I decided that next week
is 80’s TV sitcom week and I will be talking about a different childhood
favorite each day. Today, you get to find out which Awesome 80’s sitcoms
were not awesome enough to make the list. Have fun reliving your childhood,
I mean, MY childhood!
The Facts of Life
“The Facts of Life”
technically started in the 70’s, but since it started in 1979 and ran all
the way to 1988, I’m gonna call it an 80’s sitcom.
The Facts of Life was a
spin-off of “Different Strokes”
When the show began filming, Kim Fields was so short that the producers put
Tootie in roller skates to avoid difficult camera angles (she grew 3 inches
by the 2nd season). Ironically, she had lost a role on Diff'rent Strokes
because she was too tall to play Gary Coleman's girlfriend.
There have been Facts of Life references on Family Guy, Roseanne, Married
with Children, South Park, Living Single, Newhart, and The Simpsons among
other shows. In the movie The Cable Guy, Jim Carrey says: "I had to learn
the facts of life by WATCHING The Facts of Life."
When The Facts of Life ended its run in 1988, it had earned the distinction
of being the longest-running NBC prime-time series to date.
Webster
I loved “Webster”!!
What kid in the 80’s didn’t? I wanted a house with secret passages and I
may have called my mom Ma’am once or twice!
Original title was "Another Ballgame" and then "Then Came You" before it was
called "Webster".
Emmanuel Lewis's mother became aggravated with crew members who continually
picked him up to carry him to filming. Eventually the head of Paramount
Television had to tell the cast to stop.
Emmanuel Lewis's character Webster was ages 5 to 8 throughout the show's
run, but Lewis himself actually played Webster from ages 12 to 16.
Alf
“Alf”
was a fun little show about an Alien Life Form from the planet Melmac who
crash landed in the Tanner family garage. It even spawned a Saturday
Morning Cartoon spin-off!
ALF's name is Gordon Shumway, and he's from the planet Melmac.
The character 'ALF' was ranked #8 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest
Sci-Fi Legends" (1 August 2004, Vol. 52, No. 31) and appears on one of three
collectible covers.
In the years since the show's demise, both
Max Wright
and
Anne Schedeen
have stated that tensions were very high among the cast and crew. The
technical demands of the series made for very long shooting schedules, and
none of the actors enjoyed playing supporting roles to a puppet that always
had the best lines.
Benson
Another one that started in ’79, “Benson”
was on our TV every Friday night! Gretchen, the German housekeeper was
always entertaining!
The series was on the air seven years, longer than the show from which it
was spun-off,
"Soap"
(1977), which lasted four years.
The show marked the acting debut of a then-unknown young comedian,
Jerry Seinfeld.
The series ended with a cliffhanger that was never resolved. In the series,
Benson worked for the governor of an unnamed southern state and in the final
episode, Benson ran against his boss for the job and the show ended before
the election results were announced. Supposedly three different endings were
shot involving a Gatling win, a win by Benson, or a surprise win by a
wildcard candidate in which the two men are seen fishing together following
the inauguration. None of these endings proved satisfactory to anyone
involved, so the decision was made to keep the show's ending unresolved.
Remember, everyday next week I will feature a different TV show from my
childhood!!! May the Cheese be with you!
