Has Jason Bateman or the other two ever publicly spoken about working with Valerie Harper? I have some episodes I recorded first run on a VHS tape back in the day and notice they seemed more reserved around Valerie than when Sandy was around.
http://bat115.hubpages.com/
I believe it was because they were younger and the show was new. They'd become used to being on a popular series by the time SD came into it. The characters were also older and Sandy was a cross between an aunt and an older sister so the dynamics were different.
I liked both women in the program and the difference they brought to it. It was more of a show about a family when Valerie was there and more about the teens with Sandy.
Yes, I agree with you on that. Valerie and Sandy each brought their own special... magic, for lack of a better word, to each of their parts of the series. I loved the show and wish it was either on DVD OR still being shown on like... TV Land or Nick at nite.
http://bat115.hubpages.com/
Valerie Harper's sad news this week may bring more interest to this show. They should release it, show it on one of those oldies showing stations, and/or have it available on Netflix, Hulu, etc.
shareI wouldn't be surprised if it was due to Harper thinking it was her show (which it was at the start) and being egotistical only to be outshone by Bateman. There would have been a lot of tension to make her leave a show named after her.
shareI agree, instead of the conclusion (a natural defense of Ms Harper) that is was about character development and the kids becoming older. Sandy is also underrated, and funny. As nice as Ms Harper was as person, business can bring out a different side in actors.
shareA common occurrence in sitcoms for quite some time. The show usually starts off being set around the actors playing the parents but the actors playing the teen kids steal the show due to the demographic watching as well as the teen characters being more interesting. Harper was a little naive in my opinion to think the same wasn't going to happen to her.
shareThen there are viewers like me who do not find children funny (with exceptions), and never liked sitcoms that revolved around children (never watched "Cosby"). Valerie debuted when it seemed that having children as the main characters was becoming more common (possibly Cosby becoming such a hit?) Of course, there was The Brady Bunch and Partridge Family, but it didn't seem as common before the 80's. I, personally, didn't care about Jason Bateman. My choice would be to watch Harper, even if I was a teen then, which I wasn't.
shareBy the time Valerie started you already had Family Ties and Growing Pains where the actors playing the oldest sons outshone the actors playing the parents even though the older actors were meant to be the stars. In the 70's you had Good Times where the actor playing JJ the oldest son became the break out character despite it initially being set up for the older actors. You also had Happy Days where the Fonz became the star even though it was meant to be the parents again.
I think Cosby is probably a rare exception because of Cosby himself, I don't recall the kids overshadowing him at all. He remained the focal point for the entire run.
I was a teen during the 80's, I saw the show as an ensemble although I wasn't fussed when Valerie left either.
That's just it: I never watched Family Ties and Growing Pains either (was that before or after Cosby, btw?) With Good Times, I think JJ could be considered an "exception" since he was genuinely funny. I don't know, it seems that a person needs to be old enough to have studied acting to learn comedy technique. However, with Happy Days, I'm not so sure the parents wee meant to be the main players--it felt more like an ensemble show compared to similair sitcoms (and again, a show I never watched, even though I was in my teens)
shareFamily Ties '82-'89
Cosby '84-'92
Growing Pains '85-'92
My understanding of Happy Days is it was meant to centre around the Cunningham's and the Fonz was just an occasional character but stole the show.
I know the actors who played the parents in Good Times were pissed off because JJ stole the show they wanted more serious story lines which didn't happen. They were also both told the show would be around their characters. Personally I wouldn't have watched at all without JJ. The same happened with Family Matters when the character Urkel stole the show from the main family.
Overall I think it has a lot to do with the producers of these shows thinking that people would tune in for the established actors.
But the question is if the established actors were funny enough. Esther Rolle , who may have had a a lot of experience on stage, was basically an unknown before Maude. And I never got her comic appeal; she seemed to have the same resignation-inflection in her lines, with that pallor looming over her.
Norman Lear really liked to find his actors via the stage for his sitcoms, but Bonnie Franklin seemed like the most unlikely unfunny actress to ever land the lead in a sitcom
That's the thing, the established actors weren't funny and weren't written to be funny. In Good Times the mother was a moralistic wet blanket and the father had some moments but overall nothing.
I really have to question their bemusement at someone like JJ taking over in what is supposed to be a Situation Comedy after all.
Valerie is a little different in that this type of sitcom is never falling over laughing funny. The show was ok but I think as with Growing Pains and Family Ties it found a female teen audience who were more interested in the teenage actors than they were in an older actress.
I think that is the real reason for these things, they plan for one type of demographic and find success with another and adapt to it.
Happens a lot in various family sitcoms. Everyone thinks they are the star of the show, and resentment happens towards those who get more attention/money. I think the Valerie situation was different though, she sued for breach of contract, basically a pay dispute and won.
shareBateman was certainly handsome and a Hollywood veteran by the time he was on Valerie/the Hogan Family. But he was never a 'star' the way Michael J Fox was. He did not even have a catch phrase and was on posters etc.
There were so many of these shows back then and most had a male teen heart throb in them. Valerie kind of got lost in the mix for me. I did watch it and liked it, I thought Sandy was more lively than Harper. Maybe because the kids were older as well so the stories also improved.
I agree that Jason was never going to be an A Lister like Michael J Fox but then when I watched Family Ties I don't think I ever assumed he was going to be a huge star either.