One Day at a Time | The 90s TV Babies Review the 1975 Sitcom!

Weirding Way Media. Welcome to 80s TV, ladies, where we look back in order to leap forward, reminding everyone that taking things one day at a time is how we build a better future together. Here are your fabulous hosts, Susan Lambert-Hattem and Sharon Johnson. Hello, I'm Sharon. And I'm Susan.

Today is a super special episode because we are bringing back one of our very favorite segments, the 90s TV babies to take on 70s and 80s television. That's right. We have a fantastic lineup today as we're going to dive into the iconic 1975 to 1984 sitcom, One Day at a Time. It was created by Whitney Blake and Alan Mannings and produced by Norman Lear. This show was groundbreaking in how it tackled single motherhood, female autonomy, workplace equality, and teen sexuality.

It starred Bonnie Franklin as newly divorced 33-year-old Anne Romano moving to Indianapolis with her two teenage daughters, Julie, played by Mackenzie Phillips, and Barbara, played by Valerie Bertinelli. Plus, they are advised by their ubiquitous tool belt-wearing building superintendent, Dwayne Schneider, played by Pat Harrington Jr. So we cast our 90s TV babies with watching a foundational list of episodes. First, Anne's decision, season one, episode one, the pilot. Anne moves her teenage daughters to Indianapolis to start a fresh and independent life.

The next one is episode all the way, season one, episode eight, where Anne talks with 16-year-old Julie about sexual pressure, autonomy, and making her own choices. Father David, season one, episode 13, in which the girls try to sneak beer into a party. Anne's out-of-town client from season three, episode five, though episode eight on Tubi, Anne has to handle her workplace dynamics and sexual advances from a client. It is the sexual harassment episode. Schneider's Helper, season four, episode five, episode four on Tubi.

Schneider hires Barbara's friend with intellectual disabilities. And Yes, Sir, That's My Baby, season four, episode six, Episode seven on Tubi, Barbara's old friend shows up with a baby fathered by Barbara's boyfriend. Uh-oh. And as a bonus clip, Julie and Barbara spoofing Elton John and Kiki D's Don't Go Breaking My Heart music video at a retirement home. So those were the episodes that we tasked the 90s Tubi babies with watching to represent One Day at a Time.

We also had some extra credit episodes. The Runaways Part 1, Season 2, Episode 1. Schneider's Pride and Joy, Season 2, Episode 9. It includes a pre-Star Wars Mark Hamill playing Schneider's nephew, who is a thief. Oh, no!

Oh, no! Mark Hamill! Young Mark Hamill! The Older Man, Season 3, Episode 1, where Julie gets involved with a much, much older man and her boss. Miracle of Birth, parts one and two, season eight, episodes eight and nine.

Julie has her baby and hilarity ensues. And the bonus bonus extra extra credit episode was Indianapolis Story from season six, episode 21, episode 19 on Tubi. Anne's ex, David, returns and wants Anne back. And it's a it's a love triangle. So if you want to kind of follow along before you listen to the episode, go check those episodes out on Tubi.

Oh, my gosh. Without further ado, let's welcome our smart and sassy, fresh-faced 90s TV babies. Returning to the mic, we have Sailor Franklin and making his official debut as a brand-new 90s TV baby on 80s TV Ladies, my stepson, Spencer Gerber Haddam. Welcome. Hello.

Spencer. Yeah. We're so thrilled to have you join the 90s TV Babies panel. Before we dive right in to talk about One Day at a Time, Sailor, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you've been up to this summer? And then Spencer, I'm going to have you introduce yourself to all of our listeners.

Hi, I'm Sailor. I've worked with Susan very closely on projects that have been put on by 134 West and Most recently, we did Liza Not at the Palace. We were back at the LA LGBT Center. And that was a really fun show with some crazy things that happened. Shout out, Michael, if you know.

But this. Summer, oh my gosh. I was just telling you guys, I feel like time is an illusion and... My life has been a whirlwind of like 134. I'm still at my job at the nonprofit where I'm the visual arts associate, which is awesome, which means I teach people how to teach people art, which is very, very fun.

But I feel like life has been nonstop. Everything's happening all the time, all at once. It's nice to sit down and be able to talk to you guys i get to see a lot of you guys every week especially susan and spencer since we actually hang out together pretty often outside of atx tv ladies and 134 west productions. I love that i get to see you guys a lot spencer welcome thank you i'm really excited to have you on and to throw you into the deep end with one day at a time tell us a little bit about yourself. Well, I've been working with Susan for a number of years as well, as her stepson.

I've helped out a couple times with, I think, like, your first live show. I think I helped out a little bit for, like, one of the recordings. But, yeah, you've been my stepmom for, what, almost 20 years now? Yes. 21 years.

