When the Show Went Downhill - Page 3 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

nvtlover · 02-23-2010, 08:29 PM

I agree that some of the storylines were good after Bea died and it was nice to see the family continue to grow. I too think that in the next season Bobbie Jo would marry Orrin. I bet he might a second thought before the ceremony and that would make a funny show. I don't know if Billie Jo would have gotten married or dated someone regularly if the show had survived to the 1971 rural purge. Billie Jo's character had changed into a smart, independent singer and her boy craziness was not used later on. She became the one with the most common sense besides Betty Jo after Kate died and kept things grounded at the Shady Rest.

nvtlover · 02-23-2010, 08:29 PM

I agree that some of the storylines were good after Bea died and it was nice to see the family continue to grow. I too think that in the next season Bobbie Jo would marry Orrin. I bet he might a second thought before the ceremony and that would make a funny show. I don't know if Billie Jo would have gotten married or dated someone regularly if the show had survived to the 1971 rural purge. Billie Jo's character had changed into a smart, independent singer and her boy craziness was not used later on. She became the one with the most common sense besides Betty Jo after Kate died and kept things grounded at the Shady Rest.

Rezny@gmail.com · 04-01-2010, 10:58 PM

It was definitely when Bea Benaderet died.They should have ended it then.All the spice was gone when Ms.Benaderet died.In the Bea Benaderet years,it was a perfect recipe for the show.Very little singing,a lot of spice,and just a tablespoon of sugar.But when she died, it became a sickening recipe for the show-A LOT of singing,A LOT of sugar(so much of both it became nauseating,)and very little spice.A far cry from the beginning.

Marvo301 · 04-02-2010, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrezny@usnetizen

It was definitely when Bea Benaderet died.They should have ended it then.All the spice was gone when Ms.Benaderet died.In the Bea Benaderet years,it was a perfect recipe for the show.Very little singing,a lot of spice,and just a tablespoon of sugar.But when she died, it became a sickening recipe for the show-A LOT of singing,A LOT of sugar(so much of both it became nauseating,)and very little spice.A far cry from the beginning.

I agree the show should have ended when Bea died. They should have had one last episode where Homer Bedloe finally succeeds in mothballing the Cannonball and then called it a day.

nvtlover · 04-12-2010, 09:00 PM

The show's charm was nostaglia to a simpler time before the tribulant sixities. I think that the Cannonball should not have been scrapped in the last show because it would have taken away from the show. The show should have ended with the baby being born; that way we are left to imagine the fine of Kate seeing Kathy Jo growing up.

biffbronson · 04-13-2010, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrezny@usnetizen

In the Bea Benaderet years,it was a perfect recipe for the show.Very little singing,a lot of spice,and just a tablespoon of sugar.But when she died, it became a sickening recipe for the show-A LOT of singing,A LOT of sugar(so much of both it became nauseating,)and very little spice.

There was a significant amount of singing in Bea's seasons as well. In fact, at times Kate Bradley played the piano while the singing was going on!

I don't think you've given an accurate account of what progressed. For example, the whole Ladybugs singing plotline was a fairly early one. Even Charley Pratt sang, and he was gone from the show before Kate was (death of Smiley Burnette). There had been at least a fair amount of singing in random episodes, well before Bea's death. Aside from the later premise of Billie Jo wanting to go professional, there wasn't an excessive increase that I've encountered -- and I've seen ALL of seasons 3 through 7.

As far as "spice," I'm not sure what you mean. Selma and Joe mixed it up quite a bit after Kate was gone. Joe got into it with a group of bikers. A Vietnam orphan was part of a story. Joe disliked Orrin. I don't see any of that as just "sugar," and there are more examples.

Miss Lisa · 10-13-2010, 05:59 PM

I know that this really wouldn't have been an option back then, but I think that teh final episode of PJ should have been Kate's death. They could have had something happen with Kate, didn't have to be cancer, maybe something more sudden and have either one of the girls or Uncle Joe get a phone call and tell everyone else that she was gone. They could then sell the hotel and maybe have the very end more like Three's Campany where you find out what everyone is moving onto and then simply have them leave the hotel for the last time. That way, if the producers really wanted to keep the show going, they could have instead just wrote a spinoff revolving around one of the characters, and bring the others ones every few episodes.

