DVD box sets: Which show changed the most between seasons 1 and 2? (2 Viewers)

Having complete seasons of a TV show lets you see just how much a series sometimes changes between its first and second seasons -- occasionally the changes are so extreme that it's like watching two different shows.

Which series do you think had the most dramatic changes between years one and two? Here are some:

LOST IN SPACE -- year one (black-and-white adventure), year two (an in-color farce)

THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY -- year one (on-the-road comedy), year two (traditional living-room family sitcom)

FATHER KNOWS BEST -- year one (bumbling father, at least in the first half of the season), year two (solid comedy/drama)

THE BRADY BUNCH -- year one (noisy but heartwarming chronicle of a combined family), year two (Here Come the '70s!)

THE OUTER LIMITS -- year one (masterpiece), year two (at least they tried ...)

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN -- year one (film noir-like with tough Lois Lane), year two (softer adventure with mild Lois)

MANNIX - Season 1 had Joe Mannix working for Intertech under the watchful eye of Lew Wickersham (Joseph Campanella), while for the remainder of the series, Mannix was on his own with the help of assistant Peggy Fair (Gail Fisher).

THE FACTS OF LIFE: Year one: Mrs. Garrett (who sings the theme song) deals with 7 girls and the headmaster. Year two: just Mrs. Garrett, three of the original 4 girls plus another girl, revamped theme song, and much better scripts.

DYNASTY: Year one: A languid serialized drama about class differences between an oil tycoon and his new wife's ex-lover's middle-class family. Year two: Remove the middle-class family, add Joan Collins as the diabolical first wife, and the fun finally starts.

And although I never watched the show, ABC supposedly really messed with Mork and Mindy after its highly rated first season. When they tried to reverse the changes it was too little, too late.

Pee-Wee's Playhouse:

Year one: The show was shot in a hot and humid warehouse in New York City (I have absolutely no idea why the show was originally shot there, when it could have been shot in Los Angeles the whole time). In addition, there was a completely different cast of characters, among them, was Phil Hartman as Captain Carl, who was also part of Paul Reubens' original stage show. I haven't watched the E! True Hollywood Story on Pee-Wee Herman, but from what I've read, according to that episode, the main reason why Mr. Hartman was not part of the shows' subsequent seasons was because of a fight that he got into with Reubens (if anyone who has seen the episode knows for sure, please clarify), though I find that hard to believe because Reubens had kind words to say about Hartman upon his unfortunate death, and that Hartman defended Reubens after his sex scandal.

But anyways:

Year two: The show moves to Los Angeles in the Hollywood Center Studios, retains most of its original cast, but at the same time, gets themselves new cast members (including a new King of Cartoons), renovates most of the talking puppets, and among other things, renovates the whole playhouse. Some minor changes were made to it afterwards, and in the 4th season, the show changed production facilities, this time for the Culver Studios.

BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY- Season 1 was Earth-bound, with much of the action involving Dr. Huer, Princess Ardala and the Draconians. Season 2 left Buck in space aboard the research vessel Searcher, and jettisoned all the season 1 cast except for Twiki and Wilma Deering.

THE MISADVENTURES OF SHERIFF LOBO- Season 1 was set in Orly County and was very similiar to The Dukes of Hazzard. Season 2 moved Lobo and his deputies to Atlanta where they worked with the city's police squad as part of a crime task force.

Highlander: The Series.

Season one was awash in the bright colors and clothes and hair of the early 90s -- which looked a lot like the bright colors and clothes and hair of the 1980s.

Season two onward took on a more somber, serious palette.

Season one now looks really dated, whereas the rest of the series looks just fine.

Mork & Mindy - I remember as a kid, with season 2: Gone were the dad, the grandmother, the music store setting. In were a deli, a couple of goofball owners and Mork working. Season three they brought back dad and grandma but the damage was pretty much done. Ratings-wise the show never really recovered.

BOSTON LEGAL - A huge turnover in supporting cast with season two. Although this seemed to happen with each season. Rona Mitra's loss was jarring to the show.

PHYLLIS - First season she worked for a photographer and retained her look from the MTM series. Season two - they had her as an assistant to a city councilman and revamped her look. Again, not a change for the better, the show ended after this season.

THE ROYAL FAMILY - This was Redd Foxx's comeback sitcom. The show did well in the ratings and hopes were high for the series to continue. Then Redd Foxx passed on. Rather than just ending the show, they revamped it by having his previously unseen daughter move in with the family. The whole tone of the series changed and it was quickly cancelled.

War of the Worlds - Season 1 was exciting, well written, trying to stay one step ahead of the aliens with solid characterizations of Colonel Ironhorse, and Noah Drake.

Season 2 starts out in dark, somber, post apocalyptic earth and even worse, kills off the alien leaders from season one, AND both the popular computer whiz Noah Drake and the charismatic Colonel Ironhorse in the very first episode of season 2. I rapidly lost interest in the show after that.

