The press and fans of the series blamed the cast's personal problems and faltering careers on what was eventually dubbed the "curse of Diff'rent Strokes" by various tabloids. Diff'rent Strokes The Will Comedy . David Hasselhoff rescues Arnold and Dudley just in time and the rest of the family find out about Mr. Drummond's marriage plans. Royce D. Applegate portrays family man Donald Brown, whose wife (Ronne Troup) and he have never recovered from the death of their son. The introduction of Maggie and Sam had not boosted ratings, and in the spring of 1985, in the face of sagging ratings, NBC cancelled Diff'rent Strokes. The episode "Almost American" (aka "Night School"), was the pilot for a potential spin-off series, which ultimately was not picked up for a full series. Midway through the sixth season, Plato became pregnant and approached the producers of the show to include her pregnancy. Charlotte Rae appeared as Edna Garrett in every first-season episode; the final broadcast episode of the first season, "The Girl's School", also known as "Garrett's Girls", sees her agreeing to accompany Kimberly to her private school, the fictional Eastland, in order to help with preparations for a play- in actuality, this episode acted as the backdoor pilot for the spin-off series The Facts of Life (Garrett's Girls being an early working title). Arnold is forced to deal with a bully at school; Mr. Drummond doesn't want him to fight, but Willis thinks fighting is the only option. NBC showed immediate interest and felt the format had potential; at their request the pitch was developed, with Coleman's character, Arnold, gaining an older brother, producers feeling Coleman would benefit from the addition of a second, slightly older child to interact with, and who could add a further dynamic to storylines. [27] Bridges was also arrested on a concealed weapon charge and possession of cocaine. After watching a pornographic cartoon at the bike shop, Arnold decides he's had enough of Mr. Horton and goes home, leaving Dudley behind. Mr. Drummond goes undercover at his company to find out how his employees really feel about working there. He never saw a rich white man before either. Alright, Arnold. I'll never have any privacy until he gets married. | Watch Diff'rent Strokes Season 2 Episode 49 - Ep 49 - The Will Online Now Willis has a hard time adjusting to college, so he decides to drop out. ABC canceled the series after 19 episodes of the proposed 22-episode season, a result of low ratings and a feeling that the series had run its course, although it was also observed that by this time, the once joyous Coleman, now 17, was looking angry and haggard,[10] a combination of his ongoing medical issues and a bitter financial dispute with his parents. In 1998, Coleman was charged with assault after he punched a woman demanding an autograph while working as a security guard at a shopping mall. The Alders visit New York in this second crossover with Hello, Larry, as the Drummonds help Larry get a job hosting a talk show. His name's Abraham. : Mr. Drummond, Willis and Arnold all have different interpretations of what happened, but Pearl, who was in the kitchen and saw everything, tells Kimberly what really took place. The final season ranked 69th out of 106 shows and averaged an 11.5 household rating.[14]. With Bain himself having considerable input into the options available and directions they took, producers considered a number of settings and formats, including one in which Bain was a gumshoe, with Coleman as his young associate-cum-informant. Kimberly decides to transfer to Willis' school and gets into a confrontation when she tries to join the all-male swim team. Dixie Carter and Danny Cooksey portrayed recently divorced television aerobics instructor Margaret "Maggie" McKinney and her son Sam. Plots that saw Mr. Drummond searching for love, and stories that mildly addressed racism were also sometimes featured. While not a spin-off, Hello, Larry (19791980) had a connection to Strokes as it was established in a crossover episode that Philip Drummond and Larry Alder (McLean Stevenson) were old Army buddies and Mr. Drummond had bought the company that owned the radio station where Larry worked as a talk show host. After seeing them perform, he becomes self-conscious about the fact that he can never walk again and decides to give up on himself. In the end, quick thinking by Arnold, Willis, and Mr. Drummond saves the day. She had been considered for Maggie when the role was created, but was not chosen in part due to age disparity between her and Bain.