Valerie Harper and/or Sandy Duncan?

[Movie12]

Who did you prefer playing on Valerie / Valerie's Family / The Hogan Family, Valerie Harper and/or Sandy Duncan? I actually prefer both Valerie Harper and Sandy Duncan. They are both great actresses and they both did a great job playing on Valerie / Valerie's Family / The Hogan Family. I hope someday they have a Valerie / Valerie's Family / The Hogan Family reunion special with all the cast and also have both Valerie Harper and Sandy Duncan there.

[Edster2973]

Originally Posted by Movie12

Who did you prefer playing on Valerie / Valerie's Family / The Hogan Family, Valerie Harper and/or Sandy Duncan?

Valerie Harper, hands down. I just can't reconcile that Valerie Hogan had to die in order to bring Sandy on. It isn't right, and the way the family acted about it made it even worse.

Valerie all the way!!!

Ed

[Scoobiedoo30]

Valerie Harper

[80sTrivia]

I did like them both, but I think I would have to chose Valerie; I felt bad for her when she was canned from the show...

[Ryan Jones]

I rule in favor of the great Valerie Harper. Hands down over Sandy Duncan.
I never call the show "The Hogan Family" always "Valerie". The series was made for her!! No one else. Valerie Harper is the star!!!!
They should have given her the money that she wanted. She did get a lot in court. Good for her! How dare they take Valerie out of "Valerie". I like Sandy Duncan, but nothing compared to Valerie Harper! Sandy Duncan was just a co-star on "Valerie" to me, nothing more. Every cast member was Valerie's co-stars. Valerie Harper is amazing!!!

[Brian Damage]

Valerie Harper

[Buffyboy323]

Sandy. She's funny, and has great chemistry with the cast. I like her character better than Valerie. And I think the show got better when she came on.

[boechsner]

Valerie, all the way.

The first two seasons are the best. Valerie had great chemistry with Josh Taylor and in my opinion, she was the BEST TV mother of the 80s.

[mstewart]

Originally Posted by boechsner

Valerie, all the way.

The first two seasons are the best. Valerie had great chemistry with Josh Taylor and in my opinion, she was the BEST TV mother of the 80s.

I agreed wholeheartedly. I did like the chemistry with her and Josh Taylor and it was much better than the chemistry with her and David Groh on Rhoda. They were not compatible.

Valerie's sarcasm and edge was hilarious. Her last episode with Skip, Mike's friend, she was hilarious. I was screaming out loud because the episode was funny. A lot of Rhodaisms came out in her interaction with Skip. It had some bits of Rhoda and Phyllis.

The storylines with Valerie Harper had much substance than the one's with Sandy Duncan. Sandy Duncan is a good actress but her style of comedy is much different than Valerie Harper's. Unfortunately, Sandy was put in a situation where the lead actress was fired plus she was well loved by the cast and audience. The storylines with Sandy Duncan was hit and miss.

[Edster2973]

Originally Posted by mstewart

Valerie's sarcasm and edge was hilarious. Her last episode with Skip, Mike's friend, she was hilarious. I was screaming out loud because the episode was funny. A lot of Rhodaisms came out in her interaction with Skip. It had some bits of Rhoda and Phyllis.

The storylines with Valerie Harper had much substance than the one's with Sandy Duncan. Sandy Duncan is a good actress but her style of comedy is much different than Valerie Harper's. Unfortunately, Sandy was put in a situation where the lead actress was fired plus she was well loved by the cast and audience. The storylines with Sandy Duncan was hit and miss.

I couldn't agree more. The thing is, I think those of us who prefer the Valerie era recognize that the problem wasn't Sandy Duncan but the writing itself. Every character and their personalities became more of a stretch and wasn't in tune with what went on before, and I don't mean just the lack of mourning for the passing of Valerie Hogan.

The episodes were still funny, make no mistake about it, but it was less adult and mature. It's like the show went into another universe where the characters became more stereotypical and cartoonish. It was still well-acted; the cast was brilliant, but the material was sub-standard for the better part of it. I loved the episode where Mark was stuck in the chimney and David stole the school mascot (a wolverine). It was funny as heck but it was still not realistic. If these episodes had starred Valerie Harper instead of Sandy Duncan, I'd still feel that way. It was just sillier and sure as heck was NOT an improvement.

