User reviews

Diff'rent Strokes was an outstanding sitcom that dealt with real life issues such as racism, bulimia and child molestation. But never in television history that all the child stars had tragic outcomes.

Gary Coleman had severe kidney health issues which stunted his height and couldn't be taken seriously and the writers wrote him like a child in the later seasons. Gary would never act again and was force to work as a security guard to help pay his medical bills.

Dana Plato had a troubled life who became pregnant in real life and was fired. She later robbed a dry cleaner store to support her drug habit. Dana late overdosed and died.

Todd Bridges the lone survivor of the cast got arrested and went to prison but later redeemed himself.

Watching the true Hollywood story on E! about the cast of Different Strokes was heartbreaking, after all, two of the three cast members had substance abuse problems and the star, Gary Coleman, had problems with his parents that he sued them. It's sad to watch the show, I wish I didn't know Dana Plato's problems because now I see how much she wanted her life to be like Kimberly Drummond. Conrad Bain was great as the father figure of the show. Of course, he was supposed to only be acting but I think he became a paternal figure to those youngsters. We went Mrs. Edna Garrett played by the wonderful Charlotte Rae who got her own show without all the drama of Different Strokes. She escaped it. I never approved of them dissing Dixie Carter for Mary Ann Mobley. I like them both in the role as the second Mrs. Drummond. Of course, there was the guest appearances of First Lady Nancy Reagan preaching against drugs. How little did we know the truth? Gary Coleman never escaped the image of the chubby cute kid on Different Strokes. Dana Plato who is gone to a better place never did get to experience the life of Kimberly Drummond except when she was on the set. I only wish Todd and Gary best for their future. I only wished that the off-screen drama was cut down for their sakes. I feel guilty getting laughs knowing that they went home and cried or faced abuse.

Who would think that the main characters from a naive, tender, family show would end up meeting such fatal fates? Well, that's another story.

"Diff'rent Strokes" is an important sticom in American pop culture and also paved the way for comedy shows with a social message inserted.

Here, the inter racial situations mixed with poverty and social clichés were the spinal cord for the plot and even in jokes. Everything was extremely well done and executed with class. Nothing was vulgar or tried directly to impose a criteria; the situations were just put for the audience to judge it whatsoever they wanted.

The jokes were sometimes naive but always witty. The humor was family oriented but after nearly 30 years, none of them is boring. Sure, society has changed a lot but some things just can't disappear.

The acting is top notch. Gary Coleman is now some sort of cult hero for displaying a physical illness and being part of a social minority but his comedic skills and histrionic abilities make him one of the most likable child stars ever. Conrad Bain was excellent as the protective, tender but strong man that took care about his house. Dana Plato was extremely sexy, hot; she's the kind of girl I wanted to marry.

Anyways, watch this sitcom in order to witness part of America's pop culture talking about television. This show will teach you many things and as a plus, it will make you chuckle most of the time.

It's hard to believe, but 2003 marks 25 years since Gary Coleman asked Willis what he was talking about.

Norman Lear, who broke a lot of ground heretofore with All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons, and Good Times, continued his magic touch with Diff'rent Strokes. A 25th anniversary marathon on any given television station would be a great way to remember this show, notwithstanding that Miss Dana Plato is no longer of this earth.

This show made Gary Coleman Gary Coleman, and he truly made the show what it was.

*******Seven Out Of Ten Stars*******

The true star of this show, Conrad Bain, died this past January in the year of 2013. In my humble opinion, Bain really held this show together through the years. He was the only cast member to appear in all 180 episodes. And Bain always offered what I thought were the best comedic one liners in the series; and clearly was the most polished actor of anyone that ever appeared on the show. Other highlights of the show included the seemingly unending supply of guest stars: Reggie Jackson, Dorothy Hamill, Nancy Regan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Captain Lou Albano, Muhammad Ali, Milton Berle, and of course, Mr. T. Pretty incredible stuff. Also worth mentioning, is much of the social commentary the writers often tried to weave into the scripts; it didn't always work, but when it was did, it was really touching. Some of the episodes dealt with some pretty adult serious issues: Robbery, sexual abuse, racism, sexism.... it was progressive writing for the time. "Different Strokes" has a special place in my mind and in my heart. So God rest Plato, Coleman, and Bain.

