Would 8 Is Enough have survived if they kept Tom Bradford a widower??? - Page 2 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

airhead · 07-10-2007, 08:20 PM

I think it would've lasted, but would've been different.

OH Nuts! · 08-15-2007, 10:22 PM

I think the show would have ended a lot sooner than it did had Tom stayed single. Tom was a real family man. He believed in family and in marriage. Everything in the show fit so well when Tom remarried--and Abby was the perfect wife--pretty, smart, perceptive, vivacious--Tom ended up doing things "out of the box" that he wouldn't have without Abby. Betty Buckley did a magnificent job with this role.

Johnny be good! · 01-03-2008, 12:14 PM

What if Joan had never died?

OH Nuts! · 01-04-2008, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny be good!

What if Joan had never died?

Diana Hyland, who played Joan, would have done a nice job with the role. Unfortunately, Ms. Hyland lost her brave battle with cancer right at the beginning of the show, so this never came to be.

Jude The Obscure · 04-06-2008, 06:47 AM

My thing is.......why didn't they simply recast Joan? Was it just a sign of deep respect for Diana Hyland? She wasn't in the role long and it wasn't like viewers were deeply entrenched seeing her in the part.

OH Nuts! · 04-08-2008, 12:21 AM

I think having him meet a widow a little later on in the series meshed nicely into the plot. It also has a less gimmickly feel to it than just replacing Joan.

On the other hand, there have been cases where replacing a key departing member has also worked; for example, Gladys Kravitz in Bewitched.

Jude The Obscure · 04-08-2008, 02:22 PM

It also moved the show further away from the actual Tom Braden's story.
But what TV show hasn't--witness "Little House on the Prairie"! I was shocked to learn only a few years ago, that the NBC series was largely FICTIONALIZED and had only a few things in common with the books.

TMC · 03-04-2024, 03:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OH Nuts!

Diana Hyland, who played Joan, would have done a nice job with the role. Unfortunately, Ms. Hyland lost her brave battle with cancer right at the beginning of the show, so this never came to be.

By the fourth episode of Season 1, was it pretty obvious that they've given Joan's lines to Joanie (and in one scene, to Mary) because of Diana Hyland's illness? Suddenly, Joanie is lecturing and acting like a mother to all the other kids

07-10-2007, 08:20 PM	#16
airhead Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 02, 2007 Location: Orem UT Posts: 103	I think it would've lasted, but would've been different.
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08-15-2007, 10:22 PM	#17
OH Nuts! Member Forum King Join Date: Feb 15, 2005 Posts: 133,383	I think the show would have ended a lot sooner than it did had Tom stayed single. Tom was a real family man. He believed in family and in marriage. Everything in the show fit so well when Tom remarried--and Abby was the perfect wife--pretty, smart, perceptive, vivacious--Tom ended up doing things "out of the box" that he wouldn't have without Abby. Betty Buckley did a magnificent job with this role.

01-03-2008, 12:14 PM	#18
Johnny be good! Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 18, 2007 Location: Westland, Michigan Posts: 1,629	What if Joan had never died?

04-06-2008, 06:47 AM	#20
Jude The Obscure Retired Eternal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 10, 2006 Posts: 7,519	My thing is.......why didn't they simply recast Joan? Was it just a sign of deep respect for Diana Hyland? She wasn't in the role long and it wasn't like viewers were deeply entrenched seeing her in the part.

04-08-2008, 12:21 AM	#21
OH Nuts! Member Forum King Join Date: Feb 15, 2005 Posts: 133,383	I think having him meet a widow a little later on in the series meshed nicely into the plot. It also has a less gimmickly feel to it than just replacing Joan. On the other hand, there have been cases where replacing a key departing member has also worked; for example, Gladys Kravitz in Bewitched.

04-08-2008, 02:22 PM	#22
Jude The Obscure Retired Eternal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 10, 2006 Posts: 7,519	It also moved the show further away from the actual Tom Braden's story. But what TV show hasn't--witness "Little House on the Prairie"! I was shocked to learn only a few years ago, that the NBC series was largely FICTIONALIZED and had only a few things in common with the books.