Do you think Bonnie Franklin hurt the show?

[Anna Karenina]

Originally Posted by RetroTVNitekatt

...and let's not forget Val is getting into the wine business as well - she's very busy

But she's even said she'd like to do another sitcom. Where the heck would she find the time?

Hey, if Linda Lavin can come back to CBS after 32 years (9JKL) there's got to be something out there for Val as a mother or grandmother (!)

Absolutely!

[Retro4Life]

The show would never have been as popular without Bonnie. I know she grates on some people, but maybe she was supposed to (or at least her character was).

Ann was not a perfect person, and I think that was part of the appeal of the show. She wasn't June Cleaver or Aunt Bee; she was a loud, willful, outspoken, quick tempered woman who often didn't do or say the right thing.

She was also a deeply caring and intelligent woman, with a fierce will and a drive to survive against all odds. She loved her family and friends completely and would have done anything for them.

I think TV could use more balanced characters like this but I suspect we are WAY past the point of no return in that regard.

[Anna Karenina]

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

The show would never have been as popular without Bonnie. I know she grates on some people, but maybe she was supposed to (or at least her character was).

Ann was not a perfect person, and I think that was part of the appeal of the show. She wasn't June Cleaver or Aunt Bee; she was a loud, willful, outspoken, quick tempered woman who often didn't do or say the right thing.

She was also a deeply caring and intelligent woman, with a fierce will and a drive to survive against all odds. She loved her family and friends completely and would have done anything for them.

I think TV could use more balanced characters like this but I suspect we are WAY past the point of no return in that regard.

Even though Ann was a pain in the arse much of the time and I love to make fun of her annoying traits as much as the next person, everything you said is spot on! She was not an easy character to love and Bonnie Franklin made her come alive in a way I don't think any actress could have.

I wonder why her television career pretty much faded out after that. Did she make a lot of enemies in the business or was it just that she tired of the grind and had enough money to be choosy?

[Smiley13]

IMO she hurt the show. Ann was an obnoxious and annoying character. The constant yelling was ridiculous. What did this woman have to be so angry about? She is the one who walked on on a nice life and disrupted her family.

[Retro4Life]

Originally Posted by Smiley13

IMO she hurt the show. Ann was an obnoxious and annoying character. The constant yelling was ridiculous. What did this woman have to be so angry about? She is the one who walked on on a nice life and disrupted her family.

She must not have been too big a burden on the show; it was a Top Ten show for years and made it nine full seasons.

[Retro4Life]

Originally Posted by Anna Karenina

Even though Ann was a pain in the arse much of the time and I love to make fun of her annoying traits as much as the next person, everything you said is spot on! She was not an easy character to love and Bonnie Franklin made her come alive in a way I don't think any actress could have.

I wonder why her television career pretty much faded out after that. Did she make a lot of enemies in the business or was it just that she tired of the grind and had enough money to be choosy?

Good question; I don't have a ready answer, unfortunately. My guess might be that being on a weekly TV series for nine years is pretty grueling. Also, wasn't Franklin's first love actually the stage, Broadway, etc.? Maybe she figured she'd done the "TV thing" was it was time to move on?

[biffbronson]

Maybe a factor as well was that she no longer was a really young woman, with ageism and sexism hindering females who would like to extend their careers with quality TV roles.

[Retro4Life]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

It's an interesting question: Franklin was awful in the extreme in the role, stiff and unnatural. Her exaggerated muggings maybe would have been less distracting on the stage (or better yet, radio). There have been worse actresses on sitcoms, but they've generally been chosen for their looks and are more models than actresses.

That said, did she hurt the show? I would say yes, but given the crappiness of the scripts and the awfulness of the rest of the cast it's hard to be sure.

"Other that that, how did you like the play, Mrs. Lincoln?"

[mistermike]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

It's an interesting question: Franklin was awful in the extreme in the role, stiff and unnatural. Her exaggerated muggings maybe would have been less distracting on the stage (or better yet, radio). There have been worse actresses on sitcoms, but they've generally been chosen for their looks and are more models than actresses.

