MovieChat Forums > Gimme a Break! (1981) Discussion > Nell gets a bit abusive during the later...

Nell gets a bit abusive during the later years

posted 7 years ago by mikedaremix
3 replies | jump to latest

I've been watching the series again because I remember loving it as a child.

I love Nell because she was so talented on so many levels. Plus she was the 'mother' you always wanted. Feisty, fair and ruled with an iron fist

One thing I have noticed though, is Nell and her behaviour.

Is it me or did Nell go from logical to downright abusive. If she's not strangling Addy or putting her over her shoulder and body slamming her; she's grabbing Joey or slapping Jonathan.

It got a bit annoying because if I were her friend, I'd stop hanging out with her if she laid a hand on me.

[–] jarrodmcdonald-1 7 years ago

We talked about this a bit in one of the other threads. I think what you describe started in the middle of the fourth season, when it was clear that Dolph Sweet was sick and Nell had to carry the episodes more on her own. The writers began to exploit her abrasive side and give her a lot more physical comedy to play. The character definitely evolved but I think they were careful not to make her totally abusive or unlikable. Sometimes Addy, Joey, and Jonathan especially, needed a little jolt back to reality. Nell was the only one who loved them enough to do that.

[–] mikedaremix 7 years ago

I see what you're saying, but didn't it seem that they had made her character a bit extreme. She went from being motherly and the soul of the family to manipulative, angry, and belligerent

Take for instance the episode where Nell acts like a spoiled brat and demands that Addy sell her the car that was already promised to Angie's sister because she's entitled to it due to a long standing friendship

She uses sympathy to get what she wants. Then when she gets the car, it breaks down and her response is to demand payment for it rather than taking responsibility for it.

When Nell doesn't get her way, she decides to teach Addy a lesson and resorts to childish pranks.

I don't know if I want to continue watching this show. The more episodes I watch, the more tired I grow of Nell's antics.

I miss the Nell from earlier seasons. The later seasons perpetuated the Angry Black Woman stereotype that I'm not fond of.

[–] jarrodmcdonald-1 7 years ago

Thanks for the reply. I respect your views but I don't think the writers or Nell Carter herself were trying to present an angry black woman.

First of all, I love the episode where Nell & Addy fight about the car. I have a close friend named Addie (spelled a bit differently) and we've had minor arguments but nothing as major as that. But what I love about the episode with the car, in addition to it being really funny (the lemon jokes are hilarious), is that we see the topsy turvy nature of their friendship. They've been through thick and thin, literally, but on some level they're frenemies, because they're too close and know how to push each other's buttons. I think the episode was written to emphasize the idea you shouldn't transact business with a relative or a close friend, in case something goes wrong. There was a story on I Love Lucy where the Ricardos and Mertzes fought over a television set and went to court about it. So this is nothing new on TV sitcoms.

I don't see Nell as being angry, or the stereotype of an angry black female, in the later seasons. Yes, she can be incredibly manipulative, but to her, the ends justify the means. And she usually has everyone's best interest at heart. When she gets selfish, she usually pays the price. In this case, if she goes too far, then Addy will stop being her friend. So Nell has to decide if the money is more important to her, or if her friendship with Addy will win out. And I think we know the answer.