritter was through the years, but Diana Hyland died after completing only one season of playing the mother on ABC's hit series "Eight Is Enough." When the second season of that show began, they merely mentioned that the mother had died somehow -- some time "last year." The kids were seen struggling through it. One kid in particular (Tommy) had a really hard time accepting it, in at least one specific heart-wrenching episode, while the other kids were sad but still remained strong. On "8 Simple Rules", I can see Rory being that kid who takes it really hard, maybe Kerry. Anyway, on "Eight Is Enough", before long, the father was in love with somebody else, whom he married. Betty Buckley (the second wife) ended up spending much more time on the show than Diana Hyland had. And by the end of that series, Diana Hyland's character had been almost completely forgotten about.

Whatever they do with "8 Simple Rules", they'll probably jerk a few tears, but remain true to what John Ritter lived for -- making people laugh. Hey, wouldn't it be something if Cate remarried a character played by Ed O'Neill (her former "Married . . . With Children" husband, Al Bundy)? I read somewhere that he *is* a planned guest star for a future episode of "8 Simple Rules."

I also hope that the network will remain true to John Ritter's memory, and not let Paul be eventually forgotten like the first Mrs. Bradford on "Eight Is Enough."


Later,
Art

I couldn't have said it better myself! AMEN!! :)