why did they switch families?
does anyone know why they switched families? Was it a network or contract thing or think the family wasn't good enough?
thanks
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MovieChat Forums > Charles in Charge (1984) Discussion > why did they switch families?
The first family was awful. Most fans thank God that they ditched that family and got the Powells. To bad this show ever went off, it was great.
shareWhat in the God damn *beep* do you mean the first family was awful, brosnan, the Pembrokes were the best, and that was when Gwendolin was on the show, and if you dont think shes hot, or atleast good looking, well you aint human.
All the good old days have gone to *beep*
What in the God damn *beep* do you mean the first family was awful, brosnan, the Pembrokes were the best, and that was when Gwendolin was on the show, and if you dont think shes hot, or atleast good looking, well you aint human.
The family with Nicole Eggert and Josie Davis was better than the Pembrokes. Gwendolyn should have stayed. share
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I don't know but they could've at least taken the grandfather with them. He was so annoying.
"Would you classify that as a launch problem or a design problem?"
I don't know why they switched families, but I can tell ya one thing I was tickled pink when they did. That first family bored me to tears. When the Chicago station WGN would show the show after school and the old family would happen to be on I chose to do homework.
shareIn an interview with Scott Baio a few years ago, he said that the first season with the Pembrookes had low ratings and the producers wanted to make the show more appealing, more hip, so they did a complete overhaul. It worked too, since most like the 1987-90 years way more.
mmmm...steamed hams!
After awhile, you learn to appreciate the Pembroke year... however, the reason this family was ditched was because of low ratings and poor acting by some... the profuction crew was very happy with Jill and Douglas... but they were down with the acting by Stan, Lila and especially Jason.... so they just took the whole family away and started from scratch
The Pembroke episodes are more serious... less comedy, more normal situations, etc. The Powell years are pure comedy.... although it went to the ridiculous level when they made Buddy an incompetent moron in the last season... apparently that haircut took a piece of his brain with it.... I can't stand those last few episodes...
Thank you, your comment confirms why I perfered the "Pembrokes". The "Powells" were very annoying
shareHmm, wondering where you got this information?
Stan's awesome in the show. Much higher calibre acting, I thought, by most of the kids in the Pembroke family than the later seasons. Aside from Nicole Eggert I thought the other two children in season 2-5 was pretty one dimensional.
It did have a lot to do with the money. Julie Cobb didn't want the pay cut and refused to come back. Plus, the kid who played Douglas was on another show at the time (although it failed). So it seemed wise to just get a brand new family, instead of breaking up the Pembrokes (imagine if Stan and Jill got divorced, so Douglas went with Jill. I don't know Lila's situation, if she wanted back or not.)
It also had to do with it's competition of the similar "Who's the Boss?", which seemed to win out at the time.
I don't know why Jennifer Runyon didn't return though. It would have been nice for her to continue on the show. Maybe they just wanted Charles to date around and not have Gwendolyn around.
I liked how they made Buddy dumber throughout the seasons. I like the Pembrokes better, but I like the silliness of the later years the best.
Charles in Charge originally aired on CBS primetime for the 84-85 season(I remember watching its primetime airings), but the ratings were low so CBS cancelled it...in 1987 Charles in Charge came back as a daytime syndicated show with the new family...
I like both families...though I do prefer the episodes with the Pembrokes.
In the early seasons Buddy(Willie Aames) was as smart as Charles, then as the show went on he got dumber and dumber, by the final season he was a total moron...I always found this humerous.
When shows go from Network to first run syndication they usually do a major overhaul Fame, Mama's Family and It's a Living come to mind. It's all about the mighty $$$... When C.I.C. returned with the *shudder* Powell family they couldn't get Julie Cobb to return to explain where the family went..so they had a re-cast but did get the actor who played Jason..Micheal Pearlman. In Canada here they're airing the show on a Christian Network..and just for a laugh during the Pembroke season Meg Ryan guest stars twice as a Charles wannabe. This was right after her run on As The World Turns..both CBS shows.
shareI liked Doug and Lila better then any of the Powell kids. Lila was very cute. Of course I was young then.
