MovieChat Forums > Growing Pains (1985) Discussion > Why didn't the producers just fire Camer...

Why didn't the producers just fire Cameron?


I mean, after his "religious awakening", he became nothing more than a lousy bible totting a-hole who tried to run the whole show afterward, and the cast and crew were sick of it. So why not just fire him? Technically, he was harrassing people, so that could've been used against him.

No spoilers today!!

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[deleted]

Valarie Harper got fired from her own show. The result: The Hogan Family.

No spoilers today!!

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Charlie Sheen got fired from his own show as well, Two and a Half Men, mostly for out of control behavior, and for blasting his boss

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Well Valerie was only on for one season and I always the thought the show was way better without her.

It's happened many times before like with Suzanne Somers in Three's Company.

I guess with Kirk, they knew he was the star of the show and they put up with his "awakening" so to speak for the ratings. I know I would have stopped watching had he left and went off to college or something.

-Di

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lol at the thought of him getting fired.
Ummm never was gonna happen. EVER
He was the star of the show, the best comedic actor on the show by a huge margin, was nominated for 2 Golden Globes for his performance and without him it would have tooken a massive smash ratings wise.
Plus Family Ties had Michael J Fox around the time and they needed Kirk to keep up with Family Ties which had similar fanbases. But it would be like Family Ties losing Michael J Fox or Happy Days losing Fonzi, or Family Matters losing Jaleel White.
Networks are not gonna chance it.

Three's Company had John Ritter to fall back on who was as popular as Suzanne.
Growing Pains would only have Alan to fall back on. Eeek. Funny enough on the show but a bit dry.

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One more thing :)
If they fire Kirk that upsets the Cameron family.
ABC was also working with his sister Candace on Full House at the same time. That would have caused a huge mess.

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No way! Two stars of some of my fave sitcoms were related?! You learn something new...

Nobody's laughing now
Gods grace lost and the devil is proud


-Dave Matthews Band

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They're not royalty. She needed her job just like he needed his. There's no way Candace Cameron would have left Full House if her brother got fired.

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lol at she needed her job. She was what 12 when it started? Candace only got Full House because she was Kirk's sister. Full House then didn't do well in ratings during season 1. They even brought in Kirk early on in an episode to bring ratings up. ABC realized she wasn't a star like her brother (she wasn't really a good actress nor had comedy timing) and she faded in the backround compared to the others on Full House.
Kirk being fired by ABC would mean it would be very early on in Full House. DJ easily could've been replaced and wouldn't have affected ratings at all. People watched for John Stamos etc. If ABC fired Kirk it would be akward and we have no idea if Candace/Kirk's parents would've been mad at ABC. Not to mention contract problems etc/lawsuits. Candace was not an adult or even close to being one. She may have had no say in the matter.
Just sayin.

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DJ FADED INTO THE BACKGROUND?...YEAH,OK.

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The irony of this all is that his "religious awakening" killed the show.

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Jesus is not a religion, He is a relationship.

I belong to Jesus: my Lord, Savior, my eternity, my everything. I love you, Jesus!

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So why do Christians keep claiming "freedom of religion" as a license to discriminate if their beliefs are not a religion? Stop trying to have it both ways.

Our first assignment is a documentary, they're like real movies but with ugly people.

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they couldn't fire him because he made all the teen girls (and probably some of the teen guys) all creamy in their panties..

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If he didn't have his religious awakening, or didn't let it affect the show, I wonder how different seasons 5-7 would have been. I doubt Mike would have been a teacher, and Julie probably would have still been around. I wonder if ratings would have been higher, which probably means Leo wouldn't have had to been use as a last attempt to save the show. I bet that Seasons 5-7 would have been a lot different if Kirk didn't let his religious awakening get in the way of the show

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Except that Jesus is not a religion, He is a relationship.

I belong to Jesus: my Lord, Savior, my eternity, my everything. I love you, Jesus!