Rich Park Avenue guy Conrad Bain employs the mother of the two Jackson boys as a maid. When she dies Bain who has a daughter of his own does a truly nice thing. He adopts both the boys and gets himself an instant blended family, a really blended and biracial family.

Only Todd Bridges who was Willis Jackson in the show is still with us and he's had his share of troubles with both the law and personal. I think everyone knows about the tragedy that Gary Coleman endured. He was a cute kid who had all the best lines in the show. But he was in fact a dwarf and one of the big reasons that the show eventually was canceled was that when Bridges and Dana Plato matured, Coleman looked almost freakishly small next to them. He was also horribly abused as a kid, one of the greatest show business tragedies ever.

Finally Dana Plato also had her drinking and drugging issues. She was far from the Junior Miss teen Kimberly Drummond that she portrayed on screen. When she died also too young it was like participation in this show was cursed.

Still it was a nice gentle family comedy that certainly had its fans including me. I hope the spirits of Gary Coleman and Dana Plato are at peace.

Diff'rent Strokes was and still is regarded by many as not just one of the most successful sitcoms in TV history but one of the very few, which succeeded due to the multi-racial cast of Conrad Bain as Philip/Mr Drummond, Dana Plato as Kimberley, Todd Bridges as Willis, and the lovable scamp, Gary Coleman as Arnold Jackson. The performances given by the main leads in Diff'rent Strokes was great, particularly Conrad's as the strict but fair, Mr Drummond. Mrs Edna Garrett played by Charlotte Rae was funny, charming and witty and a great addition to the cast. But the star of the show was Coleman as Arnold and his famous catchphrase 'whatcha talking'about Willis?'.

Even though it was a sitcom, the show wasn't afraid of tackling and addressing social and controversial issues such as child molestation, racism, bulimia, class division and sex for example. The writing was funny but also sharp, witty and clever. Arnold has arguably the best and funnier lines out of all the characters, although Philip isn't that far off either.

He was one of the reasons why Diff'rent Strokes was such a huge success story, as Coleman's comic timing was almost spot-on. The cutesy factor that accompanies his cheeky and somewhat mischievous persona as Arnold was a huge incentive on his part.

There have been many sitcoms past and present, which centred around youngsters as the main protagonists, but whilst most of them have tried they have failed, mainly because one of the reasons for this is that those shows do not possess a central character as humorous, as versatile as Arnold and of whom has a personality of which viewers can fall in love with straight away.

Diff'rent Strokes didn't have just one but three child characters in Kimberly, Willis and Arnold. The concept was original and addressed the issue of child adoption in a straight-to-the-point manner but at the same time combine laughs with clean cut jokes, good gags and great humour. It's such a shame though that the notoriety of the show, in regards to the child performers was always brought up; likewise Coleman's own brushes with the law and surprising fall from grace, Todd's battle with drugs, and the rather unfortunate and well documented demise of Dana and her subsequent death during the late 90s, slightly tarnished the mainstream success, as well as history of Diff'rent Strokes. Next year in 2008, it will be the 30th anniversary of Diff'rent Strokes, since its debut in 1978.

All in all though, this was a great little sitcom, starring a little guy with a big heart played by Coleman which was destined to be a big hit, which it was and one that captured millions of audiences hearts, worldwide.

Gary Coleman was the star. The theme song is a classic. It's worth watching on Starz Encore classic. It was ahead of its time. Highly recommended for those who like comedies.

' Diff'rent Strokes ' is undoubtedly a sitcom classic, one of those hugely popular television shows that is still adored by millions of fans throughout the world today. Through regular reruns a whole new generation is being introduced to the antics of the Park Avenue bunch, a bunch who so entertainingly captivated us all during the show's initial screening between 1978-86.

The family friendly series made a star out of Gary Coleman, forever immortalised as the loveable scamp with the chubby cheeks, Arnold Jackson, and his catchphrase "Whatchu Talkin' About?" made television history. Yet despite it's cosy sitcom settings, ' Diff'rent Strokes ' was not afraid to address sensitive issues and during it's long run expertly dealt with the likes of racial prejudice, child molestation and bullying.

