![]() Notably missing from the announcement for this third Live in Front of a Studio Audience special was any casting for Diff’rent Strokes‘ Kimberly, but don’t take that to mean they’re recreating one of the few episodes from which the late Dana Plato’s character was absent or light. Lear concurs, saying “I enjoyed as if I had never spent a day in show business.” But I have to say, Norman and I went to the table read on Wednesday and Thursday, and instinct was spot on.” Miller admits that “when we were talking about casting Facts of Life the same age as the women who are still with us” - meaning, OG cast members Lisa Whelchel, Nancy McKeon, Mindy Cohn and Kim Fields - “I was a little confused. At the time, I didn’t know: Is he going to want to cast everybody old, or is he just going to have the joke be Kevin? But as we started talking through it, it made sense to be consistent with that conceit of having older people play kids.” “He had mentioned it when we were doing our second special, that the third one has to be Kevin Hart. “It started with Jimmy and his desire to have Kevin Hart play Arnold Jackson, the Gary Coleman role,” Miller, who is Lear’s creative partner, tells TVLine. The choice to cast adults as kids, while an obvious play for word of mouth/publicity, was met by potential viewers with some confusion and in extreme cases rather righteous indignation, but it was set in motion more than two years ago. ![]() Similarly, the live staging of The Facts of Life - which follows teen girls at a prep school - stars Jennifer Aniston ( Friends) as Blair, Kathryn Hahn ( WandaVision) as Jo, Allison Tolman ( Fargo) as Natalie and Gabrielle Union ( L.A.’s Finest) as Tootie, alongside Dowd’s Mrs. (Perhaps they should rethink the rule of forcing actors to stick mostly to the old scripts and allow a bit more in-the-moment improvisation.The Wonder Years Recap: Phoebe Robinson and Tituss Burgess Drop by the Season 2 Premiere - Grade It! The performers need room to bring more to their roles than a snarky take on old sitcom punchlines. The previous one, in which John Amos got a bit lost playing a different character in the Good Times recreation, was particularly tough to sit through.īut Hart and Wayans have shown the way to move these specials beyond questionable exercises in nostalgia. How to move beyond an exercise in nostalgiaīefore that Diff'frent Strokes episode, I was ready to write an essay begging Kimmel and ABC to stop doing these projects. In particular, Flashdance star Jennifer Beals and Fresh Prince of Bel Air co-star Alfonso Ribeiro appeared in several sidesplitting, retro-style commercials for a string of products including Heinz ketchup and Jack in the Box restaurants that felt like old school Saturday Night Live ad satires (created by a production company/marketing agency co-founded by movie star Ryan Reynolds). Often, I found myself enjoying the commercials more than the episodes, because several of them were filmed in a retro style hearkening back to the late '70s/early '80s when these episodes first aired. ("I'll be there for you," in a nod to Friends.) But Hart's last line – "How come Vernon always smell like weed?" – was also spot-on, and a great callback to Snoop's character. Each episode also featured a new final line – the Facts of Life quip spoken by Jennifer Aniston, wasn't very memorable and was partially covered by applause. Will Arnett, playing a thickheaded suitor to Blair in the Facts of Life episode, offered a brief ad lib while speaking to Jon Stewart that scored better than most of the scripted punchlines (Stewart was playing Carl, a geek who also liked Blair). Indeed, the best moments of the night came when stars broke character briefly or found a way to bring new interpretations to old material. And the night's best bit of surprise stunt casting – rapper Snoop Dogg as Willis' friend Vernon – was inspired, mostly because Snoop is a much better comic actor than many realize. ("Even though he looks 45, he's just 8," Wayans deadpanned about Hart's Arnold in one moment). Damon Wayans, taking over Todd Bridges's role as Arnold's brother Willis, was another surprise, setting up Hart's punchlines as a consummate straight man before landing his own sly jokes. ![]() ![]() Hart wrung out every bit of physical comedy he could manage, pretending to struggle while climbing down from a bunk bed and copying Coleman's distinctive gait. Drummond – you felt the absurdity of the casting bring new laughs. Watching a bearded Hart, running around the stage in a superhero outfit, jumping into the arms of John Lithgow – playing Arnold's wealthy adoptive father Mr. Kevin Hart in 'Live in front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes.'Ĭasting for maximum humor, rather than mimicry
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