Useless sitcom trivia

[jaybird2001wi]

Me and a coworker spent some downtime last Saturday talking about useless sitcom facts and here are some burning questions and facts about some of our favorite shows:

 

Saved by the Bell - Started out as "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" which starred Screech, Lisa, Zack and Mr. Belding in an Indiana junior high school. They conveniently moved all four characters to California a year or two later. The odd thing is, it was mentioned several times in the high school Saved by the Bell that Zack and Jesse Spano were friends since elementary school, even though Jesse was never mentioned in the original Good Morning, Miss Bliss. A.C. Slater somehow found a way to play football, track, wrestling, swimming and basketball all in one academic year. Zack was a track star in one episode and a basketball star in another (Belding injures his knee by accidently running into him after a pre-game pep talk).

Family Matters - Was actually a spin-off of Perfect Strangers. Harriet Winslow was Larry Appleton's elevator operator in a few episodes when Larry was a photojournalist of the Chicago Chronicle. The youngest daughter, Judy, conveniently vanished after a few episodes when she said she "was going upstairs to get something" and never came back down the stairs.

Growing Pains - Leonardo DiCaprio got his started in acting on this show as Mike Seaver's (Kirk Cameron) homeless student. One of Kirk Cameron's on-screen girlfriends was fired from the show after Joanna Kerns filed a complaint on her when she appeared in Playboy Magazine.

Full House - Uncle Jesse began the sitcom as Jesse Cochran, but his last name was changed to Katsopolis to refer to his Greek heritage later on. Bob Saget was not the original Danny Tanner, as the original was fired after the Pilot episode. The producers re-did the pilot with Saget later on. Dave Coulier introduced Candace Cameron (D.J. Tanner) to her future husband, Valeri Bure, during a charity hockey game. Dave Coulier always wore Detroit sports jerseys to show pride in his hometown of Detroit during episodes.

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - Don Cheadle starred as Will Smith's friend from Philly and was known as Ice Tray. Marsha Warfield had to two different roles on the show, once as Will's "bigger" classmate who he ended up taking to a school dance and also as Marrisa Redman, whom Hilary served as her personal assistant.

Cosby Show - Adam Sandler starred as Theo's classmate when he was shown at school. Cosby wore different college shirts after several colleges mailed him them as part of a promotional effort to show their schools on National TV. Olivia (Raven) has her own show on the Disney Channel. The show had several celebrity cameo's such as Dick Vitale and the Late Jim Valvano as furniture movers. They also had Stevie Wonder, Frank Robinson, among others. Cliff Huxtable's dad on the show is actually seven years older than he is in real life.

Hangin' With Mr. Cooper - The show was filmed on the same set as Growing Pains, often using the very same living room as the Seavers.

Step by Step - Cody was not seen on any of the later shows when he was fired after being charged with domestic abuse of his wife in real life.

Cheers - an independent accounting firm actually spent time watching every Cheers episode and tabulated Norm's bar tab as $85,000.

Brady Bunch - It was rumored that Barry Williams (Greg Brady) had a fling with Florence Henderson off the set during the course of the show. In an episode of the Bunch clan at an Ohio Amusement Park, producers paid off the Theme Park's owners to allow the Brady Kids to skip in lines for rides in order to speed up the filming. The filming was taken place during regular hours with unsuspecting patrons.

 

 

(added tag --1992)

[cweber39]

One of Kirk Cameron's on-screen girlfriends was fired from the show after Joanna Kerns filed a complaint on her when she appeared in Playboy Magazine.

It was actually Kirk Cameron that wanted her gone.

[trwi7]

Dave Coulier introduced Candace Cameron (D.J. Tanner) to her future husband, Valeri Bure, during a charity hockey game. Dave Coulier always wore Detroit sports jerseys to show pride in his hometown of Detroit during episodes.

I actually knew this. I remember that one episode where Joey was playing in the charity hockey game and Michelle got scared because Joey made an angry face.http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/roll.gif

 

I also had a crush on Al from Step by Step.

[Paul77]

One of Kirk Cameron's on-screen girlfriends was fired from the show after Joanna Kerns filed a complaint on her when she appeared in Playboy Magazine.

It was actually Kirk Cameron that wanted her gone.

