One Day at a Time. I hate it but can't stop watching (Discussion of 2017 reboot added at page 5)*

I remember watching ODAAT in its first few years and enjoying it, which surprises me because I watched it with my mom, and looking back at some of the plots and themes, they look like the sort of thing that would have annoyed her greatly.

 

I haven't watched this show in years. Schneider was my favourite character. I thought, "One day I'm going to go to a Halloween costume party and dress up as Schneider" But that never came to be because 1) I hate dressing up in costume and 2) never been thin enough.

I enjoyed it at the time but it wasn't as good as other shows from that era that I liked. I remember a few things about it. Not sure what I'd think if I saw it now. I don't think I'd have the venomous hatred towards it that some people seem to have for it!

 

What a shame....only Season 1 is on DVD.

http://www.amazon.com/One-Day-Time-...=1439313763&sr=1-1&keywords=one+day+at+a+time

 

I know exactly how you feel--it had to be the most irritating show ever and my parents watched every episode. The first season with the annoying boyfriend (Richard Masur, who I actually like), that lady who was supposed to be Schneider's girlfriend/friend with benefits/whatever who came and went, the manipulative plots (like when Ann fell in love with a race car driver who crashed and died), when Mackenzie Phillips drug issues got her fired, the annoying husbands who were introduced when the show was on life support...damn you Keith V, now I'm going to have to go to Antenna TV and hate watch!

 

That was my plan all along

And I'm sorry

 

During original run I watched it every week, mostly just for the Valerie factor. That lasted until it got unbearable with the added characters. By coincidence my wife has always had an uncanny resemblance to Valerie.

She often watches the Antenna reruns too. I skip them.

 

Pat Harrington was great in it, even when the episodes were poor, just like John Goodman on Roseanne.

 

I lost whatever interest I had when Mackenzie left; damn, she looked good in a skirt and heels.
This might be the first show I ever watched with the volume off whilst playing music. It could be so annoying even before she became an addict

 

With all due respect to you all, I will openly admit that I was & still am a fan of this show. I even bought the first season DVD. The reason I loved this show is because I suspended reality & watch them without expectation so I was entertained by "One Day At A Time" back then. When I watched the DVD's I was also entertained but in a better way since there were no commercial breaks. It was a sitcom that delivered for me & many others I'm sure. The same way "Gilligan's Island" or any other sitcoms did. Would I like to have the rest of the series on DVD? Yes!

 

My area lost "Antenna TV" and it was replaced with "Decades"

 

I certainly agree with you about John Goodman being the ONLY thing that made "Roseanne" watchable! And back in the 1970s, the looks of Valerie Bertinelli certainly made "One Day At A Time" less repulsive....

 

Hahaha, I watched that movie dozens of times on HBO when I was a kid because of Valerie!!

It turned up on Netflix about a year ago and I watched it for the first time in 30+ years with my kids...they got a kick out of it too!

 

Reading this thread reminded me of the old "Jump the Shark" website. It is still accessible on the Internet Archive.

 

Ms. Romano: Damn it, Julie, I'm a single mother doing the best damn job she knows how, and damn it Schneider, I ask you to fix that damn sink two days ago.

Schneider: Oh, I'll fix your sink Ms. Romano, and by "fix your sink" I mean I'll have sex with you, and by "I have sex with you" I mean I'll fix your sink. And by "sink" I mean your reproductive organ. And by "reproductive organ" I mean the thing between your knee, and by "the thing between your knee"? I... I guess that one's kind of self-explanatory.

 

I believe you've answered my question as to why I hate the show

 

I used to watch One Day at a Time, Threes Company, and Alice a lot way back in the day.

 

So did I and I can't stand them now. Back then there was little to choose from so I'd watch whatever was on, but when I revisit most sitcoms from my youth they're just terrible.

 

I used to read that site regularly. Damn TV Guide for shutting it down.

 

That dialogue is actually from a Family Guy episode where they did a quick spoof of ODAAT...

 

Ironically, Harrington used to drink a couple of glasses of water before takes to give himself a bit of a beer gut because he didn't have one and he thought Schneider should.

 

I'm proud to say that while I've seen a lot of pieces of all those shows, I've never made it through a single one from start to finish. Gag reflex is too strong.

I had no problem with All in the Family or Maude. The Jeffersons took effort to get through, and there weren't enough drugs for me to make it through One Day at a Time or Good Times. Bad then... horrible now.

Harrington was a very talented man, and I recorded him doing VO sessions quite a few times in the late 1970s. Very funny actor. I have been told that Bonnie Franklin was a terror in the last few years of the series.

 

I would say Franklin terrorized the audience starting at episode one

 

I've always hated this show too. Especially Bonnie Franklin.

 

Three's Company is watchable only for John Ritter's physical comedy, which I think was brilliant. He was a great talent who outshone everyone else on that show and compensated for the awful writing.

 

If you don't like the show, there MUST be something else for you to do!
Do you like anything about the show?

I'm "meh" about it. If iI do watch, it's for nostalgic reasons, and the way the video quality was SO 'CBS'!