It's amazing how much a sitcom, or any long-running show for that matter, changes over time. Most of the time, those changes are pretty subtle: an actor changes his voice, a character changes in appearance and/or personality (didn't anyone notice how cold Elaine from Seinfeld got after she de-poofed her hair?), a character gets phased out.But sometimes, a change happens that is not so subtle; in fact, the change isn't only noticed by every viewer the show has, but the entire tone and direction of the show changes because of the switcheroo.
Here are five transformations that were the most earth-shaking to viewers (well, four earth-shaking changes and a small one that has bugged me for years; I figured this would be as good a place to mention it as any):
- There's a new Darrin in town - After the fifth season of Bewitched, Dick York decided to leave the extremely popular show. Common knowledge is that York suffered from debilitating back pain that hampered his ability to work as time went on; he even suffered a seizure while filming one episode. When he couldn't go anymore, York bowed out, paving the way for Dick Sargent to take the role, transitioning in at the beginning of Season Six as if nothing happened. But, as good as Dick #2 was in the role, he was much more low-key in his reactions to Samantha's wacky witch world than the bug-eyed York was. As a result, the show started to become more about Samantha, the kids, and her witchy relatives than it was about how a mortal handles being married to a witch. The show lasted for three more seasons with Sargent, but it wasn't the same.
- Happy Days becomes Fonzie-tastic - Not having applied the lesson he learned on The Odd Couple, Garry Marshall originally staged Happy Days as a audience-less one-camera show that centered around the teenaged life of Richie Cunningham. His buddies, Potsie and Ralph, were prominently featured. It was a nice little show, but kind of quiet in tone. Fonzie was a minor character; a neighborhood greaser with a bad attitude. Heck, he didn't even wear a leather jacket (ABC thought it would make him look like a thug). But as the first and second seasons progressed, Fonzie became very popular, to the point where he was written into every episode. By the time the third season rolled around and the show was filmed in front of a live audience, the transformation was complete; Happy Days had become a broad, slapsticky comedy that centered around Fonzie. Within a season, he was in his leather jacket as he ski-jumped over a vicious shark, and the original nostalgia premise disappeared forever.
- Debra Barone becomes hot - This is the small change that bugs me. If you look at first-season episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond, you'll notice that Patricia Heaton's Debra looks a lot different than she did during the rest of the series. Her hair was shorter and she wore clothes that can best be described as "frumpy but functional". She basically looked like any young mother you'd see tooling around Long Island with her kids. But in Season Two, everything changed: Debra became a babe. Heaton grew her hair, started wearing short skirts, put on some makeup, and had some...um... enchancements done. Debra's character also changed: she became very impatient with Ray and reacted much more harshly to his dopey male ways. What bugs me, though, is how this transformation took place. Did Heaton mention something to the producers? Did the producers themselves decide to make her more MILFy? Either way, Pat Heaton's change ushered in the era of CBS/ABC sitcoms that featured the "fat, dumb husband with the sexy patient saint of a wife," an era that most TV-philes would like to forget. Thanks, Patty!
- Newhart goes to film - Most people don't remember that the first season of Newhart was shot on videotape, and there's a good reason for that: those episodes are rarely, if ever, shown in reruns. Why? Because the first year of the show was so different than the other seven years, it would make a fan's head spin. That first year, the show was a bit more on the nutty side, concentrating more on physical humor than conversational or situational humor. The supporting characters outside of George Utley -- namely neighbor Kirk and maid Leslie -- were one-dimensional, standard sitcom sidekicks. When the show went to film for Season Two, however, it settled into the more homey, quirky rhythm that goverened the remaining run of the show. Maybe it was the film that helped; it was warmer than tape and matched the tone of the show perfectly. It's not a stretch to say that if Newhart stayed on tape, it wouldn't have made it past the second year.
- M*A*S*H loses a CO and a surgeon - In 1975, M*A*S*H was not a ratings juggernaut. While getting solid numbers, it was not the blockbuster hit that it would become within a few years. After three seasons, both McLean Stevenson (Col. Henry Blake) and Wayne Rogers (Trapper John) decided to leave to "pursue other opportunities," as the old saying goes. The writers responded accordingly: Col. Blake was killed in a plane crash and Trapper was shipped stateside. On come B.J. Hunnicutt and Col. Sherman Potter, two characters who jell with the rest of the cast and become icons as the ratings skyrocketed. But something else changed between Seasons Three and Four; Alan Alda, sensing that his star power was on the rise, took more control of the show, writing and directing a number of episodes. The show became much less slapsticky, and delved into the psyches of the characters as they all coped with the horrors of war. It was still funny, but that humor often came with a message attached, one that wasn't always gentle. I happen to think these were the best years of the show, but many don't. But there's no doubt that Alda took the departure of Stevenson and Rogers as an opportunity to make it his show. Would it have been as revered if he kept his mitts off it? No one will ever know.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-25-2005 @ 10:26AM
Doug Stewart said...
