Hello and thank you for being a DL contributor. We are changing the login scheme for contributors for simpler login and to better support using multiple devices. Please click here to update your account with a username and password.

Hello. Some features on this site require registration. Please click here to register for free.

Hello and thank you for registering. Please complete the process by verifying your email address. If you can't find the email you can resend it here.

Hello. Some features on this site require a subscription. Please click here to get full access and no ads for $1.99 or less per month.

Gimme A Break!

I've always loved this show. Nell Carter was truly a spitfire and wonderful to watch. The Chief may have been the head of the household, but Nell wore the pants.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 131December 3, 2019 11:57 AM

WHET me?

by Anonymousreply 1January 19, 2012 5:08 AM

I watched this show religiously as a very young child. I have no doubt I didn't get 85% of the jokes, but I loved it.

by Anonymousreply 2January 19, 2012 6:38 AM

Only a spitfire could snort that much coke and show up for work.

by Anonymousreply 3January 19, 2012 6:44 AM

I watched it everyday as a kid and don't seem to remember a single plot point.

by Anonymousreply 4January 19, 2012 6:47 AM

Another one here who watched it as a child and I can't remember any of the stoylines. I think the kids were always getting themselves into some kind of jam and Nell had to get them out of it. I am exactly the same age as Joey Lawrence and I do remember feeling "funny" whenever he had a scene. It was one of my first memories that I was going to be different from the other boys.

How could Nell Carter still be big as a house when she was doing so much blow? She apparently was such an addict she was doing it on the set.

by Anonymousreply 5January 19, 2012 6:55 AM

Yep, Nell had plenty of addictions, from drugs to food. I, too, heard that she did blow on the set. It makes sense because on many of the episodes, she was very hyper (remember the one where she picked up Telma Hopkins and bodyslammed her onto the couch?). For a big girl, she was really light on her feet, though. She was always good at physical comedy.

As for getting that "tingling" feeling when seeing a guy on TV, Jonathan Silverman used to do that for me when he was on this show. He was kind of hot back then.

Some of the more memorable episodes for me were:

when the Chief died (actor Dolph Sweet passed away in real life)

when Katie had an IUD scare

when Whitney Houston guest starred as one of Katie's friends and they sang in a pop group

when the Pointer Sisters guest starred as Nell's three backstabbing old friends

when Julie and Jonathan announced they were pregnant

when Samantha thought she was pregnant just from kissing a boy

when Jonathan accidentally shot Nell in the foot

when Samantha, Joey and Nell went back to Nell's hometown and Sam dressed Joey in blackface, angering Nell

when Nell held the PORKO fat club at the house, and later in the episode they all ended up getting stuck in an elevator

When the tall, ditzy Angie suckered Nell into selling the Amaz-o-Vac vacuum cleaner

when the chief's racist sister wanted custody of the girls because she didn't like the idea of a black woman raising them

when Nell and the chief went on crash diets at the same time and ended up eating everything in the kitchen

Anything involving the kookie Simpson was funny as well.

Also any episode where Nell sang was a treat. I still loved the show when they left the Glenlawn, California setting and uprooted to New York City. The only ones to stay on board were Nell, Telma and Joey, and new cast members included Andrew Lawrence, Rosie O'Donnell, Rosetta Lenoire and Paul Sand.

by Anonymousreply 6January 19, 2012 10:28 PM

*correction, it was Joey who accidentally shot Nell in the foot, not Jonathan-- R6

by Anonymousreply 7January 19, 2012 10:30 PM

Your goldfish is dead!

by Anonymousreply 8January 19, 2012 10:31 PM

LOL! Loved how she'd say "YO goldfish is dead!" She'd be crying hysterically one minute and then straight-faced the next.

by Anonymousreply 9January 19, 2012 10:35 PM

Two other funny episodes- Nell is arrested after she gets into a fight at the phone company after the phone is disconnected for non-payment. The phone company employee, Mr. Swackhammer, thinks Nell's name is Nell Fong. Simpson locks Nell up in a jail cell before the Chief arrives.

