Revision 117489463 of "Benutzer:Hey Teacher/Diff'rent Strokes" on dewiki

{{Refimprove|date=June 2007}}
{{infobox television |
 | show_name = Diff'rent Strokes
 | image = [[Image:diffrentstrokes.jpg|200px]]
 | caption =
 | format = [[Sitcom]]
 | runtime = 30 Minutes
 | creator = [[Jeff Harris]]<br />[[Bernie Kukoff]]
 | starring = [[Gary Coleman]]<br>[[Conrad Bain]]<br>[[Todd Bridges]] (1978-1985)<br>[[Dana Plato]] (1978-1984)<br>[[Charlotte Rae]] (1978-1979)<br>[[Nedra Volz]] (1980-1982)<br>[[Mary Jo Catlett]] (1982-1986)<br>[[Janet Jackson]] (1980-1984)<br>[[Dixie Carter]] (1984-1985)<br>[[Danny Cooksey]] (1984-1986)<br>[[Shavar Ross]] (1980-1986)<br>[[Mary Ann Mobley]] (1985-1986)
 | country = {{USA}}
 | network = [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC]] (1978-1985)<br>[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] (1985-1986)
 | first_aired = [[November 3]], [[1978]]
 | last_aired = [[March 7]], [[1986]]
 | num_seasons = 8
 | num_episodes = [[List of Diff'rent Strokes episodes|189]]
 | imdb_id = 0077003
 | tv.com_id = 601
|}}

'''''Diff'rent Strokes''''' is a popular [[United States|American]] [[television program|sitcom]] that aired on the [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC]] [[television network]] from [[November 3]], [[1978]] to [[May 4]], [[1985]], and on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] from [[September 27]], [[1985]] to [[March 7]], [[1986]], when the series was again cancelled.

==Synopsis==
This sitcom starred [[Gary Coleman]] as [[Arnold Jackson (character)|Arnold Jackson]] and [[Todd Bridges]] as his older brother, [[Willis Jackson (character)|Willis]]. They played two African-American children from a poor [[Harlem]] neighborhood whose deceased mother previously worked for a rich white widower, [[Phillip Drummond (character)|Philip Drummond]] ([[Conrad Bain]]), who eventually adopted them. They lived in a penthouse with Mr. Drummond, Mr. Drummond's daughter [[Kimberly Drummond (character)|Kimberly]] ([[Dana Plato]]), and their maid.  There were three maids during the show's run: [[Edna Garrett]] (played by [[Charlotte Rae]]), Adelaide Brubaker (played by [[Nedra Volz]]), and Pearl Gallagher (played by [[Mary Jo Catlett]]).  They lived on [[Park Avenue (Manhattan)|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. The line was originally scripted as be "What are you talking about, Willis?" but Coleman pronounced it differently and, after that, it was spelled "Wha'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" even on the script.

In Season 1, [[Charlotte Rae]] appeared in every episode as [[Edna Garrett]], but she departed the show partway through the second season to star in her own top-rated, long-running [[television spin-off|spin-off]], ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]''.  Following Rae's departure, [[Nedra Volz]] took over as the [[Housekeeper]], Adelaide Brubaker.  Although she was not part of the official cast in Season 2, Volz appeared several times.

In the [[1981-82 American network television schedule|fourth season]], [[Grammy Award]]-winning [[R&B]] superstar, [[Janet Jackson]] (real-life sister of music icon [[Michael Jackson]]), played Willis' steady girlfriend, Charlene DuPrey. During episodes in which Jackson appeared as Charlene, a running gag was that after every conversation she had with Willis, they start to [[kissing|kiss]], which some viewers found inappropriate for younger fans. Janet Jackson remained on the series (although she was not a cast member) until at the end of Season 6, when she and Willis decided to [[break up]], and just remain friends. Janet Jackson left the series at that point. The ratings sagged when the writers tried to create more serious story lines for the show.

In Season 5, [[Mary Jo Catlett]] portrayed Pearl Gallagher, the last of the three maids, and joined the cast as a series regular. Pearl was a lot like Charlotte Rae's character, [[Edna Garrett]]. Pearl, however, appeared in almost every single episode until the final season. Midway through Season 6, [[Dana Plato]] left the series when she discovered she was pregnant, and her character, Kimberly, was written out saying she was pregnant and lived in [[Paris, France|Paris]] for a couple of years. [[Dana Plato]] does not appear as a series regular in the final two seasons of the series. [[Dixie Carter]] and [[Danny Cooksey]] portrayed recently divorced television [[aerobics]] [[instructor]] Margaret "Maggie" McKinney, and her son, Sam McKinney. Dixie Carter and Danny Cooksey joined the cast for Season 7 as series regulars, with the story line of Arnold and Willis gaining an 8-year old little brother, Sam. Philip and Maggie developed interest in each other and married at the end of the sixth season with special guest stars such as [[Charlotte Rae]], [[Nedra Volz]] and [[Janet Jackson]].

