Why did Sam want to marry Hank so badly in the first place - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 04-19-2022, 03:34 AM

One of the biggest mistakes I feel that Who's the Boss? made in its later years, was marrying Samantha off. I don't understand why the producers felt that they had go that route other than to appease the network. As the story goes, ABC would only greenlight an eighth season on the condition that Tony and Angela got married.

Tony Danza didn't want his character to marry Angela because he felt that it wasn't what Who's the Boss? should be about. Also, the producers were worried that having Tony and Angela get married at the end would hurt the show's syndication value. So that's essentially why, we got a bait and switch with Sam getting married instead.

This still doesn't explain within the context of the storyline, why Sam was in such an urgency to get married. To put things into perspective, Sam had only known and dated Hank for a couple of months. And Hank's character was only introduced about four episodes prior to them getting married. In comparison, Tony and Angela had known each other for seven and a half years before even contemplating marriage.

And Angela herself, got married to her college sweetheart (not Michael, Jonathan's father, but Brian Thomas) when she was still really young. It's kind of surprising that Angela didn't remind Sam about the risks of impulsively getting married at a decidedly immature time in your life.

We don't know anything about Hank or if he's truly good marriage material for Sam. At first, it appears that Tony likes Hank because he thinks that as a premed doctor, Sam is actually dating somebody who is "legit". But then the truth comes out that he only studied to be a doctor to appease his father and really wants to be a puppeteer.

All that we're told is that Sam loves Hank and that's it. It would probably make more sense if Sam wanted to get married as a means of escaping her overprotective dad, Tony's control. Or if Sam found out that she was pregnant with Hank's baby (although I doubt the show would actually go to than extreme) and held a shotgun wedding.

The point is that, why did Sam feel the need to elope instead of taking her time? It just made her come across as completely arrogant and reckless. It just felt like Sam did it to spite Tony because she believed that she didn't have to adhere to his rules and guidance anymore.

So when Sam and Hank actually do get married, it doesn't appear that any of them have a real job. Hank's own parents were supporting him financially through his education and I would naturally assume that Tony and Angela were supporting Sam through college also. In fact, Hank's parents were initially cool with their son marrying Sam since Hank was not only studying to be a doctor (or so they thought) but because they themselves got married when they were only 20.

I don't get what type of logic Mr. and Mrs. Thomopolous are going with. Why are they fine with their son suddenly marrying a girl that he has only known for a few months when both Hank and Sam are still barely out of high school? Even if Hank was still studying to become a doctor, that doesn't overlook the fact and revelation that as husband and wife, Sam and Hank can't stay in their individual dorms anymore. And I believe that we're told that the dorms for married couples are unavailable.

So basically, Sam and Hank continue to freeload and be codependent on their folks (and yes, I consider Angela to in essence, be Samantha's mom in this scenario). What exactly did the two of them plan to do with their lives immediately following their honeymoon? I mean, they don't have an actual place to stay (Sam would be fooling herself if she thinks that she as a married woman, can continue to live with her dad and Angela) and like I said, they don't appear to have actual jobs.

I said recently that Boy Meets World seemed to handle the "young love, young marriage" angle better and more realistically than Who's the Boss? did. When Cory and Topanga got married while they were barely 19 years old and barely into college, Cory's dad Alan put his foot down. He said that if you're going to be married than you can no longer live in his house or expect him to financially support you.

Tony even kept trying to get into Sam's head that she's too young and immature to get married but instead of hearing what he has to say, Sam makes it look like Tony is being meddlesome and not willing to "let go" of his little girl. So of course, Tony is seen as the villain in all of this, when Tony like I'm sure many viewers, are wondering why Sam so desperately wants to marry this dork that we hardly know.

And unlike on Boy Meets World with Cory and Topanga's marriage, there was never any emotional investment behind Sam's marriage, because like I said, the whole build up to that felt rushed. And Sam's character for the remainder of the series became handcuffed because her husband is essentially a third-wheeler. You could've easily written Hank out and the episodes would've more or less, been the same.

TMC · 06-12-2022, 06:30 AM

Hank as a character, almost seemed more like an extension of sorts of Sam, who was just "there" in those last few episodes. I think that had they gotten a better, less awkward, more charismatic and talented actor for the role and the writing didn't seem so haphazard and rushed, Hank could've stood out on his own a bit better.

TMC · 09-27-2023, 01:13 AM

Come to think of it, I'm kind of intrigued by the idea of having Sam get married because Hank impregnated her and thus, they have to have a "shotgun wedding". Granted, I don't know if Alyssa Milano would've been so willing to go along with that angle. And the idea of having an unwed mother let alone still teenaged mother on prime time TV was still considered "out there" in 1992. So I doubt that the producers would be so willing to take that risk anyway.

But still, when you really get down to it, what was the point of having Sam get married to really, some random guy? Like I said before, there's no real emotional investment because we as an audience don't really know Hank or the full extent of his relationship with Sam. So what was having them get married going to solve in the long term? Again like I said, I don't think that Hank is really that interesting of a character independent of Sam.

TMC · 02-17-2026, 01:45 AM

As others have said, it just seemed so out of character for Sam to randomly marry a guy like Hank, who wasn't even particularly appealing anyway. The Samantha Micelli that we always knew would've more than likely, have married someone who was actually cool and successful. She for damn sure, wouldn't have wound up marrying a geeky guy who had a puppet of her father. The bottom-line is that the choice of Hank for her husband just made no sense. It really just felt like they quickly wrote the wedding and cast whomever in a week.