Yeah, if I remember correctly isn't Kirk a pretty religious guy. I can't imagine he approved of something like that.

 

[radman12484]

your not the only one who had a crush on her http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/wink.gif

[trwi7]

One of Kirk Cameron's on-screen girlfriends was fired from the show after Joanna Kerns filed a complaint on her when she appeared in Playboy Magazine.

It was actually Kirk Cameron that wanted her gone.

Yeah, if I remember correctly isn't Kirk a pretty religious guy. I can't imagine he approved of something like that.

 

 

Yes he is. I know of a hilarious video but I'm not going to post it because I don't want to start a Holy War which will then turn into a political debate.

[1992casey]

Here are a few off the top of my head:

• Dick Van Dyke Show: Johnny Carson was originally considered to play the lead character. Obviously, that would have required a different name for the show. Carl Reiner played the lead character in the show's pilot.
• Gilligan's Island: Carroll O'Connor was originally considered for the role of the Skipper and Raquel Welch was originally considered for the role of Mary Ann.
• Brady Bunch: Gene Hackman was considered for the role of Mike Brady.
• Lost in Space: This wasn't a sitcom, but it may as well have been. Carroll O'Connor was considered for the role of Dr. Smith.
• Bewitched: Dick Sargent was the preferred choice for the role of Darrin when the show first began. He wasn't available, so Dick York was selected instead. Years later, when York's health prevented him from continuing, Sargent replaced him.
• Bewitched: While it was never mentioned for obvious reasons, Uncle Arthur (Paul Lynde) is widely recognized as TV's first gay sitcom character.
• Bewitched: Censors let Endora and Maurice live a blatantly open marriage because they were a witch and a warlock.
• Bewitched: This was the first 'modern' sitcom to allow a married couple to sleep in the same bed.
• Cheers: William Devane (Knots Landing) was first considered for the role of Sam Malone.
• Married... With Children: In the early episodes, it was mentioned several times that Peggy Bundy's family lived in Milwaukee. As time went on, her family lived in the fictional Wanker County, Wisconsin. However, she did attend Polk High School with husband Al in Chicago, but the connection was never explained. She was pregnant with Kelly when they got married after graduating.

• Married... With Children: There were several episodes where Peggy Bundy was pregnant. It was fully intended that the Bundys would have a baby on the show. The neighbors, (the D'Arcys) were expecting at the same time.

  When actress Katey Sagal lost her baby in the seventh month, it was decided that neither pregnancy ever happened because it would be too hard on Sagal to have a baby on the show. The episodes were 'erased' when Al woke up from a 'Dallas-like' dream. Segal's subsequent two pregnancies were covered up by creative camera work and maternity leaves.

• Leave it to Beaver: Censors delayed the airing of an early episode for several weeks because it showed a toilet in the bathroom. The toilet was germane to the plot as the toilet tank was home to the boys' pet alligator.
• Brady Bunch: Their bathroom never had a toilet.
• Leave it to Beaver: Did episodes on alcoholism and divorce years before the topics became 'fashionable'.

• Dick Van Dyke Show: Drove censors into a hyper-tizzy by doing race-related comedy ahead of its time. In one episode, Rob Petrie was convinced his baby was switched at birth. Laura Petrie was relieved when they found out that Mr. and Mrs. Peters, the couple allegedly possessing the Petrie baby, was black.

  On another episode, Rob and Laura accidently got black permanent dye on their hands and arms before they were to accept a racial equality award.

• Petticoat Junction: Sharon Tate (who was murdered by Charles Manson) was cast as the first Billie Jo, but appeared on publicity pictures only. Some say it was because she posed in Playboy. Others explain that her agent preferred that she persue a movie career.
• The Lucy Show: Vivian Vance played TV's first divorced sitcom regular.

[Paul77]

You could make the argument that "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" was technically a different project than "Saved by the bell". NBC wanted a prime time school based comedy (an answer to ABC's "Head of the Class") and came up with a basic premise for the show and commissioned a pilot.

 

"Bliss" was that pilot. After just one prime time airing NBC passed. The producers than took the show to Disney who produced only a dozen episodes before canceling the show. The following year NBC decided to take another crack at it's school comedy and bought the idea back from Disney (thats when all the changes took place). Later when NBC bought the rights to air "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" they reworked the episodes with a "wrap around" tying the two shows together under the name "Saved By The Bell: The Junior High Years".

