Which ODAAT episode is cringe worthy in your opinion? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Anna Karenina · 07-02-2015, 04:21 PM

I vote Ann and Dwayne falling into the mud wrestler's pit as the absolute nadir of the show.

Pat Harrington was co writer of this horrible episode with Ann Romano at her absolute worst, ranting and raving like a lunatic. The whole thing was just abominable. The concept of Alex not getting enough male bonding was okay but the execution with Ann acting like a a witch on wheels and Schneider thinking female mud wrestling and boasting about his rifle was appropriate for little Alex was just too far fetched. The episode was just weird as hell. Nobody to root for. No logic.

Can you think of any other episodes that just make you cringe?

Bonniegirl · 07-02-2015, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Karenina

I vote Ann and Dwayne falling into the mud wrestler's pit as the absolute nadir of the show.

Pat Harrington was co writer of this horrible episode with Ann Romano at her absolute worst, ranting and raving like a lunatic. The whole thing was just abominable. The concept of Alex not getting enough male bonding was okay but the execution with Ann acting like a a witch on wheels and Schneider thinking female mud wrestling and boasting about his rifle was appropriate for little Alex. The episode was just weird as hell. Nobody to root for. No logic.

Can you think of any other episodes that just make you cringe?

Yeah! And what gets me is Ann is a little redheaded woman all of about 5'2' and everyone is like SO afraid of her, like what she wants and thinks are the way everything HAS to be, and they all tip toe around her!

But than I would be mad too if someone took my young son to mud wrestling and showed him a rifle . An ep like that wouldn't fly today!

Bonniegirl · 07-02-2015, 05:08 PM

Cringe worthy ? I haven't actually seen this ep in years, I missed it on Antenna this time. But they showed it in opening sequences for a while . Barbara at a piano dressed up as and impersonating Elton John!!! I remember thinking how CORNY that was when I saw it when I was about 14 or so!!

Wawwie · 07-02-2015, 05:31 PM

Alex was actually the most likeable in this episode... sad but true.

Ann and Schneider were both over the top wackos in this episode.

opus · 07-02-2015, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

Barbara at a piano dressed up as and impersonating Elton John!!! I remember thinking how CORNY that was when I saw it when I was about 14 or so!!

And Julies' in the duet as Kiki Dee! As for the original question, I'll start with 3. Season five has TRIPLE PLAY, which Antenna has shown and made me shudder as much as I remembered. For season nine, there's DEAR MAX and THE NEARNESS OF YOU, which haven't come around yet, but both are pretty infamous.

Anna Karenina · 07-02-2015, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

Yeah! And what gets me is Ann is a little redheaded woman all of about 5'2' and everyone is like SO afraid of her, like what she wants and thinks are the way everything HAS to be, and they all tip toe around her!

But than I would be mad too if someone took my young son to mud wrestling and showed him a rifle . An ep like that wouldn't fly today!

Except for Ed and Nick who gave it right back to her, LOL.

Anna Karenina · 07-02-2015, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wawwie

Alex was actually the most likeable in this episode... sad but true.

Ann and Schneider were both over the top wackos in this episode.

They were way over the top and unbelievable. UGH!

Anna Karenina · 07-02-2015, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by opus

And Julies' in the duet as Kiki Dee! As for the original question, I'll start with 3. Season five has TRIPLE PLAY, which Antenna has shown and made me shudder as much as I remembered. For season nine, there's DEAR MAX and THE NEARNESS OF YOU, which haven't come around yet, but both are pretty infamous.

Due to the lack of syndication I have not seen most of the episodes in over 28 years but one line in Dear Max always sticks out for me.

"She left her baby, Mom!"

Julie would never have done that. As impulsive as she was she loved that little girl. They totally trashed Julie because they were mad at Mack. JMO.

70s show watcher · 07-02-2015, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

Cringe worthy ? I haven't actually seen this ep in years, I missed it on Antenna this time. But they showed it in opening sequences for a while . Barbara at a piano dressed up as and impersonating Elton John!!! I remember thinking how CORNY that was when I saw it when I was about 14 or so!!

I have always hated that ep yuck

Anna Karenina · 07-02-2015, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

Cringe worthy ? I haven't actually seen this ep in years, I missed it on Antenna this time. But they showed it in opening sequences for a while . Barbara at a piano dressed up as and impersonating Elton John!!! I remember thinking how CORNY that was when I saw it when I was about 14 or so!!

Yes it was cheesy but Val loved Elton John and they wrote it in. I thought it was kind of funny though.

Speaking of cringe worthy.

Ann and Barbara dressed up as clowns singing and dancing "Be A Clown" very badly. Bonnie Franklin was a great, Tony nominated singer actress with lots of talent but they made her character seem so amateurish. Would it have been so bad if they let her have actual talent in character? The last retirement home show was pretty silly.

The only one didn't get any chance to shine was Boyd Gaines who went on to win 4 Tony awards! 3 for musicals!

'80sSitcoms · 07-07-2015, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

Cringe worthy ? I haven't actually seen this ep in years, I missed it on Antenna this time. But they showed it in opening sequences for a while . Barbara at a piano dressed up as and impersonating Elton John!!! I remember thinking how CORNY that was when I saw it when I was about 14 or so!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Karenina

Yes it was cheesy but Val loved Elton John and they wrote it in. I thought it was kind of funny though.

Speaking of cringe worthy.

Ann and Barbara dressed up as clowns singing and dancing "Be A Clown" very badly. Bonnie Franklin was a great, Tony nominated singer actress with lots of talent but they made her character seem so amateurish. Would it have been so bad if they let her have actual talent in character? The last retirement home show was pretty silly.