Conrad Bain, a distinguished actor who had earlier appeared in tv's ' Maude ' played Trans-Allied tycoon Phillip Drummond, the kindly widower who adopted the Jackson kids from Harlem, Arnold and Willis ( Todd Bridges ), after their death of their mother Lucy who had served as his housekeeper. The kids had to adjust to living in a swank Park Avenue penthouse with a new housekeeper ( initially Charlotte Rae as Edna Garrett, spun off into her own sitcom, ' The Facts Of Life ') and a teenage sister ( Dana Plato ) - cue plenty of comical misadventures!

Bain, Coleman, Bridges and Plato were a formidable team and you cannot help but warm to their likeable characters. They were wonderfully supported by the likes of Rae, the late Nedra Volz ( so funny in the 1985 movie ' Moving Violations ' ) and Mary Jo Catlett as housekeepers Edna Garrett, Adelaide Brubaker and Pearl Gallagher.

Once ' Diff'rent Strokes ' ended the young cast were unable to escape the pressures of fame and their various scrapes with the law somewhat tarnished the show's image. The lovely Dana Plato for one sadly passed away in 1999 due to a suspected drugs overdose.

2003 will mark the 25th Anniversary of ' Diff'rent Strokes ' and I would hope that a reunion of sorts is on the cards. And wouldn't it be intriguing if Gary Coleman stepped into the shoes of an adult Arnold Jackson, perhaps as the new head of Trans-Allied in a spin-off series?

and now, in May 2010, the entertainment industry is forever robbed of an icon of the days when prime time television was well worth the watching. Gary Colrman. NO! not little Gary Coleman, just Gary Coleman, plain and simple. A man with his problems in life, as we all have, whatever those problems are, who, none the less, seemed to over look them and make manifest an extraordinary entertainer. Stand tall young man. This is what he would tell those who are at the disadvantage today. Well spoken , Gary. God made a giant in the entertainment industry. His name was Gary Coleman, 1968-2010. Aim High. Look Good. Such is the essence of life itself.

I watched this show as a child and I enjoyed it for what it was. However, as the show got older even I could see that Gary Coleman was getting a bit to old for the role and that is of course when they did what every show featuring children who age do. Do they simply end the show gracefully...No! They try to keep the show alive, by interjecting a younger kid to try and bring the cute factor the show once had and lost when the children grew up. They did this on numerous shows, this is one of the few that I actually saw that did it. I watched Brady Bunch a bit when I was a kid, but I have never seen an Oliver episode. This show is about a wealthy guy who takes in the children of a former maid or something. That is about all there is to it. He has a daughter of his own and he raises the children the best he can as they go out in the world and face all of life's little challenges, including a guy who kidnaps young Arnold (Gary Coleman) and Kimberly (Dana Plato) in an episode that was a bit much considering this show was aimed at the family market. I mean you want your child to be safe and all, but you also do not want them becoming fearful and paranoid. They also had one where cute little Sam (the youth interjection) got kidnapped as well. Then they have an episode where they basically try to capitalize on the success of the film "Ghostbusters". So in recap this is a show that should have stayed on four or five years tops, but tried to keep the show going as long as possible and weakening what little did work.

There was an era on NBC where every show was lame except for the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Of all of those shows, this show was the flagship of lame. Sub-standard writing, horrible acting and a script built around one unfunny catch phrase: "What you talking about Willis?"

Of course, over the years, there were many variations, "What you talking about Dad?", "What you talking about Kimberly?", "What you talking about Mrs. Garrett?", and then there's the ultimate creative variation, "What you talking about 'insert name of guest star of the week'?"

Secondly, has Conrad Bain ever been on a show that had any value? Then they surround him with kids who couldn't act their way out of a loosely tied Walmart bag and an old hag with a quivering voice? This is comedy? Worse yet, you can see the child actors often mouthing the lines of their costars while awaiting their canned "humorous" reply, or their eyes wandering left to right as they read their poorly written lines from a cue card.

To further the vomit aspect, they bring in friends of Arnold to add to the fun. The annoying little girl crush, the kid in a wheelchair (to posture the show as caring and all inclusive) and his pet gold fish, with which he has heart to heart talks. And as ratings fell through the floor, big name guest stars would be brought in to help salvage the shipwreck.

And of course, as expected each one would be asked, "What you talking about?"

And yet there seems to be nothing but praise for this steaming pile of canned laugh track sitcom from NBC's era of suck. More than 1 star, seriously? No wonder all the child stars of this show crashed and burned. If it was this pathetic on the surface, I can only imagine how bad things were behind the scenes.