Another is when a neighbor, Miss Falkenberg, has a barking dog that keeps Nell awake all night. The Chief calls the neighbor over to the house to make peace, but Miss Falkenberg (played by Alice Ghostly) calls Nell " hippo breath!". Nell decides to teach her a lesson by lighting a bag of garbage on fire and dropping it on her step. In the process of doing this, the dog bites Nell on the backside, and they go to court to settle the case.

by Anonymousreply 10January 20, 2012 12:27 AM

How curious that the OP is also the deranged Janet Jackson defender on another thread (I still had my trolldar on after checking it out there). Even more curious is its defense of mediocre '80s-era black entertainment/entertainers.

by Anonymousreply 11January 20, 2012 12:34 AM

[quote] I looked at Raven Symone and I said: That's me.

[quote] I looked at Nell Carter and I said: That's two of me.

by Anonymousreply 12January 20, 2012 12:39 AM

R11 just provided proof that he has absolutely NO life. AND that he's likely a racist, to boot. I actually feel sorry for him, poor thing.

by Anonymousreply 13January 20, 2012 2:49 AM

Loved whenever the phone would ring at a crucial moment and Nell would pick it up and say something like, "Katie, baby, is that you?" Pause, then Nell would angrily shout, "No, there ain't no Julio here!!"

That happened several times.

by Anonymousreply 14January 20, 2012 8:20 PM

LOL R14, yes that did happen often.

by Anonymousreply 15January 20, 2012 10:32 PM

In a fabulous "what the fuck?" moment, Nell and Andy Gibb duet on "Up Where We Belong."

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 16January 20, 2012 10:37 PM

R12, what's that quote from, I swear I laughed at it long, long ago.

by Anonymousreply 17January 20, 2012 10:47 PM

Aunt Nell, why are you standing over the sugar canister with a straw up your nose?

by Anonymousreply 18January 21, 2012 3:44 AM

Was Nell gay? I heard Rosie said she was.

by Anonymousreply 19January 21, 2012 3:48 AM

Anyone remember the rumors about Dolph Sweet's weight loss and "cancer"?

by Anonymousreply 20January 21, 2012 3:56 AM

We always called it "Gimme A Lunch Break" which might also be a good title for a future Paula Dean show.

by Anonymousreply 21January 21, 2012 4:14 AM

Rosie O'Donnell played the next door neighbor after Nell moved to NYC. She has said numerous times that not only was Nell an ENORMOUS (no pun intended) coke addict, she was an all around MISERABLE person. There was also an internet rumor a few years ago that before she died, her vagina fell off. Seriously.

by Anonymousreply 22January 21, 2012 9:27 AM

In fairness to Rosie, she never said Nell was a coke addict. She did say she was dealing with a lot of stuff and was extremely unhappy.

by Anonymousreply 23January 21, 2012 12:05 PM

Rose said Nell called Joey Lawrence's mom a cunt right in front of him!

by Anonymousreply 24January 21, 2012 12:25 PM

*Rosie

by Anonymousreply 25January 21, 2012 12:28 PM

Yes, R19, Nell was gay. I was surprised, since she had appeared on so many shows talking about her French husband, her conversion to Judaism on his behalf, and the twins they adopted. A couple years before she died, someone on the DL posted that Nell had appeared at concert for gay rights and announced that she was a lesbian. I still wasn't sure I believed that since the story never appeared anywhere else. However, shortly after she died there was a big article about her in People Magazine which talked about her female partner and how they'd been raising Nell's kids together.

by Anonymousreply 26January 21, 2012 12:40 PM

but did her vagina fall off? Or did she do coke via the vag and would that burn that shit up?

by Anonymousreply 27January 21, 2012 5:18 PM

I used to watch it as a young kid, but like someone else said, I don't remember a single episode. Just that the dad died (it went downhill after that) and Jonathan Silverman married the middle daughter and then Nell did a spin off with the kid.

