There are few TV shows I've ever really loved, but this is the one I think that lead the pack for years.
I had two teenaged daughters so I could completely relate to so much of the show's humor. I felt that all the roles were played to perfection, parents and all the children.
It wasn't just some hokey lame junk like so many were. Yes, it had it's fluff sometimes, but it also handled some issues parents and kids really face, even if it wasn't drowning in the heavy issues every week.
The characters were so well fleshed out, that you really did get to know them in depth. That is something that many shows never really get a chance to do well. They focus on the non stop laugh track and often fail to find the depth.
Even now, nearly 20 years later, I'm binge watching the first season and a half again, since my son, now 17, loves it and wants to see it.
When John Ritter passed away, it was a great loss to the industry as well as to us fans, some of us who have known him for decades. He was from a previous generation for me but I still remember seeing some episodes as a kid of Three's Company. (And of course when the 8 Simple Rules show did the parody, I laughed because they captured so much of it so well).
Few shows can survive the loss of a major character like that though. He brought his own magic to this show that just wouldn't work with any other actor, so they did the smart, daring thing, and played his loss out in the show as well rather than write over it somehow or put someone else in his place. I don't think I have ever seen, before or after, any show that did such a heart felt tribute to a cast member's passing, but this show handled it just beautifully. And you could clearly see that they weren't just acting the loss, they all felt it, deeply. Which was one reason this show did so well, they really DID come across as a family, and it was easy to relate to the love / frustration that is part of ALL family life.
But after John passed away, the show never was the same. I felt that James Garner really did bring a good element to the show, and he also did a great job with the role, especially with the grieving daughter. But David Spade, as usual, really seemed to be the death knell for the show . He never fit in, and what used to be a wonderful series became a cringeworthy, bad sitcom that we already had too many of. I didn't even bother finishing the series out on live TV, and it wasn't until a few years later that I tried again. And realized after finishing it up that I could've skipped it and not missed much.
The first season is phenomenal, absolute 10 stars all the way, and they opened the second season with some of the most gut busting laughs I've EVER had for a TV show with their season opener. This show was on such an upward path, and then they lost John. And nothing, no show that starred John Ritter, could ever survive his loss...
I had two teenaged daughters so I could completely relate to so much of the show's humor. I felt that all the roles were played to perfection, parents and all the children.
It wasn't just some hokey lame junk like so many were. Yes, it had it's fluff sometimes, but it also handled some issues parents and kids really face, even if it wasn't drowning in the heavy issues every week.
The characters were so well fleshed out, that you really did get to know them in depth. That is something that many shows never really get a chance to do well. They focus on the non stop laugh track and often fail to find the depth.
Even now, nearly 20 years later, I'm binge watching the first season and a half again, since my son, now 17, loves it and wants to see it.
When John Ritter passed away, it was a great loss to the industry as well as to us fans, some of us who have known him for decades. He was from a previous generation for me but I still remember seeing some episodes as a kid of Three's Company. (And of course when the 8 Simple Rules show did the parody, I laughed because they captured so much of it so well).
Few shows can survive the loss of a major character like that though. He brought his own magic to this show that just wouldn't work with any other actor, so they did the smart, daring thing, and played his loss out in the show as well rather than write over it somehow or put someone else in his place. I don't think I have ever seen, before or after, any show that did such a heart felt tribute to a cast member's passing, but this show handled it just beautifully. And you could clearly see that they weren't just acting the loss, they all felt it, deeply. Which was one reason this show did so well, they really DID come across as a family, and it was easy to relate to the love / frustration that is part of ALL family life.
But after John passed away, the show never was the same. I felt that James Garner really did bring a good element to the show, and he also did a great job with the role, especially with the grieving daughter. But David Spade, as usual, really seemed to be the death knell for the show . He never fit in, and what used to be a wonderful series became a cringeworthy, bad sitcom that we already had too many of. I didn't even bother finishing the series out on live TV, and it wasn't until a few years later that I tried again. And realized after finishing it up that I could've skipped it and not missed much.
The first season is phenomenal, absolute 10 stars all the way, and they opened the second season with some of the most gut busting laughs I've EVER had for a TV show with their season opener. This show was on such an upward path, and then they lost John. And nothing, no show that starred John Ritter, could ever survive his loss...