The Valerie episodes overall were a lot better written...


Ed

[boechsner]

Originally Posted by Edster2973

I couldn't agree more. The thing is, I think those of us who prefer the Valerie era recognize that the problem wasn't Sandy Duncan but the writing itself. Every character and their personalities became more of a stretch and wasn't in tune with what went on before, and I don't mean just the lack of mourning for the passing of Valerie Hogan.

The episodes were still funny, make no mistake about it, but it was less adult and mature. It's like the show went into another universe where the characters became more stereotypical and cartoonish. It was still well-acted; the cast was brilliant, but the material was sub-standard for the better part of it. I loved the episode where Mark was stuck in the chimney and David stole the school mascot (a wolverine). It was funny as heck but it was still not realistic. If these episodes had starred Valerie Harper instead of Sandy Duncan, I'd still feel that way. It was just sillier and sure as heck was NOT an improvement.

The Valerie episodes overall were a lot better written...


Ed

I agree. Don't get me wrong, I like Sandy and it must have been so hard for Sandy Duncan those first couple of days on the set for her. The fact is, Valerie was the mom for these boys. She was much more strict with them than Sandy is. I mean, come on, Valerie would have had a totally different reaction to David's gambling than Sandy. I think the fact that Sandy was the aunt and not the mom, really showed in the writing. I think the writing shows that a mom commands much more respect than an aunt.

[88survivor]

Which reminds me, when are they releasing Valarie/The Hogan Family on DVD? Deserves DVD treatment, I believe.

[Edster2973]

Originally Posted by 88survivor

Which reminds me, when are they releasing Valarie/The Hogan Family on DVD? Deserves DVD treatment, I believe.

Couldn't agree more, but let's face it, the show is hardly remembered. It's considered too ordinary and sub-par for the general buying public to take it seriously. It's regarded as a clone of Family Matters, Step By Step and Two of a Kind and so it's unlikely it will be seen on DVD unless there's a huge demand for it. Even the show Step By Step (which recycled some of the post-Valerie scripts from The Hogan Family) has been released but only as a "best-of" set because of how small they anticipate the demand for the show is. Stinks, doesn't it?

I'd consider registering on www.tvshowsondvd.com and voting for it. I don't know what else to do to try to convince the-powers-that-be that there is healthy demand for the show. But the fact that it was culled from its first time-slot on The Family Channel doesn't help our cause. It may be doing fine in its new timeslot, but I doubt the ratings are stellar.

This will require some work...


Ed

[88survivor]

Biscuit in a barrel!

I can't believe it.
And it had a beautiful theme song, sung by Roberta Flack. Step By Step, day by day.....such a sweet insanity. I love that song. That should be played at family reunions.

[mstewart]

Originally Posted by Edster2973

I couldn't agree more. The thing is, I think those of us who prefer the Valerie era recognize that the problem wasn't Sandy Duncan but the writing itself. Every character and their personalities became more of a stretch and wasn't in tune with what went on before, and I don't mean just the lack of mourning for the passing of Valerie Hogan.

The episodes were still funny, make no mistake about it, but it was less adult and mature. It's like the show went into another universe where the characters became more stereotypical and cartoonish. It was still well-acted; the cast was brilliant, but the material was sub-standard for the better part of it. I loved the episode where Mark was stuck in the chimney and David stole the school mascot (a wolverine). It was funny as heck but it was still not realistic. If these episodes had starred Valerie Harper instead of Sandy Duncan, I'd still feel that way. It was just sillier and sure as heck was NOT an improvement.

The Valerie episodes overall were a lot better written...


Ed

The Valerie episodes was good and had substance. They were entertaining. With Valerie Harper coming off MTM she understood comedy being funny without being silly and unrealistic. Some episodes with Sandy Duncan were unrealistic and silly. David stealing the mascot reminded me too much of the Brady Bunch when Greg stole the school mascot, goat, and hid in his bedroom. I found that storyline watching it as an older person quite silly.