Why are Kelly, Jill and Sabrina considered the definitive classic Angels line-up

[TMC]

This isn't meant to be a knock against Farrah Fawcett, but it seems like Cheryl Ladd (who played her on-screen sister and her replacement in Season 2) is sometimes treated like an afterthought by the general public despite being on the show much longer than either Farrah or Kate Jackson. Cheryl was the second longest tenured Angel after of course, Jaclyn Smith, who stayed from beginning to end.

[dakert]

Kelly, Jill and Sabrina starred in the first season which blew up in the ratings and the show was hugely successful. I wonder how well the show would have done if Kris had been part of the original 3 angels.

[Fallon97]

I find it very annoying. Many people prefer Cheryl Ladd to Farrah Fawcett. And many fans prefer the Kelly, Sabrina, and Kris team. It's not fair to constantly ignore Cheryl Ladd when she saved the show after Farrah dumped it.

[Fallon97]

Originally Posted by dakert

Kelly, Jill and Sabrina starred in the first season which blew up in the ratings and the show was hugely successful. I wonder how well the show would have done if Kris had been part of the original 3 angels.

Considering that many people prefer Kris over Jill and the ratings were higher and even more successful than with Farrah, I'm guessing the show would do very well, maybe even better. I started watching during the second season and I LOVED the chemistry between Kris, Kelly, Sabrina and Bosley.

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by Fallon97

Considering that many people prefer Kris over Jill and the ratings were higher and even more successful than with Farrah, I'm guessing the show would do very well, maybe even better. I started watching during the second season and I LOVED the chemistry between Kris, Kelly, Sabrina and Bosley.

I don't have the exact figures to hand but Wikipedia states the ratings fell after Farrah's departure and I think that's right. I'm not blaming any subsequent actresses because as Kate Jackson said it was the scripts which were found wanting after the first series.

[Fallon97]

Originally Posted by Steve_uk

I don't have the exact figures to hand but Wikipedia states the ratings fell after Farrah's departure and I think that's right. I'm not blaming any subsequent actresses because as Kate Jackson said it was the scripts which were found wanting after the first series.

No. The second season was higher rated than the first. And in the fourth season, according to the Charlie's Casebook and several interview/documentaries, Farrah's return episode was the lowest rated in the whole fourth season.

Here's an interview by Leonard Goldberg:


The Leonard Goldberg Interview - The Classic Angels part 1
Mike Pingel: Charlie’s Angels was your original idea back in 1974?
Leonard Goldberg: Yes, Aaron [Spelling] and I.

Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg the men (aka GODS) who created the seires Charlie's AngelsM: Did that just come out of the blue?
L: The genesis of Charlie's Angels started even before ‘74. Television was going through kind of a back alley, realistic, gritty, down and dirty kind of period with Baretta and shows like that.

Aaron and I were talking one night and we always tried to go against the grain, so we thought we should do a show that is very glamorous, very pretty, very romantic. We came up with this high style idea about three beautiful private-eyes. They were named Alison, Katharine and Lee and we called it “The Alley Cats.” Not the classiest title ever to come down the pike. We pitched the idea of the show to Barry Diller and Michael Eisner, who were then running ABC, at a breakfast meeting. They responded, “That it was the worst idea we have ever heard. Could we please order breakfast?” Subsequent to that, we had done a TV movie, “The Affair” with R.J. Wagner and the late, Natalie Wood. As part of the arrangement, ABC was to put up $25,000 to write a pilot script which would be owned by our production company and R.J. Wagner’s production company.

Eventually I received a notice saying that the time was up, and I called Michael Eisner. I said, “Look, you’re going to have to send us a check for $25,000 and you have nothing to show for it. Why don’t you let us write a script? At least you will have a script to show your management.” He said, “Fine, write anything you want.” So, I told Aaron, “Why don’t we write what we always wanted to write” and he thought it was a great idea. I called R.J. Wagner since he was going to be our partner and he said, “I think it’s a terrible idea, but I don’t know anything about making TV.” So we went ahead and had a script written and that's how Charlie’s Angels got started.

