It's a Living Boned the Fish When...

[TMC]

http://www.bonethefish.com/viewtopics.php?3830

The show followed the lives of the waitresses who worked in a posh restaurant located at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. At the helm was their supervisor Nancy Beebe (Marian Mercer), who sometimes fraternized with the girls but usually gave orders. More often than not, the scheme of the week involved Nancy in some way, which upset her because all she wanted was an orderly staff. Adding to the chaotic working environment was a wise-cracking pianist named Sonny Mann (Paul Kreppel), who made rude comments to the women and got insulted in return. One of the many waitresses on the show was Cassie Cranston, played by actress Ann Jillian. Due to her stint on this show, she became very popular for a time. In 1985, the show was revived under its old name for the syndicated market. Most of the cast remained intact from the former version. A new waitress, Amy Tompkins (Crystal Bernard), arrived at the restaurant and was immediately accepted by the group. The show continued to produce episodes for syndication until it ended in 1989.

[Kasey]

Originally Posted by TMC

http://www.bonethefish.com/viewtopics.php?3830

I don't think those are fair choices so I couldn't pick. I would say it was when Ann Jillian left the show. It was still good and I liked it but it was always missing that "certain something" following her departure. Sheryl Lee Ralph was not a comparable replacement. Jackee Harry could have been wonderful as a spoiled rich girl who perhaps got cut off by her parents and HAD to work to survive, without any prior experience (but she was already part of the 227 cast).

[TMC]

https://web.archive.org/web/20070225...ptheshark.com/

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[associate]

Originally Posted by Kasey

I don't think those are fair choices so I couldn't pick. I would say it was when Ann Jillian left the show. It was still good and I liked it but it was always missing that "certain something" following her departure. Sheryl Lee Ralph was not a comparable replacement. Jackee Harry could have been wonderful as a spoiled rich girl who perhaps got cut off by her parents and HAD to work to survive, without any prior experience (but she was already part of the 227 cast).

I agree they aren't fair choices, it should at least be;

1) Day 1
2) Season 2 (Making a Living)
3) Season 3 (Return to It's a Living & Ann Jillian)
4) Ann Jillian departure
5) Never

[TMC]

Originally Posted by associate

I agree they aren't fair choices, it should at least be;

1) Day 1
2) Season 2 (Making a Living)
3) Season 3 (Return to It's a Living & Ann Jillian)
4) Ann Jillian departure
5) Never

Why exactly did Ann Jillian leave anyway? Apparently, one of the factors for why It's A Living was brought back after ABC dropped it was due to the publicity from her breast cancer ordeal. I've heard that she wanted to continue focusing on her treatment. But that seems odd if she was well enough to do a full season at at the start of the revived run in syndication.

[Kasey]

IAL was rerun in 1983 (usually after the 11 pm news in local markets) to recoup some of the production costs. Those reruns did very well so the producers decided to give it another go, regroup (most of) the cast and put together the syndicated version. Ann only agreed to do one year and one year only. The cancer didn't figure in one way or another.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Kasey

IAL was rerun in 1983 (usually after the 11 pm news in local markets) to recoup some of the production costs. Those reruns did very well so the producers decided to give it another go, regroup (most of) the cast and put together the syndicated version. Ann only agreed to do one year and one year only. The cancer didn't figure in one way or another.

Maybe I'm going to read to much into things, but I'm starting to wonder if Ann Jillian kind of saw doing the syndicated version of IAL as a step backwards? Ann was pretty much seen as the most potential breakout star of IAL (kind of like say, Suzanne Somers on Three's Company). After ABC canceled IAL in 1982, she went on to star on a NBC sitcom called Jennifer Slept Here, which was canceled after 13 episodes. Then about a year after, IAL ended production for good, she starred in her own self-titled sitcom (again for NBC), which was also canceled after 13 episodes.

[ThomasE]

Originally Posted by Kasey

IAL was rerun in 1983 (usually after the 11 pm news in local markets) to recoup some of the production costs. Those reruns did very well so the producers decided to give it another go, regroup (most of) the cast and put together the syndicated version. Ann only agreed to do one year and one year only. The cancer didn't figure in one way or another.

I want to find out how long the reruns aired? Was it for the entire 1983 to 1984 season? I would really love to know.

[Kasey]

Originally Posted by ThomasE

I want to find out how long the reruns aired? Was it for the entire 1983 to 1984 season? I would really love to know.

This would be difficult to find out because it only aired on the ABC affiliates that chose to carry it. You would need to scour regional TV Guides from all over the country from that time period.

[TMC]

I wonder if Ann Jillian's departure hurt the show more than anything else? I equate Ann Jillian on IAL to Polly Holliday on its counterpart show Alice. Both Ann's Cassie and Polly's Flo brought a certain degree of edge and swagger to their shows. In effect, they were the arguably the main sources of energy and excitement to their respective shows. With them gone, there was a huge vacuum or "missing ingredient" (no pun intended for shows set in restaurants) that their respective shows perhaps struggled to fill.

[Kasey]

I personally feel the same. I never cared for Sheryl Lee Ralph's character. They tried to make her the man-crazy one but she lacked Ann's charisma and sassy delivery. The last 3 seasons are my least favorite because Ralph and Crystal Bernard are my least favorite of all the waitresses. It was Gail Edwards and Marian Mercer who carried those later seasons. So yes, Cassie was the "Flo" of this show.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Kasey

I personally feel the same. I never cared for Sheryl Lee Ralph's character. They tried to make her the man-crazy one but she lacked Ann's charisma and sassy delivery. The last 3 seasons are my least favorite because Ralph and Crystal Bernard are my least favorite of all the waitresses. It was Gail Edwards and Marian Mercer who carried those later seasons. So yes, Cassie was the "Flo" of this show.

I've noticed that IAL can be split up into two distinct eras (kind of like how Cheers fans split up the Diane/Shelley Long years with the Rebecca/Kirstie Alley years). There's era #1, the "Cassie Years" with Ann Jillian (Seasons 1-3) and era #2, the "Ginger Years" with Sheryl Lee Ralph (Seasons 4-6). Interestingly, the waitress line-up made up of Jan, Dot, Amy, and Ginger was the longest lasting and most stable line-up during its entire run.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Kasey

I personally feel the same. I never cared for Sheryl Lee Ralph's character. They tried to make her the man-crazy one but she lacked Ann's charisma and sassy delivery. The last 3 seasons are my least favorite because Ralph and Crystal Bernard are my least favorite of all the waitresses. It was Gail Edwards and Marian Mercer who carried those later seasons. So yes, Cassie was the "Flo" of this show.

Designing Women arguably encountered the same problem when Delta Burke was fired. You like with Ann Jillian on IAL, had the main "igniter" (so to speak, in that their personalities were so strong that it was naturally going to be very difficult to replace that "force of nature") taken out of the equation, and arguably, the show's flaws became more noticeable.