4 hours ago, ReddFoxx said:

Karen Grassle talks about that in her book. From what I know Landon was often drunk on set (he'd show up like that) and tried to limited Karen's role when she asked for a raise, which she deserved because she did a lot of good work on the show. At the Little House 50th Anniversary she did her panel and didn't put a single ounce of shade into anything about Landon when he was mentioned, so she is very classy.

Speaking of Little House drama, the problem amongst the younger actors was Melissa Sue Anderson who shoved Melissa Gilbert off of a wagon and called Alison Arngrim stupid.

It seems like a ton of crazy [!@#$%^&*] went down BTS on that set, lol!

15 minutes ago, Khan said:

It seems like a ton of crazy [!@#$%^&*] went down BTS on that set, lol!

Charlotte Stewart admitted that she and Victor French were friends with benefits during the run of the show.......🤣

I have always wanted to get Tichina Arnold (or Tisha) back on a soap but no way they'd do it now. Maybe in their leaner years, but fortunately for them those are not today.

42 minutes ago, Khan said:

Don't forget her role on "Survivor's Remorse." I'd consider that a success as well.

For years, I've been wishing for someone to cast her and her frequent co-star, Tisha Campbell, in a series or series of TV movies about a pair of amateur sleuths. It'd be so crazy (and yet so fun) to watch, lol.

Thanks for letting me know about this, it has a good cast and interesting premise. Did you enjoy it? I think Boss is the only Starz drama I've seen.

Edited November 25, 2025Nov 25 by bongobong

What an enjoyably juicy thread this has become!

Speaking of the Designing Women ladies, anyone want to appraise Jean Smart?

Barbara Bain won 3 Emmys for her work on Mission: Impossible. Another 6 years went by before she was a series regular again, with Space: 1999. That was a mixed bag, to say the least. After that, I don't think she was ever a series regular again. Funny how her only 2 series were with her husband, Martin Landau.

The likeable Bill Bixby fared pretty decently with series: My Favorite Martian, The Courtship of Eddie's Father and The Incredible Hulk were all solid hits, although The Magician and Goodnight, Beantown didn't fare as well.

Edited November 25, 2025Nov 25 by applcin

2 hours ago, Khan said:

It seems like a ton of crazy [!@#$%^&*] went down BTS on that set, lol!

Landon and Anderson were the only real problem and everyone else was calm. Landon would drink heavily on set and the writers once had to change a fight scene because Anderson threatened to actually hit Arngrim.

1 hour ago, applcin said:

Barbara Bain won 3 Emmys for her work on Mission: Impossible. Another 6 years went by before she was a series regular again, with Space: 1999. That was a mixed bag, to say the least. After that, I don't think she was ever a series regular again. Funny how her only 2 series were with her husband, Martin Landau.

I guess the contract issues Bain and Landau had on MI might have caused them to be seen as troublesome?

Maybe neither of them wanted to be tied down to a network series after all that went down?

ML was an egomaniac, but for every story of his [!@#$%^&*] behavior on the Little House set, there are at least five more stories of how positive the set was, especially for the child actors (regulars and guests). Most conflict was contained to the people who had the conflict with one another, and I think it’s a testament to that that so much of the surviving cast has continued to reunite for events beyond all the 50th anniversary celebrations from last year.

Brian Keith had mixed success over the years

The Westerner 1960 13 episodes

Family Affair 1966-71

Brian Keith Show /Little People 1972-74

Archer 1975 6 episodes

Hardcastle & McCormick 1983-86

Pursuit of Happiness 1987-88 10 episodes

Heartland 1989 10 episodes.

Walter & Emily 1991-92 13 episodes

13 hours ago, SoapDope78 said:

Charlotte Stewart admitted that she and Victor French were friends with benefits during the run of the show.......🤣

I did not know that one lol. From what I can tell he was a nice man with a good sense of humor. He was spoken of very highly at the reunion

15 hours ago, bongobong said:

Thanks for letting me know about this, it has a good cast and interesting premise. Did you enjoy it?

TBH, @bongobong , I've never had a subscription to Starz, so I can't say whether "Survivor's Remorse" was any good. I just know Tichina Arnold was on it and that it ran for, I think, four seasons?

14 hours ago, Franko said:

Speaking of the Designing Women ladies, anyone want to appraise Jean Smart?

IMO, Jean Smart's departure was a much bigger blow to the show than Delta Burke's. You could have spun off Delta/Suzanne or just wrote her out altogether, as they did, and the show would've been fine. JS/Charlene, however, was DW's real heart and the glue that held the rest of that cast together. (Just as it was Betty White, IMO, who provided the heart and soul to "The Golden Girls"). Without her, it was left up to Meshach/Anthony to keep Dixie/Julia and Annie/Mary Jo from spinning out of control, which was a mighty big task, to say the least, lol.

I'd say "Hacks" has been JS's first, really successful series since leaving DW back in '91, though. She's had a ton of great roles in between - and not just in TV either, but also in theater and film - but as far as TV goes, it seems like she has a better track record as a guest or recurring actor on established series ("Frasier," "24," "Fargo," etc.) and limited series ("Watchmen" and "Mare of Easttown").

I would again pop in just to say that 24 (which I know you mentioned) is what put Smart back on the TV map as the drunken, tortured First Lady opposite Gregory Itzin. She was a viral success there, before virality. It's funny what shows do that.

Edited November 25, 2025Nov 25 by Vee

15 hours ago, SoapDope78 said:

Charlotte Stewart admitted that she and Victor French were friends with benefits during the run of the show.......🤣

Just the thought of "Etta Plum" gettin' horizontal with "Mr. Edwards"....!

15 hours ago, Vee said:

I have always wanted to get Tichina Arnold (or Tisha) back on a soap but no way they'd do it now. Maybe in their leaner years, but fortunately for them those are not today.

But you never know! I mean, I never thought I'd see Tamara Tunie back on a soap full-time either. Yet, there she is, vamping it up with the other Articulettes on BTG.

13 hours ago, applcin said:

The likeable Bill Bixby fared pretty decently with series: My Favorite Martian, The Courtship of Eddie's Father and The Incredible Hulk were all solid hits, although The Magician and Goodnight, Beantown didn't fare as well.

Didn't some sketch comedy show once do a mashup of "Eddie's Father" and "Hulk"? Something like "The Courtship of the Incredible Hulk"?