LOS ANGELES (AP) – ABC’s “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter” will continue despite star John Ritter’s death and will show the TV family coping with his character’s loss, the network said Tuesday. ABC Entertainment President Susan Lyne said the sitcom will debut next Tuesday as planned and that the network will air the three episodes Ritter filmed before his death last week. After that, the series co-starring Katey Sagal will go into repeats while writers retool it and production starts. No date was given for when the show will return to the air. It hasn’t been decided if the death of Ritter’s character, Paul Hennessy, will mirror what happened to the actor, ABC executives said.
Gimme a Break lasted for several seasons after the death of the actor who played the father.
Cheers ran for several years after the death of Coach.
Good Times ran for a number of years after the death of the father (although John Amos is still alive and well).
None of these were the lead character of the shows in question but all were important elements, which were removed, and the shows continued.
I don’t see that this is automatically “the low road” for the show. I don’t watch the show but it’s apparently fairly successful and entertaining. If it can continue in the face of tragedy, is there some reason why it shouldn’t? Not really understanding the criticism here Eve.
I thought that was Harry Anderson’s post-Night Court sitcom, IIRC, based loosely on Dave Barry. Not sure if Ritter’s show is based on anyone, only seen it 2 or 3 times myself.
Those shows were ensemble shows, Otto; Ritter was the absolute star of this show.
Compare it instead with a show like The Bob Newhart Show. and what would have happened if Bob Newhart had died while making the show and the producers decided to continue with the show anyway (without his character).
I had also read/heard that Henry Winkler (who was close friends with Ritter and was rehearsing for a guest spot on the show the night he died) would be cast in the show as an uncle/family friend and that Ritter’s death would be written into the show.
Wouldn’t work. The Sopranos only brought Livia in for a single scene (and then had her die offscreen later in the episode). The effects were difficult and expensive to do, and in my opinion, it STILL looked like shit. Totally killed the momentum of the episode, too, since it was so well-publicized. They just cut and pasted old dialogue from previous scenes of hers and built a conversation around it (basically, she spouted a few catch-phrases). Also, though Livia was an important presence in the show, she was only part of the ensemble. No way would this work for an entire show, let alone an extended period of time.
There is a close parallel to this: Chico and the Man. Freddie Prinze was the star and in the title of the show. After he committed suicide the show went on and he was replaced by a 12-year-old to play off of Jack Albertson.
I never watched the show, so I don’t know how offensive this was. But it kept all the other actors (and crew) employed and that’s a serious thing even in Hollywood.
This reminds me of “News Radio”, though that show was funnier, less known and lost a (imho) bigger talent. They tried it for a short while with Luvitz replacing Hartman. I remember Dave Foley on a talk show seeming rather surprised that the network wanted to go ahead. I don’t think a sitcom can weather this kind of news.
Knowing the general sense of taste of TV producers, we’ll be lucky if they don’t come up with the idea of “Let’s cast a bunch of 70’s TV personalities! Tee-hee!”.
lissener, I am just in awe. Who else would know that, about Sandy Duncan? I watched the original MTM and all the spinoffs, including Valerie, and I don’t even remember that. Wow.
Sandy Duncan’s first TV show “Funny Face” flopped in 1971. Then in 1972, she came back with the same character, but in something called “The Sandy Duncan Show.”
The second one was doing well in the ratings, but I believe production was halted after Duncan was diagnosed with a tumor near her eye.