# television shows that decided to add kids **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 27, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276 "2018-03-27T14:34:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/81 "2018-05-11T19:27:57Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Family Ties pulled this one. Not that they didn’t have other crimes under their belt (they were the king of clip shows :rolleyes: ), but this one was so blatant. Baby one season, four-year-old the next. Blammo. This happened on the _Drew Carey Show_, too. Steve and Mimi’s baby, King Gus, (It was suggested by a viewer in a contest. Really!) arrived in season 8. By the next season, he was a five-year old pyro who had burned down their house. ---
**Author:** ![Princess\_Perfume](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/princess_perfume/32/16518_2.png) [@Princess\_Perfume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princess_Perfume)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/82 "2018-05-12T07:44:39Z")
What’s depressing about Dodie (and Buffy Davis and Cindy Brady) is how they wore outfits that resulted, not in visible panty line, but in visible panties. In the publicity shot for the wedding episode, Dodie’s underwear is clearly visible because her dress is so short. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/83 "2018-05-12T12:51:15Z")
> [@Princess\_Perfume](#): > > What’s depressing about Dodie (and Buffy Davis and Cindy Brady) is how they wore outfits that resulted, not in visible panty line, but in visible panties. In the publicity shot for the wedding episode, Dodie’s underwear is clearly visible because her dress is so short. It’s not something that I’ve ever noticed … maybe that was just in fashion at the time? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/84 "2018-05-12T15:28:45Z")
> [@Shearer](#): > > Only Fools and Horses went downhill when they added wives and kids So did _ **Big Bang Theory** _. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/85 "2018-05-12T20:57:30Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It’s not something that I’ve ever noticed … maybe that was just in fashion at the time? It was, which is a bit creepy. Young girls tended to be dressed in VERY short dresses. I have a vague memory of having several pairs of underpants with ruffles across the back. There’d be no point to that if the dresses were long enough to cover, but basically the babydoll-type dresses young girls were put in would barely cover the ass area if you weren’t moving. ---
**Author:** ![HowSoonIsThen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@HowSoonIsThen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HowSoonIsThen)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/86 "2018-05-13T04:29:28Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > IMHO…yes and no. Dawn on _Buffy The Vampire Slayer_ seemed to be intentionally spoofing the usual tropes (e.g. She Was Always There From The Beginning, even though she actually wasn’t), at least when the story arc revolved around her being this extradimensional object given human form to hide her from the Big Bad. But once that arc was done, the writers didn’t seem to know what to do with her, and so they fell right into the standard Cousin Oliver traps. Agreed. For all the problems with Dawn, the story arc that brought her into the show is probably the best of the series and worth 3 seasons of her bratiness. ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/87 "2018-05-16T03:01:30Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > The Cosby Show added an older child (Sabrina le Beauf), who wasn’t mentioned at all until well into the first season. > > We always wondered if it was a last-minute decision to cover their tails because Cosby said “we have 5 kids” when clearly they were only showing 4. > > I suspect they planned it all along, though it seemed clumsy. I’ve talked to the show’s writer about this, and no, it wasn’t planned all along. Bill Cosby sprung it on them suddenly. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/88 "2018-05-16T13:42:56Z")
> [@Princess\_Perfume](#): > > What’s depressing about Dodie (and Buffy Davis and Cindy Brady) is how they wore outfits that resulted, not in visible panty line, but in visible panties. In the publicity shot for the wedding episode, Dodie’s underwear is clearly visible because her dress is so short. I’ve been watching My Three Sons since last fall on MeTv. It’s now in the Dodie era. I’m kind of losing interest now. It was great before. But I just said the same thing to my husband the other night. Why would you dress a little girl like that?! She’s either dressed like a boy or she’s wearing a dress with her underwear showing. Unless what I think is underwear is pant-things that are part of the outfit - like baby girls used to wear with a dress. Another thing that drives me crazy about Dodie…what kind of hairdo is that!? It looks like someone used a hatchet to cut her hair! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/89 "2018-05-16T14:49:14Z")
