DIFF'RENT STROKES

'''Diff'rent Strokes''' is an American sitcom that aired on the NBC television network from 1978 to 1985, and on ABC from 1985 to 1986.[1]

Contents

Synopsis

1983-84 season

1985-86 season

Spin-off

Ratings

Post-show troubles

Very special episodes

Music connection

Docudramas

DVD releases

Avenue Q

Trivia

International

See also

External links

Synopsis

This sitcom starred Gary Coleman as Arnold Jackson and Todd Bridges as his older brother Willis, two black children from a poor Harlem background whose deceased mother previously worked for a rich white widower Philip Drummond (Conrad Bain), who eventually adopted them. They lived in a penthouse with Drummond's daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato) and their maid — they went through three maids during the show's run: Edna Garrett (played by Charlotte Rae), Adelaide Brubaker (played by Nedra Volz), and Pearl Gallagher (played by Mary Jo Catlett) on Park Avenue in New York City. As Arnold, Coleman popularized the catch phrase "Wha'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" which was popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s and is still mentioned in pop culture references today.

1983-84 season

During the 1983-84 season, Phillip Drummond was re-married to Maggie McKinney (Dixie Carter), a television aerobics instructor. The two-part marriage episode featured the return of many past guest stars and recurring characters including Janet Jackson, Nedra Volz, Charlotte Rae and Dody Goodman. McKinney had a son, Sam McKinney (Danny Cooksey), from her previous marriage (to a character played by Hoyt Axton). This was Plato's final season as a regular, as she had become pregnant. Both she and the producers felt that pregnancy would be out of character for Kimberly, and rather than attempt to hide the pregnancy, Plato was written out of the show; Kimberly went to Paris to attend college, although she would return for numerous guest appearances.

1985-86 season

''Diff'rent Strokes'' moved from NBC to ABC for what turned out to be its last season. Carter had left the show at the end of the previous season, believing it to be the show's last, and joined the cast of ''Designing Women''. She was replaced by Mary Ann Mobley. Plato continued to make appearances as a guest star. While he remained a regular, Bridges was absent for a number of episodes as the series shifted its focus to Arnold and Sam.
The final season had some other noticeable changes. The show's theme song was owned by NBC, and had to be rerecorded for the show's final season. The show's new recording was sung by Alan Thicke. The show's set was also heavily redecorated from its prior appearance to better reflect the mid-1980s.

Spin-off

The television sitcom ''The Facts of Life'' (1979 – 1988) was a spin-off of ''Diff'rent Strokes'', involving former Drummond maid Mrs. Garrett as housemother to a dormitory at an all-girls private school. The series was introduced in the first season ''Diff'rent Strokes'' episode "The Girls School". There were a number of changes made for the actual series; and Kimberly (featured in "The Girls School" as a pupil of the school) did not appear in the spin-off. In addition, Charlotte Rae was guaranteed that she could return to ''Diff'rent Strokes'' should the new series fail. When ''The Facts of Life'' proved to be a success, a number of its characters made guest appearances on ''Diff'rent Strokes''.

Ratings

''Diff'rent Strokes'' was a hit for the first three seasons. This is a list of the ratings:

★ 1978-1979: #27

★ 1979-1980: #26

★ 1980-1981: #17

★ 1981-1982: #36

★ 1982-1983: #32

★ 1983-1984: #40

★ 1984-1985: #43

★ 1985-1986: #75

Post-show troubles

Three of the child stars ended up having problems after the show ended. Plato went on to become involved in pornography and was later arrested twice (once for armed robbery, again for forging a prescription for valium). She died of a drug overdose in 1999 at the age of thirty-four.
Todd Bridges was arrested in 1994 after allegedly ramming someone's car after an argument. He also had issues with illegal drugs for several years before turning his life around. He has since traveled the U.S. speaking to over 6,000 kids in a day in schools and churches discussing the dangers of drug use, negative peer pressure, and promoting his religious beliefs. In 2001, Bridges rescued a woman who fell from her wheelchair while she was fishing.
In 1989, Coleman sued his parents and former manager over misappropriation of his trust fund. Although he was awarded over $1,000,000 in the decision, he filed for bankruptcy in 1999. Coleman was charged with assault in 1998 after he punched a woman while he was working as a security guard at a shopping mall. In 2001, Coleman (still working as a security guard) was videotaped trying to stop a vehicle from entering the mall. The driver (obviously a member of the paparazzi) ridiculed him and released the tape to be broadcast on numerous television shows. In 2007, Coleman was cited for disorderly conduct in Provo, Utah, for having a "heated discussion" with a woman.
Due to these problems, "The Curse of ''Diff'rent Strokes''" became a term associated with the show. Coleman publicly stated that he does not believe there is a curse on the cast members and that these incidents are merely tragic coincidences.