Wow. Yeah, and it's been pretty great. Yeah, I'm not sure what else to say. Where do you live and what do you like to do? I live like 10 minutes away from Susan in Pasadena.

I like hanging out, watching TV, playing video games. Am I on a first date? What else would you like? You play a lot of board games, don't you? Yeah, I do play a lot of board games every week with Sailor and Susan.

One of the things I wonder, Spencer, is over the last few years since we've been doing the podcast, have you had occasion to sit down with Susan and your dad, maybe to watch some 80s TV or as they were watching some stuff for the podcast? Not often, mostly because I don't live with them anymore when we were living together we would do a lot more i know dad is a big fan of the a team i know susan i'm pretty sure we watched some god it's not oh it's mr scarecrow no mrs king and scarecrow something along those lines. Mr king and scarecrow i love that close enough scarecrow mrs king yes. Absolutely i was on i was right there Yes. You were right there.

That was pretty good. You approximately had all of the elements. And there are a bunch of movies that Susan has shown me that I think about a lot. The one that's coming to mind at the moment is Smokey and the Bandit. Oh, such a good, such a good movie.

Such an excellent movie. And one that has affected one day at a time. So I'm just going to bring it right down to one day at a time. Because that movie came out in 1977. And in One Day at a Time, Schneider becomes a CB radio enthusiast.

And I think it was directly in response to the heightened awareness of CB radio, which was entering the pop culture as a thing. It was sort of, I don't know, probably... equivalent to when TikTok first started. Everybody was like, oh, the CB radio craze that everyone is joining. It's so hard to explain. Well, Spencer, welcome.

We're so looking forward to hearing your thoughts and Sailor's thoughts about One Day at a Time. Yeah, thank you. Excited to be here. So before this came up, did either of you have any familiarity with One Day at a Time, the original show? I don't, I don't think so.

I, it's, I mean, it's not like a horrible daughter, but I'm like, it might've been that one of the ones my mom watched or something. I know she loved designing women. That and, sorry, mom, I swear I remember. No, I don't think I knew anything about One Day at a Time before this. Being from Indianapolis, or not Indianapolis, Indiana, I guess I thought maybe it might have been something your parents might have mentioned or something.

I'm here in Indiana and I had a Lyft ride taking myself to the airport and the Lyft driver, I don't know how it happened. We started talking about podcasting and our podcast and One Day at a Time and he just waxed poetic about it for the rest of the drive. He was still excited about the fact that there was this network TV show that had been based in Indianapolis. Being a Hoosier and watching One Day at a Time, it was like, oh my God, they mentioned Kokomo and Logan's Port and Fort Wayne. In one of the episodes, that lawnmower CEO guy says, Terry Haught.

And I lost it. I'm like, Terry Haught? What are you talking about? It's Tara Haught, which I will defend. And in the episode, did say it correctly.

It was just the guy who's from there said Terry Haught. And I was like, oh my God. Where was One Day at a Time filmed? I assume it was not anywhere close to Indiana. That is correct.

It was filmed in Hollywood, just like, you know, just like the rest of TV. But still, come on. Come on, you guys. You know, I'll give Bonnie Franklin her flowers. She did.

She did say she would. She knew she looked it up and she she knew how to say Tara Hote. But I think in one of the episodes, Schneider also says like, oh, I hear the kids are like taking the 65 up to like North. They might be in Chicago right now. And I'm like.

Oh, my God, I know that. Oh, my God, I've driven on that highway so, so very much. Like, it made my little Indiana heart happy to kind of hear places like I've gone growing up. So that was really, really fun. Spencer, so had you heard anything about the title, the song?

Did you know anything before I went, hey, go watch this? Nothing at all. I hadn't heard about it. I didn't know anything about it. I sat down to watch the pilot and went, oh, okay, now I know what this is.

Had you perhaps heard about the reboot that was done a few years ago? Does that ring any bells? No. Well, in this day of peak TV, that's not unusual. There's a whole bunch of TV out there to watch.

I didn't realize there was a. So neither of you knew there was a reboot in 2017? I figured out there was a reboot when I was looking up one day at a time and I'm like, no, this is not what I want. What is this? And I was like, 2017, this isn't the right TV show.

And I was like, I'm just trying to get to like the Wikipedia for this because I want to read a little bit about it after I've seen some of the episodes now. That is so interesting. So yes, there was a reboot of the show done in 2017 to 2020. It was done with the Latina cast. and starred Rita Moreno. It was a woman with her two kids, a son and daughter, and her mother all living together, and she's divorced and trying to make it one day at a time.

So very interesting that you guys didn't know about it. It was actually pretty successful. It kind of got crushed in the COVID of it all, like a lot of shows. All right, so let's go back to the 1975 to 1984. First, First impressions.

