What if Dolph Sweet survived cancer?

[Smartboy]

Originally Posted by 70s show watcher

i always thought the same thing

Very nice to hear from you. It was a while back that I read a post by someone who referred to it as a "Laverne and Shirley" clone. I guess the idea that this poster was expressing was that it was a show about two single women approaching middle age trying to make the best of life in an inner city environment. I have since corresponded with someone on You Tube who wrote that Nell and Addie were like Lucy and Ethel from "I Love Lucy". One significant difference is that Lucy and Ethel were both presently married during the time that the show took place. However, one way that they were similar was that there was a lot of slapstick in both situations.

[MrCleveland]

If Season 6 had Nell and her friends go to New York...and Dolph Sweet survived...here's how I would see it...

Nell Harper-Is working at a book publishing company.
Chief Carl Kaniski-Gets a better paying job in Warren, New Jersey so he can be near Samantha as she goes to college.
Samantha Kaniski-Lives with her dad because it's cheaper.
Joey Donovan-Lives with Nell in New York.
Grandpa Stanley Kaniski-Lives near Nell Harper.
Addie Wilson-Is still Nell's roomate and works at the University.

Matthew Donovan and Mama Harper would be on the show as well. The Chief would still be on a lot of episodes, but there'd me more Nell Haper episodes.

[RetroGuy2000]

The Chief's death really sent this show downhill, but I'd also add that losing the daughters pushed it even further into crappiness.

I was glad to see Samantha in a few Season Six episodes, but it wasn't enough to salvage that craptacular season.

[TV Guy]

They added far too many characters. The first few seasons were the best. Then they felt they had to add all these extra characters as series regulars.

That said, I think it was probably a six-season series whether or not Dolph Sweet was around. But his absence really hurt the quality of the last two seasons.

[Wildchats]

Season 5 would have been different. Not sure if Jonathan would have gone on the dig or not. Not sure if Julie would have been pregnant, but I think she would have as the series was more towards being cancelled even with the Chief still around.

It would have been the same tone as seasons 3-4 for sure. They had to change all stories I bet because the Chief was gone. Had he lived, he would have probably interacted a little with those stories that actually happened.


They would have never ever left Glenlawn. Seasons 3 and on would have had the same feel. The first two seasons of the series had a totally different feel than seasons 3-4.


Sam would have gone to college in town. We most likely would have seen a season 7, maybe 8 and 9 maximum. The show would have outlasted Silver Spoons. Well, it did, by a few months, but it would have gone on at least another season to make 7 seasons. Maybe it would have outlasted The Facts Of Life as well. It outlasted Diff'rent Strokes, both on NBC and when they went to ABC.

The show would have most likely gone:

Season 5 in 1985-1986
Season 6 in 1986-1987
Season 7 in 1987-1988
Season 8 in 1988-1989
Season 9 in 1989-1990



It was rare for a show to go more than at least 8 seasons back then. Facts Of Life made it to 9 seasons. But I think the latest the show could have gone was 9 seasons and would have ended in May of 1990.

Had it gone on longer, who knows if John Hoyt would have still been around? He died in 1991 of cancer. Not sure when he got sick, but after GAB ended in 1987 he fully retired, I believe.


We most likely would have seen Julie give birth in the season 5 finale. Season 6 would have been baby Nell as a little baby. Season 7, maybe they would have aged her most likely to a 5 year old.

I think Katie would have stayed with the boutique in Glenlawn and would have not struggled with it. She probably would have had a steady boyfriend in season 6 and married in season 7 with baby Nell as a 5 year old flower girl.


Samantha would have gone to college in Glenlawn, doubt she would have had a steady boyfriend. Had the show lasted to season 9, that's when she would have finished college, in 1990.


Maybe James would have come back before the series ended. He told everyone they were gonna wait until all the kids grew up. Joey would have been almost or in high school by the end of the 1980s.

We wouldn't have gotten Matthew, we probably would have gotten baby Nell as an aged kid in season 7.

Simpson would have been around as would Addy.

[GSU2004]

If the Chief had lived, I would had made him a reoccurring character to work around his health as most likely after the series ended, he would have went into retirement.

Season 5 would had Samantha considering being a police officer like her dad and we would have saw her interning heavily at the police station. When she graduated, she would have went to the police academy. Joey would have been dropped to go live back with his dad. Nell would had a romance interest and took a job at as a chorus teacher. The chief would have announced his retirement during the season in which he would train his black major to become Greenlawn's first black police chief.

Season 6 would only be consisted of 13 episodes with loose ends of the series wrapping up and a series finale with a Christmas theme.

[kanisky7896]

The success of Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, The Cosby Show, and even The Golden Girls made Gimme A Break seem dated. If any of the aforementioned shows were not on NBC and were put up against Gimme A Break in the same time slot, those shows would have blown Gimme A Break completely out of the competition. Had Dolph Sweet still been alive , let alone not have gotten sick at all, the show would have had to have storylines for each of the characters to reflect the changing times, while staying true to the show. I think Julie's pregnancy would have been a much bigger storyline. There could have been more storylines with Samantha dating and the Chief disapproving of her dates, more scenes with the Chief and Joey, Katie's ups and downs of her life. Anything would have been possible.

[Svenfan1234]

The Chief was the worst character of GAB IMO. Really dragged the show down.

[Smartboy]

Originally Posted by Svenfan1234

The Chief was the worst character of GAB IMO. Really dragged the show down.

What about the Chief did you especially dislike?

[Svenfan1234]

Originally Posted by Smartboy

What about the Chief did you especially dislike?

Everything. He was a corrupt police chief who was wrong all the time, a hypocrite and an ugly one at that!

[Smartboy]

Originally Posted by Svenfan1234

Everything. He was a corrupt police chief who was wrong all the time, a hypocrite and an ugly one at that!

What do you mean, he was corrupt? I do not remember him doing anything illegal is dishonest.

[TMC]

Would Gimmie A Break! gotten a seventh season had it not been for NBC planning to air A Different World in the fall of 1987? In one of the final episodes, Nell went to Sam's college for Parent's Week.

[80s Dude]

The show would have lasted longer if he survived. Many actors survived cancer and returned to the show they were in.

[SledgeBarone]

Originally Posted by Smartboy

I agree that the Chief's death was a big part of why the show was on its last legs. However, I think that the true nail in the coffin was Nell and Addie's move to New York. When I first replied to this thread, I mentioned the idea of it being like an updated version of "Laverne and Shirley". What do you think of that school of thought?

Updated version of "Laverne and Shirley" - you mean Nell being friends with Addie, or them moving to New York? I would agree on the former. I really liked the pairing, but as everyone else is saying, they didn't need to go to New York. What's sad is the show added a lot of new cast members for that last season, so axing the girls didn't even seem to be a cost-cutting measure.

[Smartboy]

Originally Posted by SledgeBarone

Updated version of "Laverne and Shirley" - you mean Nell being friends with Addie, or them moving to New York? I would agree on the former. I really liked the pairing, but as everyone else is saying, they didn't need to go to New York. What's sad is the show added a lot of new cast members for that last season, so axing the girls didn't even seem to be a cost-cutting measure.

When I wrote that this show became an updated version of "Laverne and Shirley", I meant that it was about two single women, approaching middle age trying to function in an urban environment. In my opinion, it was too far removed from what the show was originally about to work.