Very special episodes

''Diff'rent Strokes'' was also known (and frequently mocked) for its many "very special episodes", most notably an anti-drug episode ("The Reporter", in season 5) that featured then First Lady Nancy Reagan, who promoted her "Just Say No" campaign, and an episode that guest starred Gordon Jump as a pedophile bicycle shop owner who sexually molested Arnold's best friend, Dudley.
Other episodes involved Arnold and Willis being rejected by Mr. Drummond's old prep school because they aren't wealthy enough, a con artist (Played by Whitman Mayo) posing as a relative of Arnold and Willis in an attempt to get at an inheritance they were left by a former neighbor and Kimberly's new love Roger (who turns out to be racist) not allowing his sister to go to their school's costume ball with Willis because he is black.
In another episode, Kimberly and Arnold were abducted by a deranged man who initially acted as a "Good Samaritan" by giving the two a ride and inviting them to his apartment.
In the final season (when the show moved from NBC to ABC), the one-hour season opener revolved around Sam being kidnapped by a bereaved father to replace his dead son. In yet another episode, the family discovered that Kimberly was suffering from bulimia after witnessing her devour an entire sheet cake, and then go to the bathroom to vomit.

Music connection

The name of the show was derived from a popular catch phrase, "diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks," popularized by rock band Sly & The Family Stone with their 1968 hit "Everyday People." The show's theme song was written by Al Burton, Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring.

Docudramas

Two unofficial docudramas were produced about the show:

★ In 2000, FOX broadcast a one-hour television movie, '''After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped'''. This film, which starred unknown actors, focused on Dana Plato's life after the show, leading to her untimely death. Todd Bridges guest starred in this film as a drug dealer who sold drugs — to a younger Todd Bridges.[2]

★ On September 4, 2006, NBC aired a television drama entitled '''Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Diff'rent Strokes'''. The film, which chronicles the rise and decline of the sitcom's child stars, also features recent interview clips with Coleman and Bridges. The two also star in the movie as themselves (briefly) in the final scene, standing by Dana Plato's grave.

DVD releases

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released Seasons 1 and 2 of ''Diff'rent Strokes'' on DVD for Region 1.

DVD Name	Ep#	Release Date
The Complete First Season	24	September 14 2004
The Complete Second Season	26	January 31 2006
The Complete Third Season	22	TBA
The Complete Fourth Season	26	TBA
The Complete Fifth Season	24	TBA
The Complete Sixth Season	24	TBA
The Complete Seventh Season	24	TBA
The Complete Eighth Season	19	TBA

Avenue Q

The Broadway musical ''Avenue Q'' contains a character named Gary Coleman, who, in the opening song "It Sucks To Be Me," sings "I'm Gary Coleman from TV's ''Diff'rent Strokes''. I made a lot of money that got stolen by my folks. Now I'm broke and I'm the butt of everyone's jokes — but I'm here, the superintendent, of Avenue Q," to which the rest of the cast responds (in song) "It sucks to be you!" Before this line, when the character enters, the music plays "Now the world don't move..." which is the first five notes of the ''Diff'rent Strokes'' theme song. Dialogue references to ''Diff'rent Strokes'', such as "Wha'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" are also included in the musical. The character of Gary Coleman was originally portrayed by actress Natalie Venetia Belcon.

Trivia

★ Although the show is set in New York City, all episodes were taped at studios in the Los Angeles area.

★ 10 years after the end of ''Diff'rent Strokes'', Conrad Bain and Gary Coleman reprised their roles of Phillip and Arnold on the last episode of ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', as potential buyers of the Banks house.