Spencer, I'm going to make you go first. Sure. My first impressions were that it's a very 70s TV show. The live studio audience, the main plotline of, or at least the pilot episode's plotline of Julie wanting to go to a party and Anne saying no, that felt very on the nose for what I assume a standard 70s TV show was, but Then the actual ending of Anne being like, hey, I don't know what I'm doing. Please help me out a little bit.

And then Julie being like, I'm actually not going to go. That was still very sweet. And I thought that was very charming. And so I liked it. I also liked the costuming because I am a fan of the 70s attire.

I also loved like all of the girls' fashion throughout the series was mostly like, oh my God, I love those pants. I want those pants really like those high waisted like bell bottoms. I'm like, I would wear those today. Like there were so many outfits of the show. I was just like, yeah, but I do love like this kind of the vintage like of, you know, bold patterns and blocky stuff.

I love this stuff. So I did really like all of the fashion overall. As for the first episode, I agree with Spencer. Like it was so, I feel like cozy, like episodic, like 70s, 80s show has been parodied so much as we're growing up. Seeing like the opening with like all of the little clip show of all of the characters.

Watching it, I had to remind myself like this was the blueprint and not like one of those like, ha, look at this cheeky thing we're doing where we're showing all of this. So I'm like, no, this is the beginning. So let's keep it open minded. I enjoyed the characters. It's a little hard for me to relate to the show only in the sense that I have no sisters.

I have grown up only surrounded by boys. And I know Spencer also does not have any sisters. So I'm just like, I can't imagine having a sister and fighting over boys. People taking my stuff. Thankfully, none of my brothers wanted any of my stuff.

That was safe. So sometimes these plots, I have to take a step back and be like, you know, if I did have a little kid sister who was butting into my stuff all the time, I would be really annoyed. So I enjoyed them. I enjoyed their dynamic. I really liked Julie's sharp wit kind of comebacks, always has Barbara by the throat.

But I also love Dorothy from Golden Girls. So I love a quick, sharp-witted character. Barbara's very cute. And I know she like smiles all of the time, which isn't a bad thing. Like she would be either actually mad or pretending to be bad at Schneider.

And she's just like smiling the whole time. And I'm like, I don't know if this is just like a character choice or if she's really trying not to laugh at the situation. So she's just smiling while they're recording. I really liked David, the lawyer. He was kind of sensitive and he didn't belittle the girls.

I loved his trick where he has all this stuff in his suitcase. And he's a little bit of a pathetic man, but I like that. I love a pathetic man in my media. So I really liked his character. And speaking of which, I was like, I know him from something.

What do I know him from? And so I looked him up on IMDb. And well, first I figured out it was from The Thing, most likely, but also he plays the dad in a 90s movie called Encino Man, where like two teenagers dig up a very, very young Brendan Fraser, who is a caveman, which I only recently discovered. This movie was like canned. Like people did not...

I grew up watching this movie all the time. I love Encino Man. It's... I'm getting off topic. Richard Master plays the dad in that.

So I'm like, oh my God, maybe that's where I know him from. And so I scroll all the way down to see where is this fall in the one day at a time. And I get to that entry and it's like, he's in 22 episodes. What do you mean he's in 22 episodes? This is like one of.

My favorite characters I've discovered so far. And he's in 22 episodes. What happens? So, I mean. You were sad that he did not continue with the show.

I really like David. And I know he comes back in a later episode. I'm going to put a pin in that because I have a lot of feelings about that. So he played the boyfriend for the first season. And then he asked to leave the show because he didn't have anything to do.

One of the storylines that we did not give you is that they have this relationship, but they still haven't slept together. And they have a whole episode about how she wants to, but she's also like, she jumped right in to the relationship that led to her marriage and she's not ready, which is kind of interesting. But I think the actor was like, there's nowhere for this character to go. And apparently asked to leave and did. Yeah.

I thought that was interesting in light of what you were saying. Spencer, what did you think of that relationship? I was also a really big fan of David in all the episodes he was in. I agree, the suitcase bit in the pilot was really, really funny. I am not as aware of the political climate, I guess, but I thought it was interesting that he was like 26 and Anne was 36.

That seemed unusual. They say that in the pilot. He was? Yeah, he doesn't look it. And they make a joke about that in the pilot too.

But I thought that was an interesting dynamic and I liked how that kept kind of coming up and I thought that seemed unusual for any of the other shows around the time period. And frankly, a lot of TV shows now I don't see that dynamic a lot. And I thought I was I was interested to see more of where that played out. And in one of the later episodes. where he has to chaperone, I thought it was a kind of, I don't know, it was an interesting dynamic to explore that I was hoping to see more of. And then he left.

So I was a little disappointed too. It interests me that the both of you really like the character. I'm a fan of the actor, but I was not a fan of the David character. And I, I'm not sure why. Maybe because it, as I'm thinking about it, it seemed like she wasn't really that big a fan.