Dixie Carter started to have problems with fellow [[cast member]] [[Gary Coleman]] and she would depart from the series at the end of the seventh season. In the summer of 1985, [[NBC]] canceled the series due to poor ratings and Gary Coleman's raise to $50,000 per episode. In the final season of the series, [[Mary Ann Mobley]] replaced [[Dixie Carter]] as the new Maggie McKinney Drummond, and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] aired the show on Saturday nights.  The series was canceled after 19 episodes, and aired its final episode on [[March 7]], [[1986]].

==Cast==
* [[Conrad Bain]] - Phillip Drummond
* [[Gary Coleman]] - Arnold Jackson
* [[Todd Bridges]] - Willis Jackson
* [[Dana Plato]] - Kimberly Drummond
* [[Charlotte Rae]] - Mrs. Edna Garrett
* [[Nedra Volz]] - Adelaide Brubaker
* [[Dixie Carter]]/[[Mary Ann Mobley]] - Mrs. Maggie McKinney-Drummond 
* [[Danny Cooksey]] - Sam McKinney
* [[Mary Jo Catlett]] - Pearl Gallagher

==Spin-off==
The television sitcom ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]'' (1979 &ndash; 1988) was a [[spin-off]] of ''Diff'rent Strokes'', involving Mr. Drummond's former maid, Mrs. Garrett, as the house-mother for a dormitory at an all-girls private school. The series was introduced in the first season ''Diff'rent Strokes'' episode "The Girls School". There were a number of changes made for the actual series; and Kimberly (featured in "The Girls School" as a pupil of the school) did not appear in the spin-off. In addition, Charlotte Rae was guaranteed that she could return to ''Diff'rent Strokes'', should the new series fail. When ''The Facts of Life'' proved to be a success, a number of its characters made guest appearances on ''Diff'rent Strokes''.

==Ratings==
''Diff'rent Strokes'' was a hit for the first three seasons. This is a list of the ratings:
* 1978-1979: #27
* 1979-1980: #26
* 1980-1981: #19

==Post-show troubles==
{{Unreferenced|date=July 2007}}
Three of the [[child star]]s ended up having problems after the show ended. Plato went on to pose for ''[[Playboy]]'', and she also appeared in [[softcore]] [[pornography]]. Plato was later arrested twice (once for armed robbery, again for forging a prescription for [[Valium]]). She died of a [[drug overdose]] in 1999 at the age of 34.

Todd Bridges was arrested in 1994 after allegedly ramming someone's car after an argument. He also had issues with illegal drugs for several years, before turning his life around. He has since traveled across the U.S.A., speaking to over 6,000 kids a day in schools and churches, discussing the dangers of drug use, negative peer pressure, and promoting his religious beliefs. In 2001, Bridges rescued a woman, who fell from her wheelchair while she was fishing.

In 1989, Coleman sued his parents and his former manager over misappropriation of his [[trust fund]]. Although he was awarded over $1,000,000 in the decision, he filed for [[bankruptcy]] in 1999. Coleman was charged with assault in 1998 after he punched a woman while he was working as a security guard at a shopping mall. In 2001, Coleman (still working as a security guard) was videotaped trying to stop a vehicle from entering the mall. The driver ridiculed him, and released the tape to be broadcast on numerous television shows. In 2007, Coleman was cited for disorderly conduct in [[Provo, Utah]] for having a "heated discussion" with a woman.

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.

==Very special episodes==
{{see also|Very special episode}}

''Diff'rent Strokes'' was also known (and frequently mocked) for its many "[[very special episode]]s", most notably an anti-drug episode ("The Reporter", in Season 5) that featured then-[[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Nancy Reagan]], who promoted her "[[Just Say No]]" campaign, and an episode that guest starred [[Gordon Jump]] as a [[pedophile]] bicycle-shop owner, who [[Sexual abuse#Child sexual abuse|sexually molested]] Arnold's best friend, Dudley.

