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Did you prefer "Alice" or "One Day at a Time"?

I'm dying to know which will win in a head-to-head battle.

Also, I know someone will correct my quotation marks inside the question mark and I'm ok with that.

by Anonymousreply 91June 14, 2019 3:13 AM

OP, dear, you cannot offer a poll asking if we prefer shit or crap, no matter how sublimely loathsome and oddly campy the material is.

The results only will suggest that some people have poo-poo issues.

Your question mark is properly placed by most contemporary style-guide standards.

by Anonymousreply 1July 24, 2014 7:39 PM

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

by Anonymousreply 2July 24, 2014 7:40 PM

Neither one belongs in a best sitcoms list, but I'd still prefer to watch them to "The Big Bang Theory."

by Anonymousreply 3July 24, 2014 7:45 PM

Well, then, OP, that rather says it all.

If I HAD to choose - HAD TO with a gun to my head, I would take the first season of ALICE over the first season of that other one.

Your tolerance - or perversion - is more than some of us can bear. Rather like (you'll get a lot of comparisons here) the choice between THREE'S COMPANY and THREE'S COMPANY.

by Anonymousreply 4July 24, 2014 7:49 PM

Alice, because Tommy had BDF.

by Anonymousreply 5July 24, 2014 7:50 PM

I watched them both but now I realize that I didn't really like either one all that much. They're not shows I've watched again over the years.

by Anonymousreply 6July 24, 2014 7:51 PM

R5, that's a good thought. I'm going to change my vote.

by Anonymousreply 7July 24, 2014 7:58 PM

I voted for Alice only because the first couple of seasons were OK. One Day at a Time was horrible from the first episode (and just got worse). A woman -- who has no job skills or money -- divorces her husband and moves to another state with her teenage daughters in order to "find herself." And that's even mentioning the bad acting.

by Anonymousreply 8July 24, 2014 8:03 PM

I know which one I'm voting for.

by Anonymousreply 9July 24, 2014 8:03 PM

Between Nanette Fabray's performances and Valerie's cheesy Elton John routines, I was sucker for the "talent show" episodes of ODAAT.

Neither show had any guys that I thought were cute until Boyd Gaines joined late in ODAAT's run.

by Anonymousreply 10July 24, 2014 8:06 PM

They did a lot of singing/dance numbers on Alice, too...to show off Linda Lavin's "talents."

by Anonymousreply 11July 24, 2014 8:10 PM

Stow it, Blondie!

by Anonymousreply 12July 24, 2014 8:12 PM

Hold me David.

by Anonymousreply 13July 24, 2014 8:15 PM

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

by Anonymousreply 14July 24, 2014 8:34 PM

I am shocked--shocked!--that the Cheers/Frasier poll has received more votes than this, which should be a classic Datalounge showdown.

by Anonymousreply 15July 24, 2014 11:08 PM

Shelley Fabares is no Beth Howland.

by Anonymousreply 16July 25, 2014 2:04 AM

I preferred Beth Howland as Rachel on Another World.

by Anonymousreply 17July 25, 2014 2:13 AM

I posted on the Frasier / Cheers poll about how hot Vic Tayback was. I hate both those shows, though I guess I thought Ted Danson was sexy at the dawn of the eighties.

ODaaT had too much screaming and Snyder was just fucking skeevy. Also, the apartment drove me crazy because there was about 300 square feet behind the couch that went completely unused.

Alice wasn't good, but it did have Flo in the early years, and as I stated elsewhere, Mel was one fuckworthy hairy daddy - former sailor and all.

Link below for the Tommy fans. I don't remember the gay coach storyline at all.

NOTE: I also hated Alice's apartment. It seemed like dank. You don't have to live in squalor on a sitcom. Good Times kept the place bright and cheery and it was the fucking projects.

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by Anonymousreply 18July 25, 2014 2:24 AM

R10, I don't know .... for that time period, I thought both Scott Columby and Michael Lembeck were pretty cute.

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by Anonymousreply 19July 25, 2014 2:45 AM

Victoria Wyndham is the poor man's Beth Howland.

by Anonymousreply 20July 25, 2014 2:57 AM

Dammit, OP!

by Anonymousreply 21July 25, 2014 2:59 AM

I voted alice for that crappy theme song.

by Anonymousreply 22July 25, 2014 3:05 AM

Both Lavin and Franklin had mediocre voices. Ok for cabaret/lounge acts but weak overall.

by Anonymousreply 23July 25, 2014 3:42 PM

One Day At A Time.

Ann Romano's 8:52 meltdowns would be the template for Nora Walker's 10:46 meltdowns on the Sally Field Programme years later.

by Anonymousreply 24July 25, 2014 4:21 PM

Alice was a decent sitcom, ODAT was crap.

