Eric Paddon
03-26-2009, 09:13 PM
The massive overhaul of this show from its first season to its brief second season never made any sense to me. You just can't get new people to watch a show that isn't already working with one set of actors and expect those who've *liked* the first set of actors to stick around.
Anyway, here's a newspaper article from August 1978 that explains what happened. Apparently the mass firing of John Astin and everyone else except for Melinda Naud (and in lesser roles, Jim Varney and Richard Brestoff) was dictated entirely by ABC, and not Universal. They felt there were too many cast members but rather than just trim the ensemble, they decided to "reboot" the show with a new group. Dumb thinking IMO.
Anyway, here's a newspaper article from August 1978 that explains what happened. Apparently the mass firing of John Astin and everyone else except for Melinda Naud (and in lesser roles, Jim Varney and Richard Brestoff) was dictated entirely by ABC, and not Universal. They felt there were too many cast members but rather than just trim the ensemble, they decided to "reboot" the show with a new group. Dumb thinking IMO.