Is Tony Singletary most to blame for the decline in quality in the last two seasons

[TMC]

I hate to single one person out, but I addressed in the past that Seasons 7-8, the last two seasons, seem to by consensus, be the worst seasons of Who's the Boss? This coincided with Tony Singletary replacing Asaad Kelada as the primary director.

Once Singletary came on board, it really felt like the show became more rushed, cartoonish, and farcical but without much of the heart as seen in the previous seasons. There was seemingly, a greater emphasis on wacky slapstick to put it in another way. Of course, it's hard to lay blame on Singletary for other questionable storyline choices and plot developments like having Billy join the cast or marrying Samantha off to some random guy in the final few episodes.

For the record, here is a list of the writers who contributed to the final two seasons:

• Dawn Aldredge and Mona Marshall
  
• Richard Albrecht and Casey Keller
  
• Gene Braunstein
  
• Phil Doran
  
• Mark Fink
  
• Clay Graham
  
• Neil Lebowitz
  
• David Lesser
  
• Daniel Palladino
  
• Bob Rosenfarb
  
• Michael Teverbaugh and Linda Va Salle
  
• Barry Vigon and Deborah Leschin
  
• Michele J. Wolff

[TMC]

Looking over the credits on IMDb again, I wonder if Bob Rosenfarb, Gene Braunstein, Phil Doran, and/or Clay Graham should also get a lion's share of the blame for the direction that the show took in its final years.

These are their credits in case you're wondering:

• Bob Rosenfarb ... supervising producer / producer (50 episodes, 1990-1992)
• Gene Braunstein ... co-producer / producer (49 episodes, 1990-1992)
• Phil Doran ... co-executive producer (49 episodes, 1990-1992)
• Clay Graham ... supervising producer / producer (49 episodes, 1990-1992)

[TMC]

The Jeffersons is arguably one good example of how much a change in your director could make or break you. In this case, the episodes after Jack Shea stopped directing for the series, so sometime after Season 5.

[stevea]

Bob Lally directed seasons 6 thru 9 of The Jeffersons. Singletary directed 4 episodes in season 10. Most of the rest of seasons 10 and 11 were directed by Oz Scott.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

Looking over the credits on IMDb again, I wonder if Bob Rosenfarb, Gene Braunstein, Phil Doran, and/or Clay Graham should also get a lion's share of the blame for the direction that the show took in its final years.

These are their credits in case you're wondering:

• Bob Rosenfarb ... supervising producer / producer (50 episodes, 1990-1992)
• Gene Braunstein ... co-producer / producer (49 episodes, 1990-1992)
• Phil Doran ... co-executive producer (49 episodes, 1990-1992)
• Clay Graham ... supervising producer / producer (49 episodes, 1990-1992)

I thought that it was just my imagination, but others have even pointed out in the comments section here, that the show became a farce in Seasons 7-8. And much of it could likely be attributed to a change in the writing and directing staff.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by stevea

Bob Lally directed seasons 6 thru 9 of The Jeffersons. Singletary directed 4 episodes in season 10. Most of the rest of seasons 10 and 11 were directed by Oz Scott.

On a side note, here's an upcoming interview with Oz Scott, that will be available tomorrow (February 9).

It appears that a well or better directed sitcom should actually have context to it instead of simply revolving around that setup, punch-line type of humor.

[Krista2882]

Originally Posted by TMC

I hate to single one person out, but I addressed in the past that Seasons 7-8, the last two seasons, seem to by consensus, be the worst seasons of Who's the Boss? This coincided with Tony Singletary replacing Asaad Kelada as the primary director.

Once Singletary came on board, it really felt like the show became more rushed, cartoonish, and farcical but without much of the heart as seen in the previous seasons. There was seemingly, a greater emphasis on wacky slapstick to put it in another way. Of course, it's hard to lay blame on Singletary for other questionable storyline choices and plot developments like having Billy join the cast or marrying Samantha off to some random guy in the final few episodes.

For the record, here is a list of the writers who contributed to the final two seasons:

• Dawn Aldredge and Mona Marshall
  
• Richard Albrecht and Casey Keller
  
• Gene Braunstein
  
• Phil Doran
  
• Mark Fink
  
• Clay Graham
  
• Neil Lebowitz
  
• David Lesser
  
• Daniel Palladino
  
• Bob Rosenfarb
  
• Michael Teverbaugh and Linda Va Salle
  
• Barry Vigon and Deborah Leschin
  
• Michele J. Wolff

I partially blame Daniel Palladino because in the year 2000 him and his wife co-created and produced Gilmore Girls, and they each wrote a lot of episodes. Daniel's episodes tended to be on the sillier side. They both also could not write relationships. They got Luke and Lorelai together and then broke them up over something stupid, and then made this crazy storyline where both characters behaved really OOC for almost a whole season. It eventually caused their breakup, and most fans hate that ridiculous storyline. It's like they were allergic to getting their will-they-won't-they couples together and didn't know how to write it when they did.

But also yeah it's possible that Asaad Kelada leaving effected WTB a lot also. It would explain why Tony became like a caricature of himself in season 8 especially. Asaad Kelada had proven to be a good director. He joined The Facts of Life in season 2 and the show got a whole different vibe. The fact that they got rid of most of the characters from season 1 had something to do with it, too lol. But I think them bringing him on as the director helped that show a lot.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Krista2882

I partially blame Daniel Palladino because in the year 2000 him and his wife co-created and produced Gilmore Girls, and they each wrote a lot of episodes. Daniel's episodes tended to be on the sillier side. They both also could not write relationships. They got Luke and Lorelai together and then broke them up over something stupid, and then made this crazy storyline where both characters behaved really OOC for almost a whole season. It eventually caused their breakup, and most fans hate that ridiculous storyline. It's like they were allergic to getting their will-they-won't-they couples together and didn't know how to write it when they did.

But also yeah it's possible that Asaad Kelada leaving effected WTB a lot also. It would explain why Tony became like a caricature of himself in season 8 especially. Asaad Kelada had proven to be a good director. He joined The Facts of Life in season 2 and the show got a whole different vibe. The fact that they got rid of most of the characters from season 1 had something to do with it, too lol. But I think them bringing him on as the director helped that show a lot.

I briefly touched upon in a previous thread how a lot of the latter episodes (i.e. Seasons 7-8) had a decidedly broad and cartoonish element. I don't know exactly how much Daniel Palladino had to do with why these episodes turned out the way that they did. But in light of his recent passing, I'm reminded of another latter episode where Tony has a nightmare involving Sam being on The Phil Donahue Show, where she talks about a tell all book that she wrote about how much of an awful father Tony was. And they had to depict Sam as a something of a juvenile delinquent complete with the cigarette smoking and black leather jacket.