04-19-2022, 03:34 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,539	Why did Sam want to marry Hank so badly in the first place One of the biggest mistakes I feel that Who's the Boss? made in its later years, was marrying Samantha off. I don't understand why the producers felt that they had go that route other than to appease the network. As the story goes, ABC would only greenlight an eighth season on the condition that Tony and Angela got married. Tony Danza didn't want his character to marry Angela because he felt that it wasn't what Who's the Boss? should be about. Also, the producers were worried that having Tony and Angela get married at the end would hurt the show's syndication value. So that's essentially why, we got a bait and switch with Sam getting married instead. This still doesn't explain within the context of the storyline, why Sam was in such an urgency to get married. To put things into perspective, Sam had only known and dated Hank for a couple of months. And Hank's character was only introduced about four episodes prior to them getting married. In comparison, Tony and Angela had known each other for seven and a half years before even contemplating marriage. And Angela herself, got married to her college sweetheart (not Michael, Jonathan's father, but Brian Thomas) when she was still really young. It's kind of surprising that Angela didn't remind Sam about the risks of impulsively getting married at a decidedly immature time in your life. We don't know anything about Hank or if he's truly good marriage material for Sam. At first, it appears that Tony likes Hank because he thinks that as a premed doctor, Sam is actually dating somebody who is "legit". But then the truth comes out that he only studied to be a doctor to appease his father and really wants to be a puppeteer. All that we're told is that Sam loves Hank and that's it. It would probably make more sense if Sam wanted to get married as a means of escaping her overprotective dad, Tony's control. Or if Sam found out that she was pregnant with Hank's baby (although I doubt the show would actually go to than extreme) and held a shotgun wedding. The point is that, why did Sam feel the need to elope instead of taking her time? It just made her come across as completely arrogant and reckless. It just felt like Sam did it to spite Tony because she believed that she didn't have to adhere to his rules and guidance anymore. So when Sam and Hank actually do get married, it doesn't appear that any of them have a real job. Hank's own parents were supporting him financially through his education and I would naturally assume that Tony and Angela were supporting Sam through college also. In fact, Hank's parents were initially cool with their son marrying Sam since Hank was not only studying to be a doctor (or so they thought) but because they themselves got married when they were only 20. I don't get what type of logic Mr. and Mrs. Thomopolous are going with. Why are they fine with their son suddenly marrying a girl that he has only known for a few months when both Hank and Sam are still barely out of high school? Even if Hank was still studying to become a doctor, that doesn't overlook the fact and revelation that as husband and wife, Sam and Hank can't stay in their individual dorms anymore. And I believe that we're told that the dorms for married couples are unavailable. So basically, Sam and Hank continue to freeload and be codependent on their folks (and yes, I consider Angela to in essence, be Samantha's mom in this scenario). What exactly did the two of them plan to do with their lives immediately following their honeymoon? I mean, they don't have an actual place to stay (Sam would be fooling herself if she thinks that she as a married woman, can continue to live with her dad and Angela) and like I said, they don't appear to have actual jobs. I said recently that Boy Meets World seemed to handle the "young love, young marriage" angle better and more realistically than Who's the Boss? did. When Cory and Topanga got married while they were barely 19 years old and barely into college, Cory's dad Alan put his foot down. He said that if you're going to be married than you can no longer live in his house or expect him to financially support you. Tony even kept trying to get into Sam's head that she's too young and immature to get married but instead of hearing what he has to say, Sam makes it look like Tony is being meddlesome and not willing to "let go" of his little girl. So of course, Tony is seen as the villain in all of this, when Tony like I'm sure many viewers, are wondering why Sam so desperately wants to marry this dork that we hardly know. And unlike on Boy Meets World with Cory and Topanga's marriage, there was never any emotional investment behind Sam's marriage, because like I said, the whole build up to that felt rushed. And Sam's character for the remainder of the series became handcuffed because her husband is essentially a third-wheeler. You could've easily written Hank out and the episodes would've more or less, been the same.
	Last edited by TMC; 11-22-2023 at 05:08 AM.

09-27-2023, 01:13 AM	#3
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,539	Come to think of it, I'm kind of intrigued by the idea of having Sam get married because Hank impregnated her and thus, they have to have a "shotgun wedding". Granted, I don't know if Alyssa Milano would've been so willing to go along with that angle. And the idea of having an unwed mother let alone still teenaged mother on prime time TV was still considered "out there" in 1992. So I doubt that the producers would be so willing to take that risk anyway. But still, when you really get down to it, what was the point of having Sam get married to really, some random guy? Like I said before, there's no real emotional investment because we as an audience don't really know Hank or the full extent of his relationship with Sam. So what was having them get married going to solve in the long term? Again like I said, I don't think that Hank is really that interesting of a character independent of Sam.
	Last edited by TMC; 10-29-2023 at 01:17 AM.

06-12-2022, 06:30 AM	#2
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,539	Hank as a character, almost seemed more like an extension of sorts of Sam, who was just "there" in those last few episodes. I think that had they gotten a better, less awkward, more charismatic and talented actor for the role and the writing didn't seem so haphazard and rushed, Hank could've stood out on his own a bit better.

02-17-2026, 01:45 AM	#4
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,539	As others have said, it just seemed so out of character for Sam to randomly marry a guy like Hank, who wasn't even particularly appealing anyway. The Samantha Micelli that we always knew would've more than likely, have married someone who was actually cool and successful. She for damn sure, wouldn't have wound up marrying a geeky guy who had a puppet of her father. The bottom-line is that the choice of Hank for her husband just made no sense. It really just felt like they quickly wrote the wedding and cast whomever in a week.