The Retroist
The Retroist Podcast
Retroist Diff'rent Strokes Podcast
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Retroist Diff'rent Strokes Podcast

In this episode of the Retroist Podcast, I discuss the 1978 sitcom, Diff’rent Strokes. This show was both controversial and well-received at the time. Its life and reputation were extended by its long run in syndication.

I begin the episode discussing very special episodes of television. I find them fascinating in how effective they were back then to a young me versus how easy they are to chuckle about now. Technology and the availability of EVERYTHING have really changed our expectations of entertainment, whether it teaches a lesson or not.

Then I move onto the show itself. I talk about the creators of the show, the cast members, the theme songs, and much more.

Diff’rent Strokes has a lot of humor that is dated, especially in early seasons. But the charisma of the cast and clever situations make this show very re-watchable. I hope I can persuade you to check it out.

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Production Notes

  • This is episode 241 of the Retroist Podcast.

  • Music on the show is, as always, by Peachy.

  • I have tried to record this show several times before. I have never been happy with how it turned out. I hope this one is good enough.

  • This cast is large, so I edited it down to the main cast members. I feel bad that I couldn’t cover everyone.

  • Yes, I have some pronunciation issues again. I practiced saying things, then I record it and I go right back to how I say things as a kid.

  • I cut down the theme songs. Wish I could play more of them.

  • Cut down the commercials to just one this week. Can you guess its connection to the show? It’s not obvious from the audio.

  • metagirl is back! We have been circling around each other for a few months now. It was great to get to connect. I know a lot of people enjoy her segment.

  • I cut down the spinoffs and connected shows, removed over two minutes from there.

  • I discussed the problems the kids on this show had, A LOT. It was just too much and it was depressing. I cut out nearly 3 minutes of it.

  • I removed some old quotes I found about the show’s release. It was okay but didn’t feel important.

  • I removed some stuff that I mentioned that would get repeated in metagirl segment.

  • Thanks to Chris Shadowens for pointing out that while the structure of Family Affair was similar, it was also a good deal different. The adoptees were actually family members and Mr. French was not a housekeeper but instead a butler.

Thanks for listening to the show and I hope you have a great weekend.

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