Khan

Perhaps a more knowledgeable soul might be able to answer this question: Did Valerie Bertinelli wear the same wedding dress both to her on-screen wedding and to her real-life wedding to Eddie Van Halen? IIRC, a big reason why Barbara got married in the first place (and why the episode was so highly rated) was because Valerie and Eddie's wedding was still big news and the show wanted to capitalize on it. Pretty much. She looked...okay during the previous season, but by the start of S9, it was clear she was deteriorating.

IIRC, Alex didn't get a farewell, per se. Instead, one of the other characters mentioned in passing that he had gone to Europe to be with his mother. Esther Rolle made that one of the conditions for her return. The writers were to make no mention of Carl, as she felt the whole relationship between them to be dishonest. (Florida never would've married after losing James, she said, and she never would've been involved with an atheist.) You're right, Vee, about there being no other option. It wasn't like on the final episode of "The Cosby Show," when they had Denise call the family from overseas, even though everyone knew there was not a chance in hell of Lisa Bonet coming back (not even for the finale). Julie couldn't have called Ann to wish her well, because that would have been too damn awkward.

I pretend that Willona THOUGHT she had the job before, but one of her co-workers went over her head and persuaded the owner/manager to give the job to her instead. Just as I pretend that Florida had plans to return to Carl in Arizona after Thelma's wedding, but when she received word that he had died and requested no memorial service, she elected to remain in Chicago. (Either that, or Carl dumped her for Dee and Raj's mom. Believe me, when you're a regular "Good Times" watcher, you learn how to fill in the blanks.)

I do, too. In fact, I like to pretend this, and not the back-door pilot for Schneider's new life with the circus, was the show's final episode. And the moment when Ann closes the apartment door for the last time? THAT is the moment I always wanted to see with Florida Evans on "Good Times." For me, it wasn't enough for each member of the Evans family to have found their proverbial pot of gold at the end of the proverbial rainbow. I also wanted (and still want, every time I watch the last episode) a moment where Florida takes a final look at the Evans' now-empty apartment, maybe recalls something she and/or James said about getting out of the ghetto someday, and then closes the door. The actor playing Chuck probably couldn't see it. According to Phillips, he "couldn't see for [!@#$%^&*]." I'm kind of like Roseanne in that I always thought Max and Julie, and Mark and Barbara, were all wrong for each other. Pairing Julie with someone like Mark, and Barbara with someone more like Max, would have been so much more interesting to watch.

And every excuse made to keep her and Ann in each other's orbit was just beyond stupid. As much as I like Shelley Fabares, I have to admit that I am stumped as to what the producers saw in the dynamic between her character and Bonnie Franklin's. I mean, they were obviously never going to be girlfriends like Mary and Rhoda. (They had tried to give Ann a ride-or-die in the form of Ginny Wrobliki, but all that did was prove that Bonnie Franklin was totally unconvincing as someone who's supposed to have a female best friend.) But, Francine and Ann never worked as frenemies either, precisely because it made zero sense to keep Francine in Ann's life even as a reluctant business partner. Honestly, I just never got it. Except, in the first season, when Julie and then-boyfriend Chuck were arguing, because he was ready to go all the way and she wasn't. Man, but that moment was so badly directed. I never understood that moment, for the simple fact that I don't think it was Ann who screwed up with Julie. Ann always called Julie on her bullshit. If anything, I blame Julie's deficiencies on her father, Ed, who always seemed to be the more indulgent parent.

Frankly, I don't believe Dick Bensfield and Perry Grant ever threw in the towel on Phillips and her problems. I mean, if they had, then they could have just as easily killed off Julie. I think they still held out hope -- a dim hope, but hope nevertheless -- that she could rally again, and that she would be able and willing to return even to a show that was clearly winding down after a long, healthy run. It's just that time ran out -- and that she was too far gone at that point -- before that could happen. For the longest time, I held out my own hopes that someone would persuade some network to do a true ODAAT reunion movie, one where Julie returned to Indianapolis after so many years away in order to make amends with her family, and especially with Annie, who'd be a grown woman by now, and maybe married, or in a long-term relationship with a swell guy (...or girl...) but reluctant to tie the knot given her family's history. Unfortunately, Bonnie Franklin's death killed that dream. Agree. Valerie Bertinelli was like America's Sweetheart. No WAY would fans have tolerated "Barbie Cooper" cheating on her husband, especially with her brother-in-law. Michael Lembeck had chemistry with all the women on the show, including Bonnie Franklin and (strange as this might sound) Nanette Fabray. He just had that ability to mesh well with the females in the cast.

Agree. Even after Mack had sobered up the first time and was back on the show, you could tell there was a concerted effort not to rely as much on Julie out of fear that she would mess up again (which, unfortunately, she did). For that reason, they needed to rely more on Barbara (and later, Alex). However, without unpredictable Julie, ODAAT as a whole lost that unique quality that I think made the show the hit that it was at the beginning. The show was still good, but not AS good. Ironically, in the original pilot, Ann had only the one daughter, who was Julie. Barbara was added when execs at CBS felt the pilot lacked something. So, just imagine if Mack had had her off-screen problems AND the show had gone on the air as originally pitched. In a way, I'm sort of glad the spinoff with Barbara, Julie and their husbands never happened, if only because I feel like the finished product would have been as toothless as most of Embassy Television's shows were at that point.

