Diff'rent Strokes - Complete Season 1 [DVD] [2008]

Description

Product Description The complete first season of the popular US comedy series. The series revolves around Arnold (Gary Coleman) and Willis (Todd Jackson), two black kids from Harlem who move to Park Avenue to live with a wealthy white widower, Philip (Conrad Bain), and his teenage daughter, Kimberly (Dana Plato). Episodes comprise: 'Movin' In', 'The Social Worker', 'Mother's Last Visit', 'Prep School', 'The Spanking', 'Goodbye Dolly', 'The Trial', 'Retrospective: Part 1', 'Retrospective: Part 2', 'The Fight', 'The Club Meeting', 'The Woman', 'No Time for Arnold', 'The Relative', 'The Tutor', 'The New Landlord', 'Willis' Privacy', 'Mrs. Garrett's Crisis', 'The Job', 'The Trip: Part 1', 'The Trip: Part 2', 'Getting Involved', 'Willis' Birthday' and 'The Girls School'. .co.uk Review More than just a ratings hit for NBC, the Norman Lear/Bud Yorkin-produced Diff'rent Strokes was a pop-culture phenomenon, thanks largely to the wise-beyond-his-years performance of star Gary Coleman. Launched in November 1978 as a mid-season replacement for the failed Joe Namath series The Waverly Wonders, Diff'rent Strokes vaulted in the ratings; audiences responded to the warmth and humorous culture clash between wealthy Philip Drummond (Lear vet Conrad Bain) and Arnold and Willis (Coleman and Todd Bridges), the sons of his late housekeeper whom he adopted. Though Bain, Bridges, Dana Plato (as Bain's daughter), and Charlotte Rae (as housekeeper Mrs. Garrett) all delivered solid performances, it was Coleman's charm, his timing, and most of all, his catch phrase "Whatchoo talkin' bout?" that drew in viewers. Though perhaps best known to current audiences for the unfortunate luck suffered by several of its cast members after the show's cancellation in 1986, this first-season set offers a pleasant reminder of the show's charms. The set is rounded out by two featurettes featuring interviews with many of the show's stars and producers (though Coleman is notably absent), and commentaries by story editor Fred Rubin. --Paul Gaita, .com