I mean, she, she didn't seem to be as into him as he was to her. And I don't know. I just, from the beginning, I thought, I don't think that this is a good pairing. These two, these two characters, these two actors. So that's fascinating to me.

I'm so excited that you guys clocked the age. She's actually 33, according to Wikipedia, and he's 26. So there is an age difference, a significant age difference. And it is unusual at the time to see a relationship on television where the woman is older and the man is younger. And I don't know if you guys clocked this.

He's also her divorce lawyer. Yes. I did catch that, yeah. Apparently not an issue in the 70s. Like, oh, that ain't right.

That's not good. That's not good for anybody. So I like the actor. I like the character, but that felt, it felt off. I agree.

That was weird. They played it for a laugh and I Did think the line of, like, as soon as I divorce you, I'm going to try to marry you. I thought that was a funny line, but the actual dynamic is a little creepy. On the other hand, every other male character I've seen in this show feels creepier than David. Yeah, I noticed that too.

I did think that's a point in his favor, in my opinion. Like, Schneider is creepy. Oh, Schneider? Yeah, in the fact of the David character, like I wrote it down, he doesn't belittle the girls or Anne, which like any male semi-father coded in the relationship man in a 70s or 80s shows is so quick to just put down his wife, his children, anything like that. And I know David technically wasn't a father to.

The girls, but like, I don't think he ever belittled them, which I was just like, wow, that's nice of him. And then Schneider comes in with his key unannounced and a little bit, you know, harasses Anne, which, oy vey, I did not like Schneider at the beginning. Okay, we're going to have to stop and take a break. Listen to our sponsors and we'll be right back. You can go to 80s TV Ladies My Deals link in the show notes to get 21% off Cozy Earth's amazing soft bamboo sheets.

Use promo code 80sTVLADIES and get 21% off Cozy Earth. And we're back with more 80s TV Ladies. That was like his character to me. I could tell he's like comedic relief. But the fact that his only comedic relief is I'm going to harass was not very funny to me.

I don't know, Spencer, you might have felt the same. I very much did him being like, Oh, it's a, it's a pass key. You know, I just need to make, make sure that's, that's every horror story I've ever heard from all of my female friends. Like, no, I don't want some random man or the man in charge of my apartment building walking into my apartment whenever he wants. Yeah.

In his defense though, I feel like as the episodes went on, he continued to be comedic relief and, It's just so much less revolved around him being a little bit creepy. I will say like his CB radio handle is super stud. And in one of the episodes, someone jokes like, oh, I need to keep Schneider busy. It's like, how are we going to keep him away? Well, I left like 10 Playboy magazines open in my apartment.

He'll be away for a while. They didn't drop like the, it's kind of a horndog aspect, but it did less circulate. Around him hitting on Anne, which I did appreciate. He definitely grew on me way more as the series went on. But I feel like maybe after season one and two, they discovered, oh, you know, maybe he has a little bit more of a heart to him instead of just let me be a little bit skeezy.

So he definitely grew on me. He's a really good actor. And in the episode where Mark Hamill comes to visit and is his nephew, the ending of that episode, he's a really good actor, actually. I was impressed. He definitely gained a couple of points in my book by the end of that episode because that was a really great performance.

And also, how does Mark Hamill pre-Star Wars look 10 years older than he does now? In Star Wars when he appears in this episode. Have you guys noticed this phenomenon that, like, high schoolers in the 80s look 20 or 30 years old compared to, like, high schoolers today? I don't... They weren't hiring teenagers for the most part to play teenagers in the 70s.

But as far as Mark Hamill is concerned, he did have the accident between the first and the second Star Wars movies that changed his appearance to a certain extent. He does not look the same in 2 and 3... I ignore the prequels. They don't exist for me. That he did in the first one.

But in any event, I agree with you about Schneider. I think it seemed to me that they got to a point where they realized that they had pushed too far with the skeeviness, if you will, and really pulled back on it. And it got to the point where In the first act, he'd come in and do his funny bit and then he'd go. But he always had some sort of story to tell or whatever that he got to do in each episode that made him a little bit more endearing, I think, to the audience. He was like, he's like a proto-Kramer.

I literally said that. I literally said that in a previous episode. I said, there's no Kramer with a, Schneider. So as far as Anne's character is concerned, she was one of the first women of that generation, the women's liberation generation, and being a single mother at her age, as well as some things like her not wanting to take her ex-husband's last name, choosing to go by Anne Romano in 1975. That was really kind of radical for television because I think that was certainly in the ether, but television wasn't really going there.

What are your thoughts about or understanding of Anne's brand of feminism and independent parenting as you're looking back at this particular show? I think it was in the episode where David chaperones the party, but Anne talking about how she didn't want beer or weed or anything in her house. She doesn't care what other people do. I couldn't help but kind of think to myself how much of this show or similar shows did Susan internalize in her parenting? Because there was a lot of it that reminded me of her.

