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Diff'rent Strokes

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  • Diff'rent Strokes

    Certain things can make or break a TV show, and a memorable catchphrase is one thing that guarantees success. There was One Foot In The Grave's "I don't beleeeeeeeve it!", Only Fools And Horses' "Lovely jubbly", The Generation Game's "Nice to see you, to see you nice", Blue Peter's "Here's one I made earlier".... and let's not forget Diff'rent Strokes': "Wodju talkin' about, Willis?" But as fun as it was to go round saying the catchphrase, Diff'rent Strokes wasn't only about that. Set in a new York Park Avenue apartment, the show centred around Philip Drummond (played by Conrad Bain of Maude fame), an uber-rich, white, widowed businessman, who has taken into his home two "challenging" young black boys from Harlem, called Willis and Arnold. The boys were actually the sons of Drummond's housekeeper who had died after working herself into the ground trying to earn enough money to look after her boys. Just before she died, she asked Drummond to look after her sons. Of course, realising just how mean he'd been to the woman when she lived, by paying her a mere pittance, Drummond relished the chance to make amends and teach Willis and Arnold some of life's most valuable moral lessons. This meant that a number of the episodes confronted serious issues, including issues of race, drug use and child molestation. The star of the show was of course Arnold (played by Gary Coleman, who suffered from stunted growth after kidney problems when he was a child), the miniature marvel who had a comedic way of popping out his eyes and his bottom lip to deliver the line: "Wodju talkin' about, Willis?" Unfortunately, as with many child stars, Gary Coleman didn't take his newfound stardom very well, and was heavily typecast because of his size. In the end, he walked away from TV to become, bizarrely, a security guard. Meanwhile, Todd Bridges, who played Willis, found himself going from courthouse to courthouse in America on a number of drugs and weapon charges. Diff'rent Strokes aired in 1978 until 1985, ending when Drummond's overprivileged daughter Kimberley (played by Dana Plato) went off to live in Paris and Drummond had married Maggie, an aerobics instructor. Amidst the 189 episodes viewed by TV audiences, some big names made cameos, including David Hasselhoff, Janet Jackson (who played Willis' girlfriend, Charlene) and even Nancy Reagan (who appeared in the show's special anti-drugs episode). But if after all this, you still don't know "what we're talkin' about" (see what we did there?), YouTube it!

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  • #2
    Re: Diff'rent Strokes

    This is one show I've often heard about but not really had the chance to watch, being to young to see it the first time round.

    Paramount Comedy showed some about episodes 10 years ago.
    The Trickster On The Roof

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    • #3
      Re: Diff'rent Strokes

      I quite liked it, I was very young at the time, but I looked forward to it coming on
      Heather

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      • #4
        Re: Diff'rent Strokes

        If you have BT Vision you can watch it as part of the On Demand stuff
        The only thing to look forward to is the past

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        • #5
          Re: Diff'rent Strokes

          We loved it in my house.

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          • #6
            Re: Diff'rent Strokes

            a really good show and i just loved it.
            sadly most of the actors in it have went through very tough times gary coleman being one.

            have u seen it richard im sure u can watch it on youtube.
            FOR THE HONOUR OF GRAYSKULL

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            • #7
              Re: Diff'rent Strokes

              When I was in high school I got to see a taping of one of the episodes. It was the episode where Arnold is forced to confront The Gooch, the school bully who was mentioned but never seen in the show. I remember having a cold at the time so you could probably hear me coughing somewhere in the audience.

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              • #8
                Such a great "mid-1980s - 5.15 pm after Children's ITV and before the News at 5.45" programme to see while having one's tea. Pity that so many of the cast are no longer with us. I would like to see other stuff with the late Conrad Bain in - he was great as main character Philip Drummond in the show. It was still doing the satelite and cable rounds circa 2006 on either Paramount or Trouble.

                And was it "jeans" or "genes" as sung in the theme tune song - as in "they've got nothing but their..."?
                I've everything I need to keep me satisfied
                There's nothing you can do to make me change my mind
                I'm having so much fun
                My lucky number's one
                Ah! Oh! Ah! Oh!

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