Did Kirk Cameron's acting abilities greatly deteriorate late in the show's run

[TMC]

I say this because I recently read a comment in this forum that he became very whiney sounding when he would say his lines in the last two seasons of the show. It was as if he was barely able to contain his anger towards the scripts and the writers.

[RetroGuy2000]

I never felt he was a great actor anyway. Compare his line delivery to Michael J. Fox's, on Family Ties. Two very similar shows, with similar roles as the oldest son. Fox won three Emmys for his role as Alex P Keaton. Kirk Cameron was never even nominated for an Emmy.

[Wawwie]

Originally Posted by TMC

he became very whiney sounding

He was always whiney. He sounded like a prepubescent girl with a hormone problem.

[icecream]

Enough of all your threads bashing Kirk Cameron already! We get it TMC, you hate him between this one, your ludicrous claim that he should have resigned, and needlessly bumping a thread that had been dead for 7 years to get more slams in on him. No he shouldn't have resigned, and no his acting abilities did not greatly deteriorate later in the show's run. The comment in this forum from another Kirk hate thread you started did not need spun off into its own thread here either. Haters back off!

[TMC]

Originally Posted by icecream

Enough of all your threads bashing Kirk Cameron already! We get it TMC, you hate him between this one, your ludicrous claim that he should have resigned, and needlessly bumping a thread that had been dead for 7 years to get more slams in on him. No he shouldn't have resigned, and no his acting abilities did not greatly deteriorate later in the show's run. The comment in this forum from another Kirk hate thread you started did not need spun off into its own thread here either. Haters back off!

Well, Kirk Cameron quite frankly, has given people a bunch of ammunition throughout the years to make people "want to hate him". I don't know why you're being so defensive of him when Kirk by most accounts, was a jerk on set during the last few years of Growing Pains.

[icecream]

Originally Posted by TMC

Well, Kirk Cameron quite frankly, has given people a bunch of ammunition throughout the years to make people "want to hate him". I don't know why you're being so defensive of him when Kirk by most accounts, was a jerk on set during the last few years of Growing Pains.

I don't care what a bunch of random sites that probably pay you to post their rhetoric say about him. Show boards here are for fans of the show, not someone relentlessly posting thread after thread of hate on an actor they can't stand. We get it, you hate Kirk Cameron. You've made your point, repeatedly pushing it on the Growing Pains fan board has gone too far. I am a fan of Kirk and so are several others. Endlessly bashing him here is not warranted, knock it off!

[Wawwie]

Personally, I enjoy TMC's threads about Kirk Cameron and how much of a douche he was and still is. Keep up the good work, TMC.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by icecream

I don't care what a bunch of random sites that probably pay you to post their retoric say about him. Show boards here are for fans of the show, not someone relentlessly posting thread after thread of hate on an actor they can't stand. We get it, you hate Kirk Cameron. You've made your point, repeatedly pushing it on the Growing Pains fan board has gone too far. I am a fan of Kirk and so are several others. Endlessly bashing him here is not warranted, knock it off!

And why are you ignoring Kirk's behavior when making Growing Pains? His behavior above all else, damaged the show. It's hard not to ignore or brush aside some of the things that he did:

Troubled Production: The series suffered through this after Kirk Cameron became a born-again Christian in the middle of Season 3. Immediately thereafter, he began alienating most of the cast and crew.

• Cameron got into frequent clashes with the writers for adding even the slightest bit of innuendo in the scripts, and many of the lines Cameron refused to say ended up being transferred to other cast members, primarily Jeremy Miller, who played Cameron's younger brother.
• Cameron also used his reputation as the de facto star as leverage to fire those he had issues with. Most notably, Cameron's mother, who was also his agent, pressured the producers to fire Julie McCullough, a former Playboy model from the show or else he wouldn't renew his contract. McCullough claims she was specifically targeted because of her Playboy past, though Cameron denied it. Finally, the producers had enough and demanded to ABC executives that they fire Cameron; the network refused and the producers quit.
• Eventually, Cameron cut all ties with his TV family; he refused to invite them to his wedding, and Tracey Gold refused to invite Cameron to hers, suspecting that Cameron wouldn't attend. It wasn't until the Growing Pains reunion movie in 2000 that he ended up making contact with them again, and owned up to his past behavior.