Because I feel like that's a line I've heard you say. I don't care what goes on in other people's house. This is my house, my rules. That is very accurate. And I never really noticed.

I will tell you that your grandmother, my mom, looked just like Bonnie Franklin in the show. short hair, the sort of blonde red. And we grew up in a single mom household, my sister and I. So that's very interesting. I may have internalized. I was not really thinking that until you pointed it out.

Were you watching this show as a young adult and like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, they stole my she's. Single mom with two daughters. I watched the show and recognized it because it was a very unusual show. Anne Romano as a character was the first divorced woman in primetime television, an original show that wasn't a spinoff character. And it was at the time that my mom was divorced and we were two girls.

So it very much was a show that I recognized as reflecting something that speaks to my life and the fact that our mom looked remarkably like Bonnie Franklin. We were a little bit younger than the girls in the show at the time that the show was on. But I'm not sure that it spoke to my parenting style, but apparently it did. So that's really interesting because it was a very different parenting style than my mom had in some ways. Like she was much more trying to be hip and my mom was not.

She was like, these are the rules. And we knew them almost without being spoken. But the struggle of a single parent trying to figure out her life in relation to having children, that I recognized. It gave me some more sort of empathy for my mom at the time. And really, when my parents got divorced, like, the teachers were upset for me.

I remember, you know, Susan, are you okay? And I was like, oh, no, this is the best thing. This is good, I promise. So it was unusual in Georgia for a woman to be divorced in 1977. It wasn't necessarily maybe in the bigger cities.

It's so hard to explain to 90s TV babies. that just the fact that she was a single mother going into the workforce and then dating and talking frankly with her kids about life, her life and their life, it was very groundbreaking in a second wave feminism way. Yeah. Does that answer your question, Spencer? I'm not sure what my question was exactly, but it does answer it. To me, the plot of like, you know, a single divorced mother taking on the world with her two children she has to take care of, like in a modern lens, that's just reality for so many people out there.

The nonprofit I work with, it provides expanded learning opportunities to children, usually in after school. And so I work with a lot of kids and it's so normal for them to be like, oh, yeah, my mom and my mom's boyfriend, we went and did this this weekend. Oh, I'm not going with my dad today. I'm going with my mom. This is the reality that a lot of kids, this is just normal for them is that maybe mom's around or only dad's around or I live with my grandparents or I live with my mom and her boyfriend.

So to me, watching this, it's much more normalized because I see it every day. But I think this happening in the 70s, which, as Susan said, it's just not normal. And to put it on primetime, of all things, is pretty progressive, I'd say. I forget that because I live in a modern time where that's just kind of normal for a lot of people. I will say it was happening.

And one of the reasons we like looking back at 70s and 80s television is... how much of television was reflecting what was actually happening in the culture, how much was it leading it, and how much was it catching up? Because that was the communication tool of culture. There wasn't the internet. There wasn't TikTok. There wasn't YouTube.

There was television. And television was how new ideas got spread around when, you know, There were women divorcing. My mom was the first, but she was certainly not the last. I think last year of elementary school, there was another woman that was divorced with kids. And they became friends, and we became friends with her daughters and stuff like that.

Then by the time I got to high school, there were more. By the time, obviously, I was at college. But I do remember later talking with my mom about that friendship, and she was, well, we didn't have that much in common, but we were the two divorced mothers, so we had to be friends. which I thought was really interesting. I don't think that friendship would have happened if they hadn't both been divorced, just because they didn't have much in common beyond being divorced mothers. Divorce, single parenting was happening because of changes in our society, because of the women's movement, because of women entering the workforce, families having those options available to them in ways that previous generations, it was just like, Not me.

I'm also really, really interested in your guys's thoughts on how sexuality and sexual discussion was reflected in these episodes. How did it land for you, given how we talk about sex these days? I'm trying to think if this did happen on another show that we watched, but I was so surprised. Was it the second episode. Where it's like, julie's boyfriend is pressuring her it's like all right time to start boots on the ground let's let's start having these conversations.

Now it was the second episode we gave you it was the eighth episode of season one okay okay that's. Still like that's the first that's the front half your first season that's a big discussion to already be having but one that's very pertinent to a mother with two daughters you know i was really surprised with like especially growing up around indiana like kind of the What's that quote from Mean Girls? If you have sex, you'll die. Like it's just absence and all of that. Even though I was in Indiana, I grew up in a school that had a pretty good like sex ed program.

But in the later episodes, I think the girls were discussing like how Anne kind of gave them the talk. And it's like, if you want to do it, don't. But if you do, here's how to do it safely. And like, that was my experience. Like that was kind of the talk that I had.

