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.
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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 Anonymous | reply 91 | June 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 Anonymous | reply 1 | July 24, 2014 7:39 PM |
[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]
by Anonymous | reply 2 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 3 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 4 | July 24, 2014 7:49 PM |
Alice, because Tommy had BDF.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 6 | July 24, 2014 7:51 PM |
R5, that's a good thought. I'm going to change my vote.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 8 | July 24, 2014 8:03 PM |
I know which one I'm voting for.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 10 | July 24, 2014 8:06 PM |
They did a lot of singing/dance numbers on Alice, too...to show off Linda Lavin's "talents."
by Anonymous | reply 11 | July 24, 2014 8:10 PM |
Stow it, Blondie!
by Anonymous | reply 12 | July 24, 2014 8:12 PM |
Hold me David.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | July 24, 2014 8:15 PM |
[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]
by Anonymous | reply 14 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 15 | July 24, 2014 11:08 PM |
Shelley Fabares is no Beth Howland.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | July 25, 2014 2:04 AM |
I preferred Beth Howland as Rachel on Another World.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | July 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.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | July 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.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | July 25, 2014 2:45 AM |
Victoria Wyndham is the poor man's Beth Howland.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | July 25, 2014 2:57 AM |
Dammit, OP!
by Anonymous | reply 21 | July 25, 2014 2:59 AM |
I voted alice for that crappy theme song.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | July 25, 2014 3:05 AM |
Both Lavin and Franklin had mediocre voices. Ok for cabaret/lounge acts but weak overall.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 24 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 25 | July 25, 2014 4:35 PM |
Hated both.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | July 25, 2014 5:17 PM |
I honestly thought "One Day at a Time" was the height of sophistication when I was a child.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | July 25, 2014 5:22 PM |
I loathed "One Day at a Time" with a passion. "Alice" was barely tolerable.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | July 25, 2014 6:04 PM |
I loved them both with every fiber of my being.
by Anonymous | reply 29 | July 25, 2014 6:19 PM |
Vic Tayback was so hot. I agree. Right on R18.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | July 25, 2014 6:32 PM |
Val Bertinelli was pretty good, even at the time.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | July 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.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | July 25, 2014 8:38 PM |
[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]
by Anonymous | reply 33 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 34 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 35 | July 26, 2014 12:40 AM |
Also meant to say she always reminded me off (much) prettier version of Rachael Ray.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | July 26, 2014 12:41 AM |
I don't like it when I'm called "Alice". So, I pick anything but Alice.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 38 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 39 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 40 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 41 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 42 | July 26, 2014 2:02 AM |
However, Franklin did get Mary Louise Wilson(Ginny) fired.
by Anonymous | reply 43 | July 26, 2014 2:04 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:
by Anonymous | reply 45 | July 26, 2014 2:10 AM |
Vic Tayback, while once hot, is now very dead.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | July 26, 2014 2:13 AM |
Bonnie was so young too R44. She was about 33.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 48 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 49 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 50 | July 26, 2014 3:44 AM |
R50 - one of the worst theme songs.
by Anonymous | reply 51 | July 26, 2014 3:46 AM |
[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]
by Anonymous | reply 52 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 53 | July 26, 2014 4:02 AM |
[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]
by Anonymous | reply 54 | July 26, 2014 4:15 AM |
Kicking myself for nothing was my favorite sport...
by Anonymous | reply 55 | July 26, 2014 4:22 AM |
I was so fucking better than that Lavin bitch!
by Anonymous | reply 56 | July 26, 2014 4:36 AM |
[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]
by Anonymous | reply 57 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 58 | July 26, 2014 4:57 AM |
My sister told me that Vera from Alice and Rachel on Another World were sister's.
by Anonymous | reply 59 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 60 | July 26, 2014 12:44 PM |
What had Mac done before?
by Anonymous | reply 61 | July 26, 2014 3:05 PM |
Her father.
by Anonymous | reply 62 | July 26, 2014 3:08 PM |
Mel was one hell of a Mac Daddy.
by Anonymous | reply 63 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 64 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 65 | July 26, 2014 4:58 PM |
R64 is severely learning disabled.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | July 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 Anonymous | reply 67 | July 26, 2014 5:06 PM |
Oh my God
by Anonymous | reply 69 | April 25, 2017 6:43 AM |
neither
both stunk !
" Don't you find me refreshingly bright ? "
by Anonymous | reply 70 | April 25, 2017 7:07 AM |
Anne Romano just needed some Prozac.
by Anonymous | reply 71 | April 25, 2017 7:26 AM |
F&F r69 for resurrecting this thread.
by Anonymous | reply 72 | April 25, 2017 7:51 AM |
r72
Mrs Landers the Beaver isn't doing what I like.
by Anonymous | reply 73 | April 25, 2017 4:46 PM |
Tommy had a big dick face and Alex wish he had Tommy's big dick
by Anonymous | reply 74 | April 25, 2017 4:46 PM |
in his mouth.
There, finished it for you, r74.
by Anonymous | reply 75 | April 25, 2017 6:12 PM |
"Alice" was the superior show. Bonny Franklin was a cunt.
by Anonymous | reply 76 | April 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 Anonymous | reply 77 | April 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 Anonymous | reply 78 | April 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 Anonymous | reply 79 | April 25, 2017 7:57 PM |
Both Linda Lavin and Bonnie Franklin were both dry, flat, and totally uninteresting as lead characters in sitcoms.
by Anonymous | reply 80 | April 25, 2017 9:38 PM |
I love Alice. One Day At A Time was very dull and BORING!
by Anonymous | reply 81 | April 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.
by Anonymous | reply 82 | May 29, 2017 10:39 AM |
She looked her age.
by Anonymous | reply 83 | May 29, 2017 11:06 AM |
which pick will get you to send food?
I'll go with this "Alice"!
by Anonymous | reply 84 | May 29, 2017 12:25 PM |
Mel was Lebanese, not Greek
by Anonymous | reply 85 | June 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 Anonymous | reply 86 | June 13, 2019 4:28 AM |
Alice!
by Anonymous | reply 87 | June 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 Anonymous | reply 88 | June 13, 2019 4:35 AM |
Everyone needed the water because of Mel’s famous chili
by Anonymous | reply 89 | June 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 Anonymous | reply 90 | June 13, 2019 1:54 PM |
I can't decide which one I like more. This is the "Sophie's Choice" of Datalounge polls.
by Anonymous | reply 91 | June 14, 2019 3:13 AM |
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