On Alice, Polly Holliday was sublime as Flo, even though her catch phrase about kissing grits got old fast. She grew to despise it herself and begged the writers not to include it, then flatly refused to say it. I also liked Lavin, Howland and Tayback, and even some of the regular customers (was one named Marvin?).

The only talented actress on ODAT was Nanette Fabray, and even she was brought down by bad writing. Bonnie Franklin, Valerie Bertinelli and MacKenzie Phillips are only remembered as jokes today, although Bertinelli has managed to trudge on somehow with her minimal talent.

by Anonymousreply 25July 25, 2014 4:35 PM

Hated both.

by Anonymousreply 26July 25, 2014 5:17 PM

I honestly thought "One Day at a Time" was the height of sophistication when I was a child.

by Anonymousreply 27July 25, 2014 5:22 PM

I loathed "One Day at a Time" with a passion. "Alice" was barely tolerable.

by Anonymousreply 28July 25, 2014 6:04 PM

I loved them both with every fiber of my being.

by Anonymousreply 29July 25, 2014 6:19 PM

Vic Tayback was so hot. I agree. Right on R18.

by Anonymousreply 30July 25, 2014 6:32 PM

Val Bertinelli was pretty good, even at the time.

by Anonymousreply 31July 25, 2014 8:07 PM

VIc Tayback's hairy arms need their own thread. I am left to imagine the sweaty Greek balls of my dreams.

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by Anonymousreply 32July 25, 2014 8:38 PM

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

by Anonymousreply 33July 25, 2014 8:42 PM

R33, I don't think Lavin got Holliday fired in the traditional sense--I think she got her a spinoff, which served the same purpose of getting her off Alice.

by Anonymousreply 34July 25, 2014 8:47 PM

R25 ironically she's the most bearable actress on Hot in Cleveland - even if the others are more talented then she.

Jenny Craig really did put her back on the map - permanently it would seem. In the years before that she was pretty much done, doing the occasional Hallmark movie or Touch by an Angel spot.

by Anonymousreply 35July 26, 2014 12:40 AM

Also meant to say she always reminded me off (much) prettier version of Rachael Ray.

by Anonymousreply 36July 26, 2014 12:41 AM

I don't like it when I'm called "Alice". So, I pick anything but Alice.

by Anonymousreply 37July 26, 2014 1:03 AM

One day at a time because they were messy bitches. They always set it up so you would want The Mom to hook up with Schneider the greasy repair man.

Then there was Mackenzie Phillips on screen Cocaine addiction. Always wiping here nose because she had "a cold". And frequent episodes where she was completely left out or "out of town living on her own".

by Anonymousreply 38July 26, 2014 1:18 AM

Linda did not get Polly fired. They were, and remain, friends. In fact the one time Linda and Polly did get in a disagreement was when Polly left Alice. Polly did not want fully want to go either.

by Anonymousreply 39July 26, 2014 1:22 AM

For some reason, I always thought Pat Harrington, who played Schneider on One Day..., was the guy who portrayed J. Arthur Crank on The Electric Company.

by Anonymousreply 40July 26, 2014 1:45 AM

Pat Harrington won the supporting-actor Emmy for [italic]One Day at a Time[/italic]'s final season. That was 30 years ago.

He basically stole that show. His delivery was marvelous. And, even though comedy supporting players have been know to stand out from time to time, [italic]One Day at a Time[/italic] played mainly for women. Harrington didn't just stand out for being a man on a female sitcom; he stood out because he was terrific.

[italic]Alice[/italic] was the better sitcom. It was based on Martin Scorsese's 1974 film, [italic]Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore[/italic] which won Ellen Burstyn her best-actress Oscar (along with a supporting-actress nomination for Diane Ladd). Enough of the soul of the characters were kept in tact for the sitcom adaptation. But, [italic]Alice[/italic] - which ran for nine seasons - didn't have lasting power in terms of quality.

by Anonymousreply 41July 26, 2014 2:00 AM

Alice was intended to be zanier, and was therefore more fun. One Day at a Time was Norman Lear Lite.

by Anonymousreply 42July 26, 2014 2:02 AM

However, Franklin did get Mary Louise Wilson(Ginny) fired.

by Anonymousreply 43July 26, 2014 2:04 AM

Valerie Bertinelli was soos young.

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by Anonymousreply 44July 26, 2014 2:10 AM

Thanks R32. I should be well aware of the ethnicity of the hairy balls that I want to suck. Somehow the Syrian-ness makes him even hotter to me.

