Was it a Mistake to Change Too Close for Comfort into the Ted Knight Show? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 03-06-2010, 11:15 AM

The show seemed to lack heart once they retooled the show. Yes, the brought Monroe Ficus with them for comedy, but, I think the dynamic of Henry with his two daughters was key. Besides, by the time they switched formats, Ted Knight was sick with cancer. What do you think?

Here's a Synopsis of the show:

In late 1985, several changes were made before further episodes were produced, including changing the show's title to The Ted Knight Show (not to be confused with the short-lived 1978 CBS show of the same name). Jackie and Sara were written out of the show, and Henry and Muriel, along with Monroe, move to a house in Marin County, north of San Francisco. Henry leaves the cartoonist profession and becomes editor and 49% owner of a newspaper, The Marin Bugler, while Muriel takes a job with the paper as a photographer. Hope Stinson (Pat Carroll), owns the other 51%, creating friction with Henry. Lisa (Lisa Antille) was also added to the cast as the Rushes' maid and eventual romantic interest for Monroe. Along with the new title, a new opening was filmed in Marin County. The theme song was re-recorded in a smoother style.

First-run episodes of The Ted Knight Show were broadcast starting in April 1986. A total of 22 episodes were produced prior to the summer of 1986. The revamped show continued to be successful and was scheduled to resume production for another season, but Ted Knight, who had been battling colon cancer since 1985, died on August 26, 1986, aged 62, and the series was not continued. First-run episodes continued to air through September 1986.

Big3sCompanyFan · 03-17-2010, 01:30 AM

Wow, I never even knew TCFC morphed into the Ted Knight Show. I had never ever heard of the Ted Knight Show until your post!!

I have not even seen more than the first 2 seasons of TCFC and I'd really like to but how??!? They haven't released more seasons on DVD.

And how could I ever see the Ted Knight Show??

Jude The Obscure · 03-22-2010, 12:21 AM

I never got to see the show in "The Ted Knight Show" phase.......if this ever comes out, it will be like brand news episodes.

70s show watcher · 03-22-2010, 01:01 AM

yes after the girls left the show became boring and bland

catlover79 · 03-22-2010, 01:35 AM

From what little I saw, it just wasn't the same.

Big3sCompanyFan · 03-22-2010, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

I never got to see the show in "The Ted Knight Show" phase.......if this ever comes out, it will be like brand news episodes.

Yes, it will be like brand new episodes to me too.

Big3sCompanyFan · 03-22-2010, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

From what little I saw, it just wasn't the same.

Who is Deanna Marie Klann Salcius??

FELLNORM · 04-09-2010, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

I never got to see the show in "The Ted Knight Show" phase.......if this ever comes out, it will be like brand news episodes.

Watch some of them on YouTube on my channel: FELLNORM (I wonder how long they let them be there). I don´t think they were worse than the original TCFCs, just different.

Big3sCompanyFan · 04-09-2010, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FELLNORM

Watch some of them on YouTube on my channel: FELLNORM (I wonder how long they let them be there). I don´t think they were worse than the original TCFCs, just different.

Thanks but it would be better to watch them on DVD of course but since that's such a rare show I think I'll check your channel out.

Big3sCompanyFan · 04-09-2010, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FELLNORM

Watch some of them on YouTube on my channel: FELLNORM (I wonder how long they let them be there). I don´t think they were worse than the original TCFCs, just different.

I went to your channel but couldn't find the Ted Knight Show.

Can you please give me the direct link?

I found the Ropers but it was only clips that were a few minutes long and not the entire episode.

TMC · 02-04-2018, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

I never got to see the show in "The Ted Knight Show" phase.......if this ever comes out, it will be like brand news episodes.

TMC · 09-09-2018, 02:06 AM

Was the transition from Too Close for Comfort to The Ted Knight Show ever explained on screen? Like why did Henry and Muriel (with Monroe and young Andrew in tow) decide to move out of San Francisco in favor of nearby Mill Valley? How exactly did Henry go from being an illustrator to a newspaper editor, which presumably would require you to be a great writer at first? We know that Jackie moved to Italy to focus on her fashion career, but what happened to Sara?

TMC · 09-30-2018, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

From what little I saw, it just wasn't the same.

It seemed like they were trying to change the show from essentially a domestic/family sitcom to a work sitcom a la Ted Knight's old show The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The problem is I suppose is that the work stuff is generally forgettable. This goes back to my earlier point that Ted Knight needed to be surrounded by stronger actors and a strong supporting cast like on MTM to make it work.

