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“Diff’rent Strokes” was one of my favorite TV shows from my childhood. Here was a comedy show that I would constantly watch with my friends and family members. And why not? It was a sitcom that the whole family could enjoy. Not to mention it was a very funny show. So I decided to take a little trip down memory lane and watch the entire first season of “Diff’rent Strokes” on DVD, and it still holds up well 30 years after it debuted on NBC.
The premise: wealthy widower Philip Drummond agrees to honor the dying wish of his black housekeeper (a widow) and take care of her two sons Arnold and Willis Jackson. He brings the two boys from Harlem to live in his luxurious penthouse apartment with him, his daughter Kimberly, and their new housekeeper Mrs. Garrett. What follows during the course of season one is the wonderful bond that this family creates. In the very first episode, older boy Willis (13 years old) is not too pleased to be living away from Harlem. But as the first season progresses, he and his younger brother Arnold (8 years old) begin to really like living with their new family.
There are many touching moments throughout the first season of “Diff’rent Strokes” as well as a lot of funny moments. There are many episodes that I liked, but my personal favorites were: Episode #5 – “The Spanking”, where Arnold gets in trouble for dropping water bombs off the 30th floor balcony and Mr. Drummond thinks that a spanking is the best form of punishment; Episode #12 – “The Woman”, in which Arnold, Willis, and Kimberly try to ruin Mr. Drummond’s plans to propose to his new girlfriend who isn’t quite the nice lady they though she was; Episode #22 – “Getting Involved”, which puts Arnold in a tight spot after witnessing a robbery and becoming the prime target of the robber; and Episode #23 – “Willis’s Birthday”, where the entire clan go to Harlem to celebrate Willis’s 14th birthday. But all-in-all, there was rarely a disappointing moment during the first season of “Diff’rent Strokes”.
The cast of “Diff’rent Strokes” was a very good one. Conrad Bain, who had just come off of six years on the hit Bea Arthur series “Maude” (where he was hilarious as Dr. Arthur Harmon), was wonderful as Philip Drummond. Here’s a very good actor who starred on back-to-back hit sitcoms, then seemed to disappear from the scene after “Diff’rent Strokes” was cancelled in 1986 after eight years on the tube. The only acting projects that I saw Bain in after “Diff’rent Strokes” ended its run was a supporting role in the short-lived George C. Scott 1987-1988 sitcom “Mr. President” (which aired on the Fox network back when it was a brand new network airing opposite network heavyweights CBS, NBC, and ABC), and a very small role as Meryl Streep’s grandfather in the 1990 Mike Nichols film “Postcards from the Edge”. But since then I haven’t seen him in anything else. As good as Bain was, he wasn’t the main star of “Diff’rent Strokes”. That honor belonged to Gary Coleman, who played the wisecracking Arnold. Here was an actor who went on the steal scene after scene and in the process got the biggest laughs on the show. He also provided the show’s now famous catchphrase: “Whatchoo talkin’ bout?” All of that is evident in season one. But lets not forget about the other actors: Todd Bridges and the late Dana Plato were also very good as Willis and Kimberly. And Charlotte Rae was terrific as Mrs. Garrett. Rae would move on to her own show, which was the “Diff’rent Strokes” spin-off “The Facts of Life”. You can see the “Diff’rent Stokes”/”Facts of Life” connection with the final episode of season one titled “The Girls’ School” (featuring a guest appearence by a very young Molly Ringwald, who went on to star in the first season of “The Facts of Life”). Just like “Diff’rent Strokes”, “The Facts of Life” went on the become a big hit as well. The later seasons of “Diff’rent Strokes” would feature two different housekeepers, but I always thought Mrs. Garrett was the best housekeeper on this show. And Rae made the most out of that role (she was great on “The Facts of Life” as well).
It was well worth it watching the first season of “Diff’rent Strokes”. This is a great show to watch along with anybody. Whether your an adult or a kid and you’re looking for a very funny family sitcom from the past to watch on DVD, “Diff’rent Strokes” would be a great choice. Plus the DVD feature a couple of great extras, which include a look back at the show and has interviews with three of the actors: Conrad Bain, Todd Bridges, and Charlotte Rae (as well as some of the crew members behind the show). Unfortunately, Gary Coleman is noticeably absent from the extras. It would have been great to see him in the DVD extras.
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If you have seen Snatch and liked it, you’ll like this too. British gangster film. Gory but not too bad and had some laughs in it too. Really good movie.