Wag the Director: After converting to Christianity, Kirk Cameron became a Moral Guardian and started forcing his views onto the production. He also was partially responsible for getting actor Julie McCullough fired from the show, which McCullough argued was because she posed for Playboy in the past (Cameron and the producers denied that was the reason), and at one point he called up then ABC Entertainment president Bob Iger and accused executive producers Dan Guntzelman, Mike Sullivan, and Steve Marshall of being pornographers (really).note The three men couldn't fire the guy, since it was his mug in all the teen magazines, so they simply quit the show. By the penultimate season, Cameron attempted to distance himself from the show; he did not invite his TV family to his wedding, and didn't make any further contact with them until the reunion special in 2000. Years later, Cameron admitted that his behavior was immature and inapproriate, and apologized to his former castmates.

It's also very irresponsible and ignorant to suggest that you can't still be a fan of a show without given forth any sort of remote criticism.

[icecream]

No his behavior did not damage the show. Final season is one of my favorites with Leo recurring. Kirk Cameron was a good actor the whole show. And it is total lies his haters make up about getting Julie fired. Did he approve of her lifestyle? No. But firing Julie was solely the producers' decision, not Kirk's. They never intended for Julie to be a permanent character, which they go on record for in his autobiography. He agonized about whether to invite the cast to his wedding but did not think they would want to. It was hardly refusing to invite them, not a decision he made lightly.

[Wawwie]

Kirk Cameron said that if any of his kids turned out to be gay, he would disown them.

World's #1 Dad!

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by icecream

it is total lies his haters make up about getting Julie fired.

Kirk Cameron didn't have any haters in 1989 when People Magazine reported that Kirk had stormed into the producers' office, demanding that the wedding between Mike and Julie be called off.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by icecream

No his behavior did not damage the show. Final season is one of my favorites with Leo recurring. Kirk Cameron was a good actor the whole show. And it is total lies his haters make up about getting Julie fired. Did he approve of her lifestyle? No. But firing Julie was solely the producers' decision, not Kirk's. They never intended for Julie to be a permanent character, which they go on record for in his autobiography. He agonized about whether to invite the cast to his wedding but did not think they would want to. It was hardly refusing to invite them, not a decision he made lightly.

The issue that I have and I'm sure others have with Kirk Cameron is that there's a time and a place to proselytize. Doing that at your place of work in my estimation, isn't one of those places. If Kirk couldn't separate and segregate his obligations as an entertainer/actor with his faith, then he needed to find another place of occupation. Kirk's sister Candace is also very open about her faith but unlike "big brother" Kirk, she knows when to keep her mouth shut and to play nice with others.

[king of comedy]

Originally Posted by Wawwie

He was always whiney. He sounded like a prepubescent girl with a hormone problem.

LOL! True and Michael J. Fox had more range.

[Novera]

Originally Posted by Wawwie

He was always whiney. He sounded like a prepubescent girl with a hormone problem.

I just watched a few scenes from the earlier seasons and you're right, he did whine a lot especially when arguing with the parents. It just feels more pronounced in the last 2 seasons, but maybe I only perceive it that knowing what was happening behind the scenes.

I also noticed Ben and Carol started doing it as well in the middle seasons, possibly trying to mimic Kirk since he was a big star of the show who's getting lots of laughs on his delivery. Maybe the producers asked them to do it though, like "hey when he whines during an argument the audience loves it"

[paul.austin]

Originally Posted by Wawwie

He was always whiney. He sounded like a prepubescent girl with a hormone problem.

Shame we can't get hold of the TARDIS and also something from the Spells 'R' Us wizard from the early 1990s WWW magic transformation fic universe. I'd like to see how Kirk would cope with - well a drastic change in his age and sex - think JonBenet only the new female toddler Kirk is physically so pretty/beautiful that she'd win Little Miss Cutie Queen in all 50 states even *without* wigs etc.