TMC · 07-22-2023, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 70s show watcher

yes after the girls left the show became boring and bland

I was just reading an interview that SitcomsOnline did with Lydia Cornell (Sara Rush) back in 2008. Lydia believes that what happened was that Deborah Van Valkenburgh (Jackie Rush) simply didn't want to do the show anymore. She was at that point, more interested in theater and wanted to go on to darker roles. You may remember that Deborah before Too Close for Comfort, was in the cult classic, The Warriors. And she would work with director Walter Hill again in 1984's Streets of Fire.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, Ted Knight had an ownership stake in the show. And after Arne Sultan died, new producers came in whose sole purpose according to Lydia, was to appease and satisfy Ted. They probably viewed the two Rush girls as expendable since they were never properly developed and their roles were dismishing in the last few years.

TMC · 07-26-2023, 03:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big3sCompanyFan

Wow, I never even knew TCFC morphed into the Ted Knight Show. I had never ever heard of the Ted Knight Show until your post!!

I have not even seen more than the first 2 seasons of TCFC and I'd really like to but how??!? They haven't released more seasons on DVD.

And how could I ever see the Ted Knight Show??

It was a mistake to call it The Ted Knight Show, when it was ostensibly, still Too Close for Comfort. The only difference is that Jackie and Sara were absent, Henry and Muriel lived in a different house, and Henry now worked as a newspaper editor instead of a cartoonist. But they're merely cosmetic changes instead of a radical overhaul in the premise. I mean, Jackie had already been written out in the season prior, so it isn't like it's a total shell shock. Plus, there was already a show called The Ted Knight Show, that didn't last very long, so what's the point in going back down that well?

Secondly, they needed to find a way to keep Lydia Cornell involved. I didn't like how they suddenly acted like Sara didn't exist (with Jackie, at least we know that she went off to Italy, to work as a fashion designer, thus we were getting accustomed to her absence). I don't understand the point in bringing in Lisa the housekeeper, when you could've obviously left that spot open for Sara. And only so much of Henry's interactions with Monroe can go a long away.

And the stuff at Henry's newspaper offices is so dry and boring because Henry it seems like, only interacts with Monroe and Mrs. Stinson. I mean, why aren't there anybody else working there, to give Henry somebody else to bounce off off. Plus, Ted Knight unfortunately, was really ill at this point, so of course, the show in its retooled format was never going to reach its full potential either way.

03-06-2010, 11:15 AM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,108	Was it a Mistake to Change Too Close for Comfort into the Ted Knight Show? The show seemed to lack heart once they retooled the show. Yes, the brought Monroe Ficus with them for comedy, but, I think the dynamic of Henry with his two daughters was key. Besides, by the time they switched formats, Ted Knight was sick with cancer. What do you think? Here's a Synopsis of the show: In late 1985, several changes were made before further episodes were produced, including changing the show's title to The Ted Knight Show (not to be confused with the short-lived 1978 CBS show of the same name). Jackie and Sara were written out of the show, and Henry and Muriel, along with Monroe, move to a house in Marin County, north of San Francisco. Henry leaves the cartoonist profession and becomes editor and 49% owner of a newspaper, The Marin Bugler, while Muriel takes a job with the paper as a photographer. Hope Stinson (Pat Carroll), owns the other 51%, creating friction with Henry. Lisa (Lisa Antille) was also added to the cast as the Rushes' maid and eventual romantic interest for Monroe. Along with the new title, a new opening was filmed in Marin County. The theme song was re-recorded in a smoother style. First-run episodes of The Ted Knight Show were broadcast starting in April 1986. A total of 22 episodes were produced prior to the summer of 1986. The revamped show continued to be successful and was scheduled to resume production for another season, but Ted Knight, who had been battling colon cancer since 1985, died on August 26, 1986, aged 62, and the series was not continued. First-run episodes continued to air through September 1986. Attached Images
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03-22-2010, 01:35 AM	#5
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	From what little I saw, it just wasn't the same.
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03-17-2010, 01:30 AM	#2
Big3sCompanyFan Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 16, 2003 Posts: 2,493	Wow, I never even knew TCFC morphed into the Ted Knight Show. I had never ever heard of the Ted Knight Show until your post!! I have not even seen more than the first 2 seasons of TCFC and I'd really like to but how??!? They haven't released more seasons on DVD. And how could I ever see the Ted Knight Show??

03-22-2010, 12:21 AM	#3
Jude The Obscure Retired Eternal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 10, 2006 Posts: 7,519	I never got to see the show in "The Ted Knight Show" phase.......if this ever comes out, it will be like brand news episodes.

03-22-2010, 01:01 AM	#4
70s show watcher Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: May 20, 2008 Location: between point place and studio 8 h Posts: 4,548	yes after the girls left the show became boring and bland

09-09-2018, 02:06 AM	#12
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,453	Was the transition from Too Close for Comfort to The Ted Knight Show ever explained on screen? Like why did Henry and Muriel (with Monroe and young Andrew in tow) decide to move out of San Francisco in favor of nearby Mill Valley? How exactly did Henry go from being an illustrator to a newspaper editor, which presumably would require you to be a great writer at first? We know that Jackie moved to Italy to focus on her fashion career, but what happened to Sara?