So to me, I'm like, yeah, that's about it. That's about right. But I grew up in the 2000s and these girls grew up in the 1970s. So I was really surprised. It's like established that Anne has already had that discussion with her girls, which is really smart and great.

But the real problem is that, you know, Julie says no and Chuck keeps persisting. And that is, you know, a gross, a gross, icky thing that is just sadly the truth of relationships, especially when you're young. I have notes written down. Give me a second. I found it, a lot of the episode revolves on like, how does Julie figure out how to tell him no?

And I think that the thing that does come around to the end of the episode is that she's already said no. She's done her part. That should be the end of it. It's just how does she solve this problem of feeling pressured to give in because that no has not been given enough weight by her partner. It's not great that like David has to step in to like say, hey, you shouldn't be doing this.

Why does the man's opinion work better than the women in your life that you love? But I think it's possibly a good like role model kind of thing. Like, hey, men, if you see this happening, you should step up and also say something about it. But the quote I remember between David and Chuck, I think his name was Chuck, when they were talking is like, you shouldn't be doing this. And Chuck's like, well, then why isn't she told me it makes her feel like, why hasn't she done all of that?

And Dave's like, She did. She said no. She's given you her answer. Oh, that fake out at the end. I was about to be like, that was such a not satisfying ending.

If Julie truly wanted to have sex with him, fine. But the ending, I was like, after all of that, I mean, I guess if that's what she really wants. And then they faked me out and I'm like, oh, okay. Good for sticking to your guns, Julie. Every boyfriend that has ever appeared on this show Julie or Barbara, all of them are yuts.

Yuts is... What's the plural of yuts? Yutty? I can't handle it. Every single 80s show we watch, I'm like, all of these men are yuts.

I don't like any of them. David was fine, and then he left. So I don't know if I answer the question either. That's my feelings on that episode. Spencer?

I was. I totally agree that it's... frustrating that it took David trying to connect with Chuck to really get through to Chuck. But also, it didn't get through to Chuck. It didn't work. That whole scene, and you really do think, oh, okay, Chuck's actually getting it.

You know, not great that it took David, but at least David was there to help. And then it immediately jump cuts to him doing the exact same thing all over again. And then with the fakeout at the end, it's like, oh, it was Julie's choice to be like, no, I said no, and I meant it, and I cut it off hard. And I liked seeing her kind of be happy and feel so proud of that after the rest of the episode of her being like, well, he's so popular, and he's like the high school version of Robert Redford. And like, I... remember being in high school and having some of that feeling of, you know, if I can get a cool girlfriend, that'll be great.

But also having lived a little bit longer, I can also be like, that's not everything, girl. Don't just settle for that. He needs to be an actually good person. And so her saying no at the end, I was happy that was the message. I was a little on the fence of, I think she had like one line of her going at You know, you guys kind of didn't help at all.

All of you talking, that wasn't the best. I had to say it. On one hand, I agree. But on the other hand, it's really nice having some people be like, you can say no, that's okay. I felt like that was just one part that I was like, no, I thought they did great.

I thought it was really cool having a bunch of people in your corner, even if you were the one who had to say the final no. I think that final message of like, I said no. And if check never calls me again, well, fine. That means he didn't respect that. And that means I don't want to be with him.

So I think that as a final message is a very great message. Agreed. Yes. Now, since we're on sex, I want to jump to Anne's out of town client, right? The sexual harassment episode.

Yeah. I've, I'm trying to, like, gather my thoughts about, you know, the bigger topic of this episode. And I just keep thinking about Schneider bringing in his cousin or whatever. And she keeps saying, I love your thing. Mower.

Your mower thing. And it's like, I can't... That killed me is that she can't say lawnmower right. And she's... That was, like, one of the funniest episodes, which is horrible to say.

But.... Just the whole, I thought that was really funny. And now I'm trying to gather my actual thoughts beneath how I was laughing at Schneider. So give me a moment to compose myself. I agree with you about that being a particularly funny episode.

And I think that the fact that it was so funny brought home the message, if you will, in a way that maybe was a little bit easier, hopefully for the audience to take in and to take seriously the same time too. But yeah, I think that's one of the funnier episodes. Absolutely. Absolutely. Talking about how there's a lot of witty back and forth, I feel like that was really prevalent in that episode.

That made it a lot of fun, even if the whole concept was a little icky. It was a lot icky. Yeah. It was a lot icky. It was really interesting.

The scene between Anne and her boss, I kept kind of looking at because it was, on the one hand, Mr. Quincy is a big client and they want to keep him on. And this is kind of their tradition. But I did like how and was like, hey, I've made you more money in this year than in the past five. And I liked how it seemed like the boss eventually actually got that and was like, you know what?

Sure. You are a good enough employee. Just please don't quit. That was a cool moment. I was like, hell yeah, I am.