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In the E: True Hollywood Story episode on Growing Pains the producers admitted that if there had been another season of the show they were seriously considering writing off Mike's character or just giving him the old "sending him somewhere off camera" treatment just so they could get Kirk Cameron out of their hair .

"you're smothered in tragedy
And you're out to save the world"
~Metallica

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They should've done that for seasons 5-7. Then perhaps ratings wouldn't have fallen, AND the show would've lasted an additional season or two.

XTRO Theme: http://youtu.be/pcEeakcNB0k

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I was a pre-teen then but I hated Cameron. my parents were not super wholesome bible thumpers.

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Maybe he did take it too far theological wise,but I admire him for retaining his marriage and staying away from the destructive side of celebrity life.

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Because the show would have been nonexistent without him.

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^This, everybody watched the show for Mike.

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Lol noob. Who would watch growing pains without michael seaver? You dumb bro?

-Spoilers are for the weak

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It's true. Kirk Cameron and Michael J Fox were some of the most crucial and powerful sitcom stars back in the 80's. Any of them leaves their show then the show goes with it.

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Yeah, he was the show, especially for a teenage audience. It would be like getting rid of Michael J. Fox, or Ricky Schroder from Silver Spoons.

The Hogan Family still had a cast that could make it work with Jason Bateman and the two younger brothers were in magazines like Tiger Beat.

If Kirk leaves who do you have, Ben? Come on... Now, maybe Leonardo Dicaprio could of held the show afloat, but it would of been a strange twist to put focus on him. Although, I did like Ben and Leonardo's chemistry, Leo being the good looking heart throb and Ben thr goofball type. I just don't think they had quite the star power then to carry the show.

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maybe Leonardo Dicaprio could of held the show afloat,


lol, no.
--
You have many question, Mr Sparkle. I send you premium -- answer question, hundred percent!

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Fox could act. He was doing the show AND numerous movies while apparently hard partying. His movies are STILL talked about today. They made a stage play based on the Back to the Future trilogy.

Other actors/actresses who merely do a show party and they get canned. So he had talent. That was why they did not get rid of him. Talent is different than being 'hot' enough to appear on a poster. What movies was Cameron in during the show?

The only difference between him, Tom Cruise and Swayze are that the latter two were also not on a weekly tv show long term in the 1980s while doing movies. But yeah, they were the stars on Fox's level.

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I still can't stand Kirk Cameron as a person, he's one of the worst religious hypocrites there is.

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Umm... because of the millions of teenage girls tuning into the show just to see him flash those pearly whites and hit those high notes with his pubescent voice!

I would have lost all interest in the show if he was gone... and if he had left, Leonardo DiCaprio couldn't have wowed us with his acting later!

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^This. For as much as a pain Kirk was behind the scenes, he was incredibly popular in magazines. Plus, if Leo had been on the show as a replacement, he may not be where he is right now.
Although, I do believe Kirk's popularity waned after he married Chelsea. I remember that Tracy Pollan was let go from Family Ties because of jealous fans.

As a side note: Leo was not let go from the show because they felt he wasn't bringing the lift the show needed. He was going to film a movie, and would have been back the following season, but it was cancelled. I believe the movie was This Boy's Life. He made the right choice.

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Well, he was essentially the star of the show. He drew in the big crowds and the ratings are what carry the day. Its funny because he was the mischevious character and here he was the most straightlaced of them all in real life. And he did smooth things out with the cast later on.


"How's the steak?" "It was poisoned (argh)...and a little rare" (collapses).

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Unfortunately, his apology to his former castmates was what we in the business like to call "too little, too late".

The definition of insanity is to marry Charlie Sheen and expect the results to be different.

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He was the star of the show and the blonde who posed for Playboy was just another pretty face.

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When Julie McCullough was onscreen there was a noticeable increase in ratings. One producer actually joked that if they just showed Mike and Julie kissing for the whole show they’d have the top rated show every week. When Kate came on it stagnated. For a real life couple, Kirk Cameron and Chelsea Noble have ZERO onscreen chemistry.

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