Ironhorse was arguably the most popular character on the show. Killing him off was a big mistake. (I still recall the letters of outrage and shock in Starlog magazine.) I think some handicapped groups were upset about Drake's death as well.

The producers who took over the show the second year didn't have a clue. Ditto for the idiots who took over and ruined Buck. (Although I did like Buck's new alien sidekick, Hawk.) They even replaced Mel Blanc as Twiki's voice for a time. The new voice was like nails on a chalkboard.

Paul Reubens is bringing back the original Pee Wee stage show. Out of respect for Phil Hartman, he is not recasting Captain Carl. I would think with Hartman's SNL duties at the time of the series' production, it might have been hard for him to do both shows once it moved to Los Angeles.

Dallas was pretty much a self-contained episodic drama in its first season, but then it went into a serial format in its second year. Also, it seemed every season of its existence The Doris Day Show had changes in actors, settings, writers/producers: the only thing that didn't change was Doris herself!

Bosom Buddies was shot on film during its first year, and went to videotape in its second year.

Thought of another one:

"ALICE" was a rowdy, funny show in its first season, with lots of innuendo. The character of Vera was dumb instead of "dizzy." When it returned for a second year (after nearly getting canceled), the raunchiness was severely toned down. The show was still funny, but the rawness of that first season was gone.

Originally Posted by Charles Ellis

Bosom Buddies was shot on film during its first year, and went to videotape in its second year.

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Both seasons were actually shot on videotape. The pilot episode (with Edie Adams) was the only episode shot on film.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - First season a charmingly different sitcom about a man and woman living together in the same house where one happens to be a ghost. Emphasis on their turbulent relationship with an eye toward adolescent females as the target audience..

Season Two - Moved to ABC where it became the generic cookie-cutter gimmick sitcom with more emphasis on the two kids with an eye toward appealing to the broader Bewitched/Flying Nun/Jeannie demographic.

Same thing happened to Here Come the Brides. First season tried for a unique blend of action, romance and comedy that probably appealed more to teenage girls and young adult females with just enough adventure to keep the males from leaving the room. Second season brought kids on board and it was just more of the same stuff you could find all over the dial..

Both shows were two-season wonders and probably died when ABC told the producers to stop trying for something different.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

The shift from B&W in S1 to color in S2 did not do the show any favors. The MGM backlot looked moody and atmospheric in monochrome, but just looked bland in color. In fact, I think it's one of the worst looking color shows of its era, because it did little to take advantage of the transition.

But the bigger problem is that producer Sam Rolfe left after S1, and three different producers took turns running the show. The season lacked a unified tone, and the focus shifted to bigger and progressively more outlandish plots, drifting toward the outright comedy of S3.

Originally Posted by Rob_Ray

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - First season a charmingly different sitcom about a man and woman living together in the same house where one happens to be a ghost. Emphasis on their turbulent relationship with an eye toward adolescent females as the target audience..

Season Two - Moved to ABC where it became the generic cookie-cutter gimmick sitcom with more emphasis on the two kids with an eye toward appealing to the broader Bewitched/Flying Nun/Jeannie demographic.

Same thing happened to Here Come the Brides. First season tried for a unique blend of action, romance and comedy that probably appealed more to teenage girls and young adult females with just enough adventure to keep the males from leaving the room. Second season brought kids on board and it was just more of the same stuff you could find all over the dial..

Both shows were two-season wonders and probably died when ABC told the producers to stop trying for something different.

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Are you sure it wasn't ABC who meddled? They have a history of doing so.

I hate to say this but DVD boxed sets don't change between seasons. It's the TV shows that change.

Originally Posted by MatthewA


Are you sure it wasn't ABC who meddled? They have a history of doing so.

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That was my point. I'm sure it *was* ABC who meddled. They clearly told both series' producers to stop trying for something new and different and give them carbon copies of proven hits.

They don't do that.

If the studio doesn't have the original broadcast episodes, and they get lost quite frequently, or studio employees abscond with the original episodes (happens more often than you think). If the studio doesn't have the broadcast episodes, then they provide the syndicated episodes.

It really is not a conspiracy, guys.

For Dallas, add the fact that the house changed. They went from a classic colonial-style mansion to the ranch that we all know today.

Also - the first season (the six part mini-series) was filmed in Dallas during a particularly cold and snowy winter. Many of the scenes were grey and the actors were bundled up. For the first scene in the first episode of season 2 (post-miniseries) the sun was shining and the cast was by the pool. I don't think it ever got cold in Dallas again after that! (At least not on the TV show.)

Originally Posted by mickeyTOR

Also - the first season (the six part mini-series) was filmed in Dallas during a particularly cold and snowy winter. Many of the scenes were grey and the actors were bundled up. For the first scene in the first episode of season 2 (post-miniseries) the sun was shining and the cast was by the pool. I don't think it ever got cold in Dallas again after that! (At least not on the TV show.)

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I haven't seen Dallas since the original run, but as a Texan, I distinctly remember one first season episode where a hurricane was supposed to be coming through town (Dallas is 300 miles from the Gulf of Mexico) and it was clearly the dead of winter.