I Can See For Miles: The Kids Are Alright In The Media

[biakbiak]

14 minutes ago, LucyEth said:

Right, some shows go on for years just based on their reputation.  Modern Family has not been good in years.

Be that as it may it consistently had 2 million more viewers than TKAA and almost double in the demo.

[AnnaRose]

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Be that as it may it consistently had 2 million more viewers than TKAA and almost double in the demo.

Modern Family had much higher ratings back when everything was higher.  Now it's only a few demo points higher than TKAA, as it should be since by 9:00pm people in the favored age group probably have their kids in bed and can watch live. 

Modern Family has been so terrible for years, but it gets by because so many of its viewers watch either out of habit or because they feel like they should just finish watching until the end since they invested so much time. (That was me - I was going to hang in until the end, but then they added another season and I just couldn't take it anymore.  It almost never made me even smile let alone laugh.) 

Modern Family getting another season is even more frustrating in light of ABC cancelling TKAA - the funniest show they've had in many years.

[biakbiak]

27 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

Modern Family getting another season is even more frustrating in light of ABC cancelling TKAA - the funniest show they've had in many years.

Modern Family more than pays for itself with its lucrative syndication deal so I find comparing the two in relation to what got renewed disingenuous. TKAA’s competition for renewal was with Single Parents, Bless This Mess and the pilots they picked up not Modern Family.

[AnnaRose]

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Modern Family more than pays for itself with its lucrative syndication deal so I find comparing the two in relation to what got renewed disingenuous. TKAA’s competition for renewal was with Single Parents, Bless This Mess and the pilots they picked up not Modern Family.

I wasn't trying to be disingenuous.  Modern Family was renewed for next year a long time ago and I know it was not competing with TKAA for renewal.  However, that doesn't lessen my annoyance that Modern Family is on for another season and TKAA is not.   (And I was just trying to point out that there isn't a huge difference between their ratings.  Next year MF's ratings will likely be even worse.  I can't see a lot of MF's unhappy viewers coming back after the awfulness of this past season.)

[msrachelj]

angry and sad. this and speechless. two of the best comedy sitcoms on. like i said in another section, quality programing has a hard time staying alive. people want 2 1/2 men and shit like that. i'm very disappointed. 

[2727]

I started a rewatch today and the first few episodes are even funnier now that I know all the family and their individual quirks. So many great lines.

Recommended!

[libgirl2]

6 hours ago, msrachelj said:

angry and sad. this and speechless. two of the best comedy sitcoms on. like i said in another section, quality programing has a hard time staying alive. people want 2 1/2 men and shit like that. i'm very disappointed. 

Look how long Two Broke Girls was on. Six seasons! That show was painful to watch! 

[Cowgirl]

Noooooooooo!!!!  I didn't get the news until today.  How extremely disappointing.  And ugh, high school with money?!  NOT a good business model!  Stupid ABC.  Thanks for taking away my happy spot in the work week!!

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

7 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

Look how long Two Broke Girls was on. Six seasons! That show was painful to watch! 

I sporadically would catch parts of  it in syndication, maybe saw bits of 10 episodes? It seemed kinda trashy and I guess that's all it takes anymore to bring in enough idiot guys to have kept it going so long.

[Yeah No]

I found this on the Twitter page to save the show.  6 shows with LOWER ratings last week than "Kids" on ABC were renewed!  Crazy! (https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaveTheKidsAreAlright?src=hash&lang=en)

[Yeah No]

Here's a call-in line where you can express your desire to see the show return:

[Ilovepie]

Talk about adding insult to injury! I started the season watching Single Parents and TKAA and within a month I had dropped Single Parents. I cannot believe that show got renewed - it. is. not. funny. AT ALL. Unbelievable. It really sucks that it gets a second season but TKAA does not.

[WallStreetDuchess]

Ugh... This was one of the very few shows I watch on network television. I can't believe some of the other shows (such as Schooled) got another season and this didn't.

Off to sign the petition...

[silverspoons]

On 5/16/2019 at 12:42 PM, Ilovepie said:

Talk about adding insult to injury! I started the season watching Single Parents and TKAA and within a month I had dropped Single Parents. I cannot believe that show got renewed - it. is. not. funny. AT ALL. Unbelievable. It really sucks that it gets a second season but TKAA does not.