In ODAAT's case, however, I think such a move was inevitable given the fact that Julie and Barbara had become young women. Part of the series' original premise was a divorced woman raising her children alone. Well, what do you do when the children are just about ready to leave the nest, but the show is still bringing in ratings and revenue for the network? As it is, they had to create an excuse for Barbara (and later, Barbara and Mark) to move back in with Ann after she had moved in with some of her friends from the local community college. I've often wondered whether Nick was killed off, because Bonnie Franklin was still resistant to the idea of Ann remarrying. But, if that were true, then how do you explain her eventually marrying Sam (other than, as I suspect, she knew the show was winding down, and "WKRP in Cincinnati" was over, but CBS didn't want to lose Howard Hesseman)? For me, ODAAT, in its final seasons, suffered from the same problem that plagued "Roseanne" in ITS final years. Namely, the cast had grown too large, and the show had strayed too far from its original premise. At one point, I think, the ODAAT cast consisted of Bonnie Franklin, Pat Harrington, Jr., Mackenzie Phillips, Valerie Bertinelli, Michael Lembeck, Boyd Gaines, Glenn Scarpelli, Nanette Fabray, Shelley Fabares AND Howard Hesseman. True, not every character was featured in every episode. Nevertheless, ten characters is an awful lot to have to service on an average sitcom, even when some of those characters are recurring. (Just ask the producers of "Cheers.")

The biggest troll of them all, of course, is the young Starbucks barista who has the unfortunate (dis-)honor of being Bubbles' secret gay lover. He REALLY wishes Bubbles would Make America Gay Again. That is, when he isn't wishing Bubbles would leave his wife and declares his love for him on national television.

I wish she WOULD retire. I was over her ass eons ago. Unfortunately, "probably" is as good as it gets from that preening bastard. Probably.

Initially, Glenn Scarpelli was a fine addition to the show. However, I hated the narrative hoops that showrunners Dick Bensfield and Perry Grant made us jump through in order to be okay with him STAYING after they had killed off Ron Rifkin's character. I mean, if Glenn was so valuable to the show, then why in the hell did you kill off his on-screen dad? And was it all worth the proverbial headache when they ended up writing out Alex anyway (allegedly, because Bonnie Franklin was jealous)?

Alfred Bloomingdale. Now THERE was one sick son-of-a-bitch.

I actually thought back to these tweets last week while watching her on "A Christmas to Remember" on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. As I told Mama Khan, it really is shameful to see Mira Sorvino -- who won an Academy Award, for Christ's sake -- reduced to sharing screen time (not to mention, kissy face) with Cameron [!@#$%^&*] Mathison in a Hallmark movie. (And it isn't even a "Hall of Fame" movie!)

This might sound silly, or naive, but one of my hopes is that enough "Real Republicans" get fed up with the circus and either reclaim the GOP or splinter off into a new party. And I say that as someone who remains firmly to the left.

Right, Mr. President. All Haitian immigrants have AIDS, and all Nigerians live in huts. Just as all Irish people are drunks, and all Jews are money-grubbing bastards. What. Ever.

Fantastic words, I Am A Swede. But, too bad they're being wasted on a race-baiting troll.

And when Obama heard Spicer's statement, he merely rolled his eyes and said, "Honky, please." But seriously. Seannie's thirst for more time in the spotlight is real, and real tired. I'm LONG past the point of having any interest in whatever he has to say.

That's one of the many (and I DO mean many) delusions that Trump's most fervent, and fervently religious, supporters have held against the rest of the country. They truly believe that there was a time in recent memory when saying "Merry Christmas" (instead of "Happy Holidays") was officially banned within the United States; and, as always, they believe Obama and Hillary were the ones doing the banning. Ironically, I think the only ones who ever banned people from saying "Merry Christmas" in THIS country were the Puritans. But I could be wrong.

I've always believed that P&G would have asked Marland to assume the HW'ing reins at AW once it was clear he was becoming tired at ATWT. It's just that he died before anyone at P&G got the chance.

Let's hope this means better pizza! You know what? If Steve Bannon were to run for President, then I would as well. Because even I wouldn't be as bad for this country as Steve [!@#$%^&*] Bannon.

So do I. Right now, it seems like enough are mad at the GOP to flip come midterms. BUT, I smell war in the war; and usually, when there's war, people flock back to the flag-waving, jingoistic GOP. Yeah, shutting down the gov't. isn't exactly the best alternative for us.

Same. For years, I would sing the theme ("I told my heart stay away/it isn't safe to feel this way") and wish someone would upload it on YT. The closest I've come in my search, though, has been this amateur instrumental performance: Gosh, I miss those '80's miniseries so damn much. They were from a period of time when the people who made them weren't afraid of telling stories that were romantic; and by "romantic," I'm not talking the hearts-and-flowers stuff, but unrestrained, unfiltered emotions, without irony or detachment. Not a fan of westerns, per se, but do love this theme: IMO, FALCON CREST should have followed the lead of this and other shows and put Jane Wyman last in the opening credits ("And Starring Miss Jane Wyman as Angela Channing"). To me, that's how treat a Hollywood legend.

I wish I could share the love for "Hazel," but it annoys me to see how much pull she has not only over the Baxters but the community as a whole. All the time I'm watching, I'm also yelling at the screen, "Why don't this heffa do her damn JOB instead of running everybody's life!?" Too bad I can't get GetTV in my neck of the woods.

Yeah, that guy always gave off douchebag vibes to me.