When Valerie Left

Has anyone read about the cast's reaction when Valerie was fired? Do you think they were devastated?

Mocha79

[Madness]

Yeah, I think so. If I remember correctly, Willie was most upset. I like Valerie but I thought Sandy was better--although there were very good episodes when Valerie was around--and she had a lot of 'star power' I think. Sure, Sandy was popular but she didn't have the success Valerie did on television. But I thought Sandy was better, star power or not.

[TV Guy]

I remembered seeing an interview with Jason Bateman after the firing, and he said that he had no idea what happened with Valerie.

I think the show really went downhill after Valerie's departure. I understand that one of the big conflicts was that she wasn't happy with the scripts. To me, that fighting must have had some effect, because once she was gone, the scripts slipped to the level of the other shows that came out of the Miller-Boyett factory, like "Full House" and
"Step by Step".

And let face it, the whole thing seemed terribly convoluted with Sandy in there. I no longer seemed real, just another manufactured sitcom.

[Ed Viveiros]

Originally posted by TV Guy:
I remembered seeing an interview with Jason Bateman after the firing, and he said that he had no idea what happened with Valerie.

I think the show really went downhill after Valerie's departure. I understand that one of the big conflicts was that she wasn't happy with the scripts. To me, that fighting must have had some effect, because once she was gone, the scripts slipped to the level of the other shows that came out of the Miller-Boyett factory, like "Full House" and
"Step by Step".

And let face it, the whole thing seemed terribly convoluted with Sandy in there. I no longer seemed real, just another manufactured sitcom.

Ahhhh... FINALLY!!! Someone sees the light! TV Guy, I couldn't agree more with what you've just written. The show did lose more than just Valerie when they fired her.

For me, it seemed that the show lost some of its depth when Sandy came on. Nothing against Sandy though. She's a brilliant actress and I love her to death, but the writing (scripts, plots, whatever) seemed to be more silly than it was before.

I don't know if I'm making any sense here but I always found the show (in its VALERIE phase) to have a nice blend of humor, sophistication and wit, even if SEASON 1 of VALERIE was a tad too much on the 'cute' side. When Sandy was brought on, however, the writing seemed to regress to gags and silliness, making some of the comedy very predictable. It wasn't nearly as witty as when Valerie was on the show, indicating to me that she did have a role in what the shows were about.

Just don't think I'm anti-Sandy though. This is an opinion on the writing, not the acting. In fact, had the writing remained the same as it was during SEASON 2 of VALERIE, it would've been one hell of a show. Oh well... c'est la vie!

Ed

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Edward Viveiros, Jr.

I thought the show was equally as good with Sandy, but in a different way. She's amazing and can make any line funny! Valerie is also amazing. I could never choose who I like better. It's interesting to hear that Willie was the most upset about Valerie being fired. I remember being totally devastated (I was only around 8 years old at the time!). It must have been strange to lose Valerie so suddenly.

[Ed Viveiros]

Originally posted by Mocha79:
I thought the show was equally as good with Sandy, but in a different way. She's amazing and can make any line funny! Valerie is also amazing. I could never choose who I like better. It's interesting to hear that Willie was the most upset about Valerie being fired. I remember being totally devastated (I was only around 8 years old at the time!). It must have been strange to lose Valerie so suddenly.

Don't get me wrong pal. I too loved Sandy, and still do. My comments on the show when she came on have nothing to do with Sandy; it's a reflection on the writing at the time. I think Sandy deserved better scripts than what she was given. I'm not saying it was crap or anything, but it was a step down from the caliber of the "Valerie" scripts. Let's just say it wasn't an improvement.

Take for instance the episode where David gambles, going into debt. In the end Sandy bails him out, yells at him for a bit, then they make up and everything is hunky dorry. This is so unrealistic and typical of sitcoms, and a far cry from the previous season when Willie took family car out for a spin and crashed it. Valerie read him the riot act and the show ended with Willie having a rude awakening that there are serious consequences to his actions. You see what I mean? It just doesn't match up. And I don't blame Sandy for that at all. She's a great actress and her performance during that episode was excellent, but even she couldn't rise above an ordinary story. Hell, I'd say the same thing about Valerie if the situation were reversed.