We watch TV as a family every night, and I have a variety of ages, but 4 in the 18-34 demo most nights that is so desired. Everyone liked the kids are alright , my teens, my mother but single parents was disliked. A few of us like Brad Garett 's and his twins' story but the rest was hard to watch. Superstore used to be a favorite among all of us, but this year went downhill. It seems like after hearing so many sitcoms we liked, Kids are alright , Cool kids. Superior Donuts, LA to Vegas, our family does not want to watch any new ones and start to like them. Last year I had to hide that LA to Vegas was cancelled because it was the favorite, now this year only my husband knows he kids are alright is cancelled. I have written ABC but if it stays cancelled I'll break the news next fall. 

[anna0852]

14 hours ago, savannah31401 said:

I was really hoping for a voice over letting us know what happened to all the brothers. Something that could have been added when they knew the show was being cancelled. I would love to know about how the boys ended up in life.

Here's my take, in Tim Doyle's voice of course:

"The summer of 72 ended up being a lot of changes for the Cleary family but there weren't the last. Dad finally stopped grumbling about Lawrence's pyschology degree after he went into practice and Dad found out what he was making in a year. Fiona didn't last but Lawrence managed to not move back home when they broke up, once again making him Dad's favorite. Eddie went the distance with Wendi. He spend 40 years as a pediatric nurse while Wendi went into pharmacuticals. They have 2 kids and live in Washington state now. 

Frank *did* move out, much to Dad's surprise and Mom's delight. He's a priest in Pasadena. According to his parishioners confessing to him is a particularly painful process. Who knew a priest could actually get into trouble for assigning *too much* penance.

Joey managed to finish high school with no criminal record, went to college (and even remembers the experience) then onto law school. He's making an ungodly amount of money doing corporate law, putting together deals and mergers. He's on wife #4 as of two months ago. 

William wrote several sci-fi books, trying to become the next 'big' author. Mom would never admit it but she read each one front to back as soon as they came out. It was never really known if she was proud of what he accomplished or just making sure he wasn't writing about her.

Pat is a Walt Disney Imagineer, with a focus on ride development and the back story that goes into each attraction. He spent most of his career in Orlando but still got back to California every so often. He finally got Mom and Dad to Disneyland just a couple of years before Mom passed away. Dad almost lost his mind at the price of a soda while Mom insisted on riding the Matterhorn three times in a row.

Andy is a chemical engineer for a petroleum company. He mostly works between the North Sea oilfields in England and the artic fields in Alaska.

All eight of us earned our college degrees. 

Dad retired in 1998. He and Mom spent the next 10 years traveling as much as they could to avoid their 13 grandkids. We lost Mom in 2009 and Dad 3 years later.

And me? I never did become a famous star in front of the camera. I did eventually find a woman to put up with me, who even started what I can only call a 'support group text message chat' for the various Cleary daughters-in-laws. I did end up with a very successful career as a TV producer. I was even able to develop show based on my family. Which got cancelled after 1 season by a short-sighted network. No one appreciates true talent these days."

Edited May 22, 2019 by anna0852

[rhys]

Brava, Anna, well done. Especially Joey. If course he went into law.

[HelenCrump]

Anna, I love that!  If you aren't writing for TV, you should be.

[LakeGal]

ABC is considering uncancelling Whiskey Cavalier.  I really wish they would consider the same for this show.  

[biakbiak]

3 minutes ago, LakeGal said:

ABC is considering uncancelling Whiskey Cavalier.  I really wish they would consider the same for this show.  

Unfortunately WC has international deals that TKAA doesn’t have in its favor.

[festivus]

If Mark Hamill can't get it uncancelled then I don't have much hope, unfortunately.

[MartyMart]

On 5/21/2019 at 11:33 PM, savannah31401 said:

I was really hoping for a voice over letting us know what happened to all the brothers. Something that could have been added when they knew the show was being cancelled. I would love to know about how the boys ended up in life.

Maybe:

Lawrence: Married Fiona, moved to Seattle, had 6 kids, all girls, went to work for an unknown computer startup called Microsoft, retired wealthy.

Eddie: Broke up with Wendi after high school, joined the Air Force and trained in avionics, later went to work for the same defense contractor as his dad. Married a co-worker, had 2 kids, a boy and a girl.

Frank: Took a job as a security guard after high school to help pay for college, liked it and joined the LAPD after graduation, became a lieutenant in internal affairs, he loves his job and never married.

Joey: Continued to run various schemes until he had a life changing moment at 16, joined the seminary and became a priest, secretly indulges in fine cigars and occasionally, a bottle of Irish whiskey.

Timmy: Appeared in several TV shows and movies but never got his breakout role, sold an idea and script which became a hit, works as a writer, producer and TV showrunner, never married.

William: Wrote a best selling science fiction trilogy making him a world famous author, published dozens of popular sci fi and fantasy novels, married his best friend from high school, Steven.

