The addition of Sam

[Madness]

Which episodes does everyone prefer. With or without Sam McKinney? Personally, I thought he was a very good addition. Anyone think he wasn't necessary?


[This message has been edited by Madness (edited 02-18-2001).]

[ThomasE]

Ah. I thought Sam was a cute kid. He was a good addition. He looked up to Arnold. My favorite Sam episode was when he was kidnapped.

[APPLEI]

BY THE TIME SAM JOINED THE CAST OF DIFFERENT STROKES THE SHOW WAS PAST IT'S PRIME AND HEADING DOWNHILL.

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[perezd]

sam was cool but it was too late for DS its going a bit down little by little. I think the eps. where they kidnapped sam should have been the final eps. ABC kinda screwed over DS on purpose to boost Webster which never compared to DS.

[JohnMcMillin]

I agree about ABC, why did they get the show anyways? DS was still getting reasonable ratings during the 1984-1985 season, yet ABC got the rights instead. And they placed DS up against Dallas, and never gave it any promotion either. Diff'rent Strokes could've ran maybe another season (nobody knew it was on ABC, I used to watch it on NBC when I was little, and had no idea the last season even happened), or at least had a proper farewell episode had ABC treated it better. But still, the show had seen it's peak when Sam came in.

[TJ]

I prefer the episodes without Sam, they re-used many of the same ideas - he bedwets, he's kidnapped, he has a party, etc..

but Diff'rent Strokes was always a top rated show with kids so I can see why they made the addition..

[ThomasE]

I heard that NBC was canceling the show. It's good that ABC did pick it up. As a kid, it would frustrate me that ABC had pulled the plug for a few weeks then bring it back to a Different night.
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Ellen: You have always wanted to be the center of attention. Honestly Eunice, don't you ever give up?

Eunice: You're just jealous because my husband doesn't run around with other women.

Ellen: 'Course not. Who'd want him?

[arnoldtoddfan]

prefered the ones without sam but all were enjoyable

[Scoobiedoo30]

The Addition of Sam was a Great edition of The Series Diff'rent Strokes

[GeorgeWBushGOP]

Sam was just there because Arnold was not a cute little preteen anymore.

I basically completely stopped watching this show when they added castmembers.

I never would watch them in syndication either. The show should have ended in 84 IMO~~

[88survivor]

Wasn't Drummond's wife played by two different actresses(a.k.a Family Matters and Prince of Bel Air)?

Sam was okay, but he seem to put on that phoney Texas accent he had.

[James]

Wasn't Drummond's wife played by two different actresses(a.k.a Family Matters and Prince of Bel Air)?

Sam was okay, but he seem to put on that phoney Texas accent he had.

Just for the record, Danny Cooksey (who played Sam) hailed from Oklahoma, which is just to the north of the Lone Star State. You can check out his biography at http://imdb.com/name/nm0177528/.

[everett552]

:lol: of course, I didn't care for the little squirt myself. Looking like a red net and he had the worst voice in the world.. Man, that little boy use to irk me so. I preferred the episodes with the original cast before Mr. Drummond got married. Which episodes does everyone prefer. With or without Sam McKinney? Personally, I thought he was a very good addition. Anyone think he wasn't necessary?


[This message has been edited by Madness (edited 02-18-2001).]

[megamanj2004]

Talk about jumping the shark! JtS moment #6!

New Kid in town...Sam!!!

Like Laverne and Shirley, I hold this show to also jump twice in the same time period. Why? B/C:

It jumped when:

- Mr. Drummond got married to Maggie (yes, two actresses played the same role)

- And the addition of Sam, the equivalent of the addition of Olivia on the Cosby Show and why Cobsy JtS'd later on as well!

I couldn't stand Sam, b/c he kept on asking too many stupid questions at the wrong times!

I also couldn't stomach the last two seasons also, b/c:

-ABC screwed DS big time, especially since Webster was also on that network
-And of all three Embassy Television shows (DS, Facts of Life, and Silver Spoons in particular) that updated their themes in their later seasons, DS has the worst-sounding theme update of the three!

