Antenna TV just started airing the final season. A few random questions.....
What happened to Alex? Maybe I missed an episode but he's just gone with no explanation?
How did Howard Hesseman get second billing in the credits? He's the the newest cast member and he's put ahead of everyone except Bonnie Franklin?
Surprised to see Max lose his beard and Barbara cut her hair. But I supposed it was 1983 by then......
1) He went to live with his mother in Chicago.
2) He was just coming off of WKRP in Cincinnati, so he was hot. Plus, in reality, the actual second-best credit is the "and as" credit, which was Pat Harrington's.
Thanks Scarlet. Did they have an episode to address Alex's departure? or did it happen off screen?
shareNope, they mentioned it in passing in the premier of the final season.
shareWow, that's a crappy way to write someone out who has been on the show for so long. You would think they could have written a tearful goodbye between Alex and the rest of the cast. Ouch.
I also noticed that Barbara got engaged to Mark in one episode and then it wasn't mentioned again for several more episodes. Strange pacing.
I think the writing suffered because they had to write around Mackenzie Phillips' absences.
shareGlenn Scarpelli (Alex) left the show to play the lead character's best friend on "Jennifer Slept Here" which only lasted one season; the show had no choice but to write him out abruptly.
In the first episode of the returning season they get a post card from Alex, who has moved back with his mother. Ann says "I'm still not sure how I feel about that..."
And that was that. It would have been nice if he came back for Ann's farewell to London in the second to last episode.
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Max was at his HOTTEST in season 9! I liked him better without the beard and his hair was perfect than!
shareI have a couple of questions as well. To show my age I watched the series when it was first on. I have kind of forgotten about every thing about the show since I haven't seen it since it ended. I have watched a few shows here and there.
So what happened to Julie. I was looking though the plot synopses in the last season. The least reference I saw was the an argument with her husband over writing childerens' books. What was that all about? Did she appear on that show or was she just mentioned in passing that last season.
Why was the 2nd to last show not the end of the series? Was Schneider going to Florida a pilot, for a sequel starring Harrington?
Yes, it was.
Thank goodness it never sold as a series.
Howard Hesseman had a good agent, who got him good billing coming off WKRP. Note that he only gets second billing in the episodes in which he appears during that season. For the others, his credit is eliminated (though he still appears in other shots). Also, during those episodes, both Pat Harrington and Valerie Bertinelli get some extra billing: "Starring Pat Harrington as Schneider" vs. "Pat Harrington as Schneider"; "And Starring Valerie Bertinelli as Barbara" vs. "And Valerie Bertinelli as Barbara".
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