Pat: Blossomed in high school and was recruited to be a fashion model which led to a career in films, married Hollywood’s biggest female star, adopted 11 special needs kids and is wildly happy.

Andy: Became a high school math teacher, married his college sweetheart and bought a house next door to the Cleary family home, took care of his mom and dad till the end, never had or wanted kids.

Edited May 23, 2019 by MartyMart

[Angeltoes]

The real "Peggy" died in 2015.

https://m.legacy.com/obituaries/glendalenewspress/obituary.aspx?n=elizabeth-louise-doyle&pid=176952588&referrer=0&preview=false

And "Mike" in 2001.

https://elvaq.com/news/2001/09/05/beloved-social-science-instructor-civicminded-glendale-resident-succumbs-to-heart-disease/

Edited May 23, 2019 by Angeltoes

[libgirl2]

4 minutes ago, MartyMart said:

Maybe:

Lawrence: Married Fiona, moved to Seattle, had 6 kids, all girls, went to work for an unknown computer startup called Microsoft, retired wealthy.

Eddie: Broke up with Wendi after high school, joined the Air Force and trained in avionics later went to work for the same defense contractor as his dad. Married a co-worker, had 2 kids, a boy and a girl.

Frank: Took a job as a security guard after high school to help pay for college, liked it and joined the LAPD after graduation, became a lieutenant in internal affairs, he loves his job and never married.

Joey: Continued to run various schemes until he had a life changing moment at 16, joined the seminary and became a priest, secretly indulges in fine cigars and occasionally, a bottle of Irish whiskey.

Timmy: Appeared in several TV shows and movies but never got his breakout role, sold an idea and script which became a hit, works as a writer, producer and TV showrunner, never married.

William: Wrote a best selling science fiction trilogy making him a world famous author, published dozens of popular sci fi and fantasy novels, married his best friend from high school, Steven.

Pat: Blossomed in high school and was recruited to be a fashion model which led to a career in films, married Hollywood’s biggest female star, adopted 11 disadvantaged kids and is wildly happy.

Andy: Became a high school math teacher, married his college sweetheart and bought a house next door to the Cleary family home, took care of his mom and dad till the end, never had or wanted kids.

I could so see Joey doing that! 

My God, we are starting to enter the realm of fan fiction! 

[biakbiak]

34 minutes ago, Angeltoes said:

The real "Peggy" died in 2015.

https://m.legacy.com/obituaries/glendalenewspress/obituary.aspx?n=elizabeth-louise-doyle&pid=176952588&referrer=0&preview=false

So at the time of her death all the boys were married. I wonder if they all had children and the 17* grandkids were spread out or some had big families.

*edited because I didn’t notice that one of her grandchildren had died before her. 

Edited May 23, 2019 by biakbiak

[biakbiak]

53 minutes ago, festivus said:

If Mark Hamill can't get it uncancelled then I don't have much hope, unfortunately.

Mark alone couldn’t get it done I guess the rest of the Guardians of the 99 weren’t up for it.

[Angeltoes]

29 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

So at the time of her death all the boys were married.

It appears so, although I've noticed lately in obituaries that the name in parentheses isn't necessarily the survivor's spouse.  Sometimes it's their significant other when they aren't married but are in a long term relationship.

[biakbiak]

2 minutes ago, Angeltoes said:

I've noticed lately in obituaries that the name in parentheses isn't necessarily the survivor's spouse.  Sometimes it's their significant other when they aren't married but are in a long term relationship.

It said she was survived by her sons and their wives in addition to the parentheses.  

Edited May 23, 2019 by biakbiak

[MartyMart]

Maybe there is hope after all. Here's in article published May 22 in Forbes by a respected TV critic:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcberman1/2019/05/22/fan-alert-save-the-kids-are-alright/#75284d9143ac

Edited May 24, 2019 by MartyMart

[libgirl2]

5 hours ago, MartyMart said:

Maybe there is hope after all. Here's in article published May 22 in Forbes by a respected TV critic:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcberman1/2019/05/22/fan-alert-save-the-kids-are-alright/#75284d9143ac

Good article. I agree, dump Fresh Off the Boat. Constance Wu doesn't want to do it and I'm sure her feelings are going to make it uncomfortable on the set. Its been on long enough. I would watch Kids on Friday nights. I'm old and I'm home! 

Edited May 24, 2019 by libgirl2

[biakbiak]

I have never read that critic but from the comparison to Cagney and Lacey and other points in the article he seems pretty out of touch with how tv currently work. FOB has over a 100 episodes so has a good package for syndication which means it’s making money for them in ways that TKAA is still several seasons away from accomplishing.

