What were the producers hoping to accomplish by adding Stephanie to the cast? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TVFactFan · 02-02-2003, 03:50 AM

I'm sittin here watching the last season of AITF and it's So BORING. Just Archie, Dingy Edith and Stephanie. The show should have really ended when Mike and Gloria left since the show was based on All 4 of those characters. So I was wondering what the producers were trying to accomplish by adding Stephanie?

DarleneIllyria · 02-02-2003, 03:59 AM

I guess the writers thought they needed to add something to the show since Gloria and Mike left. I guess they thought it would just be dull to have Archie and Edith living by themselves and just seeing Archie have occasional moments at the bar. Archie had to have somebody to interact with besides Edith. I guess they thought Stephanie could be that person. Just my guess.

TVFactFan · 02-02-2003, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jenny
I guess the writers thought they needed to add something to the show since Gloria and Mike left. I guess they thought it would just be dull to have Archie and Edith living by themselves and just seeing Archie have occasional moments at the bar. Archie had to have somebody to interact with besides Edith. I guess they thought Stephanie could be that person. Just my guess.

it was clearly a bad move by the producers. They should have offered Struthers and Rob Reiner more money to do one last season or just end the show.

Chad22 · 02-02-2003, 04:07 AM

I Disagree. I Liked Stephanie.

TVFactFan · 02-02-2003, 04:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Chad Doody
I Disagree. I Liked Stephanie.

She was okay for a vistor but not a regular cast member. That's the case with anyone-no matter if they are a child or adult. You just can't have new additions to a show that's been on the air for 7 years. Makes no sense. Either leave a show the way it is and try to work with the cast you have or just move on.

Chad22 · 02-02-2003, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SOLOMON

She was okay for a vistor but not a regular cast member. That's the case with anyone-no matter if they are a child or adult. You just can't have new additions to a show that's been on the air for 7 years. Makes no sense. Either leave a show the way it is and try to work with the cast you have or just move on.

Wel adding people after a few seasons isnt neccesarily bad. It worked for Chachi on Happy Days, Rebecca and Woody on Cheers and Mr. Furley on Threes Company. Sure most shows that add a character later on in the series usualy fail (Cousin Oliver, Pam on The Cosby Show) But i dont really think Stephanie was that bad at all. She added some youth to the show that it had never seen before (Unles you count Joey) and added some new storylines. It also began its switch into Archie Bunker's Place, Which even though alot of people think is the same show, I See it as a totally different show with a different concept yet alot of characters from the old show.

TVFactFan · 02-02-2003, 04:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Chad Doody

Wel adding people after a few seasons isnt neccesarily bad. It worked for Chachi on Happy Days, Rebecca and Woody on Cheers and Mr. Furley on Threes Company. Sure most shows that add a character later on in the series usualy fail (Cousin Oliver, Pam on The Cosby Show) But i dont really think Stephanie was that bad at all. She added some youth to the show that it had never seen before (Unles you count Joey) and added some new storylines. It also began its switch into Archie Bunker's Place, Which even though alot of people think is the same show, I See it as a totally different show with a different concept yet alot of characters from the old show.

It's nothing wrong wih adding a character in the first 2 or 3 years of a show but adding a character to save a show is always a no-no.

TVgen62 · 02-02-2003, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SOLOMON

it was clearly a bad move by the producers. They should have offered Struthers and Rob Reiner more money to do one last season or just end the show.

You said a mouthful! I've always felt that All in the Family ended when Mike and Gloria moved to California. Unfortunately, the show limped along for a few more years due to Carroll O'Connor's stubbornness to keep it on the air (provided he had more creative control of the show), network greed, and a probable lack of any decent new shows. Bottom line -- The character of Stephanie was valueless to the show; Archie Bunker's Place is a pale ghost of AITF.

Whether the cast additions that Chad Doody mentioned "worked" or not is, of course, debatable:

Cheers: The show's set in a public venue so it's logical for people to come and go. Also, the conflict/tension needed to keep it interesting could (and did) come from the interaction of any combination of characters. In this case, IMO, it worked because it didn't change the premise of the show.

Happy Days and Three's Company - I respectfully decline to comment.

DarleneIllyria · 02-02-2003, 03:31 PM

I don't like Stephanie on AITF, but she's okay on ABP. They just started showing the Stephanie episodes on N @ N and I always groan when I see Carroll wearing the gray sweater. Gray sweater=Stephanie

I do like Stephanie on ABP. Just wanted to repeat that so nobody will yell at me or anything.

DarleneIllyria · 02-02-2003, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TVgen62

Happy Days and Three's Company - I respectfully decline to comment.

I'd like to state my opinion about HD. It's a good show if we're talking about the Ron Howard years. It should've ended when he left. Just about every addition they made to the show after Ron's departure just wasn't a very good addition, imo.

Chad22 · 02-02-2003, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jenny
I don't like Stephanie on AITF, but she's okay on ABP. They just started showing the Stephanie episodes on N @ N and I always groan when I see Carroll wearing the gray sweater. Gray sweater=Stephanie

I do like Stephanie on ABP. Just wanted to repeat that so nobody will yell at me or anything.

I Dont understand how you dont like her on AITF, but like her on ABP. Because the last season of AITF is basically the same thing as the first season of APB.

TVFactFan · 02-02-2003, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jenny
I don't like Stephanie on AITF, but she's okay on ABP. They just started showing the Stephanie episodes on N @ N and I always groan when I see Carroll wearing the gray sweater. Gray sweater=Stephanie

I do like Stephanie on ABP. Just wanted to repeat that so nobody will yell at me or anything.

Why was Stephanie okay on ABP but not AITF?

