AL9045

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...tv/ritter_show

LOS ANGELES - ABC Television said Tuesday it will continue the sitcom that showcased the late John Ritter (news), showing his television family coping with the death of Ritter's character on "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter."


ABC executives said the show will premier next Tuesday as planned and that the network will air the three episodes Ritter filmed before his death.


After that, the show will go into repeats while writers retool the sitcom and production starts. No date was given for when the show will return to the air.


Ritter died last Thursday of an undetected heart problem. He was 54.


"We are going to stick with it," Susan Lyne, president of ABC Entertainment, said in a conference call with reporters.


Each of the first three episodes already shot will start with a special introduction, featuring the cast members. The next new show will deal with the death of Ritter's character, Paul Hennessy.


"Future episodes will take viewers into the Hennessy household as they experience the loss of a father and construct a new life together," said Lloyd Braun, chairman of the ABC Entertainment Television Group. "We will play out the situation as real life."


Executives said they considered a number of options, including canceling the show, but decided to continue the series.

Flesh

yeah.. i read that.. will be interesting to see how they kill him off on the show.

bparker805

I can see it now, "Eight Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage STEP-Daughter"... now starring the guy who played Larry from Three's Company.

Halx

This this nobility or ratings?

Who am I kidding?

It's ratings.

(test)

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Hard8s

As long as they deal with his death in a classy way, who cares if they continue on. I find it great that they are willing to show a real life situation and deal with on a sitcom. Not everything in life is funny. I recently had a coworker have his son die. Now I have to watch as he grieves and goes on with his life. Hopefully they will do what is right with this show and not just make it a ratings grab. If they do make this just a ratings grab then piss on ABC! If they do it right and show that life can go on after a tragedy then kudos to ABC!

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Thraeryn

It's definitely ratings. When they find a combination that works these days, they have to stick with it. Even when an element is removed, no longer making it the same combination.

Lebell

If they show healthy ways of dealing with the tragic loss of a husband/father, then I don't begrudge them ratings.

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bernadette

i've never seen this show, but i'll probably at least check it out now that i'm aware it's there. john ritter will be missed.

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AL9045

I think it's impossible to make it a comedy though...I mean...seriously.

grayman

This seems like a really bad idea to me. I've only seen a couple of episodes of this show and the whole dynamic was based on the tension between a father and his teenage daughters. He doesn't like how they dress, who they date, etc. They complain about how old-fashioned he is. How can they possibly continue this show in any sort of format even remotely like that with no father? If they add a new father/stepfather, it will be pretty offensive to Ritter and his memory, and it will be blatantly obvious that they are only concerned with the money.
Just my two cents.

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Cynthetiq

didn't watch the tribute tonight on him... its on Tivo and the wife will make me watch it since they both were working on a movie project together....

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Splice

I saw the tribute with my family. It was really nice. I didn't realize he had touched so many lives. They said it's estimated that about 80% of Americans have seen John Ritter because of his shows being on reruns like Three's Company. He was also the voice of Clifford the big red dog. My little nephew loves that show.

I'm glad that they have decided to keep the show. I really hope it'll survive. Shows with leading characters who died (Phil Hartman for example) never quite make it without their leading man.

K-Wise

Oddly enough...though I think thats a pretty cruel thing to say...I've wondered the same thing myself. Poor guy he really did look like a good person.

Asta!!

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Bill O'Rights

I was kinda thinkin' Ed O'Neill, the guy who played Al Bundy from Married With Children.

Seriously though, I do hope that ABC does this with a little class, dignity and respect. Of course it's all about the ratings, but with a little hard work ABC can pull this off without whoring themselves more than they already do. It should be interesting to see how how this all plays out.

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Midnight_Son

I very happy they’re not going to cancel it, that blonde chick is really frickin’ hot
(ya, I’m a pig – get over it)

tikki

It was a good show: one of the few sitcoms I could sit through w/o wanting to gouge my eyes out. I think its fine that they want to go on with the show, because all the cast and crew agreed to do it. Maybe they see that they have the ability to reach out to some people and try and relay a message. I don't see any harm in that whatsoever.

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Cynthetiq

my wife works on Clifford the big red dog... movie in the works... derailed... GAH! i've said too much!

I was pondering yesterday the Howard Stern commentary about how Ritter wasn't so groundbreaking an actor. I thought about it on my way in to work.

He played a man cohabitating with 2 women. Groundbreaking!
He play a man pretending to be homosexual in order to break stigma in living with those 2 women. Groundbreaking!

yeah... he altered TV history. You just didn't notice it... subtlety is so much better...

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SecretMethod70

cyn, it's so true. Not only that, comedy was so natural to him as well. I think continuing the show would probably be what he'd want based on what I know/have heard about him. You've got to keep in mind that if you cancel the show, those people are out of work - and he really cared about his co-workers. So I think it's good that they're giving it a try. It will be interesting to see how it pans out.

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legolas

I hope it's not ratings. If it was his wife would jump in I'd think.

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yournamehere

I think it's good of them to at least try to keep the show going, and I will watch to see how they handle it.

Let's not forget - there are hundreds of people associated with (as in "drawing a paycheck") a television show - it would be a shame for all of them to lose their jobs because of the death of one person, albeit the most important person involved with the show.

i't a tough challenge facing them, and I wish them luck - perhaps because John Ritter <i>was</i> so well liked in Hollywood, hopefully some talented writers will step up to the plate and show us what they've got.

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hundred-peons

I put him up there with Dick Van Dyke, and Jim Carey for physical comedy.

Ritter could take falls on Three's Company like Chevy Chase did on SNL.

Part of his humor was getting knocked in the nose and rolling over that sofa week in week out on Three's Company.

smeesh

I dont like the idea at all. Having your father die isn't something you immediately bounce back from. I dont think the show, no matter how hard they try, would be able to convey the actual feeling of what it is like to have your dad taken away from you at a young age.

It'll either be preachy and insincere, or the "sitcom" nature of the show will make out the situation to be not quite as devastating as it really is.

~smeesh

Kaos

This reminds me of when Phil Hartman died and they addressed it in the next season of News Radio and continued the show.

And well, the show quickly went into the toilet. Hope it doesn't happen for 8 Simple Rules the same way, but I'm afraid it will.

CapnWaffle

This should be an interesting thing to watch... I haven't really seen much of the show, but if the show was based around a protective father, I'm curious how it'll be without that character.

santafe5000

I did like the show and very much enjoyed the comedy. I will miss John because he was a real comedien. As to the viability of the show, like News Radio, I think it would only last til the end of the season. The show revolved to much around John's character and it just won't work without him. Rest in Peace, John Ritter, you will be missed.

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Apache

I know I'm a little late on this but wanted to put my opinion in as well. I think they should show the last three episodes in honor of his work but they shouldn't try and keep the show going. I mean the whole point was a father dealing with two teenagers, and how stressful it was. It was a funny show I watched it every week but now that John is no longer with us they should just end it.