I remember being confused when I saw the first two seasons as a kid and thinking Rhoda had a new spin-off, this time with kids.

It didn't help that even though I was born well after they ended, I was exposed to Valerie Harper on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda first though syndication.

:lol:

You dufus....lol....I kid.....lol

I also cried my eyes out to the fire episode and the one where Rich dies from AIDS. Too sad.

I loved the fire episode. I liked how they had the "real" house that they use for the opening shots as being on fire. I wonder where they filmed that. I'd hoped they'd reference the fire in following episodes, but they just went about their merry sitcom way like it never happened.

I never saw the AIDS episode.

It's on youtube. Under "The Hogan Family The Best of Friends, The Worst of Times"

I remember being confused when I saw the first two seasons as a kid and thinking Rhoda had a new spin-off, this time with kids.

It didn't help that even though I was born well after they ended, I was exposed to Valerie Harper on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda first though syndication.

I never watched it myself. although I did like Jason Bateman to some degree. The few times I saw it, it was pretty cheesy, a little preachy, and nowhere NEAR the caliber of Mary Tyler Moore or Rhoda. It's just when you see Valerie as Rhoda, everything else is a big fat letdown. I suppose you could level the same criticizms at The Facts Of Life..... but that show was just BETTER in it's preachiness for some reason.

Edited March 17, 201114 yr by alphanguy74

"The Facts of Life" was better in its social commentary b/c (believe it or not) it had far superior, more character-driven writing.

And yes, Josh Taylor utterly f*ckable back then.

"The Facts of Life" was better in its social commentary b/c (believe it or not) it had far superior, more character-driven writing.

Very true, for some reason, it's one of those cheesy sitcoms from the 80's (and 90's) that I can stand to watch to this day. Like most sitcoms of that era, it had its fair share of "very special episodes" but all the girls were clearly defined and relatable to watch to some extent.

With most, if not all, of the Miller-Boyett sitcoms, I think I would only enjoy if I were 8 again. They were very cheesy and have aged terribly, IMO.

"The Facts of Life" was better in its social commentary b/c (believe it or not) it had far superior, more character-driven writing.

And yes, Josh Taylor utterly f*ckable back then.

I agree

I liked the show and liked Sandy Duncan as new lead. What happened to Valerie? Did they kill her off. I cant remember how her absense was handled?

This show had one of the best theme songs for a sitcom

Edited March 17, 201114 yr by Cheap21

I liked the show and liked Sandy Duncan as new lead. What happened to Valerie? Did they kill her off. I cant remember how her absense was handled?

This show had one of the best theme songs for a sitcom

Yeah they killed her off. I believe it was a car accident.

I never watched it myself. although I did like Jason Bateman to some degree. The few times I saw it, it was pretty cheesy, a little preachy, and nowhere NEAR the caliber of Mary Tyler Moore or Rhoda. It's just when you see Valerie as Rhoda, everything else is a big fat letdown. I suppose you could level the same criticizms at The Facts Of Life..... but that show was just BETTER in it's preachiness for some reason.

I think it's extremely unfair to compare The Hogan Family with MTM/Rhoda. Different shows, different times, different audiences, etc. As far as FOL vs. THF?.......

"The Facts of Life" was better in its social commentary b/c (believe it or not) it had far superior, more character-driven writing.

I love me some FOL, love it to death, and I agree with this to an extent, but the first thing that came to my mind? Tootie having a nervous breakdown over Jermaine Jackson's ugly ass. That was at the "I soooo excited!! I soooo exciteddddd!! I'M....SO......SCARRRRRREEEEDDDD!!" level of unintentional hilarity.

Edited March 17, 201114 yr by All My Shadows

Isn't the Jermaine episode the same one where they're at the restaurant and Mrs. Garrett says, "Look! There's Rachel from Another World!" But it's not her. Maybe that was a different ep.

Valerie/THF is one of those shows we literally watched every week yet the memories seem to have all gone up in smoke. A couple things I recall: Valerie washing the husky twin's mouth out with soap when he picked up cussing (I wish I could remember how they handled the cussing, I don't remember if they bleeped him or if they cleverly worked around it), the thin twin getting all emo because he was little, the fire, Mrs.Poole and her huge dog (did that dog get hit by a car in one ep or am I getting my Punky Brewster wires crossed? )...

Isn't the Jermaine episode the same one where they're at the restaurant and Mrs. Garrett says, "Look! There's Rachel from Another World!" But it's not her. Maybe that was a different ep.

Valerie/THF is one of those shows we literally watched every week yet the memories seem to have all gone up in smoke. A couple things I recall: Valerie washing the husky twin's mouth out with soap when he picked up cussing (I wish I could remember how they handled the cussing, I don't remember if they bleeped him or if they cleverly worked around it), the thin twin getting all emo because he was little, the fire, Mrs.Poole and her huge dog (did that dog get hit by a car in one ep or am I getting my Punky Brewster wires crossed? )...

That was a different episode of FOL, it was when all of the girls and Mrs. G. went down to New York. That's the one where Natalie saw her dad kissing another woman and brooded about it (Mindy Cohn smirking and giggling all throughout the most dramatic parts )

Mrs. Poole was the shiz, man! Of course I wasn't around in the 80s, but between Ferris Beuller and Hogan Family, Edie McClurg is so damn 80s.

The minute I started reading your post I remember the thing with Natalie's dad cheating. Natalie had lots of drama. The weight, the adoption... she did get to lose her V first though. She and Jo had the Dorothy/Sophia comedic rhythm, the Jewish/Italian thing. Speaking of TGG, FOL and Punky Brewster (both NBC) did old age makeup episodes that I think were inspired by the popularity of TGG.

Yes, one thing that show had going for it was Edie McClurg. That woman is so incredibly HILARIOUS. This is some of her best work (As Chastity Pariah) from about 6:00 on...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-fm1_698r0&feature=related

AMS will be glad to see that famous tic tac pie, as well!

Edited March 18, 201114 yr by alphanguy74

And did you know that she was one of the girls in the gym class in Carrie? Edie's one of the few celebs who actually posts on their IMDb page. Her sn is something like "RighteousDudette". I first encountered her on Small Wonder. She disappeared and Alice Ghostley began to make more and more appearances in her stead as her sister-in-law. To my childhood memory, it was not immediately apparent that Edie'd left Small Wonder for Valerie, there was a bit of a gap between stints but I'm assuming that is indeed why she left SW.