Curses to the Sam-era eps.!!! :mad:

[Brian Damage]

Sam wasn't cute nor funny. He really brought down the show.

[justducky101]

i thought he was ok!!!:)

[88survivor]

But like The Brady Bunch, they always think adding a new kid will ensure the survival of the series itself. It always backfires and never works..:p

[megamanj2004]

But like The Brady Bunch, they always think adding a new kid will ensure the survival of the series itself. It always backfires and never works..:p

And The Cosby Show followed suit as well w/ Olivia years later.

[dummytree]

My favorite Sam episode was when he was kidnapped.

Says it all, doesn't it ? :D

[Buffyboy323]

Eeeeew Sam. Actually, he wasn't as bad as his Mother (The 2nd one). Ugh!

[JuicyCoutureGirl]

And The Cosby Show followed suit as well w/ Olivia years later.

One thing I could say about Sam is that he was TEN TIMES BETTER than Olivia Kendall.

[Wawwie]

I never liked Sam. At that point, Diff'rent Strokes was already dying and Sam was just the final nail in the coffin. Diff'rent Strokes should have ended on a high note like Sienfeld.

[willjarmon]

I think that if they spead out the focus evenly on Willis, Arnold, and Sam the seventh season would have been alot better

[TVFactFan]

I think that if they spead out the focus evenly on Willis, Arnold, and Sam the seventh season would have been alot better


Or atleast try to spin Willis off if he wasn't going to be used

[camdog]

I never got to see the addition of sam because comcast took off DS after the episode of "stress what stress"

[marlins3]

Sam was a miserable character. After he destroyed Strokes (in all fairness, he wa san "add-a-kid" becaus ethe show had jumped the shark), I had a hard time watching that clown (danny Cooksey) on anything. I was seven years old or so when he guest starred in an episide of Growing Pains. Even then I wanted to beat him up. I can't watch Smokey Mountain Christmas to this day because he's on it. Has he ever made the successful transition to adult actor?

[hughpuppies]

Sam was a miserable character. After he destroyed Strokes (in all fairness, he wa san "add-a-kid" becaus ethe show had jumped the shark), I had a hard time watching that clown (danny Cooksey) on anything. I was seven years old or so when he guest starred in an episide of Growing Pains. Even then I wanted to beat him up. I can't watch Smokey Mountain Christmas to this day because he's on it. Has he ever made the successful transition to adult actor?

He played on Salute Your Shorts which only lasted one year.

Like Growing Pains added Christine(Ashley Johnson to the show when it was almost over, and suddenly in a year she went from a baby to like 5 years old.)

Step by Step added (Emily Mae Young and in a year she went from a baby to 5 years old.)

Brady Bunch added Cousin Oliver.

Gimme a Break added Joey Lawarance real life brother to the show right before it went off the air(Mathew Lawarance)

Fresh Prince added Nikki(played on movie Little Rascels and went from a baby to like almost 5 in a year or so.)

Murphy Brown had a baby like 2 years before show went off the air.

Roseanne had Darlene have a baby right before it went off the air.

Family Ties added Andy later in the show.

Don't know why shows have to add kids, or have more than one person play the same character, or yet get a new character if one of the regulars leave.

Then they have disappearing character with no explaination at all. Like Happy Days Chuck, Family Matters Judy, Barney Miller his wife suddenly disappeared.

[bluthree]

Sorry was not a Sam fan. I did not understand why they needed to bring in another kid? I thought Sam was annoying.And I could not stand the way he talked "Mr.D Mr.D Mr.D"!!!
Speaking of Sam the actor that played Sam was in Terminator 2 he played John Conners friend. I just found that out not to long ago.I scene that movie hundreds of times and never knew that was Sam.

[Jrog]

Funny enough I couldn't stand Sam during the first season he appeared but grew to like him him during the last ABC year. Always struck me as a new wave version of the kid who wore braces and was a friend of Arnold and Dudley's in during the earlier seasons (I think his name was Robbie).

[needles1987]

I hate Sam.

[Scoobiedoo30]

Why did you not like sam

[needles1987]

He annoyed me.