MWNiese
*******Seven Out Of Ten Stars*******The true star of this show, Conrad Bain, died this past January in the year of 2013. In my humble opinion, Bain really held this show together through the years. He was the only cast member to appear in all 180 episodes. And Bain always offered what I thought were the best comedic one liners in the series; and clearly was the most polished actor of anyone that ever appeared on the show. Other highlights of the show included the seemingly unending supply of guest stars: Reggie Jackson, Dorothy Hamill, Nancy Regan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Captain Lou Albano, Muhammad Ali, Milton Berle, and of course, Mr. T. Pretty incredible stuff. Also worth mentioning, is much of the social commentary the writers often tried to weave into the scripts; it didn't always work, but when it was did, it was really touching. Some of the episodes dealt with some pretty adult serious issues: Robbery, sexual abuse, racism, sexism.... it was progressive writing for the time. "Different Strokes" has a special place in my mind and in my heart. So God rest Plato, Coleman, and Bain.
insomniac_rod
Who would think that the main characters from a naive, tender, family show would end up meeting such fatal fates? Well, that's another story."Diff'rent Strokes" is an important sticom in American pop culture and also paved the way for comedy shows with a social message inserted.Here, the inter racial situations mixed with poverty and social clichés were the spinal cord for the plot and even in jokes. Everything was extremely well done and executed with class. Nothing was vulgar or tried directly to impose a criteria; the situations were just put for the audience to judge it whatsoever they wanted.The jokes were sometimes naive but always witty. The humor was family oriented but after nearly 30 years, none of them is boring. Sure, society has changed a lot but some things just can't disappear.The acting is top notch. Gary Coleman is now some sort of cult hero for displaying a physical illness and being part of a social minority but his comedic skills and histrionic abilities make him one of the most likable child stars ever. Conrad Bain was excellent as the protective, tender but strong man that took care about his house. Dana Plato was extremely sexy, hot; she's the kind of girl I wanted to marry.Anyways, watch this sitcom in order to witness part of America's pop culture talking about television. This show will teach you many things and as a plus, it will make you chuckle most of the time.
ENDING-MAN
To be fair, this show had some charming appeal. But to be honest, it has a weak plot and it is preachy and cheesy. I could write pages about it's plot, but I'd rather not. Diff'rent strokes was written in an era when critical thinking was uncommon. Most people only cared about the fact that a rich Caucasian businessman adopted two black kids from Harlem. Granted the show's debut in the 1970's, such a scenario would cause a shock to many viewers at the time. To express the shock factor in today's world, it would be the equivalent of a show about a homosexuals adopting children. Racial prejudice is still alive, but even in the 1970's it was sharper. Diff'rent Strokes ushered in a new school of thought, and a new way of portraying minorities in the media. As a result, no one cared about how flimsy (or even stupid) the plots were, so long as they were funny and broke down racial boundaries. On such grounds, I commend this show.Personally, I feel like my IQ is dropping by one point every time I watch this show. It's so unrealistic. If one tried to relate anything about the real world to this show, they will find a severe discrepancy between fact and fiction. Like I said, it is charming, but part of it's charm derives from the flimsiness of the plots.
Syl
Watching the true Hollywood story on E! about the cast of Different Strokes was heartbreaking, after all, two of the three cast members had substance abuse problems and the star, Gary Coleman, had problems with his parents that he sued them. It's sad to watch the show, I wish I didn't know Dana Plato's problems because now I see how much she wanted her life to be like Kimberly Drummond. Conrad Bain was great as the father figure of the show. Of course, he was supposed to only be acting but I think he became a paternal figure to those youngsters. We went Mrs. Edna Garrett played by the wonderful Charlotte Rae who got her own show without all the drama of Different Strokes. She escaped it. I never approved of them dissing Dixie Carter for Mary Ann Mobley. I like them both in the role as the second Mrs. Drummond. Of course, there was the guest appearances of First Lady Nancy Reagan preaching against drugs. How little did we know the truth? Gary Coleman never escaped the image of the chubby cute kid on Different Strokes. Dana Plato who is gone to a better place never did get to experience the life of Kimberly Drummond except when she was on the set. I only wish Todd and Gary best for their future. I only wished that the off-screen drama was cut down for their sakes. I feel guilty getting laughs knowing that they went home and cried or faced abuse.