 

I hated "Saved by..." but I'm fascinated by tv show continuity issues.

 

 

[burniebrewer]

I'm disappointed, I thought there was going to be trivia questions.

[Paul77]

• Bewitched: This was the first 'modern' sitcom to allow a married couple to sleep in the same bed.

The only way to satisfy everyones definition of "first" is like this: "Bewitched was the first live action tv sitcom that allowed actors unmarried to each other to share a bed on television."

 

The title characters in "Mary Kay & Johnny" (1947;Dumont, NBC, then CBS) were certainly the first TV couple shown in bed together. That was admittedly in the early days before "sitcom" was even a word. Nevertheless, it did happen. The "Flintstones" (1960) were the first TV couple shown in bed together once the sitcom had been established, but that can be dismissed (by some) because it was animated - though it was a prime time show. The Munsters debuted in 1964, same as Bewitched, and showed Herman and Lilith in bed together but their first "bedroom scene" aired 5 weeks after the first such scene in "Bewitched".

[1992casey]

In my mind, I defined 'modern' as the first show after the long string of 'twin bed' series. I forgot about The Flintstones. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[jwill535]

Seven on Married with Children is another kid that got the, "went upstairs and never came down" treatment. The producer purposly didnt explain it for the fun of it.

[1992casey]

Seven on Married with Children is another kid that got the, "went upstairs and never came down" treatment. The producer purposely didn't explain it for the fun of it.

Seven showed up on a later episode when he was pictured as a missing child on the side of a milk carton. I think he appeared in similar fashion a second time, too.

I hated "Saved by..." but I'm fascinated by tv show continuity issues.

I believe Saved by the Bell spent most of its first-run life as a Saturday morning sitcom. There's a word for TV continuity purposely changing' date=' but danged if I could find it. In the process, because this show did this, I found this trivia:

[list'] [*]The Cosby Show: In the first episode, the Huxtables specifically mentioned that they had four children. Soon thereafter, an older fifth child was added. [*]The Cosby Show: In the first episode, Bill Cosby's character was named Clifford. As time went on, his name became Heathcliff. [*]The Cosby Show: There were only two cusses in the entire history of the show. In episode one, Cosby said, "damn right." The second cuss occurred when that scene was replayed as a flashback in the series' final episode.

[Fatter than Joey]

"went upstairs and never came down"

 

Otherwise referred to as the "Chuck Cunningham" syndrome

[Paul77]

I believe Saved by the Bell spent most of its first-run life as a Saturday morning sitcom.

I think all but the very first airing of the original version aired on Saturday Am's. The pilot aired in prime time bumping "The Facts of Life". Talk about a useless bit of info.

There's a word for TV continuity purposely changing' date=' but danged if I could find it.[/quote']I believe the term is "recon" or "retcon" or something similar. Retro Continuity.

 

 

 

 

[1992casey]

I can't be sure, but I think the College Years and the movies were also prime time.

 

And you're right about retcon.

[PaulRigdon]

Wasn't it Queen Latifah on Fresh Prince?

 

Marsha Warfield is from Night Court

[jaybird2001wi]

PaulRigdon, you are correct. Guess I got those two confused for some reason. Hey, speaking of Night Court, did you all know that the judge, played by Harry Anderson, was dyslexic in real life and he had a different way of memorizing his lines?

Also, in Spin City... in the last episode, Michael J. Fox returned and mentioned that an Alex P. Keaton was a junior Senator for Ohio. Another twist is that almost every character on Spin City had cameo appearances on Scrubs because they shared the same producer, Bill Lawrence.

 

Michael Boatman - Played Carter Heywood on Spin City, played Dr. Cox's friend in Scrubs who had an autistic child

Alan Ruck (from Ferris Bueller fame) - Played Stuart Bondek on Spin City, played a cancer patient who sued Dr. Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) after she declared he had 6 months to live.

