2 minutes ago, ReddFoxx said:

No one from Good Times had another television hit.

What about Janet Jackson on "Fame," lol?

It seems like Valerie Bertinelli has had a bit more success in TV movies and miniseries than in half-hour comedies.

8 minutes ago, Khan said:

What about Janet Jackson on "Fame," lol?

It seems like Valerie Bertinelli has had a bit more success in TV movies and miniseries than in half-hour comedies.

*face palm* "Fame" always escapes me for some reason. I had been thinking about Debbie Allen and the only TV shows for her that came to mind were "In The House" and "Grey's Anatomy".

1 minute ago, ReddFoxx said:

I had been thinking about Debbie Allen and the only TV shows for her that came to mind were "In The House" and "Grey's Anatomy".

You know, when I watched the first episode of "In the House," something told me Debbie Allen would not last long on that show. Not that she isn't capable of performing comedy, but she just seemed so out-of-place with LL Cool J and those kids.

Speaking of Fran Drescher, her pre-The Nanny tv show career was interesting to me.

Charmed Lives - A failed spin-off of Who's the Boss that starred her and Donna Dixon.

Princesses - Basically a Who Wants to Marry A Millonaire type show about three women living in a New York Penthouse rent free and trying to live life/rebuild their lives. The backstage issues were more exciting than the product we saw onscreen.. but Drescher was the stand out (She played a more subdued Fran Fine type character).

Of her post The Nanny tv shows, my favorite was Happily Divorced where she was the 'straight man' reacting to the craziness around her (And Rita Moreno was hilarious as her mom).

I never saw Indebted though... can't imagine her and Steven Weber as a married couple LOL

I think Nancy set a record by having 2 failed sitcoms in the same season.

Nancy, Redd Foxx, Rob Reiner, Harvey Korman- ABC raided the opposition to try and weaken their shows.

John Amos was the first lead in the Maude revamp sitcom known first as Onward and Upward and then Mr Dugan.

Amos departed early on and Cleavon Little took over. The show was scheduled to debut March 79 but there were objections about the depiction of the lead character and it was cancelled at the last minute.

It was revamped again as Hangin In starring Bill Macy and aired for 4 episodes August 79.

Apparently the scripts for all versions , going back to the original Maude concept was pretty much the same as was the supporting cast.

4 hours ago, Khan said:

You know, when I watched the first episode of "In the House," something told me Debbie Allen would not last long on that show. Not that she isn't capable of performing comedy, but she just seemed so out-of-place with LL Cool J and those kids.

It was an odd match, but Debbie did good some good lines as Jackie. When Tiffany and her friend were trying to go somewhere in some tight dresses Jackie said they looked like they were going dancing with Senator Packwood which for some reason had me in stitches.

Sheryl Lee Ralph got a couple of seasons of "It's A Living" under her belt before she had a flop with "New Attitude" with Phyllis Yvonne Stickney and Morris Day. Sheryl would sometimes use the babyish voice she used for Deena Jones in "Dreamgirls" and it came off silly.

Her fellow "Dreamgirls" alumni Loretta Devine had a flop with "Sugar and Spice" that used the similar level headed/impulsive sister format as "New Attitude".

Andy Griffith

Andy Griffith Show 1960-68

Headmaster 1970 revamped midseason as

The New Andy Griffith Show 1971

Adams of Eagle Lake 1975 only 2 episodes aired

Salvage 1 1979

The Yeagers 1980

Matlock 1986-95

So 2 hits that bookended a number of misses.

Raymond Burr settled into "Ironside" just a year after "Perry Mason" ended and was on television nearly non-stop from the late 50s to mid 70s. He had a flop with "Kingston: Confidential" but later revived "Perry Mason" with a series of TV movies. In between those he did a short series that dramatized real cases where he played a fictional judge.

Rita Moreno was on "The Electric Company", then the network seasons of "9 to 5", "Oz" on HBO and the revival of "One Day At a Time". The one season flops she had were "The Cosby Mysteries" (which was a big wtf is this series) and "Cane" which debuted during a writers strike.

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by ReddFoxx

Back to Loni for a moment, she has the dubious honor of starring in 4 remakes of classic movies and taking on roles immortalized by Hollywood's classic stars.

A Letter to Three Wives 1985 remake of 1948 original. Played the role of Lora Mae -Linda Darnell in the original

Too Good to be True 1988 remake of Leave Her to Heaven 1945. Plated Ellen, originally Gene Tierney.

Sorry Wrong Number 1989 remake of 1948 original. Played Madeleine, originally Leona played by Miss Barbara Stanwyck.

Coins in the Fountain. Loose remake of Three Coins in the Fountain 1954. Same premise but different plot/charcters.

20 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

Speaking of Fran Drescher, her pre-The Nanny tv show career was interesting to me.

Charmed Lives - A failed spin-off of Who's the Boss that starred her and Donna Dixon.

Princesses - Basically a Who Wants to Marry A Millonaire type show about three women living in a New York Penthouse rent free and trying to live life/rebuild their lives. The backstage issues were more exciting than the product we saw onscreen.. but Drescher was the stand out (She played a more subdued Fran Fine type character).

Of her post The Nanny tv shows, my favorite was Happily Divorced where she was the 'straight man' reacting to the craziness around her (And Rita Moreno was hilarious as her mom).

I never saw Indebted though... can't imagine her and Steven Weber as a married couple LOL

Fran also did a sitcom pilot in the early 90's( pre-Nanny) with Karen Valentine. It is on youtube. Karen Valentine (who was America's sweetheart of the 70's) is another actress that didn't find another successful series after Room 222 (1969-1974). In 1975 she did the short self-titled series Karen. After that she did several failed pilots which many are on youtube. She was a regular on Hollywood Square during the 70's and hosted a short-lived pop culture show in the mid 80's "Our Time" that reflected on the baby boomer period with celebrity guests. She did many TV movies, guest shots, and several films for Disney.

One of my favorite TV films she did was 1974's " The Girl Who Came Gift Wrapped" with Richard Long. Louise Sorel, Farrah Fawcett, Dave Madden, Reta Shaw, and Tom Bosley co-star. Jamie Lyn Bauer also has a small role. Aaron Spelling produced it. It looks like he would have found a project for Karen at some point. The film is on youtube.

Edited 46 minutes ago46 min by SoapDope78