Ted McGinley

[Trekker4747]

Oh, Ted, you're the Patron Saint of shows jumping the shark.

Yet, you showed up half-way through Married with Children's run and I would argue that you were the better of Al's "friends" since you were more like him than.... uh... the other guy was.

So, fellow T-BBS'ers what's your thoughts on Jefferson? Was he Married With Children's "jump the shark?" Was he a good counterpart/friend for Al? Or would you have rather that other guy stuck around?

Me? I loved Jefferson.

 

[DarthPipes]

I liked Steve but I think Jefferson worked with Al better. It wasn't Jefferson that made the show "jump the shark" but the writing.

 

[StarshipDefiant]

Yeah, it was definitely the writing and not the character of Jefferson coming on, if you wanted to pin point it to one single thing? It was when Steve's personality changed, and he was no longer a greedy bastard out for every cent he could get at the expense of others.

 

[Lord Garth]

I liked Steve better but I had no problem with Jefferson. I don't think MWC jumped the shark until the eighth season, three years after Jefferon's introduction.

In general though, I just think Ted McGinley's timing sucks with joining shows.

 

[Yoda]

I liked Jefferson just fine. The show really did fall apart at the end... I don't remember the details, I probably didn't even see all that much of the later seasons since the town I moved to in 1993 didn't have FOX until a few years later. I remember watching the finale at age 16 or so and thought it was atrocious. I remember the show still being good with Jefferson around.

 

[StarshipDefiant]

I liked Jefferson just fine. The show really did fall apart at the end... I don't remember the details, I probably didn't even see all that much of the later seasons since the town I moved to in 1993 didn't have FOX until a few years later. I remember watching the finale at age 16 or so and thought it was atrocious. I remember the show still being good with Jefferson around.

It wasn't the planned finale, that's why the cast and crew were expecting to come back, and found out during hiatus that the show was canceled. Ed O'Neill once gave an interview that said he found out from a couple at hotel he was vacationing at, they came up and said "I'm sorry the show was canceled"

 

[DarthPipes]

I liked Jefferson just fine. The show really did fall apart at the end... I don't remember the details, I probably didn't even see all that much of the later seasons since the town I moved to in 1993 didn't have FOX until a few years later. I remember watching the finale at age 16 or so and thought it was atrocious. I remember the show still being good with Jefferson around.

It wasn't the planned finale, that's why the cast and crew were expecting to come back, and found out during hiatus that the show was canceled. Ed O'Neill once gave an interview that said he found out from a couple at hotel he was vacationing at, they came up and said "I'm sorry the show was canceled"

I always found that to be disgraceful. Married with Children was the first hit Fox ever had, the first show. It set the tone for Fox and deserved a chance to go out with a season finale.

I was a fan from the beginning. I think about Season 6 or so the writing started getting bad. The one-liners were always great on the show though. To me, Married with Children is one of the few comedies from the 80s that has aged well.

 

[StarshipDefiant]

It's more then disgraceful, I know the entertainment business can be a dog eat dog world, but this just goes to show that Fox was willing to stab in the back, anyone at anytime that showed weaning ratings or something below expectations. Shitty for a network that more or less exists becuse of the show to boot, wouldn't you say

The show definitely changed in tonality and because much lighter, I kind of like some of the later seasons, but then again that's just me. The show has something special to it, and every once in a while I can just sit down and go through the season sets I currently have on DVD.

 

[Squiggy]

Whoops. This thread's days are numbered!
​

 

[Aragorn]

Married with Children had more years of Jefferson than Steve.

McGinley isn't a show-killer. There just happen to be a few shows he joined long after they've peaked and were on their last legs anyway. If you want to look at it another way, you can say he kept them from being axed a few years earlier.

 

[DarthPipes]

Yeah, Happy Days was already past his prime when Ted showed up and once Ron Howard was gone, the show was never the same.

 

[Jonas Grumby]

Nothing against Jefferson, but I did like Steve better.

"Soooooo, you lost your ring down Zorro's pants!"

 

[Mojochi]

Yeah, Happy Days was already past his prime when Ted showed up and once Ron Howard was gone, the show was never the same.

^So was The Love Boat

Anyway, McGinley was fine. The show really went to hell when they brought that kid onto it

 

[broberfett]

I liked Jefferson better. He was definitely funnier. He used to appear in the show occasionally before they dumped Steve. He was the dream husband in Al's "It's a Wonderful Life" vision.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

Yeah, Happy Days was already past his prime when Ted showed up and once Ron Howard was gone, the show was never the same.

I would agree, it was going down hill when Howard left.

Nothing against Jefferson, but I did like Steve better.

"Soooooo, you lost your ring down Zorro's pants!"

Steve was a bit more gullible to fall for Al's dumb schemes.
Jefferson was a younger Al in his Schemes which more often or not were as stupid as Al's and prone to fail.

 

[scotpens]

Christ, when I saw Ted McGinley's name as the thread title, I thought he had died!

I liked Steve better but I had no problem with Jefferson. I don't think MWC jumped the shark until the eighth season, three years after Jefferon's introduction.

Agreed. The show ran out of steam when the writers ran out of ideas. In its last couple of years, MWC just wasn't funny anymore. It crossed the line from good bad taste to bad bad taste.

 

[Kirkman1987]

I thought this thread was about John McGinley, and was about to comment about how the man never ages.

 

[Shurik]

Jefferson was a great character.
Marcy finding out that her name is now Marcy D'Arcy is one of the funniest moments on the show

 

[Captaindemotion]

He appeared as a tv interviewer in the West Wing in about S3 or 4 and some argued that it had jumped the shark as a result. But it contined to be good for another few seasons, rallying after a weak season or two and ending with a great Seasons 6 and 7. Well after he appeared.

As has been said above, he's just gotten a bad rap for joining some shows at the wrong time.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to describe Ted as the John McClane of tv shows?!

 

[Aragorn]

Hope and Faith lasted three seasons and gave us Megan Fox. That has to count for something, doesn't it?