Why the hell did they stop making Diffrent strokes. It was great>

What happened was, NBC got tired of DS, and they moved it to ABC to a bad timeslot, and it was cancelled right after that.

------------------
Andrew Carden

I hate to say it, but all sitcoms must come to an end someday (even the best ones). But you know, if DS did last for at least 5 years more, perhaps Todd Bridges and Dana Plato would not have screwed up like they did.

perhaps they might had not gotten into trouble like they did, but i think that if that lasted five more years, arnold, willis, and kimberly would had left or fired from the series. i bet there would be a completely different cast, with the exception of mr. drummond. i say this because of the terrible changes that happened in the last two seasons,which i think resulted in its cancellation.

Well rserafin, you have a point, Kimberly and Willis were kind of fading out in the last couple of seasons. And add to that the fact that Arnold didn't have the same charm as he did when he was a kid. But alas, Sam was an inept replacement for Arnold- the show should have been put out of its misery by the time Maggie and Sam came along.

DS started to resort to too many gag shows like the kidnappings. Too many "Very Specials"! The one with whats his face from WKRP molesting poor Dudley was pretty good. But they did have what I would consider more innane eppies:

Kimberly has bulumia & Vomits off camera (Very Badly Too! Didn't convince me)

Mr D does the pedophile act by looking in on Kimberly's nakedness (I Really Am Shocked Here! Why would they have a show like that; that wasn't like Conrad Bain's character at all)

Kimberly's hair turns green (Acid Rain)

Nancy Reagan (Nuf said) She meant well but this was not the place to spread such a preachy message; that's better suited for an infomercial type thing not a sitcom.

In short any time a show resorts to gags repeatedly, does "Very Special eps" has huge discrepancies in the story (Why would a country boy like Sam & the 2 Maggies played by Dixie Carter & someone else want to hang with Mr. D in a penthouse on Park Ave? The cuteness factor; Arnold wasn't cute anymore so Sam was in) and gets shifted around on the air you know its time has past.

There are certain factors that mark the beginning of the end on shows. The site below I found deals with this:
www.jumptheshark.com (http://www.jumptheshark.com)

------------------

Riches & Glory are in the vow of faith! Send a check or money order for at least $1000, preferably to my account in Zurich; I have a ski lodge up there!

I stand corrected on the "Mr D peeks in on Kimberly" ep. It would appear that somebody on www.jumptheshark.com (http://www.jumptheshark.com) put that as a joke.

------------------

Riches & Glory are in the vow of faith! Send a check or money order for at least $1000, preferably to my account in Zurich; I have a ski lodge up there!

I think if the show would've lasted until 1988 or 1989 (not too impossible), maybe Todd Bridges and Dana Plato would've both had better trajectories.

One of the things people say that seperated the trajectories of the DS cast and that of the cast of FOL was that Facts ran until everyone were adults and a little more settled (well, Kim Fields was only 19, but she was already in college and everything), whereas Dana was 19 when she was kicked off, Todd was 20 when the final episode aired and Gary was 17-18 when it went off, so they were still young (at least compared to Lisa Whelchel being 25 when FOL left)

It probably would have just gotten worse if they kept making the show.

------------------
-Jeff-

Check out my site @
http://jeffsfactsoflife.homestead.com/jeffsfactsoflife.html

All shows get cancelled at one time or another. That's the way it is.

------------------
Jack: I'm surprised at you. Where would all the great women of history be if they thought like that!? Look at Joan of Ark and what she accomplished. And, and Florence Nightengale and Madam Curry.
Chrissy: And Lucretia Borzok.
Janet: She posioned people.
Chrissy: Yeah, but she was very good at it.

Visit my website, The Reagle Beagle, at:

http://hometown.aol.com/seantcfan/myhomepage/tv.html