[SmithW6079]

On 5/23/2019 at 3:25 PM, Angeltoes said:

The real "Peggy" died in 2015.

https://m.legacy.com/obituaries/glendalenewspress/obituary.aspx?n=elizabeth-louise-doyle&pid=176952588&referrer=0&preview=false

And "Mike" in 2001.

https://elvaq.com/news/2001/09/05/beloved-social-science-instructor-civicminded-glendale-resident-succumbs-to-heart-disease/

The dad was a college professor in real life. I wonder why Tom Doyle made him a blue collar worker on the show.

[clyo22]

Wow! I'm really surprised! I assumed this was going to be my new "the middle". It was so undeniably funny I assumed it had good rating and would most certainly be renewed. Sad.

[tribeca]

Lawerence and Fiona never married but lived in sin (tm Peggy) with their two girls.  Lawerence works as a social worker.   

Eddie and Wendy broke up many times before getting married.   They have one daughter. Eddie manages the garage company he use to drive for.  He worked his way up.  Mike is very proud.   Wendy is a doctor. 

Frank lives in Florida is an engineer volunteers part time at catholic charities.  He married once but is now divorced.  They share custody of two daughters.  Peggy and Mike visit every winter.  Peggy sides with Franks ex in the divorce.  

Joey is a high powered defense attorney.  He is now defending aunt Becky in court.  He was been married and divorced three times.  He has five daughters    

William is a famous author.  He still plays many instruments and has done a few shows just for family and friends.  He is married with two daughters.  

Pat is a famous chef.  Owns many restaurants and has his own cooking show on food network.  He creates many interesting combos saying his moms cooking inspired him to be a better cook.  He is married with four daughters. 

Andy is a jack of all trades. he couch surfs at all his brothers houses except Frank since Frank will charge him rent.   Timmy has given him bit parts in all of his shows He has one daughter with his one and off again girlfriend  

Timmy went into show business and is trying to get someone to pick up his wonderful show.  

[SoMuchTV]

56 minutes ago, tribeca said:

Lawerence and Fiona never married but lived in sin (tm Peggy) with their two girls.  Lawerence works as a social worker.   

Eddie and Wendy broke up many times before getting married.   They have one daughter. Eddie manages the garage company he use to drive for.  He worked his way up.  Mike is very proud.   Wendy is a doctor. 

Frank lives in Florida is an engineer volunteers part time at catholic charities.  He married once but is now divorced.  They share custody of two daughters.  Peggy and Mike visit every winter.  Peggy sides with Franks ex in the divorce.  

Joey is a high powered defense attorney.  He is now defending aunt Becky in court.  He was been married and divorced three times.  He has five daughters    

William is a famous author.  He still plays many instruments and has done a few shows just for family and friends.  He is married with two daughters.  

Pat is a famous chef.  Owns many restaurants and has his own cooking show on food network.  He creates many interesting combos saying his moms cooking inspired him to be a better cook.  He is married with four daughters. 

Andy is a jack of all trades. he couch surfs at all his brothers houses except Frank since Frank will charge him rent.   Timmy has given him bit parts in all of his shows He has one daughter with his one and off again girlfriend  

Timmy went into show business and is trying to get someone to pick up his wonderful show.  

LOL.  I see what you did there with all the daughters 🙂

[HeySandyStrange]

22 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

The dad was a college professor in real life. I wonder why Tom Doyle made him a blue collar worker on the show.

To make him and the family more relatable to the average viewer? The Goldbergs did the same thing, in real life dad Goldberg was a doctor, on the show he sells furniture. 

Edited May 25, 2019 by HeySandyStrange

[HelenCrump]

My favorite TV news site, TVLine, wrote a really nice article advocating for the show:  https://tvline.com/2019/05/28/the-kids-are-alright-abc-should-reverse-cancellation-renew-season-2/

[AnnaRose]

According to this article, ABC included the following The Kids Are Alright episodes in their Emmy mailer:

Quote

“The Kids Are Alright”
#101 “Pilot”
#113 “Vietnam”
#115 “Valentine’s Day”

I think they should have substituted Valentine's Day with Timmy's New Hobby.  Then again... maybe they were afraid the show they stupidly cancelled would win an Emmy(s) if they included that episode.

[AnnaRose]

This was from a while back, but fun to see - The Kids Are Alright Cast Take Us Back To The '70s!

[dcalley]

Another old-ish video, the possum supercut!

