I've not gotten to see many episodes of the sit-com, "Eight Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter", but when I got home from work late this evening, I walked in to find my flatmate watching it. Tired from a long day, I sat down for five minutes.
It turned out to be the episode written, and filmed, after the untimely death of John Ritter.
I can barely imagine how hard it must have been for the cast and crew to carry on with the show after Ritter's death. Not only that, but to have to write and perform an episode where his character in the show unexpectedly dies, must have been agonising. By all accounts the cast and crew of the series were all very close.
Kudos to the cast for their performances, especially the young actors playing the family's children. That must have taken some nerve to give such a touching and meaningful performance.
As someone who lost a parent in my childhood years, I ended up having to leave the room, as it was frankly too upsetting to watch. It's frightening how, after all these years, seeing such a scene acted out on television, brings it all back. It also says something about the quality of the performances in this episode.
Rest In Peace John Ritter.
Posted by Max at November 04, 2003 07:24 PM | Trackback*hugs*
i don't think i could have watched it -- it was just sad to watch the three episodes he filmed right before he died.
I never watched the show until after John Ritter died. I watched the three episodes Melanie mentioned, just to see him. I really liked it, and wondered why I hadn't watched it before, since I've always been a big fan of John Ritter.
I recorded last night's episode and just watched it this morning. I missed the first 10 minutes (I could kick myself for not having set it to record in advance!), but I was riveted for the rest of the show. I couldn't watch it without crying right along with his TV family. Everyone did a fantastic job.
I feel odd saying I miss John Ritter since I never knew him, but his death for some reason really really affected me.
Posted by: Jodi on November 5, 2003 09:46 AMThey don't air the show over here (and probably never will), but I can imagine how hard it must be to watch it now. It takes a lot of skill to pull a show through something like that.
Did anyone watch NewsRadio? The first episode without Phil Hartman was just a heartbreaker.
Funny how you can be so affected by the death of someone you only knew of as a celebrity. :-(
Happy trails, John.
Posted by: Annica on November 5, 2003 02:09 PMI had very similar feeling while watching it, Max.... I only saw about half before I couldn't bear it anymore. I was so glad to see them portraying the situation so realistically. And I give many kudos to the kids playing his kids on the show....They captured exactly what it feels like to lose a father. I lost my father while I was 14....and to this day.... shows like that break my heart. John Ritter was such an amazing comic and actor...He will be greatly missed....