[13]. "Diff'rent Strokes" Arnold Faces Fatality (TV Episode 1980) - IMDb [9] She was replaced in the role by Mary Ann Mobley, who had previously played an unrelated, one-off love interest of Drummond's in the second-season episode "Teacher's Pet". How old was Arnold supposed to be in different strokes? Arnold lets slip details about his experiences with the seemingly congenial Mr. Horton and Mr. Drummond calls the authorities. : : They also come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and with some very different physical characteristics. | Gary Coleman, who plays the main character, is Arnold Jackson the young 8 year old boy. 24 Types of Goldfish Breeds: Identification Guide (With Pictures) After reading a book on the American legal system, Willis demands a fair trial for Arnold after he is accused of putting his goldfish in the hot tub. This gets the attention of First Lady Nancy Reagan, who visits the family's home and Arnold's school, and speaks to his class about the dangers of drug use. Arnold Jackson: Be careful with my goldfish. Kimberly dons a wig for a class play and ends up getting a date with an older man (Lou Richards), so Arnold and Willis try to put a stop to it. Arnold takes it hard when he hears his mother's (Betty A. Bridges, Arnold's confrontation with the son of the new building manager leads to Mr. Drummond punching the manager (. Telling his family that Sam was rescued from the streets, Donald tells Sam that he'll kill Sam's parents if Sam doesn't cooperate. Why are you still in bed, Arnold? : 'The Complete 5th Season' on DVD", "DVD Calendar Feature Articles - Metacritic", "Site News DVD news: Mill Creek Licenses 52 TV Shows from Sony for Low-Cost DVD Release - TVShowsOnDVD.com", "Diff'rent Strokes DVD news: Box Art for Diff'rent Strokes - Seasons 1 & 2 - TVShowsOnDVD.com", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Diff%27rent_Strokes&oldid=1152270787, "It Takes Diff'rent Strokes" performed by, "It Takes Diff'rent Strokes" (seasons 17; 19781985), On September 4, 2006, NBC aired a television drama titled, This page was last edited on 29 April 2023, at 06:24. The final two episodes produced for the third season ("Growing Up" and "The Model") had originally been postponed due to a writer's strike,[citation needed] and the interspersing of these two episodes with the ones without Coleman taped at the start of the fourth season allowed the span of his absence to be broken down onscreen. However, he changes his mind when he finds out he's not the only one having trouble adjusting. Back in Harlem, that's fightin' talk. Willis' friends and Kimberly's schoolmates clash over who gets to do what in the apartment and ruin Mr. Drummond's date in the process. In 2001, Coleman (still working as a security guard) was videotaped trying to stop a vehicle from entering the mall. 2chins/Getty Images. Diff'rent Strokes (TV Series 1978-1986) - IMDb Diff'rent Strokes was initially devised to serve as a vehicle for both Conrad Bain and Gary Coleman. ", In 1996, Coleman and Bain reprised their roles for the series finale of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air entitled "I, Done Part II", where they consider buying the Banks mansion. The police arrive just as Mr. Horton is about to make a move on Dudley (who had been given sedatives to "make him feel good"), saving their friend from a potentially frightening experience. He even recruits Sam as lead vocalist (since Robbie, the only other member with singing experience, makes Alfalfa Switzer sound like Freddie Mercury). Arnold Jackson Diff'rent Strokes - Wikipedia Sam becomes friends with another kid in the building, but is horrified when he finds out the kid isn't a boy but is a girl (. Eventually he sleeps anyway. change the world. Arnold's toy rocket crash lands at the Russian embassy and nearly causes an international incident. All three experienced various legal problems while Bridges and Plato also struggled with drug addictions, all of which were documented in the press. Failing to do so, Sam is so humiliated by his troopmates, he decides he hates all old people, so Mr. Drummond has a talk with the senior to get him to patch things up with Sam. Question: 8/10 Choose the correct answer! Note: Basketball player Meadowlark Lemon guest stars. : Arnold and Sam go into business selling roach