DarleneIllyria · 02-02-2003, 04:09 PM

It's weird, but I'll try to explain it.

I know the bar scene started toward the end of AITF, but I still consider that part to be AITF. When ABP took over and the name changed, I consider that to be a seperate show. Stephanie started out on that show from point 1, she's a regular character now. On AITF she was just a replacement character. I prefer Mike and Gloria to Stephanie on AITF. I've gotten used to Mike and Gloria. It's kind of like the Darrin 1 and Darrin 2 thing on Bewitched. Most prefer Darrin 1 and Mike and Gloria to Darrin 2 and Stephanie.

Yeah, hope that made sense. If it doesn't, I'll try and explain some more.

TVFactFan · 02-02-2003, 04:15 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jenny
It's weird, but I'll try to explain it.

I know the bar scene started toward the end of AITF, but I still consider that part to be AITF. When ABP took over and the name changed, I consider that to be a seperate show. Stephanie started out on that show from point 1, she's a regular character now. On AITF she was just a replacement character. I prefer Mike and Gloria to Stephanie on AITF. I've gotten used to Mike and Gloria. It's kind of like the Darrin 1 and Darrin 2 thing on Bewitched. Most prefer Darrin 1 and Mike and Gloria to Darrin 2 and Stephanie.

Yeah, hope that made sense. If it doesn't, I'll try and explain some more. [/QUOTE

How was stephanie able to hold your interest on ABP but not AITF? For example, I liked George Jefferson more on AITF because he was short tempered and funnier, But I didn't like George too much on TJ because he became heavier and nicer.

DarleneIllyria · 02-02-2003, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SOLOMON

Quote:

[i]

How was stephanie able to hold your interest on ABP but not AITF? For example, I liked George Jefferson more on AITF because he was short tempered and funnier, But I didn't like George too much on TJ because he became heavier and nicer. [/B]

Well, let me explain this by going back to when TVL first started showing ABP and when I thought it was dull as dust. Okay, most of the episodes that TVL first showed involved the bar scene. You had very little eps with Edith, so it was kind of nice seeing a face from somebody that lived in the Bunker household. Stephanie was the case since Edith didn't appear all that much.

I don't know how my opinion would vary if Edith had appeared more than Stephanie. What if Edith didn't die and she appeared in just about every episode. Would I still like Stephanie on ABP? Idk if I can answer that question because Edith did die and Stephanie did appear more than Edith did.

02-02-2003, 03:50 AM	#1
TVFactFan Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Aug 17, 2002 Posts: 99,067	What were the producers hoping to accomplish by adding Stephanie to the cast? I'm sittin here watching the last season of AITF and it's So BORING. Just Archie, Dingy Edith and Stephanie. The show should have really ended when Mike and Gloria left since the show was based on All 4 of those characters. So I was wondering what the producers were trying to accomplish by adding Stephanie?

02-02-2003, 03:59 AM	#2
DarleneIllyria Gone Forum Star Join Date: Oct 15, 2000 Posts: 19,086	I guess the writers thought they needed to add something to the show since Gloria and Mike left. I guess they thought it would just be dull to have Archie and Edith living by themselves and just seeing Archie have occasional moments at the bar. Archie had to have somebody to interact with besides Edith. I guess they thought Stephanie could be that person. Just my guess.

02-02-2003, 04:07 AM	#4
Chad22 Captain Juke N Jive Moderator Forum Addict Join Date: Nov 23, 2002 Location: Caribou, Maine Posts: 71,661	I Disagree. I Liked Stephanie.

02-02-2003, 03:31 PM	#9
DarleneIllyria Gone Forum Star Join Date: Oct 15, 2000 Posts: 19,086	I don't like Stephanie on AITF, but she's okay on ABP. They just started showing the Stephanie episodes on N @ N and I always groan when I see Carroll wearing the gray sweater. Gray sweater=Stephanie I do like Stephanie on ABP. Just wanted to repeat that so nobody will yell at me or anything.

02-02-2003, 04:09 PM	#13
DarleneIllyria Gone Forum Star Join Date: Oct 15, 2000 Posts: 19,086	It's weird, but I'll try to explain it. I know the bar scene started toward the end of AITF, but I still consider that part to be AITF. When ABP took over and the name changed, I consider that to be a seperate show. Stephanie started out on that show from point 1, she's a regular character now. On AITF she was just a replacement character. I prefer Mike and Gloria to Stephanie on AITF. I've gotten used to Mike and Gloria. It's kind of like the Darrin 1 and Darrin 2 thing on Bewitched. Most prefer Darrin 1 and Mike and Gloria to Darrin 2 and Stephanie. Yeah, hope that made sense. If it doesn't, I'll try and explain some more.

02-02-2003, 04:15 PM	#14
TVFactFan Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Aug 17, 2002 Posts: 99,067	[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jenny It's weird, but I'll try to explain it. I know the bar scene started toward the end of AITF, but I still consider that part to be AITF. When ABP took over and the name changed, I consider that to be a seperate show. Stephanie started out on that show from point 1, she's a regular character now. On AITF she was just a replacement character. I prefer Mike and Gloria to Stephanie on AITF. I've gotten used to Mike and Gloria. It's kind of like the Darrin 1 and Darrin 2 thing on Bewitched. Most prefer Darrin 1 and Mike and Gloria to Darrin 2 and Stephanie. Yeah, hope that made sense. If it doesn't, I'll try and explain some more. [/QUOTE How was stephanie able to hold your interest on ABP but not AITF? For example, I liked George Jefferson more on AITF because he was short tempered and funnier, But I didn't like George too much on TJ because he became heavier and nicer.