M: How was it having a hit show and learning that Farrah Fawcett decided to leave the series. What went through your mind?
L: I was totally shocked. I heard about it on television. I was home, it came on the news “Farrah Fawcett is leaving Charlie’s Angels” that was my first inkling that she was unhappy. We tried very hard to dissuade her from leaving, but she wanted to leave to have a theatrical career. Aaron and I went to Columbia Pictures, got her a fantastic five picture deal, we also agreed to postpone the start of shooting so she could do a film at Paramount [Foul Play] with Chevy Chase .

But that was not enough for Farrah. It was shocking. Farrah left after the first year. Everyone thinks she did two or three years. She did only one season.
The cast of Charlie's Angels (after Farrah Fawcett left) L to R: David Doyle, Cheryl Ladd, Leonard Goldberg, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith -- from season 2 & 3 cast.
When the second season started with Cheryl [Ladd], we were nervous about the ratings, but they were even higher than the first season.

M: When Kate Jackson left the series in 1979 that was a blow because she was the anchor of the series. How did you deal with that?
L: We didn’t want Kate to leave. She had told us in a nice way she wanted to move on. It didn’t come as a sudden shock. She had done her work and had worked hard for three seasons. We were sad to see her go and we thought it would hurt the series, but we understood and she handled it in a very professional manner.

[TMC]

I don't know how valid this info is but supposedly, when the Charlie's Angels Emmy tribute to Aaron Spelling was in the planning stages, Farrah Fawcett was being wishy-washy and wouldn't commit, so Cheryl Ladd was approached, and she being a loyal friend of the Aaron and Candy Spelling, was game. Should Farrah have ultimately said yes, they would've brought out all four. However, when Kate Jackson got wind of this, she nixed the idea and insisted that when people think of CA, they think of the originals, Farrah, Kate, and Jaclyn Smith, not the replacements. So Kate contacted Farrah and convinced her to do the show.

[Fallon97]

Originally Posted by TMC

Should Farrah have ultimately said yes, they would've brought out all four. However, when Kate Jackson got wind of this, she nixed the idea and insisted that when people think of CA, they think of the originals, Farrah, Kate, and Jaclyn Smith, not the replacements. So Kate contacted Farrah and convinced her to do the show.

I have to disagree with Kate. Cheryl Ladd/Kris was/is very popular and many people remember and love Kris and prefer the Angel team of Kris, Kelly, and Sabrina. The Kris/Kelly/Sabrina years were popular and Kris was on the show longer.

[TMC]

I find it kind of odd that Drew Barrymore nor the other filmmakers/producers didn't ask Cheryl Ladd to participate in the 2000 Charlie's Angels movie. They supposedly wanted Farrah Fawcett for a cameo, but she would only participate if she got to film a scene in the same room as Charlie. They also tried to get Kate Jackson, but she would only do it if she got to play the film's villainess. Drew Barrymore had worked with Cheryl Ladd in Poison Ivy, and Cheryl's daughter Jordan in Never Been Kissed.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Fallon97

I have to disagree with Kate. Cheryl Ladd/Kris was/is very popular and many people remember and love Kris and prefer the Angel team of Kris, Kelly, and Sabrina. The Kris/Kelly/Sabrina years were popular and Kris was on the show longer.

Somebody on Reddit recently asked a similar question that I asked. Mainly, why is Farrah Fawcett more remembered for her role on Charlie's Angels compared to Cheryl Ladd, even though Cheryl was on the show longer. People have theorized Farrah is so remembered despite only being a cast member for the first season because she was an absolute phenomenon in the '70s. It wasn't just her role as arguably the breakout star on Charlie's Angels, but that poster.

On the contrary, compare that to Charmed, which was pretty much the supernatural/magical version of Charlie's Angels. You could be blameless to presume that more people think of Rose McGowan's tenure on the show than Shannen Doherty's. Rose like Cheryl Ladd, was on her respective series longer than the woman that she replaced.

[TMC]

I was just thinking, shouldn't the team of Sabrina (Kate Jackson), Kelly (Jaclyn Smith), and Kris (Cheryl Ladd) be by sheer default, the "definitive" classic Angels line-up since that's the group that lasted more than a single season? I'm sure that had Kate Jackson stayed on beyond the third year, that would've better solidified that argument.