It never went into major syndication. One show I would like to see again is Mr. Belvedere. That show was funny. Wish AntennaTV and those other cable channels that popped up would start airing more of these shows and less of Martin and In Living Color.

by Anonymousreply 28January 21, 2012 6:37 PM

Nell's voice was a bit nasal at times... could it be the coke that messed up your nose?

by Anonymousreply 29January 21, 2012 6:53 PM

I knew Lara Miller, the youngest daughter. She is a sweet and very unassuming lady. She's a lawyer nowadays and does voiceovers sometimes.

by Anonymousreply 30January 21, 2012 7:01 PM

Is it true that Nell was anti-gay in the 80s and supported republican candidates and said her gay brother deserved to die from AIDS?

by Anonymousreply 31January 24, 2012 12:48 AM

I loved the character Angie. I wish she appeared more often.

by Anonymousreply 32January 24, 2012 12:53 AM

I remember exactly one thing about this show. One of the sisters made fun of the other one for wearing way too much lip gloss by telling her, "You look like you ate a pork chop with your hands tied behind your back!"

I still use that line sometimes.

by Anonymousreply 33January 24, 2012 1:03 AM

I wish they would release the rest of the seasons on DVD.

by Anonymousreply 34January 24, 2012 1:06 AM

She dedicated this performance of "Back in the High Life" to her brother who passed from AIDS.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 35January 24, 2012 1:14 AM

I wonder if Nell and Andy Gibb did blow together before having to do that incredibly "WTF?!" scene?

by Anonymousreply 36January 24, 2012 1:17 AM

How does one's vagina fall off exactly?

by Anonymousreply 37January 24, 2012 1:17 AM

[quote]I knew Lara Miller, the youngest daughter. She is a sweet and very unassuming lady. She's a lawyer nowadays and does voiceovers sometimes.

She hasn't practiced law in many years. She makes a very nice living as a voice over actress.

[quote]Anyone remember the rumors about Dolph Sweet's weight loss and "cancer"?

Yes he had cancer. Nothing scandalous, I think he went in for ulcer surgery and discovered he had cancer.

The show wasn't the same after he died. The last season the two older daughters were written out and the younger one was recurring. Joey Lawrence's little brother Matthew joined the cast and Nell and Addie moved to NY, so did Nell's mother.

by Anonymousreply 38January 24, 2012 1:25 AM

If I had a housekeeper who screamed at the neighbours, smashing windows and furniture, throwing buckets of water on animals, and making death threats over the phone - all at 4 in the morning - crazy bitch would be out of a fucking job.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 39January 24, 2012 1:47 AM

The real title of the series was, "Oprah Winfrey Presents Gimme a Break, Based on the Novel Bitch by Sapphire."

by Anonymousreply 40January 24, 2012 1:53 AM

I love the way Nell handles the chief's racist sister beginning at 6:10 in this clip

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 41January 24, 2012 1:58 AM

On Broadway!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 42January 24, 2012 2:11 AM

The controversial Joey in blackface episode

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 43January 24, 2012 2:23 AM

It's kind of spooky, today is the 9th Anniversary of her death.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 44January 24, 2012 2:39 AM

R39 actually Nell wasn't the housekeeper. She was best friends with the mother of the family who was terminally ill. Before she died, she made Nell promise she would take care of her family.

by Anonymousreply 45January 24, 2012 3:46 AM

WEHT Andy Gibbs he was really good looking.

by Anonymousreply 46January 24, 2012 3:50 AM

Are you serious, R46? Andy Gibb died of a heart infection at age 30, way back in 1988.

by Anonymousreply 47January 24, 2012 4:20 AM

Wow, R46 must be a moron.

by Anonymousreply 48January 24, 2012 4:24 AM

(R47, pssst, it was drugs)

by Anonymousreply 49January 24, 2012 4:35 AM

bump

by Anonymousreply 50September 12, 2012 3:28 AM

I'm sure we all remember the episode where Nell's breasts exploded?

by Anonymousreply 51September 12, 2012 3:34 AM

Grandpa was a mo.

by Anonymousreply 52September 12, 2012 3:40 AM

Kari Michaelsen, the oldest daughter, did practically nothing after GMAB. Surprising because she was cute.

by Anonymousreply 53September 12, 2012 3:42 AM

.

by Anonymousreply 54September 13, 2012 6:07 PM

For me, this is one of those shows that you can't help but love despite how awful it is...rather like the first few seasons of Three's Company. The acting and writing were so pedestrian, but there was just something endearing about it. I certainly rather watch Gimme A Break than the overrated, pretentious Cosby Show.

by Anonymousreply 55September 13, 2012 6:18 PM

[quote]The acting and writing were so pedestrian...

