Out of Peekskill (a rant)

[Schmoopie]

So I finally made it to Season 8 and after watching this two part episode I have a few things to say.



First- I was kind of disappointed that they had already taken Charlotte Raye's name out of the beginning credits although I can see their point. This was going to be her last episode (that I know of) and I guess they didn't want to bother with redoing the whole introduction again for later eps, but she was a huge part of the ep and I think they should have just left her name in instead of saying that she was a "special guest star"


Second-Is it just me or is the fact that she was proposed to AGAIN getting tiring? I don't remember if the man she married in this episode was on the show before but isn't this like the fourth time she gotten a proposal? They should have had something leading up to this because it felt kind of forced to me. I mean it was a nice way to write her off, I suppose but it would have been better if they had shown her with this guy for a few episodes before.



Third-I LOVED the dresses that they wore. So beautiful and I loved the colors!


Fourth-The first episode was okay but the second half was absolutely ridiculous, with the RV going off the cliff. It ruined the whole thing for me and I ended up fast-forwarding through that part.


Fifth-The wedding outside at the RV park was nice but did anyone notice that they didn't exchange rings or anything? Hmmm...


Well, we'll see how the rest of Season 8 shapes up. I do like Cloris Leachman so this should be interesting.

[RetroGuy2000]

Rant away!

By the later seasons, the show had "jumped the shark", so an RV falling off a cliff is just par for the course. Wait until you get to the episode where there's an axe murderer in the house!

I'm not at all surprised that they removed Charlotte from the credits right away. I remember reading that in the early 1980s, there was a Screen Actors Guild requirement which required actors to be credited in the opening credits if they appeared in four or more episodes per season, and stipulated that they would not be in the credits for three or fewer appearances, which is why we see Hugh Gillin (Howard) in some of the opening credits, even though he was only in four episodes during the second season. It also explains why, on The Cosby Show, Lisa Bonet (Denise) isn't seen in the opening credits during season four: she only made appearances in two episodes that season, while Sabrina Le Beauf (Sondra), who appears in just four episodes in S4, is in the opening credits.

Charlotte, with only two appearances, wouldn't have qualified for opening credit status, under SAG rules. And because it was a union rule, FOL's producers could have even been in trouble with a major union if they had put Charlotte in the credits for two episodes.

There were non-union shows on the air at that time: Degrassi Junior High was non-union, for example, as were some syndicated shows. But I'm pretty sure most shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC in the 1980s were strictly union.

[TV Guy]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Rant away!
I remember reading that in the early 1980s, there was a Screen Actors Guild requirement which required actors to be credited in the opening credits if they appeared in four or more episodes per season, and stipulated that they would not be in the credits for three or fewer appearances, which is why we see Hugh Gillin (Howard) in some of the opening credits, even though he was only in four episodes during the second season. It also explains why, on The Cosby Show, Lisa Bonet (Denise) isn't seen in the opening credits during season four: she only made appearances in two episodes that season, while Sabrina Le Beauf (Sondra), who appears in just four episodes in S4, is in the opening credits.

Kelsey Grammer appeared in more than four episodes per season in seasons 3 and 4 of “Cheers” but wasn’t credited in the intro. Same thing for Bebe Neuwirth in seasons 6-9 of the same series. Nedra Volz in seasons 3 and 4 of “Diff’rent Strokes”. Mary Jo Catlett in season 5 of the same show. Jason Bateman on seasons 1 and 2 of Silver Spoons. And there are many more examples.

Billing is dictated by the actor negotiating the with the studio. Charlotte was no longer under contract after season 7. She was doing them a favor by returning to the series for a farewell episode. She could have dictated other types of billing (perhaps appearing in the intro as a special guest star, like Kristy McNichol in the “Empty Nest” finale). But some actors aren’t that hung up on billing, so a “special appearance” credit at the start of the episode was good enough for her.

When they did the reunion in 2001, Charlotte wasn’t top billed either - she was billed “And Charlotte Rae as Mrs. Garrett”. My guess is that she just didn’t care about top billing - she certainly could have negotiated top billing as a condition of her appearing in the reunion.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by TV Guy

Kelsey Grammer appeared in more than four episodes per season in seasons 3 and 4 of “Cheers” but wasn’t credited in the intro. Same thing for Bebe Neuwirth in seasons 6-9 of the same series. Nedra Volz in seasons 3 and 4 of “Diff’rent Strokes”. Mary Jo Catlett in season 5 of the same show. Jason Bateman on seasons 1 and 2 of Silver Spoons. And there are many more examples.

I've read that those rules were relaxed by 1982.

Billing is dictated by the actor negotiating the with the studio.

Why would they be negotiating with a studio? They should be negotiating with a production company. The studio has nothing to do with an actor's contract.

Charlotte was no longer under contract after season 7.

I don't think we know that. Seven-year contracts were standard in those days, but how do we know her contract with Tandem didn't include that first year on DS?

When they did the reunion in 2001, Charlotte wasn’t top billed either - she was billed “And Charlotte Rae as Mrs. Garrett”. My guess is that she just didn’t care about top billing - she certainly could have negotiated top billing as a condition of her appearing in the reunion.

I thought we were discussing opening credit billing, not first-billed status? An actor can absolutely negotiate first-billed status, but that's not what I was talking about.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by Schmoopie

Second-Is it just me or is the fact that she was proposed to AGAIN getting tiring?

That never bothered me; I guess because the show was on for so many years, lol. Her most interesting proposal for sure was on "Diff'rent Strokes" in the season 2 episode "Mrs. Garrett's Romance"!

Originally Posted by Schmoopie

Third-I LOVED the dresses that they wore. So beautiful and I loved the colors!

Right?? Didn't those dresses remind you of "The Golden Girls"??

Originally Posted by Schmoopie

Fourth-The first episode was okay but the second half was absolutely ridiculous, with the RV going off the cliff. It ruined the whole thing for me and I ended up fast-forwarding through that part.

Aw, that's a shame---there's some good dialogue in there!

Originally Posted by Schmoopie

Wait until you get to the episode where there's an axe murderer in the house!

To be fair though, there wasn't "in actual Peekskill life", lol (and I hope she doesn't mind a spoiler, lol).

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

To be fair though, there wasn't "in actual Peekskill life", lol

True.

But still!