Did the show already start declining before the move to LA? - Page 3 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

andress_jade · 11-29-2020, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

I never heard anything about her putting going to NY as a condition for a 9th season; as I understood it, she was done with the show and did not want it to continue.

Yes, Penny Marshall mentioned it in an interview. She said that she would only do a 9th season if the show would have moved to New York. Since they didn't want to invest in that, the show was canceled. Penny Marshall was happy with that decision though because she really didn't even want to do an 8th season, which she was bullied into doing.

Dr. Thong · 12-01-2020, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andress_jade

Yes, Penny Marshall mentioned it in an interview. She said that she would only do a 9th season if the show would have moved to New York. Since they didn't want to invest in that, the show was canceled. Penny Marshall was happy with that decision though because she really didn't even want to do an 8th season, which she was bullied into doing.

Huh. Never knew that.

I just figured that since she'd fulfilled her contractual obligations and since that final season was such a slog, she just said no.

She probably figured that the show wouldn't want to invest in a move and asked for that knowing they would turn her down. Just a guess on my part.

James28 · 12-04-2020, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andress_jade

Penny Marshall wanted to quit but the network said they would sue her if she didn't do another season, so in order not to get sued, she did it. The only way she would have done a season 9 would have been if they moved the show to New York, but the network didn't want to spend the money to do so, so the show was canceled.

So, in other words, ABC Network was never willing to give Laverne & Shirley a proper sendoff. That despite L&S having brought the network millions and millions of dollars in ad revenue, especially with the big ratings during the first half of its run.

Also, even though 178 episodes over eight seasons may look like a sufficient syndication package on its own, L&S fans who wish the California episodes never existed think the series was probably undeserving an episode count like that, just like it was undeserving of an anchor slot (because its move to Thursdays in Season 5 was so ill-fated).

Cbalducc · 12-05-2020, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fallon97

I like the California years.

Maybe the idea of changing the setting was rooted in the post-World War Two trend of thousands of Americans moving to California because the economy was booming there and the weather was nicer. Two friends wanting to escape Milwaukee’s cold winters for a fresh start on the West Coast was a plausible scenario. But the idea of everyone else they knew moving with them was a stretch. Of course, the entire series was filmed in LA.

TVShowAddict · 12-05-2020, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andress_jade

I wasn't a big fan of the move to LA after season 5, but with that said I did enjoy the season 6 episodes. There were a few season 7 episodes that I liked but there were a lot of stinkers as well. I still haven't finished watching the season 7 episodes because there are just so many clunkers in that season. I hated that they had Laverne date a married man, or had her move out and live with a guy that just wanted to shack up and not marry or commit to her, and the one where Shirley gets stuck with the bank robber all day. I didn't find it funny at all, it was boring and stupid.

I don't know if I'm even going to watch the season 8 episodes after Shirley leaves. I love Laverne and Penny Marshall is awesome but the two of them together what made the show work and without Cindy Williams as Shirley, it's just not the same.

I do not blame Cynthia for leaving though, the producers demanded her to work on her due date and she refused so she left

TMC · 01-31-2023, 02:51 AM

James Burrows wrote in his memoir that Laverne and Shirley fell apart because Penny Marshall’s brother Garry got involved in the show and other relatives were on the writing staff and production and Cindy Williams felt that she didn’t have any input. Burrows wrote that the problems seemed insurmountable so he walked away. He also wrote that it was a big mistake and should’ve stuck around and supported her.

Cbalducc · 01-31-2023, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

James Burrows wrote in his memoir that Laverne and Shirley fell apart because Penny Marshall’s brother Garry got involved in the show and other relatives were on the writing staff and production and Cindy Williams felt that she didn’t have any input. Burrows wrote that the problems seemed insurmountable so he walked away. He also wrote that it was a big mistake and should’ve stuck around and supported her.

Of course Garry was involved. He was a co-creator and co-executive producer.

Dr. Thong · 02-01-2023, 08:26 PM

Both Penny and Cindy also had egos that needed to be massaged and I get why Cindy probably felt she was outnumbered by Marshalls on the set (Garry, Dad Tony and sister Ronny Hallin).

But the show was still solid when it was set in Milwaukee.

Having the show take place in LA changed everything. It lost some of that working class, mid-Western thing that it originally had and was never the same afterwards.

I am glad, however, that while L&S ended with a whimper creatively (Laverne without Shirley? I don't think so!), I'm glad Penny and Cindy reconciled in real life and were best friends til the end.

ansara1 · 03-07-2023, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

They were supposed to have stopped at the end of season 7, which is why Betty Garrett (Edna) signed on to do a traveling stage play. After she signed the deal, Penny & Cindy were convinced to come back for another season.

