Diff'rent Strokes

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Diff'rent Strokes
Image:diffrentstrokes.jpg
Genre Sitcom
Running time 30 Minutes
Creator(s) Jeff Harris
Bernie Kukoff
Starring Conrad Bain
Gary Coleman
Todd Bridges
Dana Plato
Charlotte Rae
Nedra Volz
Mary Jo Catlett
Danny Cooksey
Dixie Carter
and Mary Ann Mobley
Country of origin Flag of United States United States
Original channel NBC, ABC
Original run November 3, 1978–March 7, 1986
No. of episodes 189
IMDb profile

Diff'rent Strokes was an American sitcom that aired from 1978 to 1985 on NBC and from 1985 to 1986 on ABC.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

This sitcom starred Gary Coleman as Arnold Jackson and Todd Bridges as his older brother Willis, two African-American children from a poor Harlem background whose deceased mother previously worked for a rich white widower Phillip 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 during the show's run: Mrs. Garrett (played by Charlotte Rae), Adelaide (played by Nedra Volz), and Pearl (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. Gary Coleman did not like saying the phrase.

[edit] 1983-84 season

During the 1983-84 season, Phillip Drummond was re-married to Maggie McKinney (Dixie Carter, later played by Mary Ann Mobley), a television aerobics instructor. Ms Carter was replaced after many run-ins with star Gary Coleman. She had one son, Sam McKinney (Danny Cooksey) from her previous marriage (to a character played by Hoyt Axton).

[edit] 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 of a dormitory at an all-girl private school.

[edit] Post-show troubles

All of the child stars ended up having problems after the show ended. Plato died in 1999 due to a drug overdose, while Coleman and Bridges were involved in legal trouble. 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.

[edit] Very special episodes

Main articles: Very special episode#Diff'rent strokes and Very special episode

The show was also known (and frequently mocked) for its many "very special episodes", most notably an anti-drug episode in which then-First Lady Nancy Reagan appeared in order to reiterate her "Just Say No" campaign, and an episode that guest starred Gordon Jump as a bicycle shop owner who sexually molested Arnold's best friend, Dudley. In another episode, Kimberly and Arnold were held against their will by a deranged man who initially acted as a "Good Samaritan" by giving the two a ride and inviting them to his apartment. One show revolved around Arnold trying to help his friend who had become an alcoholic. In the final season (and first on ABC), in a special 1-hour season opener, Sam was kidnapped by a man to replace his son who had died. In yet another episode, the family discovered that Kimberly was suffering from bulimia.

[edit] 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 actor/songwriter Alan Thicke.

It became somewhat popular again in the UK and Australia during 1990s re-runs.

[edit] Docudrama

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.

[edit] DVD Releases

Season Releases

DVD Name Release Date Ep # Additional Information
The Complete First Season (1978-79) September 14, 2004 24 Commentary with writer Paul Rubin, Featurette - Whatchoo Takin' Bout?
The Complete Second Season (1979-80) January 31, 2006 26
The Complete Third Season (1980-81) TBA 22
The Complete Fourth Season (1981-82) TBA 26
The Complete Fifth Season (1982-83) TBA 24
The Complete Sixth Season (1983-84) TBA 24
The Complete Seventh Season (1984-85) TBA 24
The Complete Eighth Season (1985-86) TBA 19


Seasons 1 and 2 have been released on DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. There is no word on when Season 3 will be released.

[edit] 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!" 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 is portrayed by actress Natalie Venetia Belcon.

[edit] Trivia

  • 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.
  • When ABC picked up the show after NBC cancelled it, Alan Thicke had to record a new version of the theme song since the rights to the original were owned by NBC, and a new actress had to be found to play Maggie Drummond as Dixie Carter had committed to Designing Women shortly after the show's initial cancellation and thus was no longer available. Replacement Mary Ann Mobley had previously played a one-off love interest of Mr. Drummond's in a first season episode.
  • The Spanish ( South-American Spanish) title for this TV series is "Blanco y Negro" ("White and Black").[citation needed]. In Spain, the show was called simply "Arnold".
  • 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 of 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 "WHACHOO TALKING BOUT, MUTHAFUCKA?!" parodying Lee's use of graphic language in his films.

[edit] See also

[edit] International

  • In France, the show was shown on TF1 under the name 'Arnold et Willy'.
  • 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). It has since been repeated on Trouble and Paramount Comedy.
  • In Italy, Seasons 1 and 2 were originally aired on some local TV networks and named Harlem contro Manhattan (in English it stands for Harlem vs Manhattan). Italian music theme, Arnold, was performed by Nico Fidenco, one of the most popular 60s Italian singers, and was #1 in the Italian 45-rpm chart on 1980. Seasons 3 to 6 were aired on Canale 5 commercial network under the name Il mio amico Arnold (in English My friend Arnold). After 1988, the complete show was simply renamed as Arnold and aired on several commercial TV networks. In 2006, best episodes from early seasons were still aired on Italia 1 commercial TV network at 6.00am.
  • In India, the show was aired on Sony Entertainment Television (India) in the late 1990s, dubbed in Hindi.

[edit] External links

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