"It's a dangerous thing to confuse children with angels."
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Magnolia
(2000)
and the second family had cuter girls on it :). Hey! I was their age so it was okay I found them attractive.
shareThese days it's rare for a show to be created for first-run syndication. I think this is due to the amount of UHF networks (UPN, WB, Fox, etc.) that we have today.
shareand the second family had cuter girls on it :). Hey! I was their age so it was okay I found them attractive.
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The first season, the show was on a major network and was cancelled. Being revived in syndication, the budget was shrunk. This meant that the highly paid James Widdoes (who was coming off Animal House and was supposedly making more than Scott Baio) could not be rehired. Rather than doing a "widow" angle for the mother, the producers decided to recast the whole family at lower salaries.
shareinteresting...i also liked the Pembrokes way better than the Powells. The blonde teenage daughters were horrible acresses (all i can hear when i think of them is one or both yelling, "Chaaaruullls!!!"). The Powells, and especially the a$$ hole grandfather, were always blaming Charles for things he didn't do, watching over him every second to see if he made a mistake,etc.
Maybe the show looked better, but it didn't act or sound better.
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Daughters from both shows was hot but the son of season two was better.
shareI hated the son of season two. i would prefer jamie from season 2-5, and jason and douglas as the family. lila over acted too much. but the first season was best. because the story lines where better, and they didnt make charles and buddy the brunt of every joke.
sharei remember the weird daughter with horses and the ranga nerd with vectrex,they were cool.
gwendolin was hot (played cindy brady in a brady reunion movie), loved well endowed singer samantha fox .hated nicole eggert,prefered josie.
My guess would be that the actors from the first family were no longer available after the 2 year hiatus, or the kids had changed to much in that two years to pull off the idea that only a few weeks had passed since the first season.
shareI enjoyed the Pembroke's way better than the Powell's. I found all the Pembroke kids hilarious!! But the Powell kids I found very annoying (especially the boy). I am so glad that the first season is on DVD because that's the only season I want. The rest of the show was not good at all.
shareI definitely like the show better with the Powells. Okay, I wasn't too fond of season 5, but then that's when the show was going off the air anyway. The Pembrokes are kind of boring. The episode with Lila's slumber party really bothered me. What 14 year old girls get excited over eating tons of junk food? I don't know of too many.
Now in the seasons with the Powells, it bothered me how they really didn't make Sarah grow up. The least they could have done was make her dress older.
Also, by season 5, Sarah's poetry ambitions were thrown out the window. Not to mention the mysterious dispearance of Mrs. Powell and yet she made a couple of appearance, but never during the final episode. How strange is that?
shareOk here is my opinion on this. I liked the Pembrooks better than I did the Powells even though I had to get adjusted with the changes that they made. The first season was not too bad really. I do not think CBS really gave it a chance to grow on its own and if they wanted to alter the characters then they could have changed them to be different you know.
Like some people mentioned about how Buddy was equally as smart as Charles in the first season or two and eventually became a moron. I thought it was hysterical with Buddy. If they changed Buddy from being normal and smart to how he was like the 4th and 5th season then why did they not do this with Lila and the boys? I mean the first season was a little more darker and serious but it still was funny though.
You have to admit that. I mean I watched from 1991 til 1998 Step By Step and they changed on how each of the Lamber kids and Fosters acted you know. They did not alter or change a thing. You also have to remember that there were other shows on at that time competing with Charles In Charge and that is why the show might have lost ratings. I think they did not give the original cast members a chance to see how they could have changed things up in the show to be honest with you.
Indeed, then CBS Entertainment president Bud Grant should have followed NBC Entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff's example and given it time to build an audience.
shareWell, that was due to Ellen Travolta joining the cast as Charles' mom, Lillian, since, the show being in syndication, it was too expensive for executive producer Al Burton to have both Mrs. Powell and Lillian in the same episode.
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