I think I thought Tayback was Greek because of this memory:

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by Anonymousreply 45July 26, 2014 2:10 AM

Vic Tayback, while once hot, is now very dead.

by Anonymousreply 46July 26, 2014 2:13 AM

Bonnie was so young too R44. She was about 33.

by Anonymousreply 47July 26, 2014 2:22 AM

I liked both of these when they were on (and I was old enough to know better AND had seen ADLHA)

by Anonymousreply 48July 26, 2014 2:32 AM

The only reason I ever watched "Alice" was for Flo and that other waitress (the nervous one). They were a riot.

I hated Alic/Linda Lavin, and her stupid son.

by Anonymousreply 49July 26, 2014 3:29 AM

Early to bed...early to rise...and in between I could and cleaned and went out of my head...going through life with blinders one it's tough to see ...I had to get out from under and look for MEEEEEE ....

by Anonymousreply 50July 26, 2014 3:44 AM

R50 - one of the worst theme songs.

by Anonymousreply 51July 26, 2014 3:46 AM

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

by Anonymousreply 52July 26, 2014 3:50 AM

I missed that one, R52. One of my later favorites was an It's A Living thread that rated the different intros. It was fascinating. I meant to peek inside for a minute but lost hours of my life.

by Anonymousreply 53July 26, 2014 4:02 AM

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

by Anonymousreply 54July 26, 2014 4:15 AM

Kicking myself for nothing was my favorite sport...

by Anonymousreply 55July 26, 2014 4:22 AM

I was so fucking better than that Lavin bitch!

by Anonymousreply 56July 26, 2014 4:36 AM

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

by Anonymousreply 57July 26, 2014 4:51 AM

Let me tell ya about my Granny Gummm....

She smoked a corn-cob pipe, dontcha know?

You'll find me HILARIOUS.

NOT.

Fortunately, I made it beyond the diner in Phoenix. It was always fucking hot!!

by Anonymousreply 58July 26, 2014 4:57 AM

My sister told me that Vera from Alice and Rachel on Another World were sister's.

by Anonymousreply 59July 26, 2014 12:26 PM

ODAAT was all about Mackenzie for me. I was already a fan of hers before the show came on, she was the biggest name in the cast. Mackenzie effortlessly made Julie feel like a real person, so anytime she was on screen you were presented with some good acting. But the rest of the show sucked. "Alice" had Polly Holliday to match Mackenzie, and it was reasonably enjoyable the first few years, so I had to vote for that.

by Anonymousreply 60July 26, 2014 12:44 PM

What had Mac done before?

by Anonymousreply 61July 26, 2014 3:05 PM

Her father.

by Anonymousreply 62July 26, 2014 3:08 PM

Mel was one hell of a Mac Daddy.

by Anonymousreply 63July 26, 2014 4:35 PM

Lets' see

Second Banana:

Mel vs Schneider...Winner / MEL

Teenage Kid:

Alex vs Tommy...Winner /Tommy by a slight edge both were pretty marginal. But at least Tommy was slightly cute for like ten minutes. Glenn was unbelievable as a hetoro.

Old Famous People:

Nanette Fabray vs Martha Ray...Winner/Martha Ray. Nanette couldn't even spell her last name right.

Best Friend:

Jenny vs Flo...Winner/FLO

Young Women:

Barbara & Julie vs Vera & Jolene...Winner Barbara & Julie

So that is basically 4 points Alice to 1 ODAAT

Supporting cast Alice pluses

Ruben Kincaid, the guy from Top Cat, Belle

Supporting cast ODAAT pluses

Cliff, Edith Bunker's Kid, Mark, and the awesomely evil Francine.

So ODAAT adds one point there. So it's now 4 to 2 favor Alice

Supporting Cast Alice Minuses

All famous people who show up at Mel's,

Supporting Cast ODAAT Minues

Julie's husband, WKRP guy, Ann's first boyfriend, Anne's second boyfriend they killed off.

More minuses at ODAAT so we take away a point and it's back to 4 to 1, favor: Alice

Leading Lady Alice

Alice: Couldn't act, couldn't sing, you could totally do with out her. In fact in order to appease Linda Lavin they let her direct many episodes. You will notice Alice absent in a lot of episodes and they were still good.

Leading Lady ODAAT

Bonnie Franklin could act, the problem is she way overacted. Terrible actress. Her overacting was worse than Alice's inability to sing.

In the end I give it to Alice, though frankly both shows would've been improved 100% simply by removing the leading lady.

by Anonymousreply 64July 26, 2014 4:52 PM

[quote]Nanette Fabray vs Martha Ray...Winner/Martha Ray. Nanette couldn't even spell her last name right.

