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The trend to focus on Larry and his daughters continued into the second season, with Morgan and Earl being seen less frequently. The show's opening theme lyrics in the second season were changed; the line “the calls are comin' in, you'd better start to grin” in reference to Larry's radio career gave
31:
431:, crossovers were created between the two series. By episode 10, "The Trip: Part 2", Larry Alder and Phillip Drummond were revealed to be old Army buddies (with Drummond's company becoming the new owners of Larry's radio station). Some contemporary articles have incorrectly stated that
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was being lampooned by Johnny Carson on the show's own network; and even after its early retooling toward the relationship with Larry and his daughters, the series was not gaining a strong ratings following. Television reviewers were baffled at
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as "a buffoon, the cliché TV father". After that point, a "complete turnaround in the direction of the series" was made, concurrent with a move to an earlier time slot, to put the emphasis on the relationship between Larry and his daughters.
479:), who usually did not approve of Larry's parenting; Tommy (John Femia), a purportedly worldly wise teenage boy who became a love interest for Ruthie; Larry's widowed father (Fred Stuthman), who moved in with the younger Alders; and former
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association, and was launched the year after Fred
Silverman, a man known to launch television hits, had just joined NBC as its president and CEO. By January 1978, Stevenson already had two unsuccessful sitcoms under his belt since leaving
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The first five episodes, shown at a later primetime slot, centered on Larry at the radio station and his smart-aleck remarks to callers. In these early episodes, Larry is described by
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was described as a television series that (depending on the writing emphasis) tried either to be offensive or funny, and accomplished neither. It was negatively compared with
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as himself, running a local sporting-goods store in the series (believed to be an attempt to boost ratings with
African-American audiences who had tuned in for
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ranked the series No. 12 on their "50 Worst Shows of All Time" list in 2002. The show has been used as shorthand for badness. In one example, from 2000,
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In addition, various supporting characters were added in the apartment building where Larry and the girls lived; these included a neighbor, Leona (
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way to “you're raising them just fine, but keep an open mind” when the stories became more focused on the Alder household.
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from
January 26, 1979, to April 30, 1980. Its broadcast run consisted of 38 episodes over two seasons.
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will be the chilliest reception for a war hero since McLean
Stevenson tried to talk his way back onto
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The show immediately gained a reputation as a poorly written, unfunny sitcom. A month into its run,
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was greeted by viewers who had high expectations based on series star McLean
Stevenson's previous
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was already on the air, and the relationship between Larry and
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sitcom about a single woman raising two teenage daughters alone. The show was produced by
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was canceled in the Spring of 1980 after its second season, having aired 38 episodes.
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was created, Bensfield and Grant were veteran writers with résumés going back to
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Live in Front of a Studio
Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes
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as writing shifted to Larry bringing up his daughters as a single father.
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for its angle in radio and the early emphasis on racy humor, and then with
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Larry Alder (McLean
Stevenson) is a radio talk show host who left
864:"NBC Just Can't Say 'Goodbye' to 'Hello, Larry': It's Back Again"
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495:) tried to reconcile with him, were enough to save the show.
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348:
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834:"Hello, Larry And The Death Of The Sitcom Theme Song"
653:, which aired at the beginning of the 1978 season on
398:). The supporting cast consisted of producer Morgan (
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890:"NBC's Friday Night Lineup Seems Headed Down Drain"
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787:"Diff'rent Strokes Curse Remains With Work Undone"
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1212:Television series by Sony Pictures Television
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443:, with the crossover episodes constituting a
647:, which also aired on NBC, in 1976–77, and
427:. In the hope of raising the popularity of
1197:American English-language television shows
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807:Fear, David; Stone, Rolling (2015-02-06).
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29:
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1222:Television shows set in Portland, Oregon
1177:1980 American television series endings
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761:"Stevenson in Search of Lasting Series"
546:Fred Stuthman as Henry Alder (season 2)
1172:1979 American television series debuts
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421:aired immediately after NBC's hit
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1093:The Facts of Life Goes to Paris
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947:. Running Press. 2004. p.
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1217:Television shows set in Oregon
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549:John Femia as Tommy (season 2)
451:episodes were broadcast while
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1207:Television series about radio
1192:American television spin-offs
767:. UPI. 1979-03-23. p. 12
722:
417:In its new earlier timeslot,
365:List of Hello, Larry episodes
355:and directed by Doug Rogers.
305:television series created by
235:T.A.T. Communications Company
1101:The Facts of Life Down Under
916:"TV: New Sit-coms Fall Flat"
914:McNally, Owen (1979-01-26).
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390:and in the second season by
7:
888:Hopkins, Tom (1979-02-23).
774:– via Newspapers.com.
358:
10:
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862:Dorsey, Tom (1979-08-15).
785:Smaktakula (29 May 2012).
543:as Leona Wilson (season 2)
362:
16:American television series
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1109:The Facts of Life Reunion
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644:The McLean Stevenson Show
537:as Diane Alder (season 2)
525:as Diane Alder (season 1)
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832:Fine, Joe (2007-03-11).
