Blonde Chrissy vs. redhead Chrissy?

[paul.austin]

What do you guys think of the SORAS?
I feel that they should have least tried to keep Chrissy a blonde rather than turn her into Raggedy Ann.

[Novera]

This always bothered me too, I assumed they wanted a red head to contrast from the blonde mother and brunette sister, but the orphan Annie look was too much. I couldn't stand the character (the actress wasn't the problem) and cringed on all of her "awww so cute" one liners they tried to shove down our throats.

[RetroGuy2000]

I have always had a problem with Rapid Aging Syndrome on TV, and feel like it's a disservice to the viewer. What's the point of showing a woman pregnant, giving birth, and then... the next season, the child is a five-year-old? If you wanted to introduce a five-year-old, why not have the parents adopt?

Maybe if they had eased her into the role, it would have been better. But instead, they went from her being a toddler with no lines to a... tap-dancing Shirley Temple. It was a shock to viewers. It wasn't Ashley Johnson's fault.

[Novera]

Yeah it seems to be so common in tv shows, I always felt like it was just their way to cram in as many "classic plot points" as possible. In all of these shows you have the usual plot devices:

-Wife realises she's pregnant "how will I tell [husband]" + convos with friends
-Wife is usually in 40s so you have the "maybe its menopause" moment
-Tell the husband, "You're p-p-p-preeeegnant?" + commercial break
-Tell the kids "ewww!" + "I'm NOT changing any diapers" + "why didn't you ask us"
-Mood swing jokes
-Going into labour at the worst possible time (in a car, elevator etc.)
-Touching moment with the new born
-Baby problems like crying all night, no one wants to change diapers, baby mix ups

So at this point I think they jump to a 5 year old because toddlers must be really hard to work with (since they don't know or want to be on a sound stage) along with labour laws. So it's better for the writers to just make them be 5 and now they can have their catchy one liners etc.

I can only think of one show that actually used the same baby and have them be on the show with no cast changes (Full house)!

I think they avoid the adoption/kid out of nowhere story line as it usually doesn't work:

-Cousin Oliver on Brady Bunch
-Luke on Growing Pains
-Billy on Who's the boss
-Cousin pam on Cosby show (although she was a teen)

Also "tap dancing Shirley Temple" made me laugh because that was EXACTLY how she played that role! Everything was over the top theatre style delivery, projecting across the universe.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Novera

Yeah it seems to be so common in tv shows, I always felt like it was just their way to cram in as many "classic plot points" as possible. In all of these shows you have the usual plot devices:

-Wife realises she's pregnant "how will I tell [husband]" + convos with friends
-Wife is usually in 40s so you have the "maybe its menopause" moment
-Tell the husband, "You're p-p-p-preeeegnant?" + commercial break
-Tell the kids "ewww!" + "I'm NOT changing any diapers" + "why didn't you ask us"
-Mood swing jokes
-Going into labour at the worst possible time (in a car, elevator etc.)
-Touching moment with the new born
-Baby problems like crying all night, no one wants to change diapers, baby mix ups

Great list! And very accurate. The only items I'd add are:

-Lamaze class where the father proves to be completely clueless
-Decision on what to name the baby is complicated because everyone campaigns for his/her own choice. Eventually, they settle on a name that is a plot point in the episode.

So at this point I think they jump to a 5 year old because toddlers must be really hard to work with (since they don't know or want to be on a sound stage) along with labour laws. So it's better for the writers to just make them be 5 and now they can have their catchy one liners etc.

I can only think of one show that actually used the same baby and have them be on the show with no cast changes (Full house)!

I think they avoid the adoption/kid out of nowhere story line as it usually doesn't work:

-Cousin Oliver on Brady Bunch
-Luke on Growing Pains
-Billy on Who's the boss
-Cousin pam on Cosby show (although she was a teen)

Also "tap dancing Shirley Temple" made me laugh because that was EXACTLY how she played that roll! Everything was over the top theatre style delivery, projecting across the universe.

Thank you. I don't believe Ashley Johnson is at fault for playing the character that way: it's clear that's what the producers wanted, or they wouldn't have gone for the "cute" factor. But they loved that shrill, over-the-top, loudly projecting interpretation. In retrospect, a more subtle approach might have been better.

[Novera]

OMG YES the lamaze class is a really good one, I can't believe I didn't think of it. You are spot on with the clueless dad part. I'd also like to add "son steps in for dad and he meets a single mother he starts dating" or "teacher mistakes son for husband and they both go EWW NO!"

Re: Ashley, yeah you can tell it was the writers/producers pushing her to act that way, because they clearly had a specific look and attitude they wanted her to protray. I remember seeing her years later in What Women Want (as a teenager) and I thought she did such a great job playing a normal/REAL teenager.

[paul.austin]

Ashley Johnson was a couple of years older than five when she started playing Chrissy and it can't have been easy on her having to be on national tv as a kinder student when she was in third grade.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by paul.austin

Ashley Johnson was a couple of years older than five when she started playing Chrissy and it can't have been easy on her having to be on national tv as a kinder student when she was in third grade.

Wait... she was a third-grader!?

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Novera

OMG YES the lamaze class is a really good one, I can't believe I didn't think of it. You are spot on with the clueless dad part. I'd also like to add "son steps in for dad and he meets a single mother he starts dating" or "teacher mistakes son for husband and they both go EWW NO!"

Haha! Yep!

Re: Ashley, yeah you can tell it was the writers/producers pushing her to act that way, because they clearly had a specific look and attitude they wanted her to protray. I remember seeing her years later in What Women Want (as a teenager) and I thought she did such a great job playing a normal/REAL teenager.

I haven't seen that one.

[paul.austin]

Yeah, going from a blonde “Chrissy went poo-poo, Chrissy went poo-poo” toddler to a red haired poor mans Michelle Tanner was enough of a shock that poor Ashley Johnson got a lot of heat and some of the letters…

[TVSCREEN2015]

I'm watching Season 6 on RewindTV and aging up Chrissy was a big mistake. I couldn't stand that kid with that nasally shrill voices, orphan Annie hair, and rehearsed cutesy over the top sassy one liners. Ashley Johnson is overly precious and smart alecky cutesy I wanna vomit. Her character served no purpose other to be "look at how cute i am".

Chrissy's character was unnecessary to begin with.

[paul.austin]

Chrissy wouldn't last ten seconds if she met the newspaper comic character Little Orphan Annie. Annie is tough and has street smarts.

[Wawwie]

Originally Posted by Novera

I'd also like to add "son steps in for dad and he meets a single mother he starts dating" or "teacher mistakes son for husband and they both go EWW NO!"

Alex P. Keaton when he escorted mom, Elyse to Lamaze on Family Ties.
Also, Will on Fresh Prince when he accompanied Aunt Viv to Lamaze.

Very typical.

[paul.austin]

looking at adult Ashley Johnson, whoever made her younger self have that stupid Little Orphan Annie curls and color - Ashley is a very beautiful woman and no doubt would have been a beautiful kid on GP. Had the producers straightened her hair and chosen a different color back in the day, many mothers watching - and their young daughters - would have written in supporting her - instead of writing her off.:

[autbey]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W60hc1rtCYI