Would mentioning the flip side violate protocol? Fox’s “Grounded For Life” had three kids (daughter and two younger sons) until their last season when, IRL, the family of the younger boy moved back East. No mention of the missing third kid on the show. Sadly, he was the funniest of the three. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/90 "2018-05-16T15:08:06Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > I’ve been watching My Three Sons since last fall on MeTv. It’s now in the Dodie era. I’m kind of losing interest now. It was great before. But I just said the same thing to my husband the other night. Why would you dress a little girl like that?! She’s either dressed like a boy or she’s wearing a dress with her underwear showing. Unless what I think is underwear is pant-things that are part of the outfit - like baby girls used to wear with a dress. Another thing that drives me crazy about Dodie…what kind of hairdo is that!? It looks like someone used a hatchet to cut her hair! Interesting trivia about Dawn Lyn, who played Dodie: She’s the sister of singer Leif Garrett. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/91 "2018-05-16T15:12:07Z")
Not an ‘added’ kid but this was just lampshaded on Season 2 of ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’. Violet Beauregard, right at the beginning of the first show of the season, says something like, “We’ve been sitting here so long it appears that Sonny (the baby) has aged from baby to toddler.” Then they move on with the show. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/92 "2018-05-16T22:22:04Z")
“Upstairs, Downstairs” added some children but quickly got rid of them. Elizabeth Bellamy Kirbridge had a daughter Lucy (fathered by her gay husband’s publisher) but when Nicola Pagett left the show (fearing typecasting) both mother and daughter were said to move to America. Referred to occasionally but never showing up again. James Bellamy got the former maid Sarah pregnant but the child died shortly after birth. They pretty much said James wife Hazel couldn’t have children which closed the door on that. When Richard Bellamy married Virginia Hamilton (both were widowed, good thing Richard was finishing a book on his father-in-law instead of boarding the Titanic), she had a young son William and a young daughter Alice (an older son was killed in World War I). But after an episode where both children persuaded their parents not to move out of 165 Eaton Place because they liked the servants, William was sent off to boarding school. Alice had one episode where she had a mean tutor but that was about it for her. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/93 "2018-05-16T22:47:02Z")
^ Hawkeye: Meanwhile, Aunt Martha, having taken a tramp in the wood, is lying in a ditch at the edge of town. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/94 "2018-05-16T23:01:55Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > ^ Hawkeye: Meanwhile, Aunt Martha, having taken a tramp in the wood, is lying in a ditch at the edge of town. 🙂 No doubt the tramp also enjoyed these romps. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Princess\_Perfume](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/princess_perfume/32/16518_2.png) [@Princess\_Perfume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princess_Perfume)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/95 "2018-05-16T23:32:04Z")
Dodie’s problem was the bizarre filming schedule of My Three Sons. That might explain the “Hatchet” hairdo and the too-short dresses with panties exposed. In scenes with Fred Macmurray, Dawn Lyn looks very young, but in scenes without him filmed months later, she’s slightly grown and the producers are forced to try and make her look as she did from the start. As we move into Season 11 and 12, more often she’s wearing trousers and has a longer, better, hairstyle. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/96 "2018-05-17T03:07:19Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > No mention of Roseanne yet. Jerry was added when Roseanne got pregnant IRL, Andy was added when Laurie Metcalf got pregnant IRL, and Harris was added at the last show. Twenty one years later Harris is a 15 year old high school student, Jerry works on a fishing boat, and Andy apparently doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/97 "2018-05-17T12:40:40Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Alice had one episode where she had a mean tutor but that was about it for her. Alice shows up briefly at the very end for Georgina’s wedding, but she’s ~20 by then and played by an older actress. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/98 "2018-05-17T13:16:39Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > The Cosby Show added an older child (Sabrina le Beauf), who wasn’t mentioned at all until well into the first season. > > We always wondered if it was a last-minute decision to cover their tails because Cosby said “we have 5 kids” when clearly they were only showing 4. In the (aired) pilot, one of Cliff/Claire asks the other, “Why do we have four kids?”, and the other responded, “Because we don’t have five.” ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/99 "2018-05-17T14:30:21Z")
The Flintstones added Pebbles and Bam Bam and they quickly became major characters. Admittedly Flintstones was based on “The Honeymooners” and really only after having the kids did the show really became different. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/100 "2018-05-17T19:03:47Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > In the (aired) pilot, one of Cliff/Claire asks the other, “Why do we have four kids?”, and the other responded, “Because we don’t have five.” Pssst! Post #66. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276.md?page=6)