That said, did she hurt the show? I would say yes, but given the crappiness of the scripts and the awfulness of the rest of the cast it's hard to be sure.

Question: If you obviously hate everything about the show, why are you wasting your time reading posts in a forum devoted to the show?

[Smiley13]

I watched back in the day and still watch because of Valerie. The episodes that focused too much on Ann are not nearly as good.

The show would have been much better with a different actress in the role of Ann.

[TMC]

Ann Romano was perhaps one of the most unintentionally unlikable, unsympathetic, and downright selfish main characters in sitcom history when you really get down to it. She divorces her husband, Ed no apparent reason (other than she's "bored") and then proceeds to complain about how hard life was as a single mother. I mean, her husband as far as we know, didn't beat her or cheat on her, so what exactly made Ann want to divorce Ed in the first place? Also, even though at the start of the series, Ann is about 34 years old, numerous stories early on were written as if her life was virtually over and she was "over-the-hill". Bonnie Franklin's often shrill, overwrought, ham-handed acting style just compounded the issue.

[1960'sTVfan]

The way I see it, Ann probably married Ed because it felt like the right thing to do at the time. But maybe she was never really in love with the guy. So as time went along she became increasingly unhappy with the marriage and sought divorce so she could become independent again and "find herself". But she now had the two daughters to raise which didn't make the transition to single any easier.

There is nothing wrong with Bonnie Franklin's performances in the episodes. She acted accordingly as the scripts called for. If she was supposed to be kind and loving, that's what she did. If she was supposed to let off some steam and have an emotional outburst, she did that too. I wouldn't go so far as to say her performances were award winning worthy but she was more than adequate playing the Ann Romano role.

As my avatar picture shows, I think she was far more attractive in the early seasons of the show when she had the longer hairstyle. With the short hairstyle she lost much of her sex appeal but still turned in good performances in the episodes. In the 9th and final season, the series detours/shifts a little to focus more on Mark/Barbara and Max/Julie and their situations, less is seen of Sam and Ann.

[Bonniegirl]

Originally Posted by retroTVfan4ever

The way I see it, Ann probably married Ed because it felt like the right thing to do at the time. But maybe she was never really in love with the guy. So as time went along she became increasingly unhappy with the marriage and sought divorce so she could become independent again and "find herself". But she now had the two daughters to raise which didn't make the transition to single any easier.

There is nothing wrong with Bonnie Franklin's performances in the episodes. She acted accordingly as the scripts called for. If she was supposed to be kind and loving, that's what she did. If she was supposed to let off some steam and have an emotional outburst, she did that too. I wouldn't go so far as to say her performances were award winning worthy but she was more than adequate playing the Ann Romano role.

As my avatar picture shows, I think she was far more attractive in the early seasons of the show when she had the longer hairstyle. With the short hairstyle she lost much of her sex appeal but still turned in good performances in the episodes. In the 9th and final season, the series detours/shifts a little to focus more on Mark/Barbara and Max/Julie and their situations, less is seen of Sam and Ann.

I totally agree! Good post Retro Lee!!

[1960'sTVfan]

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

I totally agree! Good post Retro Lee!!

Thank you, I guess my continuing love for Bonnie Franklin with longer hair motivated me to make that post.

We're just talking about a TV show here, not real life, but I think the Ann/Ed marriage was one of those things where she was young at the time and had some romantic feelings so she got married, but she wasn't really in love with the guy.

I would have liked to see Ann eventually hook up with David, I think she matched much more with David compared to Sam. The season 6 closer "Indianapolis Story" episode they did where David comes back and tries to woo Ann again but she turns him down, I would have liked to see her accept his proposal and they could have had a wedding episode in season 7 instead of Sam coming along later and getting in the picture.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Smiley13

IMO she hurt the show. Ann was an obnoxious and annoying character. The constant yelling was ridiculous. What did this woman have to be so angry about? She is the one who walked on on a nice life and disrupted her family.

If anything, the show needed a strong, forceful director. He or she could have reined in Bonnie Franklin’s over the top acting. The show also needed a producer who was willing to knock her down a few pegs. She had too much control over the production and as a result, the show suffered.