Nell was a great actress, actually. She always brought it with the comedy and the drama.

by Anonymousreply 56September 14, 2012 12:24 AM

The episode I most remember is when Ray Parker Jr., singer of the theme to "Ghostbusters", came to visit for some reason and everybody was over-the-top starstruck. They somehow managed to work phone calls into the conversation so that at least three times, Ray had occasion to say "Who you gonna call?" and the girls would ecstatically scream "GHOSTBUSTERS!"

I also remember the PORKO episode and the elevator getting stuck. They read the Maximum Weight on the elevator safety card and Nell says "We exceed that by half a ton!" And someone else says "NELL exceeds that by half a ton!"

Otherwise, it's all a blur but I watched it religiously.

by Anonymousreply 57September 14, 2012 3:10 AM

I loved the epiosode where Nell taught the girls how to snort coke.

by Anonymousreply 58September 14, 2012 3:19 AM

Wasn't that Helen Lawson as the chief's sister?

by Anonymousreply 59September 14, 2012 3:19 AM

I enjoyed this show too.

by Anonymousreply 60January 21, 2015 7:19 PM

Julie smokes!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 61January 21, 2015 7:26 PM

When she toured Japan the billboards said 'Fatty from Give Me Break'

by Anonymousreply 62January 21, 2015 7:27 PM

Angie, the model dumb friend, was a riot. The actress was great, what happened to her?

by Anonymousreply 63January 21, 2015 7:40 PM

[quote]Another one here who watched it as a child and I can't remember any of the storylines.

SAME! I remember never missing this show and thinking Nell Carter was mind-blowingly amazing. She was funny! She was pretty (to me)! She could sing! I still remember the episode where they visited New Orleans. I learned "When the Saints Go Marching In" from seeing that episode so many times. I loved it when she sang!

by Anonymousreply 64January 22, 2015 12:40 AM

Rosie O'Donnell has nothing nice to say about her brief stint on the show during the final season.

It was bad enough when they brought Joey Lawrence in to be the cute kid when Lara Jill Miller got older. But then to bring in Matthew Lawrence when Joey got older...jeez.

by Anonymousreply 65January 22, 2015 12:47 AM

Remember the episode where the pissy little one with short brown hair gets mad at Nell and cons the little boy into putting on black face?

by Anonymousreply 66January 22, 2015 12:48 AM

I remember when it first came on, I couldn't figure out if the youngest one was a girl or a boy?

Also if you read the original TV guide review, the show was so bad they didn't even have a preview show and the TV Guide says it's a show about a recently widowed father and his two daughters and son. The middle child was supposed to be a male child, who was not to be seen ever.

This was the "great hook."

And who told Nell Carter she could sing. She was no MEL Carter and definitely from the Linda "I can sing" Lavin school of voice.

by Anonymousreply 67January 22, 2015 1:00 AM

Sam is a girl.

by Anonymousreply 68January 22, 2015 1:04 AM

$18, folks.

by Anonymousreply 69January 22, 2015 1:06 AM

There used to be clips from the unsold unaired original pilot on YouTube, but they got taken down. The youngest child was a redheaded boy named Matt, a coincidence considering where the show's story direction ended up. Samantha was the middle child, and Tracey Gold played her. The rest of the cast was the same.

by Anonymousreply 70January 22, 2015 1:13 AM

I loved this show too. While never a ratings powerhouse, it was entertaining and had some great episodes. A lot of people rag on it, but there was far worse on tv. Looking at you, Mr. Belvedere.