spray, but Arnold's greed causes Sam to go his own way. Other classmates and friends of Arnold seen over time included Robbie Jason (Steven Mond) and snobby Lisa Hayes (Nikki Swasey), who initially was sweet on Arnold, but later came to despise him, leading to hatred between the pair and many squabbles. Arnold is mugged on his way home from school and is so traumatized that he begins carrying a knife with him. They live in a penthouse with Drummond, his daughter Kimberly (Plato), and their housemaid. Several such concepts were considered before a rough outline for the eventual seriesin which Bain plays a wealthy businessman left to take care of his late housekeeper's son, the orphaned Colemanwas settled upon and given the working title 45 Minutes from Harlem (even though Harlem is only ten to fifteen minutes away from the Upper East Side by subway or taxi). While there, Mrs. Garrett met Kimberly's classmates and was offered the job as "dorm mother." Where to WatchDetails Add to Watchlist Mark as Watched A great memorable quote from the Diff'rent Strokes movie on Quotes.net - Arnold Jackson: Be careful with my goldfish. [37] Season 5 was released on April 4, 2017. Producer Al Burton had spotted Dana Plato as part of a cheerleading team auditioning on The Gong Show and felt she had a spark about her, and recommended her for the role of Drummond's daughter Kimberly. Other recurring characters introduced over the third season included Le Tari as Dudley's adoptive father, Ted Ramsey (in the episode "Football Father"), Janet Jackson as Willis's girlfriend Charlene DuPrey and, in the fourth season episode "Kathy", Arnold's teacher Miss Chung, played by Rosalind Chao, who had played a different character in the third-season episode "Almost American", in which the regular cast only have minor roles, which served as the backdoor pilot for a potential sitcom focusing on the students of an immigration and naturalization class. Outside the Drummond household, there were a large number of supporting characters over the years. Arnold tries to outdo Willis on an arcade game, but constant playing takes a toll on his schoolwork. Creators Jeff Harris Bernie Kukoff Stars Gary Coleman Todd Bridges Conrad Bain See production, box office & company info Watch on Prime Video S1-8 included with Prime More watch options After Mr. Drummond becomes the target of an extortionist, he hires an imposing female bodyguard (Sheron Chambers) to protect his family. After the police arrested the man, Kimberly and Arnold have reunited with the family and to celebrate Mr. Drummond's birthday party. Arnold: Be careful with my goldfish. - Diff'rent Strokes - Facebook Why Your Child Benefits from Learning Different Swim Strokes With Willis dropped into the background slightly, this new brotherly duo took center stage for many storylines. At the end of the episode, Bain (in an out-of-character PSA) spoke about what to do if real life situations as the one portrayed on the show were to occur. Arnold begins having nightmares after he finds out Mr. Drummond is going on a business trip, so a therapist is needed to unlock Arnold's fears. Arnold (Gary Coleman) has overheard a conversation about Mr. Drummond's (Conrad Bain) will and he worries that his adoptive dad might be sick. Willis has trouble making friends at his new school, until it's discovered that his family is rich, so he gets asked to buy marijuana for a party. The P.I. Superman is studying? Willis soon hears she's seeing another guy and he decides it's time to move on, but Arnold has plans to bring them back together. I owe you an insult! [8] The title for the series eventually became Diff'rent Strokes, inspired by the phrase "Different strokes for different folks", popularized by boxer Muhammad Ali in 1966 (Ali himself makes a guest appearance in the second season). The Trial: Directed by Herbert Kenwith. Arnold gets reassurance from Kathy when he plays Abraham Lincoln in a school play, but when he tries to get her to use her crutches instead of sitting in a wheelchair, she is furious and blows his confidence before showtime. Arnold's prized doll is sold and Arnold has trouble going to sleep without it, so Mr. Drummond hires a private investigator to track down the doll. During the middle of a home makeover, the Drummonds learn of Sam's kidnapping and they distribute flyers and go on the news to raise awareness. A daughter to Bain's character and a housekeeper were added to the lineup.