Another What If Question....

[Danisel331]

Hi!
OK I'm going to see what kind of a reaction we get here. I know that quite a few of you had a real problem with the way that the show played off the demise of Chico. You've made that abundantly clear! And to be honest, I have to say that the writers of the show did not handle the situation with the best judgement or taste.
Losing a star is not what you ever expect to happen in a show, but some shows seem to deal with the situation better. I know I've seen a few shows where something happened and a cast member was lost and they would have a tribute show or some better way of telling the story.
The show I think handled it best was Barney Miller, after Jack Soo passed away. The actors had a whole show where they shared favorite memories of him and they each showed their favorite clips of him and just really made an effort to remember him and thank him for the joy he brought to their lives. So here's my question....
Would a show where say Jack Alberston, Della Reese, Scatman Crothers, Issac Ruiz, and all the other favorite characters held a sort of tribute to Freddie have made it easier for you to accept what happened? Do you think there should have been a better way to handle the reality and if so, what would you suggest?

I can't wait to see the answers I get here!

[Karen64]

What a great topic, Dani!
I think it was pretty rotten the way they tried at first to act like nothing happened and say, "Oh, he's away visiting visiting relatives"...
No wonder the show went downhill!

I think a good way to handle it would have been to do a tribute show to Freddie (after the remainder of the Freddie episodes were shown; maybe play some reruns in there somewhere so as not to jump right in there too fast)

The beginning of that show would have started off with words on the screen giving a tribute to Freddie superimposed over a picture of him, with the same theme song playing. It would start off with Ed would walking slowly down the stairs in the darkened garage, sadly looking at a picture of Chico. Then the rest of the cast would come in to console each other, and they would each have a funny story to recall about Chico, and they would show old clips of the funniest moments with him. They wouldn't say HOW he died, they would just be there remembering the good times and comforting each other. The episode itself wouldn't be written to be funny, but the old clips themselves would bring laughter in rememberance of Chico.

If I were the producer, that's what I would have gone for!

Of course, there's contracts and money and legal agreements and all that hooey in the way!

[Prince]

I agree totally with Karen. As a huge Freddie Prinze fan, I think that would have been a classy way to end the series. I think even Jack Albertson would have agreed. I can't add much to that at all because Karen said it all. Too bad the produces only thought of themselves instead of the star that really made it all possible for them to get those big paychecks every week. The show could not go on without Freddie...simply because the magic between Jack and him was gone. He will be forever missed.

[Luckymama58]

Dani, This is a great question. I think the ideas already presented are great ones. I remember the episode with the Jack Soo tribute, but with Jack dying of a disease, I think made it a bit easier for everyone to say goodbye. Freddie's sudden death, and by his own hand, was something everyone was probably in shock for months about. I have dealt with suicide deaths in my personal life (A good friend had her husband commit suicide). There is something different about the way people handle this kind of death. It takes people a lot longer to realize the person is really gone, first of all. Secondly, I think a lot of people were dealing with their own guilt about why it happened. People don't take their own life in a vacuum. Maybe this is why no one could think of doing a tribute show for Freddie, because of the way he died. I know we all would like to think it shouldn't make a difference, but it does. It took SNL a long time to pay tribute to John Belushi because of the way he died too, even tho it was ruled accidental from the beginning, where Freddie's death took a while for the accidental ruling to come down. Sudden, tragic deaths are very much harder to deal with than an illness. And suicide is probably the worst. Maybe if the producers had a bit more time to think about it and the stigma of suicide was understood better, we would have gotten a better resolve to Freddie's death portrayed on the show. I think one of the reasons the show didn't want to "admit" Freddie's demise and decided to portray Chico as visiting his dad is because the people involved with the show were still coming to grips with Freddie's loss and couldn't really believe it themselves. I remember the shock I was in when it happened.... I woke up for weeks thinking it was all a bad dream.
I would have loved to have seen a real tribute done for Freddie. I still think a movie needs to be done paying tribute to Freddie himself. He was a very talented young man who should not have died. And I guess that is what makes everyone uncomfortable about celebrating his life and talent, because it is such a waste that he died too soon. Too bad. But isn't that sort of the way when a star dies tragically. I think of Marilyn Monroe. Most of the biographies I have seen or read of her tend to dwell on the tragedy of her talent instead of really celebrating it. I am afraid it is the same way with Freddie. He was so talented, all people can seem to see is the potential lost, instead of the gift he shared in his brief life.
Sorry I got long winded, but some personal problems in my life right now have me in an introspective kind of mood.....

[hue_mee]

I agree with each and everyone of you. I have dealt with a former boyfriend who died of a suicide. That alone was too much to bare. Although I had not had contact with him in over ten years I recently found out that he hung himself in May of 2000. I was devistated, shocked and in disbelief that something like that would happen.

In away I can see how hard it would be for the cast and crew along with other Television executives to handle something in such a short notice with Freddie being such a up and coming star. I agree that they could of aired a high light of Freddie from the series for a tribute instead of how it was handled originally.

[Danisel331]

Hello!
I see what you're saying Ms Marie and Ms Suzanne. I know what you mean about how some people seem to have a problem dealing with the way that his death occurred. I guess in a way I had not thought of it quite that way, because regardless of how it happened, the end result is still the same.
The point I was trying to make was that the show probably could've dealt with the loss better and I wanted to see what the fans would think would be an appropriate way to do that.

[Luckymama58]

Oh, I agree 100%. The show did a lousy job, irregardless of how Freddie died. He was one of their stars and they treated him like he just faded away or something. Maybe it was they were feeling a little guilty about what had happened, not being there for him??? Who knows

In my tribute show to Freddie, (and I would have acknowleged the fact that the show might have had to wait a bit till everyone got over the initial shock), one of the characters, but maybe not Ed (For some reason I don't see him doing this), find a picture album with pictures of the good times from the show... (Maybe Mando or Louie) The cast would gather around the garage and reminise about the good times, and as they remembered an incident, the show would show a clip from the episode in question.

Sufficent time was built into the show's schedule to do this, BTW. Remember they needed to air at least 3 or 4 episodes they had in the can with Freddie after his death anyway. This would have given the writers sufficent time to think of a more plausible way to have Chico die.... Maybe he was on his way to visit his Dad and was involved in a plane crash or something. This could have been written into the show in the first episode after "Ed Talks to God" and then the reminising episode could have either ended the 3rd season or began the 4th.

I could see Raul a part of the reminising show. Maybe he would be the one to find a box of photographs among Chico's things, like he found Chico's stuff in the van in the two-parter. I could see Ed getting mad at first, but if they had Della and maybe Louie right there when it happened, then they would all get in the reminising mode, telling Raul the true story of Chico through clips of episodes, like above. What do you all think of this idea.

(BTW It was not unheard of for sitcoms to have sad shows, it happened all the time. I still remember all the sad M*A*S*H episodes... some of those were some of their best. I still remember when Col. Blake died )

[hue_mee]

That is a great idea Luckymama! I get misty just thinking of that seeing them altogether going through Chicos belonging reminising.

[Danisel331]

That's what I was talking about! LOL A show to explain a little but yet remember at the same time. I think too that maybe they could've had Ed cleaning out the closet where Raul found things and as he picked up each item, his memory go back to when Chico held the same object. Than again maybe that's too sad!

[Joy]

I love all of the ideas mentiuoned! Although anything would have been better than what they did.
Lucky I thought the way you explained about deaths on shows was very touching thank you