The only one didn't get any chance to shine was Boyd Gaines who went on to win 4 Tony awards! 3 for musicals!

Ann and Barbara did the clown bit in a later retirement home "variety show" episode. In the first one, where Barbara and Julie did Elton's "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart", Ann did a horrifically nightmarish impersonation of Shirley Temple that should never have been shown to anyone anywhere ever! lol...man that made me shudder...

caladon · 07-08-2015, 02:58 AM

After reading this thread, it reminded me about the episode "Dear Max," and about how Max was the only one that didn't come off looking selfish. First off, Anne kept Julie's intention from Max, 2nd, the entire family including Schneider wanted Max to stay primarily because they didn't want to be separated from the baby. Max had every right to want to start over and move back to Texas to be with his family and try to put the past behind him; they were every bit as related to the baby as the others were and yet they acted like they had some proprietary claim to the baby. Anne's selfishness became more noticeable when she and Sam packed up and took off for Europe when it was for her benefit a few episodes later; leaving the baby didn't seem to be any kind of deal breaker then. It was an oddly written episode and nobody came off looking good. It did seem like they were taking a parting shot at Mackenzie Phillips by making the character Julie abandon her baby and husband.

Anna Karenina · 02-23-2017, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by opus

And Julies' in the duet as Kiki Dee! As for the original question, I'll start with 3. Season five has TRIPLE PLAY, which Antenna has shown and made me shudder as much as I remembered. For season nine, there's DEAR MAX and THE NEARNESS OF YOU, which haven't come around yet, but both are pretty infamous.

Okay, this post needs a bump.

Do you still feel this way about these episodes?

Anna Karenina · 02-23-2017, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caladon

After reading this thread, it reminded me about the episode "Dear Max," and about how Max was the only one that didn't come off looking selfish. First off, Anne kept Julie's intention from Max, 2nd, the entire family including Schneider wanted Max to stay primarily because they didn't want to be separated from the baby. Max had every right to want to start over and move back to Texas to be with his family and try to put the past behind him; they were every bit as related to the baby as the others were and yet they acted like they had some proprietary claim to the baby. Anne's selfishness became more noticeable when she and Sam packed up and took off for Europe when it was for her benefit a few episodes later; leaving the baby didn't seem to be any kind of deal breaker then. It was an oddly written episode and nobody came off looking good. It did seem like they were taking a parting shot at Mackenzie Phillips by making the character Julie abandon her baby and husband.

Interesting.

I agree.

They were really sticking it to Mack via her character. Unnecessary character assassination. Julie was horrible at times but ALWAYS a good and loving mother to Baby Annie. Her leaving for good like that made absolutely no sense and I will add that her mother was way too much of an enabler to her about that issue. She should have gotten her some serious therapy and not headed off to London months later while her daughter was struggling emotionally. The whole thing was absurd.

Anna Karenina · 02-23-2017, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

Cringe worthy ? I haven't actually seen this ep in years, I missed it on Antenna this time. But they showed it in opening sequences for a while . Barbara at a piano dressed up as and impersonating Elton John!!! I remember thinking how CORNY that was when I saw it when I was about 14 or so!!

I think when she sang "Big Spender" it was fairly cringe worthy. Very pitchy.

Always cute as button though!

07-02-2015, 04:21 PM	#1
Anna Karenina Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Nov 09, 2006 Posts: 10,086	Which ODAAT episode is cringe worthy in your opinion? I vote Ann and Dwayne falling into the mud wrestler's pit as the absolute nadir of the show. Pat Harrington was co writer of this horrible episode with Ann Romano at her absolute worst, ranting and raving like a lunatic. The whole thing was just abominable. The concept of Alex not getting enough male bonding was okay but the execution with Ann acting like a a witch on wheels and Schneider thinking female mud wrestling and boasting about his rifle was appropriate for little Alex was just too far fetched. The episode was just weird as hell. Nobody to root for. No logic. Can you think of any other episodes that just make you cringe?
	Last edited by Anna Karenina; 02-23-2017 at 10:22 PM.

07-08-2015, 02:58 AM	#12
caladon Member Senior Member Join Date: Jun 30, 2001 Location: Massachusetts state home for the bewildered Posts: 1,151	After reading this thread, it reminded me about the episode "Dear Max," and about how Max was the only one that didn't come off looking selfish. First off, Anne kept Julie's intention from Max, 2nd, the entire family including Schneider wanted Max to stay primarily because they didn't want to be separated from the baby. Max had every right to want to start over and move back to Texas to be with his family and try to put the past behind him; they were every bit as related to the baby as the others were and yet they acted like they had some proprietary claim to the baby. Anne's selfishness became more noticeable when she and Sam packed up and took off for Europe when it was for her benefit a few episodes later; leaving the baby didn't seem to be any kind of deal breaker then. It was an oddly written episode and nobody came off looking good. It did seem like they were taking a parting shot at Mackenzie Phillips by making the character Julie abandon her baby and husband.
	__________________ Jesus is the son of GOD and my savior; pretty cool.

07-02-2015, 05:08 PM	#3
Bonniegirl AKA Hazel Horvath Forum Addict Join Date: Jul 10, 2014 Posts: 65,576	Cringe worthy ? I haven't actually seen this ep in years, I missed it on Antenna this time. But they showed it in opening sequences for a while . Barbara at a piano dressed up as and impersonating Elton John!!! I remember thinking how CORNY that was when I saw it when I was about 14 or so!!

07-02-2015, 05:31 PM	#4
Wawwie Member Forum Star Join Date: Jul 26, 2006 Location: New York Posts: 14,376	Alex was actually the most likeable in this episode... sad but true. Ann and Schneider were both over the top wackos in this episode.