# the worst children additions in television shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 3, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015 "2011-04-03T04:55:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/21 "2011-04-04T01:35:40Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > She was a bit older than most of these, but the addition of Dawn worked okay in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (seaon 5, at least; I never got around to watching the last 2 seasons). She gets better, actually. She’s great. They basically added her to put a spin on the “kid joining the show” cliche. She’s a good character. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/22 "2011-04-04T01:44:23Z")
Wow. Sorry for the typos in the OP. I have no idea how Facts of Life was substituted for Family Ties. Don’t you have to be thinking of something before you type it? I can’t remember when I even thought about the TV show Facts of Life. Very strange. And I knew it was Raven, not Ramon- Boy I butchered that kid’s name, didn’t I? What time did I post that? 😃 > [@Markxxx](#): > > I think it’d be easier to try to think of any kids added that WEREN’T bad 🙂 touche > [@Markxxx](#): > > Ricky Seagull on _the Partridge Family_ was 100 times worse than cousin Oliver. I mean they had two kids, Tracey and Chris who never did anything anyway, or had storylines so why add another kid, to scream (not sing he didn’t know how) out lines while Laurie and Mrs Partridge smile at him as if to say “He’s too cute” Great memory! I forgot all about Ricky until you mentioned it. Not to mention the youngest two Partridge kids, Chris and Tracy. Tracy rarely spoke, and could hardly stand and play the tambourine at the same time. The first Chris was such a spaz, they 86’ed him at the end of the first season and replaced him with the second Chris. He was pretty useless too. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/23 "2011-04-04T01:44:43Z")
The children of the corn that appeared on “Seventh Heaven”. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/24 "2011-04-04T01:46:50Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Scrappy Doo Seriously. Even as a kid I couldn’t stand to watch the episodes with Scrappy Doo. Also, IIRC most of the episodes that had him didn’t have Fred, Velma, or Daphne, which made them extra lame. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/25 "2011-04-04T06:38:47Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Scrappy Doo I forgot to give props to this answer also. Great answer to the thread. Totally took me out of the Saturday Morning Cartoon ritual I had down to a science. When Scrappy Doo came on, I tuned out. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/26 "2011-04-04T08:13:13Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Scrappy Doo Ding ding ding! Thread winner! I wonder what the show creators were thinking when they added him. I imagine it went something like this: Writer 1: Scooby Doo is a hit; it’s wildly popular and we’ve created some iconic characters! Writer 2: Yeah, we need to do something about that. Writer 1: Huh? Writer 2: What, you still want to be writing the same formulaic stories for the next twenty years? We need to make the show unwatchable somehow. Writer 1: Yeah, I see your point. How about adding an annoying puppy sidekick and diminishing the roles of the other kids? Writer 2: Bingo. Let’s give him some dumbass catch phrase, too. Writer 1: No problem. Sooner we’re done with this show, the sooner I can bring my “ALF” idea to fruition. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/27 "2011-04-04T10:47:21Z")
The kid on _Star Trek: Voyager_ worked very well. (The dead crewmember’s daughter, not the _shudder_ Borg kids). About the only time I can recall the addition of a kid being an improvement. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/28 "2011-04-04T12:17:37Z")
The little kid on Fresh Prince of Belaire (he was the son of Aunt Vivian). And his appearance on the show was made even more bizarre by the fact he aged four or five years over the summer hiatus. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/29 "2011-04-04T12:23:41Z")
I think the correct number of kids in a TV show is the number in _Northern Exposure_. As far as I recall no child was ever shown in 6 seasons. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/30 "2011-04-04T13:27:28Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Scrappy Doo Doh! How could it have taken this long for this clear winner to come up? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/31 "2011-04-04T13:45:41Z")
With Seven on _Married with Children_, at least the producers had the good sense to get rid of him after one season, with no explanation given. There was even an episode in a later season where they showed Seven’s face on one of those “have you seen me?” missing children ads. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/32 "2011-04-04T14:41:32Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The kids were not really supposed to be characters – more like props. They allowed the show to have an occasional storyline that mentioned them, but the show was designed so that they would only get limited time, since it wasn’t about them and they would have distracted from the point of the show. Yeah, if I recall the opening credits correctly from the first season of “Raymond”, that was the season where everyone is rolling past Ray on a conveyor belt. When his wife and kids roll past he introduces them and adds “It’s not about the kids”, which I always took to mean that the kids were not intended to have a major role in the show. It was more about the relationship Ray has with his wife and his family. The kids did get more screen time as they got older, but that’s a given - you can’t introduce them then later on pretend they never existed (i.e. Chuck Cunningham). ---
