If There Was A Proper Send Off To 'Diff'rent Strokes'.....

[DJM77]

What was the last episode that Charlene appeared in? I think she had been out of the picture for several years by the time Diff'rent Strokes ended.

[hch]

Originally Posted by DJM77

What was the last episode that Charlene appeared in? I think she had been out of the picture for several years by the time Diff'rent Strokes ended.

Charlene (Janet Jackson) last appeared in "The Houseguest", Season 06, episode 22, aired May 05, 1984.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by DJM77

What was the last episode that Charlene appeared in? I think she had been out of the picture for several years by the time Diff'rent Strokes ended.

Exactly, her and willis went separate ways which is the norm for teens

It was nice to see Mrs. garrett return for Mr. Drummond's wedding

[Johnny be good!]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Exactly, her and willis went separate ways which is the norm for teens

It was nice to see Mrs. garrett return for Mr. Drummond's wedding

It would have made it even better to have the girls with Edna as well.

[Wildchats]

Originally Posted by Johnny be good!

It would have made it even better to have the girls with Edna as well.

You have to all remember, Arnold was only finishing up his freshman year of high school and Willis was finishing up his freshman year of college. No way would they age them several years if they did a send off in season 8, unless it was a time jump to show what became of them.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by James28

Diff'rent Strokes did not get a proper series finale because it was cancelled after a short 19-episodes 8th season.

But what if DS did have a proper send-off episode? One can either extend Season 8 by 3 to 5 episodes (thereby making it 22 or 24 like a few of the other seasons and the final number of episodes would be 194) or there can be a ninth and final season during 1986-87 with either 22 episodes (a full season) or 14 episodes (a half season). Also, would the series finale be a regular 30-minute episode or a two-part episode?

There are three options:

* Extend 8th season by 3 to 5 episodes with finale at the end.
* Extend 8th season by 3 episodes and half 9th season of 14 episodes w/ finale.
* Extend 8th season by 3 episodes and full 9th season of 22 episodes w/ finale.

Perhaps a 9th season is probably a bad idea.

I was recently watching Todd Bridges' interview on Vlad TV:


He says that Diff'rent Strokes could've in theory, lasted at least 10 seasons. I mean, its spin-off, The Facts of Life had I believe nine seasons, before itself ending in 1988. So what's not to say that Diff'rent Strokes could've lasted into 1988 as well?

Anyway, according to Todd, Diff'rent Strokes was still a top rated show when NBC first canceled it in 1985. What happened was that NBC was fed up with Gary Coleman's parents demanding more and more money. Bare in mind, that Gary was already making top dollar on Diff'rent Strokes, more than anybody else on there. Plus, by that point, they had The Cosby Show, so there was a general feeling that they really didn't need Diff'rent Strokes anymore regardless.

Shortly after ABC picked the program up for the 1985-86 season, Gary's parents kept doing the same thing and of course, ABC quickly got tired of dealing with them as well.

[hch]

You hit the nail on the head regarding the "behind-the-scenes" drama. It’s wild to think that Diff'rent Strokes—a show built on the idea of a stable family—was actually undone by real-life family greed and network politics.

Todd Bridges is right that the ratings were still decent, but by 1985, the "math" stopped working for the networks for two big reasons:

The "Cosby" Effect: When The Cosby Show debuted in 1984, it completely changed the landscape of Black sitcoms. It was sophisticated, high-budget, and a massive hit. NBC felt Diff'rent Strokes suddenly looked "dated" and "gimmicky" by comparison. They didn't need the headache of the Colemans when they had the Huxtables.

The Salary Wars: Gary Coleman was famously making around $70,000 per episode (an insane amount for the early '80s). His parents and agents constantly playing hardball with NBC and then ABC turned the show into a "liability" rather than an asset. Both networks eventually decided the backstage stress wasn't worth the shrinking profit margins.

It’s a shame because a 10th season in 1988 could have given the show a proper series finale. Instead, it just sort of vanished after moving to ABC, leaving fans without any real closure for Arnold and Willis as adults