Rezny@gmail.com · 10-16-2010, 10:50 PM

What I mean by spice,is that the gentle sparring between Uncle Joe and Kate was fun.When Bea Benaderet died,although Selma Plout and Uncle Joe verbally sparred,it WASN'T the same.

ThomasE · 11-28-2010, 01:43 AM

I am fine with the way the later episodes were written regarding Kate. It was a delicate thing to work with. I thought the writers handled it well. I wish the girls had stuck with their original personalities. Bobbie Jo went from a shy bookworm to a spacy chick. Plus she was the singer in the family but then when the show went to color, her singing was not as much and then when the girls formed the group, she was in the background and Billie Jo became the singer (Meredith took over the role at this time) and everything changed.

lucyandethel · 04-19-2011, 11:23 PM

I am guessing at that time, they really didn't know how to deal with the real-life death of a series' star. It was probably considered a very delicate situation, since it was a situation comedy. Plus, Paul Henning thought the world of Bea Benaderet and her death shook him and the cast up pretty bad. It was a hard thing to deal with, I am certain.

catlover79 · 04-20-2011, 08:56 AM

^ Agreed. At least they didn't try to recast Kate after Bea passed away. THAT would've been horrible!!

Marvo301 · 04-20-2011, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThomasE

I am fine with the way the later episodes were written regarding Kate. It was a delicate thing to work with. I thought the writers handled it well. I wish the girls had stuck with their original personalities. Bobbie Jo went from a shy bookworm to a spacy chick. Plus she was the singer in the family but then when the show went to color, her singing was not as much and then when the girls formed the group, she was in the background and Billie Jo became the singer (Meredith took over the role at this time) and everything changed.

In the first two seasons Bobbie Jo was played by Pat Woodell who was a talented singer in real life. (In fact the reason she left the series was to pursue her singing career) That's why she was prominent in the singing scenes. In the color episodes Lori Saunders took over the role and she wasn't as strong a singer as Pat Woodell so Bobbie Jo became less prominent in the singing scenes.

Heidi Dawn · 04-23-2011, 10:28 AM

Kate Bradley was definitely missed, but I did like June Lockhart's character.

stanwyckfan07 · 06-29-2011, 05:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heidi Dawn

Kate Bradley was definitely missed, but I did like June Lockhart's character.

I feel the same - June was about as good a replacement as one could have hoped for, very different yet still a warm personality.

I have to disagree with all the posters who say the show should have ended after Bea's death. That wouldn't have been fair to the rest of the cast to lose their jobs just because the main lead had passed away. And anyway, Joe and the girls had played the main roles in episodes nearly as often as Bea did.

I personally like the latter episodes best (the Meredith Macrae years) with Bea or June. I was too young to have ever seen any of the Pat Woodell/Jeannine Riley episodes and of course they were never rerun. Watching the dvds I thought neither was as good as Meredith and Lori in these roles, particularly Pat who was no where near as good a comedienne or actress as Lori.

cmulwee001 · 07-22-2011, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biffbronson

There was a significant amount of singing in Bea's seasons as well. In fact, at times Kate Bradley played the piano while the singing was going on!

I don't think you've given an accurate account of what progressed. For example, the whole Ladybugs singing plotline was a fairly early one. Even Charley Pratt sang, and he was gone from the show before Kate was (death of Smiley Burnette). There had been at least a fair amount of singing in random episodes, well before Bea's death. Aside from the later premise of Billie Jo wanting to go professional, there wasn't an excessive increase that I've encountered -- and I've seen ALL of seasons 3 through 7.

As far as "spice," I'm not sure what you mean. Selma and Joe mixed it up quite a bit after Kate was gone. Joe got into it with a group of bikers. A Vietnam orphan was part of a story. Joe disliked Orrin. I don't see any of that as just "sugar," and there are more examples.

There was some singing in the Bea episodes, you're right, but the SIGNIFICANT singing didn't really start until season 4 with Mike and Meredith added to the cast.
You're right, Pat did most of the singing in the early shows,but most of her solos were short and brief. What the person who started this thread is referring to is that the more CONSTANT singing didn't really start until the latter part of Bea's tenure with the series, and that started as I said in season 4. Season's 5 and 6 had the most singing, with somewhat less singing in season 7. You see, by this latter time, the singing was now a lot more than just folks around a piano. You now had characters "breaking into song" as in a movie musical, with full orchestra playing on the soundtrack! And it was no longer just people singing country folk songs, you know had people like Steve and Betty Jo singing old standards from the pre-rock era. "Hawaii Calling" is a PRIME example.
Also some of Meredith MacRae's solos such as "I'm Glad There Is You" from season 7's "How To Arrange a Marriage" had either full orchestras or small combo's playing on the soundtrack. In short, the cast members were now singing "city" music!
I consider, as stated in my own thread "The Ladybugs" in season one to be entirely separate, because that was done strictly for laughs, s opposed to the latter stuff from years 4 thru 7 which were mostly done straight.