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1099212469711470593

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 6/9/2019 at 6:45 PM, AnnaRose said:

According to this article, ABC included the following The Kids Are Alright episodes in their Emmy mailer:

I think they should have substituted Valentine's Day with Timmy's New Hobby.  Then again... maybe they were afraid the show they stupidly cancelled would win an Emmy(s) if they included that episode.

Good point.  That episode could become just as iconic as Seinfeld's "The Contest."  References to "pageantry" and "women's coats." 

[SmithW6079]

Why would a network even submit a show it cancelled for an Emmy? If it wins, don't they look like morons for cancelling it?

Having said that, I thought "Vietnam" was the best episode of the show. Mike and Lawrence and Eddie just killed it.

[dcalley]

The Kids Are Alright has some nominations in the Primetimers. Go vote (the show appears under T for "The"): https://forums.primetimer.com/forum/3310-annual-awards-show-the-primetimers/

[AnnaRose]

9 hours ago, dcalley said:

The Kids Are Alright has some nominations in the Primetimers. Go vote (the show appears under T for "The"): https://forums.primetimer.com/forum/3310-annual-awards-show-the-primetimers/

These are the categories I found it in (there could be others I missed):

Favorite New Show

Favourite Comedy Show

Best Writing

Funniest Scene from a Comedy

Favorite Leading Actor/Actress

Favourite Season/Series Finale

Best Set Design

[dcalley]

5 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

These are the categories I found it in (there could be others I missed):

Favorite New Show

Favourite Comedy Show

Best Writing

Funniest Scene from a Comedy

Favorite Leading Actor/Actress

Favourite Season/Series Finale

Best Set Design

A couple others that come to mind are most painful cancellation and best performance by an inanimate object (Knuckles, and the Waldorf salad (my nomination!)).

[AnnaRose]

48 minutes ago, dcalley said:

A couple others that come to mind are most painful cancellation and best performance by an inanimate object (Knuckles, and the Waldorf salad (my nomination!)).

Oh wow, I don't know how I missed those!

Most Painful Cancellation

Favorite Performance by an Inamimate Object  (I voted for Knuckles!)

Also:  Best Costuming

[dcalley]

You can vote for 5 things in this round as it's just to narrow down the field for the next round.

[Jnl2483]

Please come join us on fb, Twitter and letter writing campaign to save the show:

FB-The Kids are Alright TV Show.          FB- The Kids are Alright TV Viewers

[biakbiak]

On 6/12/2019 at 10:26 AM, SmithW6079 said:

Why would a network even submit a show it cancelled for an Emmy? If it wins, don't they look like morons for cancelling it?

Having said that, I thought "Vietnam" was the best episode of the show. Mike and Lawrence and Eddie just killed it.

It’s the studio not the network that submit shows in this case the studio happens to be ABC Studios but they are separate entities under the umbrella company. Some producers and also have it written into the shows contract that it has to be submitted.

[Chaos Theory]

On 5/13/2019 at 1:19 AM, SosaLola said:

But what's wrong if the audience are adults? What should matter is that the show has audience, right? 

Not even a little.  My best example of this is a tv show called Blade based off the movies.   It was on a channel that at the time was being directed toward middle aged men.   However this particular show did well with female audiences.   Of course the show was cancelled.  

There is also the infamous Firefly.  A show that should have been Joss Whedons next big hit after Buffy/Angel but the network execs moved it to every time slot imaginable so they canceled it after a season.  

TKAA was a great show but it had a horrible time slot.  I often forgot to watch it and picked it up later on Hulu.   I have no idea why i didn’t just put it on my DVR.

Edited June 24, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[bad things are bad]

On 6/19/2019 at 12:01 PM, Chaos Theory said:

On 5/13/2019 at 1:19 AM, SosaLola said:

But what's wrong if the audience are adults? What should matter is that the show has audience, right? 

Not even a little

There used to be a women's magazine called More that was aimed at the 40+ year old. You'd think it would be a desirable demographic--kids gone for many, peak earning power, etc. Had decent circulation but was discontinued all the same because mature women apparently are not worth bothering advertisers about.

'The problem, a former More editor-in-chief says, is the median age of the magazine’s readers — 54.

“The problem was advertisers who wanted to sell products to this demographic — whether skin care or the high-end fashions the readers could afford,” The New York Post quoted former More editor Myrna Blyth as saying. “They would only put their ads in magazines for far younger readers who don’t buy or can’t afford their products.”'

TKAA unfortunately seems to appeal to the same demo--gotta stick to brainless formulaic dreck that is supposed to appeal to the youths (that don't watch TV anyway)