Transitioning from the mother series "December Bride," elements from the original show are sorely missing here:
1. The character of Pete Porter changes from a jocular neighbor to a straight-man husband.
2. The best friend of the character Pete Porter (Matt Henshaw) and his wife, along with Lilly, the mother-in-law, is never mentioned in this show. However, Pete Porter moved to a new home at the beginning of the series, and it is evident that he is in the same neighborhood as the Henshaws. This is indicated by the character Hilda, Lilly's best friend in "December Bride," who still visits Pete and Gladys. However, Hilda does not appear in the second and final season.
3. The character Pete always joked about his lousy mother-in-law in "December Bride." In the spin-off, instead, a father-in-law is introduced sans any mother-in-law.
4. Toward the end of the "December Bride" series, the characters Pete and Gladys Porter have a baby girl named Linda, whom Pete doted on: no nursery, no child, and no mention of the baby in this spin-off series whatsoever.
5. Gladys is portrayed as a bad cook and not very good-looking by the neighbor Pete in "December Bride," although never seen during the series run. Actress Cara Williams is introduced as Gladys, portrayed as anything but homely and a lousy cook.
6. Finally, the laugh track is overused.
In conclusion, "Pete and Gladys" was not the same characters portrayed and talked about in the previous mother series of the 1950s but a brand new couple of the 1960s.