The synth version of the theme song was the best ever.

by Anonymousreply 71January 22, 2015 3:16 AM

When I watched the movie [italic]20 Feet From Stardom[/italic] and they got to the part where they talked about Darlene Love having worked as a maid after her Phil Spector heyday, the first thing that came to mind was, "wow, just like Nell from [italic]Gimme A Break![/italic]"

by Anonymousreply 72January 24, 2015 1:38 PM

What happened to my piece of the cake?

by Anonymousreply 73January 27, 2015 4:27 PM

I've been watching it recently on Peachtree TV (it airs in the middle of the night so I record it) and I've enjoyed it enough to order the complete series on DVD. Nell Carter elevates the material. Peachtree has been airing episodes out of order so I'm going to stick to the DVD set now.

by Anonymousreply 74January 27, 2015 4:46 PM

Nell Carter and David Crosby must've been the only cokeheads in history who were big as fucking whales.

by Anonymousreply 75January 27, 2015 4:51 PM

There were many times in the show where Nell's coke use was obvious. She acted really hyper, talked a mile a minute, and her eyes were all wide and buggy. She frequently did coke in her dressing room on the set.

by Anonymousreply 76January 27, 2015 4:55 PM

Don't forget her sweating on camera.

by Anonymousreply 77January 27, 2015 6:03 PM

I was watching the special features on the Mama's Family DVDs and Vicki Lawrence said Mama taped in the same studio as Gimme a Break. She said Nell Carter had her on refrigerator with a sign on it which read: "Do Not Touch. Nell Carter's Refrigerator."

by Anonymousreply 78January 31, 2015 1:46 AM

This clip shows a few scenes from the unaired pilot, which has a somewhat different (and incredibly cheap-looking) set, and with two different kids. Kari Michaelson is there, but the other two, as mentioned upthread, are Tracey Gold (well, it looks like her, anyway) and some red-headed little boy.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 79January 31, 2015 2:03 AM

Dolph Sweet always looked like he left the hanger on his shirts and suits when he wore them. Odd posture.

by Anonymousreply 80January 31, 2015 4:04 AM

Whitney Houston guest starred just before she came onto the music scene. Since coke was readily available on the Gimme A Break! set, I wonder if dabbled. I never thought the fault fell on Bobby Brown. Whitney was also modeling, where drugs are also readily available. I'm sure she was a druggie years before she met Brown.

by Anonymousreply 81January 31, 2015 4:10 AM

Didn't [italic]Gimme a Break[/italic] also launch Jonathan Silverman's career? He married Julie on the show.

by Anonymousreply 82January 31, 2015 1:17 PM

Did Nell eat Whitney out?

by Anonymousreply 83January 31, 2015 1:55 PM

I love Nell and Andy Gibb singing "Up Where We Belong." You just KNOW those two were hoovering up half of Columbia backstage!

by Anonymousreply 84January 31, 2015 5:30 PM

Even at its worst it was still better than [italic]Mike & Molly[/italic].

by Anonymousreply 85February 5, 2015 3:48 PM

all the episodes are uploaded on YouTube

by Anonymousreply 86June 29, 2017 2:03 PM

[quote]Even at its worst it was still better than Mike & Molly.

But then to be fair, so is a root canal.

by Anonymousreply 87June 29, 2017 2:57 PM

All I can remember from that show is the opening credits where she accidentally sticks the vacuum wand in the aquarium, sucking up all the water.

by Anonymousreply 88June 29, 2017 3:27 PM

My friends and I loved that show when we were kids! And like most of you, I remember almost nothing about it.

by Anonymousreply 89June 29, 2017 7:48 PM

The True Hollywood Story.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 90June 29, 2017 8:25 PM

Since it's getting a lot of mentions in the Family Ties thread, I figured I'd bump it. I loved the show, even some episodes from the last season. Nell was fierce.

by Anonymousreply 91June 20, 2018 2:57 AM

I knew “grandpa”, he would double park his car with the blinker on while he had a drink at his family”s home.

by Anonymousreply 92June 20, 2018 3:03 AM

I always thought those three daughters were so ugly. How in the hell did they get cast. Explains why they never had another significant acting role since.

by Anonymousreply 93June 20, 2018 3:23 AM

My favorite episode was the one where Nell taught the girls how to cut lines like a Benihana chef.

by Anonymousreply 94June 20, 2018 3:55 AM

Kari Michaelsen was in the running to play Jo on The Facts of Life.

by Anonymousreply 95June 20, 2018 4:29 AM

She didn't get the part of Jo because she wasn't a bulldyke.

by Anonymousreply 96June 20, 2018 4:36 AM

I watched so many episodes when I was growing up and yet the only one I remember is the Joey blackface one. Did they just run that one the most?