I too was devastated when Val was fired. I was 14 years old at the time and "Valerie" was my favorite show. While most friends of mine got into soap operas (I did too for a bit. I was a fan of "All My Children" with Greg & Jenny), I latched onto "Valerie".

I'm not sure as to whether Danny Ponce (Willie) was the most upset, but according to an interview in PEOPLE MAGAZINE, Valerie had said that Danny Ponce was hysterical when he learned she was going to die on the show. Jason Bateman also reported that her firing was painful for him too. He called her his "second mom". If you want to read a little bit about his reaction, check out my site. I have a short article about Jason missing her. It's in the articles section.
http://www.angelfire.com/music2/ejsnet/

Take care!





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Edward Viveiros, Jr.

[Madness]

I thought I read on one of the articles here on Sitcoms Online about that(Willie being really upset). I might have misread it though.

[Ed Viveiros]

Originally posted by Madness:
I thought I read on one of the articles here on Sitcoms Online about that(Willie being really upset). I might have misread it though.

No you didn't. He really was upset about the whole thing. I was just pointing out that he wasn't the only one. Jason Bateman, for one, made public how painful it was to have lost her on the show. The only one I didn't hear a reaction on was Jeremy Licht, but one assumes that he felt the same way, since Jason remarked that the whole cast was shaken up about the whole thing, so that would include Josh Taylor & Edie McClurg as well...

Anyone have more info to add?




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Edward Viveiros, Jr.

I tried to read the articles on Sitcomes Online, but everytime I click on the link I end up on the site guide. Am I doing something wrong? Is there another place where I can read the articles about Valerie's firing and the cast's reactions? I read the articles on Ed's site, very interesting! Thanks!

[TJ]

You can access the articles either from the 'Links' section or the Valerie Harper section of the 'Biographies/Where are they now?' page.

You have to be on The Hogan Family Online page, you can't access them from the main Sitcoms Online site.

[This message has been edited by TJ (edited 04-20-2001).]

I tried again from the hogan family online to read articles about valerie's firing, but everytime i click on the link it takes me back to the main page.

[TJ]

Oh ok.. I see what you are talking about now. Those links shouldn't have been opening into new windows. I've fixed them. Try this one time and I think you will be in business.

Thanks! That's much better!!! Do you know if there are more articles to read anywhere on the internet?

[Ed Viveiros]

Originally posted by Mocha79:
Thanks! That's much better!!! Do you know if there are more articles to read anywhere on the internet?

There soon will be on my site. I have about 70 articles (not all to do with Valerie's firing of course) on this show, and I've been typing in texts and scanning pics for them. In about a couple of weeks I *should* have about another 10 or so included.

One of them is about the debut of "Valerie" as she leaves "Rhoda" behind. Another is a review on the pilot and the second episode. There's one on Sandy Duncan fitting right in with her new 'family', which includes an overview of her past. A couple of articles on Val's then-new-show "City". An article telling how the boys (Jason, Jeremy, & Danny) receiving death threats from some whacko, and one of the theories is that it's someone who's upset about Val's firing getting back at the show.

There's quite a few more (that I can't remember at the moment) that will be ready for my site. Some of them will even be from some tabloid mags, where the stuff you're reading you know is made up and concocted to sell magazines. One of them talks of how Jason & Sandy were at each other's throats (what crap!), but entertaining nonetheless.

Just give me a week or so and this will be up there. I've just been a little busy typing everything, as well as scanning a lot of magazine pics for my MISC. PICS section, which isn't even activated yet. You can bet your butt-ley that my pics with Val will definitely be added to that section. Who'd have thought???



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Edward Viveiros, Jr.

[ThomasE]

I thought Sandy did a great job replacing Valerie, but I think Valerie was wonderful.