That moment was a moment I enjoyed as kind of seeing her sticking up for herself in a realm that I hadn't seen in any of the other episodes because this is the first one that I saw that had her working. Yeah, there are like 200 episodes. We didn't want to overwhelm you. I appreciate it. But we tried to pick ones where there was good funny stuff as well as, you know, very Norman Lear.

This show was produced by Norman Lear who produced All in the Family and then a thousand amazing shows mod and it handles a lot of topical subjects for the day. and be controversial subjects at the time. So we often ask, is this show feminist? Is it progressive? And so this might be a good time to bring up that question to you guys. I think it's both.

I think as we'd established, like, a lot of the stuff that goes on in this show, at least for me, like, that just seems kind of normal now, which I think makes it very progressive for its time that, you know, She's a single mom divorced in Indiana with two daughters who she like clearly has had like the sex talk with and they are smart and they know how to make decisions for themselves. Like I think that is both progressive and feminist. So I think the show did a great job, especially with the less feminist aspects of Schneider in the first place. Two seasons like they I think they backtracked and they're like, this isn't working. Let's adjust.

And I think that the show grew and kind of took some notes, maybe about about things like that. And out of town client notwithstanding. No doubt that was happening. No doubt that was happening in in real life. It's probably still happening to one degree or another.

Yeah, correct. Correct. I love that she wins and she sort of gets to keep her job. Yes. Though I find it fairly unrealistic, but particularly for the time, I would imagine that.

But Sharon disagrees with me. So she's like, I buy it. One of the things that for me, and I think it is missing throughout the show, is it is not progressive when it comes to race. There's not people of color in this show represented much at all. We also gave you Schneider's Helper.

In which it was sort of addressing intellectual disabilities. So I'm curious how that show, that episode landed with you. Between carrying scripts to the theater and hauling podcast gear around the country, I always need a bag that actually lasts forever. That's why I'm obsessed with Terrain. These bags are made from upcycled materials like rice bags, making them totally water-resistant and lightweight and best yet, truly sustainable.

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Use promo code 80s TV Ladies. That's 80s TV Ladies. I think the overall message was good. I think the line that like, I really loved is like, people never let me try. And that way I never learn.

Like people just keep thinking I can't do these things. So they don't even let me attempt. I think that's a really powerful message. In execution, it was touch and go to put it lightly. I think...

I felt a lot of things. The fact that. I think this is a personal thing. My mother has always put the fear of God into me about a gas leak in our home growing up, all of that things. So the fact that he did...

He did the thing. He shut the gas off with some help, but he did it himself. And they all... They run back in the apartment. They're all.

I'm like. Out of there. There is still gas. Leave the apartment. Just because you turned the leak off to stop.

Oh my God. I got so, I'm like, this is not the point. This is, this is a fictional story, Sailor. And like the alarm bells are screaming in the back of my head. So beside that, I think definitely some of the language that was used is very outdated.

Even if, you know, They wanted to show Snyder's apprehension with hiring. Jackie. Jackie? Jackie. Oh, look at me.

I do remember names. Jackie. They didn't technically have to use some of the words they used or display some of the things they did. I don't know. Like I said, I loved the overall takeaway, how they got there.

It was not... Not 100% with them, but it was also the 70s, 80s, so, you know. There was one of the conversations Jackie had with Barbara and Anne that felt impactful to me and felt like it's still a good message today of, like, Jackie likes Schneider because Schneider doesn't treat him differently. And even though Barbara and Anne... are very nice and clearly feel affection for Jackie, he does still make it clear that, like, they also didn't think he could do it. They also are treating him differently.

And that there was a moment of Jackie going, well, Schneider doesn't treat me different, and then kind of trails off, and they go, but we do. And then Jackie goes, but that's okay, so does everyone else. I thought that was a really powerful line, even Even today, I feel like that is a lot of what I hear about how disability is portrayed. I like that. I like that point.

Okay, let's do a little bit of a lightning round. Two parts to this. Who your favorite character is and which character are you? If you had to be a character. Give me some thinking time.

Honestly, I really like Anne. The main character I was a big fan of. I know, I think Sailor mentioned that the actress smiles a lot. I kind of liked that. It felt like she was...

It straddled the line of the character and the actress both being a little aware of the genre they were in. That kind of charmed me a little bit. Anne kind of knows she's in a sitcom. Yeah. And so is going to like lean into it a little bit.

And that, that just made me, it charmed me. I thought that made her a fun character where she, she takes some of these insane antics in stride a little bit of just like, this is just the weird world I live in. And I thought Bonnie Franklin did a, did a great job keeping that, that humor, but also keeping it believable and, and not over the top, over the top. So I, I really liked Anne actually. If you want to continue, I can still think on my two answers.

I need to think on my second answer, so please go ahead. I think my favorite character, shockingly enough, might have been. Schneider, actually. Which, like, as I said, I did not like him. Like, that first episode, I was like, oh, brother.