I would add in the second season of Mork and Mindy, getting rid of the father and grandmother. (If I remember the relationships correctly.)
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11-25-2005 @ 11:29AM
Jamie said...
family matters did the same things as Happy Days, except with Steve Urkel instead of the Fonz.
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11-25-2005 @ 11:30AM
Mase said...
The one that immediately comes to mind is the vast difference between the first season of "Melrose Place" and every subsequent season.
The first season of MP was really just "Beverely Hills: 90210" -- the post-college years. It was sweet and somewhat naive. The the next five seasons were as differenct as night and day.
The second season on-ward is what most people remember about MP. Amy Locane had left the show (I believe, incredibly, upon her own accord), Heather Locklear joined the cast, and it started down the tired-and-true over-the-top camp that it has become beloved/loathed for.
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11-25-2005 @ 11:38AM
Joel Keller said...
Uh, Mase, I know a lot of people thought Melrose Place was hilarious, but technically it's not a sitcom. This category was talking about sitcoms. Good example of extreme changes from any genre, though.
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11-25-2005 @ 3:24PM
LC said...
Not only did Happy Days go Fonzie-centric, but later on went Chachi-centric. I think I remember seeing, on the Happy Days reunion, Marshall stating that the show was getting killed in the ratings and the only thing that saved it was adding the laugh track.
One change that I believe made the show better was making Jim the bizaar character instead of Latka on Taxi. Jim was a minor character at first, but was so damned funny that they started to give the best weirdo situations to him while Latka became more of an afterthought.
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11-25-2005 @ 12:10PM
Mase said...
Oops. My post-Thanksgiving half-slumber had me gloss right over the sitcom qualification. My apologies.
One show that does come to mind is "NewsRadio" after Phil Hartman's murder. Although it tried valiantly to keep the same tone, Jon Lovitz was an inferior replacement (as would anyone) and the show was just not the same.
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11-25-2005 @ 12:14PM
Gordy said...
Hows about Roseanne's Becky switch, then switchback?
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11-25-2005 @ 1:06PM
elf said...
All in the Family after Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers left was intolerable. First they added the Stephanie character, then killed off Edith and finally broke all ties tothe original by moving the focus to Archie's bar.
As for Mork and Mindy, don't forget the addition of their son played by Jonathan Winters in the final season. Granted, they'd have been better off simply putting Robin Williams and Winters on a stage together and letting them do whatever they wanted. The other characters (and writers, it would seem) just got in the way at that point.
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11-25-2005 @ 2:19PM
Alan said...
I second Roseanne's Becky switch. It really ticked me off because the new Becky was a super Babe, which violated the entire premise as "Roseanne" being a regular, blue collar, working class, no pretty people type of show.
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11-25-2005 @ 1:03PM
Mark "Puff" Anderson said...
There's a new Darrin in town -
This would top my list as well.
Happy Days becomes Fonzie-tastic -
Looking back, I think the older brother from the first season disappearing and never being mentioned again was more of a shocker. And this show gave us the classic "jumping the shark" episode and term by which all shows are now judged. And it evolved first into the Fonzie show, then the Joanie and Chachie show...it had a healthy evolution.
Debra Barone becomes hot -
Yeah, I've noticed that. Seemed odd. She actually seems younger in the later episodes of the series than she does in the earlier ones.
Newhart goes to film -
This doesn't even register on my radar, just not something that I was even aware of. In the last Bob Newhart show where he awakens to find himself in bed with his wife from the previous series and it all seems to have been a dream...now that is classic.
M*A*S*H loses a CO and a surgeon -
Again, this was a great example of a show evolving as opposed to what Mork and Mindy did which seemed to be grasping at straws.
puff
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11-25-2005 @ 1:04PM
Mark "Puff" Anderson said...
Oh yeah!
I had forgotten about the Becky swap on Roseanne.