People who live in glass houses ...

by Anonymousreply 65July 26, 2014 4:58 PM

R64 is severely learning disabled.

by Anonymousreply 66July 26, 2014 5:00 PM

I contend that R64 has provided this thread with the detailed, point-by-point analysis sorely needed to justify a final judgment.

Which KRP actor are you referring to?

by Anonymousreply 67July 26, 2014 5:06 PM

ODAAT bloopers and outtakes...

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by Anonymousreply 68July 29, 2014 3:41 AM

Oh my God

by Anonymousreply 69April 25, 2017 6:43 AM

neither

both stunk !

" Don't you find me refreshingly bright ? "

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by Anonymousreply 70April 25, 2017 7:07 AM

Anne Romano just needed some Prozac.

by Anonymousreply 71April 25, 2017 7:26 AM

F&F r69 for resurrecting this thread.

by Anonymousreply 72April 25, 2017 7:51 AM

r72

Mrs Landers the Beaver isn't doing what I like.

by Anonymousreply 73April 25, 2017 4:46 PM

Tommy had a big dick face and Alex wish he had Tommy's big dick

by Anonymousreply 74April 25, 2017 4:46 PM

in his mouth.

There, finished it for you, r74.

by Anonymousreply 75April 25, 2017 6:12 PM

"Alice" was the superior show. Bonny Franklin was a cunt.

by Anonymousreply 76April 25, 2017 6:23 PM

"Alice" actually started out as a message sitcom. She didn't want Tommy to go hunting because she was against killing animals. Everyone doesn't want him to go on a camping outing with a gay male for fear he'll get molested, etc. All were handled in typical sitcom fashion but they were definitely more palatable than ODAAT because Franklin was so shrill. Lavin was actually pretty warm and likeable early on before she morphed into a boring frau.

Often discussed, but it is interesting to imagine how both shows would have been with the actresses switched. Franklin as a younger, angrier Alice Hyatt and Lavin as an older, more weary Ann. Both shows might have been quite a bit better.

by Anonymousreply 77April 25, 2017 6:54 PM

[quote]. Everyone doesn't want him to go on a camping outing with a gay male for fear he'll get molested, etc.

But when Tommy announces he drank beer, Alice is perfectly fine with that. I liked it when Vera called him "a flower"?

by Anonymousreply 78April 25, 2017 7:12 PM

ODAAT was fun to hate watch, ALICE was just boring.

Catching up with the shows on Logo now ODAAT is vastly superior. It was a Lear show after all. Mack really is the best comedic actress of the bunch and is great with the snark.

by Anonymousreply 79April 25, 2017 7:57 PM

Both Linda Lavin and Bonnie Franklin were both dry, flat, and totally uninteresting as lead characters in sitcoms.

by Anonymousreply 80April 25, 2017 9:38 PM

I love Alice. One Day At A Time was very dull and BORING!

by Anonymousreply 81April 25, 2017 10:14 PM

So after watching repeats of Alice on Logo recently I looked up the Wikipedia page out of curiosity to see how the show ended:

[quote]In the series finale...Vera announces she is pregnant and decides to be a full-time mother

Holy shit, did they really expect the audience to believe that old hag was still fertile?! Beth Howland was 44 when the finale aired but looked about 20 years older. If ever someone had a dried-up, dusty snatch it was Vera.

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by Anonymousreply 82May 29, 2017 10:39 AM

She looked her age.

by Anonymousreply 83May 29, 2017 11:06 AM

which pick will get you to send food?

I'll go with this "Alice"!

by Anonymousreply 84May 29, 2017 12:25 PM

Mel was Lebanese, not Greek

by Anonymousreply 85June 13, 2019 4:14 AM

They were both awful.

But at least Bonnie Franklin rarely sang, and there was something so fascinating watching her and Mackenzie Phillips scream at one another.

by Anonymousreply 86June 13, 2019 4:28 AM

Alice!

by Anonymousreply 87June 13, 2019 4:31 AM

ODAAT was better written. Alice was at time ridiculous, like when she was dressed like a man and no one realized. I've been watching the reruns and I wonder why they even needed three waitresses. The place was always near empty. I also noticed nobody ever ordered a soda, always water. Soda is a big thing in a diner. They didn't get the diner food part down at all.

by Anonymousreply 88June 13, 2019 4:35 AM

Everyone needed the water because of Mel’s famous chili

by Anonymousreply 89June 13, 2019 1:50 PM

I voted Alice as I gravitate toward any show that introduces any NY/NJ Jewishy schtick i.e. The Nanny

by Anonymousreply 90June 13, 2019 1:54 PM

I can't decide which one I like more. This is the "Sophie's Choice" of Datalounge polls.

by Anonymousreply 91June 14, 2019 3:13 AM
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