394:) and Ruthie (played by
341:They had also worked on
809:"10 Worst TV Spin-Offs"
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1187:1980s American sitcoms
1182:1970s American sitcoms
943:TV Guide Book of Lists
337:The Andy Griffith Show
613:Wednesday at 9:30 pm
555:as himself (season 2)
402:) and engineer Earl (
363:Further information:
481:Harlem Globetrotters
216:Patricia Fass Palmer
868:The Courier-Journal
580:Friday at 10:00 pm
195:Executive producers
973:"Withdrawal Pains"
701:Arianna Huffington
678:WKRP in Cincinnati
608:Friday at 8:00 pm
603:Friday at 8:30 pm
590:Friday at 8:30 pm
585:Friday at 9:30 pm
531:as Earl (season 1)
231:Production company
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1133:Diff'rent Strokes
1076:The Facts of Life
1061:The Facts of Life
1010:Television portal
894:Dayton Daily News
765:The Press-Tribune
707:'s return to the
684:One Day at a Time
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616:
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606:
605:(Episodes 1, 3–6)
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560:Broadcast history
519:as Morgan Winslow
489:Diff'rent Strokes
449:Diff'rent Strokes
441:Diff'rent Strokes
424:Diff'rent Strokes
344:One Day at a Time
294:
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288:Diff'rent Strokes
156:Original language
148:Country of origin
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650:In the Beginning
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553:Meadowlark Lemon
535:Krista Errickson
505:McLean Stevenson
485:Meadowlark Lemon
392:Krista Errickson
384:Portland, Oregon
315:McLean Stevenson
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259:January 26, 1979
241:Original release
183:List of episodes
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128:Meadowlark Lemon
120:Krista Errickson
100:McLean Stevenson
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615:(Episodes 7–24)
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445:backdoor pilot
411:Fred Silverman
404:George Memmoli
400:Joanna Gleason
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317:. It aired on
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1019:Hello, Larry
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981:. Retrieved
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898:. Retrieved
896:. p. 54
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872:. Retrieved
870:. p. 28
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816:. Retrieved
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717:Hello, Larry
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712:
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689:Hello, Larry
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673:Hello, Larry
672:
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667:Hello, Larry
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662:Hello, Larry
661:
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628:Hello, Larry
627:
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523:Donna Wilkes
511:Kim Richards
488:
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453:Hello, Larry
452:
448:
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433:Hello, Larry
432:
429:Hello, Larry
428:
422:
419:Hello, Larry
418:
416:
408:
396:Kim Richards
388:Donna Wilkes
378:after being
373:
370:First season
342:
335:
329:
326:Hello, Larry
325:
323:
298:Hello, Larry
297:
296:
295:
286:
223:Running time
141:John LaSalle
116:Donna Wilkes
108:Kim Richards
86:Art Dielhenn
23:Hello, Larry
22:
1227:NBC sitcoms
1144:(1979–1980)
1136:(1978–1986)
983:16 December
922:. p. 6
792:16 December
742:16 December
705:John McCain
703:said that "
610:(Episode 2)
582:(Episode 1)
376:Los Angeles
353:Woody Kling
313:, starring
311:Perry Grant
213:Woody Kling
210:Rita Dillon
200:Perry Grant
178:of episodes
82:Doug Rogers
76:Directed by
67:Perry Grant
56:Perry Grant
1166:Categories
1127:Characters
926:2020-01-02
900:2020-01-02
874:2020-01-02
843:2020-01-02
818:2020-01-02
771:2020-01-02
723:References
541:Ruth Brown
477:Ruth Brown
457:retconning
273:1980-04-30
263:1979-01-26
226:30 minutes
190:Production
167:of seasons
133:John Femia
124:Ruth Brown
62:Written by
48:Created by
1085:TV movies
838:Bloomberg
719:tanked."
623:Reception
207:Producers
143:Tom Smith
138:Composers
1078:episodes
1074:List of
1069:Episodes
696:TV Guide
463:series.
437:spin-off
380:divorced
359:Synopsis
96:Starring
1120:Related
713:M*A*S*H
639:M*A*S*H
633:M*A*S*H
599:1979–80
576:1978–79
483:player
281:Related
271: (
267: –
261: (
256:Release
246:Network
159:English
1152:(2021)
1112:(2001)
1104:(1987)
1096:(1982)
955:
715:after
709:Senate
567:Season
435:was a
303:sitcom
42:Sitcom
977:Slate
324:When
38:Genre
1024:IMDb
985:2016
953:ISBN
794:2016
744:2016
499:Cast
461:both
347:, a
334:and
309:and
181:38 (
1022:at
949:180
655:CBS
459:in
439:of
406:).
349:CBS
319:NBC
250:NBC
176:No.
165:No.
1168::
975:.
951:.
918:.
892:.
866:.
852:^
836:.
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763:.
752:^
657:.
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903:.
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846:.
821:.
796:.
746:.
641:—
339:.
275:)
265:)
185:)
170:2
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