Best one of those was the one where they showed DJ later in life at a mental instituition and he kept mumbling over and over to himself, "They say she's the same, but she's not the same."
Greatness.
puff
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11-25-2005 @ 2:05PM
Darien said...
The funniest thing about the Becky switches were that at the end of a few eps during credit rolls they'd make a few smart-a$$ comments about it... pretty funny.
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11-25-2005 @ 2:10PM
Mike said...
How about "The Simpsons" becoming Homer's vehicle instead of Bart's vehicle? The early seasons of Simpsons were all about "Don't have a cow, man!" and "Eat my shorts!" Then slowly it evolved into the Homer show. Now it's all about Homer.
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11-25-2005 @ 2:10PM
Joel Keller said...
The Becky switch is interesting, but they started to make it into an inside joke after a while, especially after Lecy Goranson came back as Becky, then left again and Sarah Chalke again took her place. I think they even had a flashback where the two of them played "identical cousins" Patty Duke-style. In my book, if they're making jokes about it, then the change isn't as extreme. To me, things have to proceed as if nothing happened, like in the Darrin switch.
Oh, and Puff, the same Newhart series that had the "dream finale" is the one I was mentioning that started out on tape. It may have not registered with you because those episodes were rarely seen after the show hit its stride in Season Two.
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11-25-2005 @ 2:14PM
Richard Keller said...
'Debra Barone becomes hot' -- She wasn't hot during the first season because she was pregnant. She got hot in the second season, then become frumpy again in, I believe the third season because of ANOTHER pregnancy (little bunny isn't she?). She's looked even 'hotter' during the last few season's because she got some enhancements/reductions done.
Another change that could have been added was 'The Facts of Life'. The first season featured a larger cast of girls, Mrs. Garrett was the house mother, and the head master played a more prominent role. By the second season, most of the girls (including Molly Ringwald) were gone, Jo Polnichek was in, and the girls were working in the kitchen. Then, in the fifth or sixth season, they left the school for Edna to open the shop.
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11-25-2005 @ 2:24PM
Joel Keller said...
Rich, Pat Heaton was pregnant in Season Two, not Season One. But even then, before they started hiding her behind pillows and putting her in big bathrobes, you could tell that she was making an effort to change her look; her hair was longer and she wore less-frumpy clothes, at least at the beginning of the season.
I forgot about that first season of The Facts of Life, probably because it was so short that people forgot those episodes even existed; most people think it started with Jo, Blair, Tootie, and Natalie working in the cafeteria. That's a show that had a Rasputin-like existence... no matter what happened -- the girls graduate high school, Mrs. Garrett leaves, George Clooney comes and goes, Tootie sprouts a gigantic rack -- the show survived. It was on for nine years, for crissakes! That's one year longer than The Cosby Show!
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11-25-2005 @ 2:38PM
Mike said...
Wow, 4 stars now? So much pressure...
Must... keep... making... intelligent... comments...
Speaking of The Cosby Show, Cousin Pam? Where did she come from?
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11-25-2005 @ 2:59PM
redford227 said...
Buffy jumps from the WB to UPN.
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11-25-2005 @ 3:06PM
Joel Keller said...
Redford, we're talking sitcoms here. Buffy was definitely not a sitcom (although it has its funny moments).
Oh, and why does jumping networks change the content of the show? Did Buffy change that dramatically when it went to UPN?
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11-25-2005 @ 5:56PM
Jaymez said...
THANK YOU! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who thought Debra Barone was hot! It must have something to do with women named Patrica. Patrica Richardson from Home Improvement had the same super-babe thing going on in later seasons. I wonder if that was because the kids were getting older and now mom had more time to herself or what?
The one event that changed my favorite show was killing off Sasha Alexander on NCIS. I loved her on that show. A hot babe with an attitude and quick wit. I don't look forward to the show anywhere near as much now. It used to be one of those shows I'd force myself to stay awake for, no matter how tired I was feeling. As hot as Cote de Pablo was two weeks ago when she was pretending to be married to DiNozzo, she's just not Sasha!
Leah Rhemni plumping up last season (I think it was last season, I don't watch regularly) on King of Queens was a change that killed the only reason I watched that show. Yeah, it's shallow, but I don't care. I only sat through that show to see her and once she lost that look, I lost interest.
Yes, the main reason I watch TV is to oggle women I'd never stand a chance with. I never denied I was a sexist pig. The programs themselves are hardly entertaining.
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