★ The show originally came about when the producers wanted to create vehicles for both Conrad Bain, ex-co-star in ''Maude'', which had recently finished, and young actor Gary Coleman, and paired them together. The original title was ''45 Minutes From Harlem''. It is unclear whether an original pilot was shot or if this was just the premise; but it was re-worked, with Coleman gaining a brother, and Bain a daughter, and evolved into ''Diff'rent Strokes''.

★ During a sketch on the Comedy Central show ''Crank Yankers'', the show is featured as ''Diff'rent Strokes: The Movie'' directed by Spike Lee. The only line of dialogue heard is, "Arnold, go to your room!" followed by "WHA'CHOO TALKIN' 'BOUT?", parodying Lee's use of graphic language in his films.

★ Five Iron Frenzy, in tribute to the show, recorded a song entitled ''Arnold, and Willis, and Mr. Drummond''.

★ The Bloodhound Gang mentions Arnold Drummond on their song "Yummy Down on This".

★ ''Diff'rent Strokes's ratings was a hit for the first three seasons (1978-1981), then the popularity of the series was going down in 1985, when NBC decided not to renew the series for the 1985-1986 year, ABC, picked up the show for the 1985-1986 year, and it aired on Saturday Nights, but the show was canceled on March 7, 1986, lasting only 19 episodes, but the show had over 189 episodes being broadcasted and produced over 8 seasons.

★ On the series run, the show had three maids: Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae), Adelaide Brubaker (Nedra Volz), and Pearl Gallagher (Mary Jo Catlett), Rae left the show in November 1979, to star in her own show ''The Facts of Life'', and was replaced by Nedra Volz from Early 1980-1982, then Volz was replaced with Mary Catlett from 1982, until the series ending in 1986.

International

★ In France, the show was shown on TF1 under the name ''Arnold et Willy'' ("Arnold and Willy").

★ In India, the show was aired on Sony Entertainment Television (India) in the late 1990s, dubbed in Hindi.

★ In Italy, Seasons 1 and 2 were originally aired on some local TV networks under the name ''Harlem contro Manhattan'' ("Harlem vs. Manhattan"). Its Italian theme music, ''Arnold'', was performed by Nico Fidenco, one of the most popular Italian singers of the 60s, and was #1 on the Italian 45-rpm charts in 1980. Seasons 3 through 6 were aired on the Canale 5 commercial network under the name ''Il mio amico Arnold'' ("My friend Arnold"). After 1988, the complete show was renamed ''Arnold'' and aired on several commercial TV networks. As of March 2006, the best episodes from the early seasons were aired on the Mediaset DTTV channel Boing.

★ In Latin America, the title for this TV series was ''Blanco y Negro'' ("White and Black").[3]

★ In Spain, the show was called ''Arnold''.

★ In Brazil, the show was called ''Minha Família é uma Bagunça''. "My Disarranged Family", the show could be watched in cable tv channel Nickelodeon.

★ In the United Kingdom, the series was shown from 1980 on the ITV Network in a regional format as with most acquired material. The days varied in different regions, but many showed it on Fridays, at 5.15pm or 6.30pm as was followed by Yorkshire Television. The show experienced a resurgence in popularity in the early 1990s when Sky One acquired the rights and showed the entire series on weekday evenings over a number of repeat runs (sometimes followed by its spin-off show ''The Facts of Life'', which had not previously been shown in the UK). It has since been repeated on Trouble and Paramount Comedy.

See also

★ List of Diff'rent Strokes episodes

★ ''The Facts of Life'', a 1979–1988 spin-off

★ ''Hello, Larry'', a 1979–1980 series with regular crossovers.

★ ''Webster'', a similar sitcom from 1983-1989 starring Alex Karras, Susan Clark and Emmanuel Lewis

External links

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★ St. James Enyclopedia of Popular Culture article about ''Diff'rent Strokes''

★ Diff'rent Strokes Online

★ Tim's TV Showcase: Diff'rent Strokes

★ TV.com: Diff'rent Strokes

★ Jump The Shark - Diff'rent Strokes

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