And r75...John Goodman.

by Anonymousreply 97June 20, 2018 5:26 AM

Kari Michaelsen got to sample dL fave Andy gibb.

by Anonymousreply 98June 20, 2018 5:36 AM

I saw Nell Carter perform live at a AIDS benefit in Atlanta back in 1992. I was always a big fan.I can see that she was so unhappy, it seems she had a lot of pain in her life on top of being addicted to drugs.

by Anonymousreply 99June 20, 2018 10:17 AM

R93, Kari Michaelsen was NOT ugly. Lara Jill Miller was very awkward looking when the show began but she looked decent by the time she got written off.

by Anonymousreply 100June 20, 2018 1:47 PM

i watched the entire show on youtube a few years ago. I never realized Julie was supposed to be kind of the hippie one, when i was little i just thought she was nerdy.

by Anonymousreply 101June 20, 2018 4:27 PM

I prefer original Gimme A Break intro song (soulful version) I sang it all summer long to my dog. It was good to have something to look forward to when I was unemployed. I religiously tuned in to watch on METV, I think. Followed by Alice, oh how I miss those days. Gimme a Break I sure deserve it!

by Anonymousreply 102June 20, 2018 6:25 PM

The 80s sounding version of the theme song is SO much better. Diff'rent Strokes I guess.

by Anonymousreply 103June 20, 2018 8:14 PM

I think they should do a movie version with Tiffany Haddish.

by Anonymousreply 104July 15, 2018 1:05 AM

I I got through the whole damn Marathon today. Anybody else?

by Anonymousreply 105April 15, 2019 2:23 AM

-Nell Carter sings about finally making it to the top-She's a FAT BLACK WOMAN working as a MAID for a WHITE FAMILY-GIRL you've made it to the STEREOTYPICAL TOP!

by Anonymousreply 106April 15, 2019 2:26 AM

The top is indefinable. It could be anything you make it to be. Subjective.

by Anonymousreply 107April 15, 2019 2:28 AM

R107-You're at the wrong thread. This is GIMME A BREAK NOT about TOPS

by Anonymousreply 108April 15, 2019 2:31 AM

R106 not in the last season, she moved with Addie to NYC to pursue her career and officially adopted Joey and Matthew

by Anonymousreply 109April 15, 2019 2:39 AM

She also became a TOP book editor don't forget about that. In ew York City no less.

by Anonymousreply 110April 15, 2019 2:40 AM

R110 Rosie O'Donnell and her TERRIBLE acting as Maggie, the annoying stereotypical NYC neighbor/dental hygienist, ruined that last season though

She was horrid

by Anonymousreply 111April 15, 2019 2:45 AM

I thought she was kind of beautiful there actually.

by Anonymousreply 112April 15, 2019 3:26 AM

[quote]Angie, the model dumb friend, was a riot. The actress was great, what happened to her?

I LOVED LOVED LOVED Angie! She was beautiful, and comedic gold :) Was she in anything else?

Loved Nell's singing of the opening, all the versions.

by Anonymousreply 113April 15, 2019 3:52 AM

R95 and Helen Hunt was in the running for 'Katie' on GIMME A BREAK. She appeared in the first season as a pregnant friend of Katie's, but when the character returned a season later, she was played by someone else.

by Anonymousreply 114December 2, 2019 1:34 AM

Kari Michaelsen is vendor rep for Barefoot Dreams on QVC.

by Anonymousreply 115December 2, 2019 1:57 AM

Like Roseanne, Nell became mean-spirited and angry in the later seasons.

by Anonymousreply 116December 2, 2019 2:03 AM

I love this show but wish it did more provocative episodes like the blackface episode. That episode remains quite shocking and a rare foray into some difficult themes for the show.

Nell was brilliant on GAB. Just the right mix of sass, comedy and drama.

by Anonymousreply 117December 2, 2019 2:17 AM

Rosie was only in some of the episodes in the last season. The show did that annoying thing where they only included people in the episode in that episode's opening credits.

