"Now the world don't move to the beat of just one drum." - "Diff'rent Strokes" Theme Song
Diff'rent Strokes: The Complete Second Season DVD Review
By Jonathan Boudreaux
What happens when kindly millionaire Philip Drummond (Maude's Conrad Bain) and his thirteen year-old daughter, Kimberly (Dana Plato), take in the orphaned children - Arnold (Gary Coleman), a precocious eight year-old, and Willis (Todd Bridges), a jaded thirteen year-old - of his deceased housekeeper? As season one of Diff'rent Strokes proved, the transfer of two African-American children from a poor Harlem neighborhood to a glitzy life in a Park Avenue penthouse with a Caucasian family isn't exactly a smooth one. With the help of the family's new housekeeper, ditzy Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae), and a lot of love, though, this newfound family proved that differences can be overcome.
The second season gets off to an especially weak start with the two part "Arnold's Girlfriend." Arnold is nervous about having his appendix removed, but he is comforted by Alice (Rachel Jacobs), a perky little sprite he meets while at the doctor's office. The two become such close friends that Alice's cattle baron father (Dabney Coleman) arranges for them to share a hospital room, and agrees to become an investor in Mr. Drummond's latest real estate project.until he realizes that Arnold is black. This uneasy stab at All in the Family-style social relevance might have been powerful as a half hour episode, but is too padded and repetitive when stretched to an hour. Plus, it just isn't funny, unless you count supposedly serious lines like Mrs. Garrett's "There's nothing slight about bigotry."
Things don't get much better in the next episode. During Diff'rent Strokes' first season, the series featured an abysmal crossover episode with Hello, Larry, the show that followed it on the NBC schedule. Starring former M*A*S*H actor McLean Stevenson as a divorced radio talkshow host, Joanna Gleason (Boogie Nights) as his producer and Kim Richards (Escape to Witch Mountain) as his daughter, over the years Hello, Larry has practically become synonymous with bad TV. Ratings were low, but since it came from the same production company responsible for Diff'rent Strokes (Norman Lear's Tandem Productions), executives tried to attract interest in Larry by having the casts of each show appear on the other. Season two includes two of these miserable crossover episodes. Even worse, both are two part episodes. In "Feudin' and Fussin'," Larry journeys to New York for a disastrous TV talk show audition. In the imaginatively titled "Thanksgiving Crossover," the families celebrate together despite the fact that Larry and Mr. Drummond are feuding over a business deal. Dull.
In "The Adoption," another two part episode, Arnold and Willis are finally going to be officially adopted by Mr. Drummond. In a rather tortured turn of events, a Los Angeles junk dealer (played by Sanford & Son's Whitman Mayo) finds an old will that he believes indicates that Arnold and Willis have inherited several million dollars from a family friend. Trying to get his hands on the supposed dough, he decides to challenge the adoption by pretending to be a relative of the Jacksons. This is another example where less might have been more - there really isn't enough material to fill an entire hour.
For the second season in a row, Diff'rent Strokes includes a clip show, "Valentine's Day Retrospective." Most series (like All in the Family and Seinfeld) wait until they hit at least 100 episodes before looking back. This series is diff'rent, however - why wait until the 100th episode when in season two you can reminisce about an episode that played last week?
With Mrs. Garrett serving as housemother on the Diff'rent Strokes spin-off The Facts of Life, Charlotte Rae only makes an occasional appearance in season two. Midway through the season, housekeeper Adelaide Brubaker (Nedra Voltz) is hired to care for the Drummonds. Rae's slightly drunken line delivery and oddball physicality are missed, but grandmotherly Voltz is highly likeable.
Several members of the first season cast of The Facts of Life guest star in "The Slumber Party." Willis invites some friends over when he is left in charge of the household while Mr. Drummond goes on a date and Kimberly attends a slumber party. When the party is cancelled due to illness, however, Kimberly, Tootie (Kim Fields), Natalie (Mindy Cohn), Molly (Molly Ringwald), and Cindy (Julie Anne Haddock) invade Willis' get-together. Although not a stellar episode, fans of The Facts of Life will have to make do with it while they wait for that series to be released on DVD.
In season one, Diff'rent Strokes' talented cast was able to overcome the series' bland scripts thanks to their fresh, funny performances. They are not as successful this time around. Even Coleman, who was so natural in the first season, seems self-conscious and mannered here.
Guest stars in season two include Meadowlark Lemon (The Harlem Globetrotters), Philip Charles MacKenzie (Brothers), Muhammad Ali, James Cromwell (Six Feet Under), Reggie Jackson, Vonetta McGee (Hell Town), composer Frank De Vol (The Brady Bunch theme), and Mary Ann Mobley.
The twenty-four episodes that make up the second season are divided onto three discs. The discs are housed in slim, clear keepcases. The front covers each feature a different publicity photo of the show's young stars: Coleman on disc one, Bridges on disc two, and Plato on disc three. The back covers include episode titles and plot synopses. The double-sided coversheets show through to the inside of the cases and feature ads for other Sony TV on DVD releases. The actual discs feature the same publicity stills included on the case covers. The three keepcases slide into a cardboard sleeve which highlights a composite photo of the cast members.
The static DVD menus are extremely basic. Viewers can play all episodes or choose an individual episode. Although there are no scene selection menus, chapter stops are included, including one after the title sequence.