04-12-2010, 09:00 PM	#35
nvtlover Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 22, 2010 Location: Vermont Posts: 55	No The show's charm was nostaglia to a simpler time before the tribulant sixities. I think that the Cannonball should not have been scrapped in the last show because it would have taken away from the show. The show should have ended with the baby being born; that way we are left to imagine the fine of Kate seeing Kathy Jo growing up.

10-13-2010, 05:59 PM	#37
Miss Lisa Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 08, 2005 Location: My very own Green Acres Posts: 1,113	I know that this really wouldn't have been an option back then, but I think that teh final episode of PJ should have been Kate's death. They could have had something happen with Kate, didn't have to be cancer, maybe something more sudden and have either one of the girls or Uncle Joe get a phone call and tell everyone else that she was gone. They could then sell the hotel and maybe have the very end more like Three's Campany where you find out what everyone is moving onto and then simply have them leave the hotel for the last time. That way, if the producers really wanted to keep the show going, they could have instead just wrote a spinoff revolving around one of the characters, and bring the others ones every few episodes.
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11-28-2010, 01:43 AM	#39
ThomasE Member Moderator Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2000 Location: New York, New York, U.S.A. Posts: 10,857	I am fine with the way the later episodes were written regarding Kate. It was a delicate thing to work with. I thought the writers handled it well. I wish the girls had stuck with their original personalities. Bobbie Jo went from a shy bookworm to a spacy chick. Plus she was the singer in the family but then when the show went to color, her singing was not as much and then when the girls formed the group, she was in the background and Billie Jo became the singer (Meredith took over the role at this time) and everything changed.
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04-20-2011, 08:56 AM	#41
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	^ Agreed. At least they didn't try to recast Kate after Bea passed away. THAT would've been horrible!!
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04-23-2011, 10:28 AM	#43
Heidi Dawn Muppets Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 01, 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 883	Kate Bradley was definitely missed, but I did like June Lockhart's character.
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02-23-2010, 08:29 PM	#31
nvtlover Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 22, 2010 Location: Vermont Posts: 55	I agree that some of the storylines were good after Bea died and it was nice to see the family continue to grow. I too think that in the next season Bobbie Jo would marry Orrin. I bet he might a second thought before the ceremony and that would make a funny show. I don't know if Billie Jo would have gotten married or dated someone regularly if the show had survived to the 1971 rural purge. Billie Jo's character had changed into a smart, independent singer and her boy craziness was not used later on. She became the one with the most common sense besides Betty Jo after Kate died and kept things grounded at the Shady Rest.

04-01-2010, 10:58 PM	#33
Rezny@gmail.com Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 20, 2007 Location: Nebraska Posts: 2,675	It was definitely when Bea Benaderet died.They should have ended it then.All the spice was gone when Ms.Benaderet died.In the Bea Benaderet years,it was a perfect recipe for the show.Very little singing,a lot of spice,and just a tablespoon of sugar.But when she died, it became a sickening recipe for the show-A LOT of singing,A LOT of sugar(so much of both it became nauseating,)and very little spice.A far cry from the beginning.

10-16-2010, 10:50 PM	#38
Rezny@gmail.com Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 20, 2007 Location: Nebraska Posts: 2,675	What I mean by spice,is that the gentle sparring between Uncle Joe and Kate was fun.When Bea Benaderet died,although Selma Plout and Uncle Joe verbally sparred,it WASN'T the same.

04-19-2011, 11:23 PM	#40
lucyandethel Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 18, 2009 Location: Los Angeles CA Posts: 435	I am guessing at that time, they really didn't know how to deal with the real-life death of a series' star. It was probably considered a very delicate situation, since it was a situation comedy. Plus, Paul Henning thought the world of Bea Benaderet and her death shook him and the cast up pretty bad. It was a hard thing to deal with, I am certain.