**Author:** ![vislor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vislor/32/5933_2.png) [@vislor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vislor)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/33 "2011-04-04T14:52:49Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I’d agree, but only if it were a universe where [Ted McGinley](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0569337/) had never existed. He ruined _Happy Days_, _Married…With Children_, _The Love Boat_, and _Dynasty_, among others. If you didn’t like him, that’s one thing I won’t argue. However, if you really think that Ted is the cause of the downfall of the shows, as the creator of Jump the Shark does, then don’t forget this: [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4549382/ns/dateline\_nbc/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4549382/ns/dateline_nbc/) It’s near the end. Essentially, when Ted joined the shows he did, they went on for another three to seven seasons! That’s a long time, especially in today’s market! I think the jump the shark guy needs to check his facts! As to the OP: I didn’t like Wesley in TNG because he was next in the long line of making geniuses without knowing what that means. So, soon he can do nearly anything because they need someone who’s bright no common sense not to play with the warp engines while they are in warp! I wasn’t fond of the Worf’s son stuff either but some of it isn’t bad. Richie in Highlander, while not a kid, is one that I liked but I seem to be one of the few. Maybe it’s because for a while he seemed to be the one to whom the audience could relate. I thought Ben in Friends was handled well but that was me. I, too, was worried he would be the focus of it but thought they did a good job of not doing that and keeping the focus on the friends. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen most of the others, except a few shows here and there, and so the kids seemed part of the show if that’s the episode I did see. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/34 "2011-04-04T14:57:50Z")
Tabitha on Bewitched was a Shakespearean actress compared to Adam. He added nothing to the show. Stephanie on All in the Family was worthless. ---
**Author:** ![Sally\_Mander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Sally\_Mander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sally_Mander)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/35 "2011-04-04T15:06:04Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > I think the correct number of kids in a TV show is the number in _Northern Exposure_. As far as I recall no child was ever shown in 6 seasons. Holling and Shelly had a baby in season five, but she (the baby, Miranda) wasn’t the main focus of any episodes. She was in them, of course, but it wasn’t obtrusive at all. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/36 "2011-04-04T15:12:42Z")
Sam from Different Stokes. Joey Lawrence on Give Me A Break. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/37 "2011-04-04T15:13:19Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > 1. Ramon Simone? - Olivia? Cosby Show not sure if that’s her name, and I can’t remember the character. Whoever the child was they added toward the end. As you say, that was _toward_ the end. The _very_ end for **The Cosby Show** was “Cousin Pam”, a tacked-on pseudo-teen (the actress was 21) who showed up when all the other Cosby kids had aged too much to feature in “relevant to the youth” episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/38 "2011-04-04T15:28:23Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > She was a bit older than most of these, but the addition of Dawn worked okay in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (seaon 5, at least; I never got around to watching the last 2 seasons). > [@Mahaloth](#): > > She gets better, actually. She’s great. They basically added her to put a spin on the “kid joining the show” cliche. > > She’s a good character. I recall watching “Buffy” at the time and everyone (including me) hating Dawn and wishing she’d go back to the ether that spawned her. My opinion of her addition to the show hasn’t changed - all she did was whine and get herself in trouble by disobeying and being stupid. > [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > The kid on _Star Trek: Voyager_ worked very well. (The dead crewmember’s daughter, not the _shudder_ Borg kids). About the only time I can recall the addition of a kid being an improvement. Check my post #12 for her name. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/39 "2011-04-04T16:13:52Z")
After Freddie Prinze’s death, “Chico and the Man” continued for one more season with a 12-year-old kid as the “new” Chico. I only have a vague recollection of that, but it was pretty awful. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015/40 "2011-04-04T16:28:41Z")
I’ll second William in the _X-Files_. While the baby didn’t have much of an impact on the show (obviously), how Scully got rid of him was one of the all-time stupid decisions made by a TV character. The kid is born (might be some sort of alien hybrid, hell, I don’t recall) and after a few episodes Scully is scared for the kids life (cause aliens or FBI guys want him or something). So her solution… was it: 1. Quit her job and move to Tahiti, taking the kid with her, telling Mulder (or whoever was on the show at the time) “Hey, this is a bit too much - I just wanted to be a forensic pathologist, not some key figure in an interplanetary pissing contest. This crap no longer concerns me in my new career as head Doctor at the nudist commune I’m joining. Cya!”? 2. Hire a bodyguard, buy some heavier weapons, protect the kid in DC? 3. Go public with all she knows, hoping that the spotlight of fame and publicity and revelation is too bright for anything untoward to happen to her and William? 4. Give the kid up for adoption so that some farmer couple unknowingly adopts a child who has government agents from _two_ star systems looking for him? 3 options seem logical, 1 is extremely stupid. Take a guess which one the X-Files went with? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-children-additions-in-television-shows/577015.md?page=3)