Looking back, they should have stopped after season 5 and never gone to California. The show worked better against the backdrop of a middle class midwestern town, IMO.

...but Betty Garrett (Edna) left after season 6. She missed the last two seasons.

Dr. Thong · 03-14-2023, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ansara1

...but Betty Garrett (Edna) left after season 6. She missed the last two seasons.

Admittedly, I haven't watched the show in a long time. So, did the Edna character leave Frank DeFazio in season 7 then? I always thought that seemed wrong and so downbeat that it happened that way.

They could have said she was out of town tending to her sick mother or something and had her come back for guest appearances as Betty Garrett's schedule allowed.

Then again, that whole show ended on a downbeat note and, as we all know, ran out of gas completely once Cindy Williams left the show.

Missygal21880 · 04-09-2023, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

Admittedly, I haven't watched the show in a long time. So, did the Edna character leave Frank DeFazio in season 7 then? I always thought that seemed wrong and so downbeat that it happened that way.

They could have said she was out of town tending to her sick mother or something and had her come back for guest appearances as Betty Garrett's schedule allowed.

Then again, that whole show ended on a downbeat note and, as we all know, ran out of gas completely once Cindy Williams left the show.

Edna wasn't officially written off until Season 8, during "Short on Time," where Frank explains that she's left him for a matador. During Season 7 she never appeared but got the "mentioned but always offscreen" treatment from characters, including Frank.

Dr. Thong · 04-11-2023, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Missygal21880

Edna wasn't officially written off until Season 8, during "Short on Time," where Frank explains that she's left him for a matador. During Season 7 she never appeared but got the "mentioned but always offscreen" treatment from characters, including Frank.

Thanks. I remembered it as being during season 8. It's too bad they didn't bring her back for occasional appearances. The only reason she left was because she was told season 6 was going to be it. Then, Penny and Cindy were enticed back for the 7th season, but Betty Garrett had signed on to do a play and she'd made a commitment to it.

Missygal21880 · 04-17-2023, 11:38 AM

You're welcome!

Yep, per Betty's interview with the television foundation, Cindy's grandmother came to her in a dream and told her to keep doing the show.

TMC · 04-18-2023, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mets82

You know I think about this from time to time. I thought the show wasn't the same when they moved to LA. I thought there apartment wasn't right and neither was there hangout, Cowboy Bill's. It just seemed everything was off when they moved to LA. I can't really put my finger on it. And as the show went on, the show declined. I'm just not really into the episodes from LA.

In interviews, both Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams say they argued against the plan to relocate the show’s setting to California but Garry Marshall insisted on it. He thought after five seasons, a change of location would breathe new life into the show.

Dr. Thong · 04-20-2023, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

In interviews, both Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams say they argued against the plan to relocate the show’s setting to California but Garry Marshall insisted on it. He thought after five seasons, a change of location would breathe new life into the show.

IMO, it did just the opposite.

it changed the show -- not for the better -- and was the beginning of the end. Within two years, Cindy would be gone and the show just limped to the finish line creatively. Even Michael McKean didn't stay til the end, leaving somewhere during that 8th and final season. Laverne without Shirley, meet Squiggy without Lenny.

It was so bad that when ABC offered Penny one more season, she turned it down and moved on to her directing career.

01-31-2023, 02:51 AM	#36
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,927	James Burrows wrote in his memoir that Laverne and Shirley fell apart because Penny Marshall’s brother Garry got involved in the show and other relatives were on the writing staff and production and Cindy Williams felt that she didn’t have any input. Burrows wrote that the problems seemed insurmountable so he walked away. He also wrote that it was a big mistake and should’ve stuck around and supported her.

02-01-2023, 08:26 PM	#38
Dr. Thong a/k/a "ACK!" Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 10, 2001 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 5,546	Both Penny and Cindy also had egos that needed to be massaged and I get why Cindy probably felt she was outnumbered by Marshalls on the set (Garry, Dad Tony and sister Ronny Hallin). But the show was still solid when it was set in Milwaukee. Having the show take place in LA changed everything. It lost some of that working class, mid-Western thing that it originally had and was never the same afterwards. I am glad, however, that while L&S ended with a whimper creatively (Laverne without Shirley? I don't think so!), I'm glad Penny and Cindy reconciled in real life and were best friends til the end.

04-17-2023, 11:38 AM	#43
Missygal21880 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 03, 2002 Location: US Posts: 67	You're welcome! Yep, per Betty's interview with the television foundation, Cindy's grandmother came to her in a dream and told her to keep doing the show.