Just wanted to create this thread early to remind everybody that this is the first post-John Ritter episode. It's a one-hour episode for those who want to record it via VCR.

I have no doubt this episode will require some Kleenex.

I have no doubt that this episode will probably have about 10 minutes of new footage.

I think the TiVo will pick it up, but I'm not sure if I'm committed to watching it yet...

Will they show John some respect by keeping the ABC logo OFF the screen during the show???

your first mistake is actually thinking networks even know the meaning of the word "respect"...

Looking forward to this, though it will be depressing - very interested to see how James Garner fares as the grandfather.

I'll watch, but I'm still skeptical about pressing forward with this series.

or that most people would notice the ABC logo missing and consider that as a tribute to John. Shall they be commercial free too? That would make more sense, but neither will happen.

It's a pretty hard episode to watch....the entire cast does a fantastic job with what had to be a difficult episode to film. They convey their true grief very, very well.

I don't want to spoil the entire episode, but I will say that Paul isn't dead when the episode opens up. No, you don't see John Ritter, but you do see Cate's reaction to the news.

Yes, you will need Kleenex to watch this.

TK

That was...well, I don't know what to say.

This is going to be a very hard show to watch tonight.

I wouldn't have expected that. I figured the show would pick up a few weeks/months after the character is gone. It's going to be tough to watch.

Honk!

Shoot. Didn't have the Replay set up to record. I missed the first 25 minutes - can anybody give a quick synopsis. I already gathered that it was a unnatural death.

All they said was he collapsed at the supermarket.

Really? I figured by the way they said "....if he didn't have to go get batteries at the supermarket..." that it was a car accident or something.

That was just his daughter's trying to reason with the death.

Had he been at home, all would have been ok, etc...

Thoughts? Unfortunately, I didn't really like the episode too much, although it was very emotional. Having Kate's parents bickering took away from the episode IMO. The laugh track was certainly noticeably missing, but it was a good decision to leave it out (I was hoping that they would).

I think that Newsradio did a great job when Phil Hartman died - it was touching but it was also really funny. Since he died during the summer, they had more time in order to prepare somthing than those on 8 Simple Rules. I guess that I will watch over the next couple of weeks to see how things go...

What can you say? I lost interest after a while. It was sombre, there was nothing funny about it, exactly what they were trying to achieve. I can't see anyone wanting to watch this episode again, ever.

If anything I would say the episode was totally uneccessary, but then again, what isn't? The tribue ABC did a few weeks ago was plenty.

This one was a real . I don't know what to make of it.

This should have been the final episode... I don't see a smooth transition happening.

Nice Three's Company DVD ads. I think one played at every commerical break.

Very depressing and well done in most places, but I don't think it needed to be an hour long.

I didn't like the jokes....the one that I particularly hated was at the reception after the funeral when Patrick Warburton was talking to Katey Seagal.

Close second was how annoying John Ratzenberger's character was. The first time he talked to Cate was enough.

TK

Yep, they were quite stupid.

It wasn't that they were stupid, it's just that they were way out of place in the middle of this particular episode.

I would have probably laughed at Patrick Warburton's joke if it were made in another time/place.

TK

I thought the jokes Larry Miller said to the two daughters were alot worse then those.

I don't think I've ever been more uncomfortable watching a TV show. All ths jokes seemed out of place.

It was maudlin, but how could it not be? John Ritter was a beloved actor, and that was conveyed on the show.

With the broad comedy of "Married with Children" and, to a lesser extent, this show, I've never really noticed that Katey Sagal is a terrible actress.

Honk!

• Quoth Eric F •<HR SIZE=1>This one was a real . I don't know what to make of it. <HR SIZE=1>

That's about how I feel too.

I disagree with the Kid, though. I thought the best parts of the episode were the unexpected laughs provided by Warburton, Ratzenberger, and Miller. Much better than the forced bickering comedy from the kids or the grandparents.

Overall, I think it was uneven, but I enjoyed it. Pleshette, to my surprise, wasn't very good IMO, but I did like Garner's character quite a bit. The comedic timing was also really off as the characters visibly paused for the laugh track when there was none. Comedy without a laugh track is great, but when the timing anticipates one, and it's not there, the result is really awkward. Still, it was touching in many ways, and I liked how they showed the different ways we grieve.

I'm not sure what I expected, and I'm not sure what to think of the final result. It's just something that happened. Maybe with time, I'll find a way to better form an opinion of this ... maybe not.

das