Richard Kind - Played Paul Lassiter in Spin City, played hypochondriac Mr. Gorman in Scrubs

The Mayor - Played Randall Winston in Spin City, played prostate cancer patient in Scrubs

James from Spin City played narcotic addict/con man in Scrubs

Michael J. Fox - Mike Flaherty in Spin City and Dr. Kevin Casey, the OCD doctor in Scrubs.

 

Another weird thing is, although Sarah Chalke was Becky No. 2 on Roseanne and was supposed to be older than Darlene, she actually is a year younger in real life.

 

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I also have a question for Who's the Boss fans. Why on Earth did a former big league ballplayer like Tony Miceli (Tony Danza) decide to go as low as being a simple housekeeper for a lawyer when he could have afforded something better in the business of baseball? Oh, and I thought Alyssa Milano was hot on Who's the Boss (hey I was only 8 or so when it was on). And did you all know that the actor Danny Pintauro came out of the closet and was fully supported by his former Boss castmates, even Milano?

 

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What was the deal with Doogie Howser, MD? I never seen his friend (Max Castella or something like that) in any other show or movie ever again.

 

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And last but not least.... in Saved by the Bell, the reason they created Tori was because Tiffani Amber-Theissen and Elizabeth Berkley's contracts expired and were not renewed, so they made the series finale before their contracts expired, leaving a gap between episodes, so they created Tori.

 

Oh, and Liz Berkley's real name is an exotic name, like Nehama Pina or something.

[Paul77]

Wasn't it Queen Latifah on Fresh Prince?

 

Marsha Warfield is from Night Court

That would be correct, Warfield was never on Fresh Prince.

 

[jaybird2001wi]

By the way, two of my favorite obscure 80's sitcoms were "Too Close for Comfort" and "Perfect Strangers." I will never forget the antics of Balki.

[Paul77]

Here's a bit of trivia for everyone: What is the single greatest television show ever created? Think about it...got it? Wrong!

The answer is "You Can't Do That On Television". It defined a network (Nickelodeon), it gave us slime and made us wary of using the phrase "I Don't Know" without an umbrella. It was incredibly UN-politically correct. I doubt you could get away with a show like that today. Imagine a kids show poking fun at the Middle East the way "You Can't..." poked fun at Russia and the Cold War. Episodes about drugs, adoption, smoking on a sketch comedy show sporting an cast of child actors would never make it today. There was a recurring sketch in which the only adult male in the cast played a character who tried desperately to kill the child character (the kids always out smarted him though). Try doing that today.

My mom hated it, tried to keep me from watching. She told me it was "demeaning and gross", but I think it was Canada's richest contribution to American television (take that William Shatner).

[Paul77]

What was the deal with Doogie Howser, MD? I never seen his friend (Max Castella or something like that) in any other show or movie ever again.

He's had a few bit rolls here and there but his biggest work since then has been on the Sopranos. He appeared in 29 episodes, 15 shy of his total appearances on "Doogie". Currently he has a small role in the ESPN mini series "The Bronx is Burning".

 

[1992casey]

Try doing that today.

Things you wouldn't see or hear on TV shows produced today:

• I Love Lucy: Ethel sang Shortnin' Bread with the word Mammy rather than Mama.
• Leave it to Beaver: Ward grilling out and asking Beaver to get him the asbestos gloves.
• Andy Griffith Show: A character offhandedly mentioned that he was adopting a child. Aunt Bea commented that she hoped the child was the right color.

This one was just temporary, but there was a time in the 1960s where stations refused to air the I Love Lucy episode where Lucy, Ricky, Fred, and Ethel visited Cuba.

[cweber39]

The answer is "You Can't Do That On Television". It defined a network (Nickelodeon), it gave us slime and made us wary of using the phrase "I Don't Know" without an umbrella. It was incredibly UN-politically correct. I doubt you could get away with a show like that today. Imagine a kids show poking fun at the Middle East the way "You Can't..." poked fun at Russia and the Cold War. Episodes about drugs, adoption, smoking on a sketch comedy show sporting an cast of child actors would never make it today. There was a recurring sketch in which the only adult male in the cast played a character who tried desperately to kill the child character (the kids always out smarted him though). Try doing that today.

I completly forgot about that show! I used to watch it and my mom was the same way with not wanting me to watch it.

[PKBadger]

20fry.....don't encourage your mother. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif