Danny Pintauro's acting skills in the later seasons

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by TMC

I kind of get why people think that Danny was the weak link on the show. It seemed like towards the end especially, he was merely around to remind viewers that Angela is somebody's mother and to provide Samantha with a pseudo little brother. Otherwise, it was kind of hard to figure out Danny's place on the show.

Tony and Angela's "will they/won't they" relationship was of course, the crux of Who's the Boss? So naturally, Danny as Jonathan was never always going to be the main focus. Danny also wasn't a teen idol or heartthrob like Alyssa Milano was. Let's be real here, Alyssa was the big draw for young viewers not Danny. And Danny didn't provide the much of the show's edge and comedic bite like Katherine Helmond did as his grandmother Mona.

I agree with everything you said. Danny was the cute, adorable kid who lit up the room with his charm and getting or saying the adult jokes. Once he grew up, that magic was gone and he turned into the clever few lines and disappear actor.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TVSCREEN2015

Danny Pintauro was by far the worst part of this show and the weak link of the cast. Such a terrible actor. Couldn't deliver a line if his life depended on it. It was as if somebody was holding giant cue cards behind the camera for him to read off of.

While I agree that Danny was with all due respect, the weak link of the cast, I wouldn't out and out say that he was a terrible actor, at least not initially. I think that in the early years of Who's the Boss? he fit the role fine enough as this sweet, naïve, nerdy little kid.

It seemed like the producers and writers weren't entirely sure what to do with his character once he reached puberty. Like I said before, all of the "good" teenager plots seemed to already be used for Sam. And it was just plain awkward to want to buy Danny as some girl-crazy little horndog when he quite frankly, didn't have the ability to convincingly pull it off.

And during the final season or two, it appeared that Jonathan as a character went from being depicted as like I said, a sweet and nerdy kid to a selfish and mean teenager and diva, who always said some dumb remark or put Sam down.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by TMC

While I agree that Danny was with all due respect, the weak link of the cast, I wouldn't out and out say that he was a terrible actor, at least not initially. I think that in the early years of Who's the Boss? he fit the role fine enough as this sweet, naïve, nerdy little kid.

It seemed like the producers and writers weren't entirely sure what to do with his character once he reached puberty. Like I said before, all of the "good" teenager plots seemed to already be used for Sam. And it was just plain awkward to want to buy Danny as some girl-crazy little horndog when he quite frankly, didn't have the ability to convincingly pull it off.

And during the final season or two, it appeared that Jonathan as a character went from being depicted as like I said, a sweet and nerdy kid to a selfish and mean teenager and diva, who always said some dumb remark or put Sam down.

I would not call the character nerdy. He was the cute kid who got jokes with being so young but engaging in adult humor. Thats sort of of the opposite of nerdy. His lines were far more grown up for his age. That was the schtick. I hate characters like that but its what we get in sitcoms. The kid on Family Ties, Little Earl on What's Happening, etc

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TVSCREEN2015

Danny Pintauro was by far the worst part of this show and the weak link of the cast. Such a terrible actor. Couldn't deliver a line if his life depended on it. It was as if somebody was holding giant cue cards behind the camera for him to read off of.

In the series finale, they had a scene where Tony is preparing to leave for his new life in Iowa and he and Jonathan have a little heart to heart talk. Jonathan tells Tony that he's always been like a dad to him.

For some reason, whenever I think of it, it sounds like of disingenuous hearing it out of Danny Pintauro's mouth at that point in time. I really don't know how to properly explain it other than it seemed like he was kind of unsure of himself (and thinking too much) in delivering that line of dialogue.

Plus, why did they have to have that type of scene to begin with? Of course, Tony stepped up and became kind of a father figure for Jonathan over the past eight years, but Jonathan if I'm not mistaken, always had a good relationship with his actual dad, Michael.

It isn't exactly the same as Sam's relationship with Angela, since Sam's real mom died when she was really young and therefore, Sam never really had a female role model (unless you count Mrs. Rossini) in her life.

It seemed like once Michael remarried they completely forgot that he ever existed and he was just living his own life in California.