In summary, I could eat a box of Apha-Bits and crap a better script than any episode of this show, 1 star because zero isn't an option.

Since I wasn't around when the show originally aired, I have to catch it whenever I can on Nick at Nite or TV Land. And since TV Land just showed a 48 hour fandemonium marathon, I was able to catch a lot of episodes.

I absolutely love this show. The plot approach is different which works out great. The writing and quick comedy is terrific and the acting is one of a kind. The writing that was given to Gary Coleman was unbelievably hysterical, and being such a young kid at that time, he handled it so well. While I like the entire cast and think that they all did a nice job, I must say that I especially like Todd Bridges. I don't know, there's just something about him that you can't help but like.

This show like all shows has its moments where the plots could use some improvement but what show would it be if it didn't have its moments? Overall, the eight seasons are filled with the better episodes.

'Diff'rent Strokes' scared me a little during the seventh and eighth seasons when they hauled in Danny Cooksey and Dixie Carter/Mary Ann Mobley to join the Drummonds. I think that it would have been better off leaving the family as it was. Then again, the boys were getting older, they lost their afros, and Kimberly started to move on. So, it's kind of a tricky situation.

I would really like to see a reunion but it would be a little hard without the sadly missed Dana Plato. All in all, this show was an above average, very funny, good family get-together show. I know I'll keep watching whenever it's on!

(P.S. - The theme song is really addicting.)

Diff'rent Strokes is one of my favorite comedy shows I watched on Nick-At-Nite!! Arnold (Gary Coleman) and Willis (Todd Bridges) are my two favorite characters. My favorite part from one of the episodes from this show is when Arnold dropped the plastic with water to the man outside from the apartment accidently and he pretended he got lost.

Very Funny Show, huh? **** out of **** stars. That means excellent!

"Diff'rent Strokes" was hilarious. More specifically, Gary Coleman as Arnold was hilarious.

Arnold was the glue that held Willis (Todd Bridges) in place and held the show as a whole together. You always knew if Willis was off the mark with his schemes when Arnold said, "Whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis?"

Classic.

"Diff'rent Strokes" would broach some serious topics at times like child pornography, bulimia, bullying, and other issues. Even Willis and Arnold being cared for by Mr. Drummond (Conrad Bain) was a serious issue.

I think when the show added Sam (Danny Cooksey) is when it was a sign that the show was running out of steam. Like so many shows with child actors, you can only go so long.

I have to admit I thought this show was quite entertaining at the time it first aired, but I was only nine years old. And to say this show didn't age well wouldn't be fair because it was clearly awful from its inception. I have no idea how I came to own the first season of this show, but it was streaming over my server when I woke up the other day and I spent about two hours in a hung-over haze, trying to sleep while this dreck was playing in the background. Corny? Yeah, but corny can be fun. This isn't. And the laugh track on this show is obnoxious. Bad writing, awful acting, and knowing that the personal lives of most of the characters were a total mess throughout the eight(!) years this show was in production is the icing on the cake. I think I finally managed to get back to sleep during the episode where Arnold got spanked.

I hate everything about this show. From it's insipid theme, written by Alan Thicke and featuring Thicke yelling; to it's tiresome premise and chump change scripts. Rich white guy adopts two ghetto kids., oh the possibilities! Typically the teleplays were weak and the humor banal. I remember one where the old man touts the importance of Affirmative Action after the older boy doesn't make the basketball team because they needed a white kid. Yeah, that happened all the time. Enough to gag a liberal maggot. The cast was maybe the worst in TV history. Gary Coleman was an insufferable, unfunny brat; onscreen and off. The others were basically window dummies, with the other boy and girl having real life drug problems. Just say NO.

During my days as a kid,and partly through my high school years as well,this show was just that: The brainchild of Gary Coleman. Coleman made millions off this series,and when the show left the airwaves in 1986(and its repeats in syndication),it was totally discarded forever,never to be heard from again,despite of what the people may say about this show and the fate of its cast including Todd Bridges(who played brother Willis),and the sudden death of Dana Plato(who played big sister Kimberly),and also from Conrad Bain(who played the widower Mr. Drummond) who was a regular on TV's Maude before coming to this series.