Other episodes involved Arnold and Willis being rejected by Mr. Drummond's old [[prep school]] because they aren't wealthy enough, a [[con artist]] (played by [[Whitman Mayo]]) posing as a relative of Arnold and Willis in an attempt to get access to the [[inheritance]] they were left by a former neighbor, and Kimberly's new love Roger (who turns out to be racist) not allowing his sister to go to their school's costume ball with Willis because of his race.

In another episode, Kimberly and Arnold were abducted by a deranged man, who initially acted as a "[[Good Samaritan]]" by giving the two of them a ride, and inviting them to his apartment.

In the final season (when the show moved from NBC to ABC), the one-hour season opener revolved around Sam being kidnapped by a bereaved father to replace his own dead son. In yet another episode, the family discovered that Kimberly was suffering from [[bulimia]] after witnessing her devour an entire sheet cake, and then go to the bathroom to vomit.

Another very special episode dealt with Arnold and Sam meet a street performer.  After a performance, she has an epileptic seizure and Sam is scared and thought she was dying.  The boys felt uncomfortable around her and when they were making jokes about her seizures, they found out that the housekeeper Pearl herself has epilepsy but, unlike the street performer, has control of her seizures by taking medications.

==Music connection==
The name of the show was derived from a popular [[catch phrase]], "diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks", popularized by [[rock music|rock band]] [[Sly & The Family Stone]] with their 1968 hit "[[Everyday People (Sly & the Family Stone song)|Everyday People]]." The show's theme song was written by [[Al Burton]], [[Alan Thicke]], and [[Gloria Loring]].

==Docudramas==
Two unofficial docu-dramas were produced about the show:
* In 2000, [[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] broadcast a one-hour television movie, '''''After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped'''''. This film, which starred unknown actors, focused on Dana Plato's life after the show, leading to her untimely death. Todd Bridges guest starred in this film as a drug dealer who sold drugs — to a younger Todd Bridges.<ref>[http://www.longislandpress.com/?cp=168&show=article&a_id=917 longisdlandpress.com]</ref>
* 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.

==DVD releases==
[[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment]] has released Seasons 1 and 2 of ''Diff'rent Strokes'' on DVD for [[DVD region code|Region 1]].

{| class="wikitable"
!DVD Name!!Ep#!!Release Date
|-
| The Complete First Season || align="center" |24 || [[September 14]] [[2004]]
|-
| The Complete Second Season || align="center" |26 || [[January 31]] [[2006]]
|}

==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," to which the rest of the cast responds (in song) "It sucks to be you!" 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 was originally portrayed by actress [[Natalie Venetia Belcon]].  When the real Gary Coleman was asked about the ''Avenue Q'' character, Coleman responded, "I wish there was a lawyer on Earth that would sue them for me."

==See also==
* [[List of Diff'rent Strokes episodes]]
* ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]'', a 1979&ndash;1988 spin-off
* ''[[Hello, Larry]]'', a 1979&ndash;1980 series with regular crossovers.
* ''[[Webster (TV series)|Webster]]'', a similar sitcom from 1983-1989 starring [[Alex Karras]], [[Susan Clark]] and [[Emmanuel Lewis]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{imdb title|id=0077003|title=Diff'rent Strokes}}
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419100339 St. James Enyclopedia of Popular Culture article about ''Diff'rent Strokes'']
* [http://www.sitcomsonline.com/diffrentstrokes.html Diff'rent Strokes Online]
* [http://www.timstvshowcase.com/diffrent.html Tim's TV Showcase: Diff'rent Strokes]
* [http://www.tv.com/diff-rent-strokes/show/601/summary.html TV.com: Diff'rent Strokes]
* [http://www.jumptheshark.com/forum/diffrent-strokes/553 Jump The Shark - Diff'rent Strokes]
* {{imdb title|id=0450358|title=Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Diff'rent Strokes'}}
* {{imdb title|id=0244953|title=After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped}}

[[Category:Fictional adoptees|Diff'rent Strokes]]
[[Category:American television sitcoms]]
[[Category:NBC network shows]]
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company network shows]]
[[Category:Television shows set in New York]]
[[Category:Television series by Sony Pictures Television]]
[[Category:1978 television series debuts]]
[[Category:1970s American television series]]
[[Category:1980s American television series]]
[[Category:1986 television series endings]]

[[es:Blanco y negro (serie)]]
[[fr:Arnold et Willy]]
[[it:Il mio amico Arnold]]
[[ja:アーノルド坊やは人気者]]
[[pt:Diff'rent Strokes]]