For instance, this episode only includes Nell, Joey, Grandpapa and Mama Maybelle. Where's Addy, Maggie, Matthew and Marty?

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 118December 2, 2019 3:18 AM

Sorry, forgot to include Sam as she was recurring. This was probably the most brief credit list I saw and they even added a random guest star at the end. Credits start at 1:36

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 119December 2, 2019 3:29 AM

One of my favorite episodes is when Nell goes back home to Alabama for the wedding of her sister (Lynne Thigpen). Rosetta LeNoire was such a riot as Nell's mother; I wanted to see more of their antagonistic relationship. And it was nice to see LeNoire and Telma Hopkins pre-FAMILY MATTERS. Also interesting that Nell (d. Jan. 2003), Lynne (d Mar. 2003), and Rosetta (d. Mar. 2002) all died within the same year.

by Anonymousreply 120December 2, 2019 3:41 AM

Do you think the reason Nell and Rosie didn’t get along was because even though they were both closeted, they both knew the other was a lez and Nell wanted to be the only lez on the show? Did Rosie step on Nell’s toes?

by Anonymousreply 121December 2, 2019 4:50 AM

I wonder if Tyler Perry was inspired by Nell in "Gimme a Break" for his Medea character.? The episode where Nell gets arrested and the whole jail scene reminded me SO much of Medea.

by Anonymousreply 122December 2, 2019 5:47 AM

I loved Nell's chemistry with Angie and Addie. I was disappointed when Angie was basically replaced by Addie, although I really liked Hopkins on the show. But the three of them were hilarious together. I always loved when Nell would roll her eyes at something Angie would say.

I agree with others that Angie was a scene-stealer. It's still kind of mysterious why she just kind of disappeared from the show and the actress disappeared altogether.

by Anonymousreply 123December 2, 2019 5:58 AM

I'm surprised no one mentioned the tranny episode. Anyone?

The Sarge recognizes a former police trainer who is a post-op MTF (played by a gorgeous blonde cis female, of course)

Sarge introduces her to the chief and they start dating. After a few dates, Sarge can keep the secret and should the tea to Nell.

Nell runs into the kitchen had had this hysterical laughing fit.

I pretty much only remember the trans and the blackface episodes even though I saw a lot more as a kid.

by Anonymousreply 124December 2, 2019 8:03 AM

Jonathan Silverman was quote funny as the dorky accident-prone boyfriend.

by Anonymousreply 125December 2, 2019 11:52 AM

. . . break me off a piece of that

KIT

KAT

BAR!!!

by Anonymousreply 126December 2, 2019 12:31 PM

[quote] when Samantha, Joey and Nell went back to Nell's hometown and Sam dressed Joey in blackface, angering Nell

I remember this episode in particular, and I often cite it to those who say that the politicians whose "Blackface" antics from their college or medical school days become public did so at a time we didn't know it was wrong.

I answer "Bullshit!" We knew it was wrong in the 80s, and as a kid from the 70s, we also knew it was wrong then.

by Anonymousreply 127December 2, 2019 12:40 PM

Exactly r127. That was the first thing I thought of when the Trudeau scandal broke out.

by Anonymousreply 128December 2, 2019 3:54 PM

"No there ain't no Julio here!"

by Anonymousreply 129December 2, 2019 3:59 PM

R124 Ask and you shall receive. Here is the sex change episode

Warning, this episode might trigger some trans people!

I viewed it andI expected it to be really bad but it was a lot funnier than I thought it would be given the subject matter.

Of course you could never do an episode like that today.

Nell's laugh at the 20:22 mark is hilarious. That must have been some GOOD coke!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 130December 3, 2019 10:36 AM

She laughed like that a lot on the show.

by Anonymousreply 131December 3, 2019 11:57 AM
Loading
Need more help? Click Here.

Yes indeed, we too use "cookies." Take a look at our privacy/terms or if you just want to see the damn site without all this bureaucratic nonsense, click ACCEPT. Otherwise, you'll just have to find some other site for your pointless bitchery needs.

×

Become a contributor - post when you want with no ads!