If someone would come up to you on the street,they would asked "What you talking about?" in the form of that question.

Interesting point about this show: It started off as a show called "Milk" on the NBC network before it became a series. "Diff'rent Strokes" when it premiered on November 3,1978 became one of the network's biggest hits scoring in the top ten of the Nielsens during its astounding seven year run on the Peacock Network and made Gary Coleman a huge megastar. NBC canceled this series on May 4,1985 after 170 episodes.

Also Mr. Drummond would get married in the show too during the 1984-1985 season to Maggie McKinney(played by Dixie Carter before going on to "Designing Women",which was on a rival network),and also bringing in her son Danny as Arnold's other brother(played by Danny Cooksey-who would go on to star opposite Scwarzenegger in Terminator 2,and also do voice-overs for children's shows) Also,Janet Jackson would appear as Willis' girlfriend Charlene during the 1981-1983 season(which during this time Miss Jackson did have a hit album out along with this series at that time). Shavar Ross was Arnold's best friend Dudley. When the show was canceled by NBC on May 4,1985 there were several cast changes. Mary Ann Mobley replaced Dixie Carter on the show and also gone were Pearl(Mary Jo Catlett). On September 27,1985,the show moved to ABC-TV where 19 new episodes were produced before the network finally canceled it on March 7,1986 after 189 episodes.

This was a grand series that spawned two spin-offs,the short-lived situation comedy series "Hello,Larry",and another successful series "The Facts of Life",which would go on to become NBC's longest-running and successful series from 1979-1987.

If it comes back on the air,its worth seeing.

Growing up in a white community I learned about race relations from watching this show. The highly underrated Conrad Bain is the center of this show while 'Arnold' gets the pub.... Great show!!!

Watching the reruns on the Stars network as I write this. As a kid in the 80s, I watched this show and loved it, but didn't really start to appreciate it until I started watching the reruns. The quick-witted comebacks and one-liners are great. The show had fantastic writers. Gary Coleman definitely stole the show and it would have not been the success it was without him. The show touched on lots of topics, from racism, sexism, and everything in between. I love that. There's a reason why this iconic show lasted 8 seasons. Its a shame that barely any actors or actresses from the show are alive today. Such talented people and they will all be missed.

To be fair, this show had some charming appeal.

But to be honest, it has a weak plot and it is preachy and cheesy. I could write pages about it's plot, but I'd rather not.

Diff'rent strokes was written in an era when critical thinking was uncommon. Most people only cared about the fact that a rich Caucasian businessman adopted two black kids from Harlem. Granted the show's debut in the 1970's, such a scenario would cause a shock to many viewers at the time. To express the shock factor in today's world, it would be the equivalent of a show about a homosexuals adopting children. Racial prejudice is still alive, but even in the 1970's it was sharper. Diff'rent Strokes ushered in a new school of thought, and a new way of portraying minorities in the media. As a result, no one cared about how flimsy (or even stupid) the plots were, so long as they were funny and broke down racial boundaries. On such grounds, I commend this show.

Personally, I feel like my IQ is dropping by one point every time I watch this show. It's so unrealistic. If one tried to relate anything about the real world to this show, they will find a severe discrepancy between fact and fiction. Like I said, it is charming, but part of it's charm derives from the flimsiness of the plots.

And the kids out there, were all terrific. I just regret one thing - to have tried to know about their personal lives. I broke to tears when I read them, and whenever I watch the DVD, the sadness catches up with me in one corner. Miss Gary, Plato & Brian. Let them Rest in Peace. Line5 Line6 Line7 Line8 Line9 Problem Fixed IMDb? that's dumb reviewing system. I just wanted to write few words about the show. Why does this site demands me write 10 lines minimum? Don't really have time for this. Just reading this: By submitting this review you are agreeing to the terms laid out in our Copyright Statement. Your submission must be your own original work. Your review will normally be posted on the site within 2-3 business days. Reviews that do not meet the guidelines will not be posted. Please write in English only. HTML or boards mark-up is not supported though paragraph breaks will be inserted if you leave a blank line between paragraph.

Diff'rent Strokes is a show that I came to love later in life. The show heart and soul was little Gary Coleman. Although Todd Bridges and Dana Plato would have the occasional good one-liner this was Coleman's show. He was so the pimp sh*t on the show. I wonder where his charcter of Arnold would be now?