hi
i just read on this site that is due to on/off screen shenanigans that lead to the show being cancelled. waht were these exactly? over in uk they just stopped showing it after a while, and it seems on cable they only re-run the first series.
can anyone help?
There's another post that has all of the details under Brett Butler's IMDB page. But in a nutshell, she allegedly had been exposing herself to the 12 year old who played her son, Quentin. It got bad enough his parents pulled him from the show, and the actress who played Nadine also threw in the towel at the same time. That's why Nadine suddenly disappeared and Quentin was suddenly late teens/early 20's and living in the garage. Mid-season, reports at the time were that Butler went back to abusing alcohol and/or drugs and production was halted, never to resume.
shareActually, Nadine left a season after the first Quintin left. But, I bet you're right on why she left.
shareI'm not sure if many recall, but this show was around the same time that Rosanne was quite huge. Both Roseanne and Brett Butler made quite a lot of noise about being unfairly targeted as *itches, when male sitcom stars would not be similarly treated. Yet no one ever seems to be able to tell me what, if any, male star conducted himself in such an appalling manner as these women did. In fact, they got away with this stuff because they were women, not in spite of it. Can you imagine Tim Allen exposing himself to a twelve-year-old the way Brett Butler did? The fact that he and no other male sitcom star of this era ever acted in such a manner demonstrates that the the reputations Roseanne and Butler acquired in these shows were obtained because they were deserved.
From abusing their producers to their costars, working on their shows must have been a nightmare.
The only male sitcom star I can remeber hearing about acting badly from that era (the 90's) was Martin Lawrance who was acused of sexually assulting the woman who played his wife, that's pretty bad, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were more male sitcome stars who acted really badly on set but Butler takes the cake for both of the sexes!!!
shareI read somewhere that Alan Autry who played her sitcom boyfriend also left a two year contract because of Brett"s antics and it was inferred that she wanted a bit more special attention from him, which he was not willing to give.
shareI'm normally a lurker, but I have to reply to this. I have never actually met Brett (I have seen her stand-up) but as a student of psychology, I have to say that the life she has led is enough to send lots of people screaming into a bottle. She watched her father abuse her mother, watched her mother fall into depression so bad she tried to kill herself, and survived a first husband who beat the holy you-know-what out of her on a daily basis. I'm not saying that any of this is an excuse for her behavior, because I know that people have gone through worse and not turned to drugs or alcohol, but when a person is an addictive personality anyway, the result is almost guaranteed. Yes, she blew a good thing with Grace Under Fire, but I give her credit for having the courage to clean herself up. (And, BTW, I would love it if Grace was released on DVD, because that show rocked!) :)
shareI agree but have also known people that have grown up in that type of a situation and have never carried it into their adult life..What I am trying to say is that Brett Butler has been written about as being a strong, talented and forceful woman who beat the odds and cleaned up her addiction....With an obvious "Hit" sitcom sitting in her sober and addicion free lap and chances of a long run, why would she jeopardize a chance of a lifetime dream by taking that first step backwards ? It is difficult for some of us who are not familiar with drug addiction to be sympathic when that person has already been through the long and tortuous cure and knows how horrible it can be....Yes, people have negative things to say because a very talented lady tossed a great break out the window only to have to start all over--again.....
shareAnd I suspect that you can't 'start all over again' as far as getting a TV show goes. Not so much the flashing a kid, (although I agree, if it had been a guy who flashed the kid playing his daughter, he also would be out of a job)but the 'hard to work with'. Nobody is going to risk their reputation and career on someone who might fall apart again in the middle of a show. It's a shame 'cause I liked the show , but regardless of what she overcame, that's no comfort to people who have to work with that chaos every day.
shareI think if Tim Allen had exposed himself to a child he'd of been out the door.
shareHow about Charlie Sheen? Now THERE'S a male star who conducted himself in an appalling manner!
"Home is where they don't want you to leave." (Stephen King, Revival)