It was a rough start. But as the series went on, like, he was so charming. Kind of like that almost... like that uncle energy, you know? Like, in the episode where Julie's giving birth, like, I think it's really funny that kind of monologue he does where it's like, barbara says i love you julie and she tells schneider like it's okay to say you love people and he's like oh i don't know if i could you know you julie you know i and you barbara and he technically tries to tell everyone he loves them the words never leave his mouth and afterwards he's like oh man i never thought i could have done that like it's it's so charming he's he's goofy and it's like it It's the proto Kramer, you know, like I come in, I provide some comic relief.

I'm over the top. I'm silly. I love a comic relief character. So after they kind of course corrected him, I think he was my favorite. He's very charmingly clueless and really does mean well underneath it all and just doesn't quite know how to behave properly. with people sometimes.

But yeah, he's, they did a great job in course correcting and making the character more palatable and then also more lovable over time. One thing that cracked me up is in the episode where David comes back and like David hugs Schneider. Schneider says, like, you've been in the West Coast too long. Men in Indiana don't hug. I don't know.

Maybe being from the Midwest, it just really tickled me. Like, you know, people in the Midwest do kind of have a, we're all kind of stopped up, you know? He's not wrong. He's not wrong. This will crack me up.

Being a West coaster all my life. Yeah. I am a hugger. I will hug my male friends all the time. That's sweet though.

That's, I think that's healthier than, you know, absolutely. Yeah. I think I know who, who I am most like, and it's probably, it's probably Anne because especially as the seasons go on, like she's kind of referred to as like, she has a short temper and she'd like, what was that? Screams and bellows was one of the things that she kept. And I also noticed, I only caught on to it watching like some of the extra credit episodes that Anne technically has a.

Catchphrase, which is just that, oh my God. And I feel like, I feel like that's me. I, despite, despite myself, I do not have a lot of patience. I try so very hard, but I am my mother's daughter and my mother has zero patience. Love you, mom.

In case you're listening, happy birthday in the next two days. She doesn't have a lot of patience. She is like, no nonsense. Here's what, here's how we're doing it. Here's how it's going to be done.

Like, of course there's room for discussion, but she's solid in her beliefs and she, she gets annoyed very easily. And I can relate to that. I think, I think I am most like her. What can I say? So do either of you have a favorite episode or scene based on what you saw in the assignments?

I'm not sure I have a favorite episode, but out of the ones I've seen, it might be Father David, the one with the party. I liked the message in it, but just so many of the gags in that episode in particular really got me. One in particular was when they bring in the beer and they're trying to get it while David's back is turned. And they do a full, like, fire bucket train. Really, that one really got me.

That was really funny to me. So that is probably, that scene in particular in that episode are probably, again, out of the ones I've seen, are probably my favorite. I think my favorite, maybe just for the gags, was the Anne's Out of Town client. I just thought that was a really funny episode. Despite the topic it covers, which I think that's something to say that you can take a topic that serious and still like make it funny and have it be a comedy and still not make light of the topic.

I can tell you. What I think my least favorite episode was. And I've been dying to talk about this. The one where David comes back. Okay, so here's the thing.

I know when we are given the episode list, it is all out of order. So like whatever comes before, I might not have all the context. And I watched that episode. I'm like, who is this man? Who is that little boy?

What's happening here? This is why I was looking up the Wikipedia because I'm like, what? Who are these people? What is happening? And I quickly get, okay, okay.

New boyfriend, his kid. Okay, awesome. And Later down the line, when it was like the Julie's Birth episodes, I go back and I'm. Like, who are you? Everything is changing.

I think, is this. Typical of all of the 80s shows that just like season's gone, we have a completely new cast of characters and there's people coming and going and all of that. That's pretty typical for like sitcoms of the time, right? Well, I think this one in particular, now that you mention it, probably had a lot more coming and going as the time went on because... relationships evolved. Both Julie and Ann Barber were married.

Ann had gone through several relationships and et cetera. I guess I'm thinking about things like the Golden Girls and Designing Women where the core women from those parts were basically the same. But yeah, this had a lot of stuff going on character-wise coming and going. I agree. It is slightly elevated for this particular show.

Though in the 70s and 80s, they were dropping this character. They're gone without explanation the next season. That did happen more often. But this show in particular, there's a lot, there's just a lot of people that show up and go away. And even like Mackenzie Phillips, because she was struggling with drug addiction during the course of this run, she left the show for seasons and then would come back.

But it is also the idea that the show is covering people nine years, right? It's nine seasons that it ran when the girls are 15 and 16 when it starts. So it's taking them from childhood to adulthood, from high school issues to marriage, family, babies, and then taking Anne from newly single divorced mom to a high-level executive. It is covering a lot of ground. But I also think it probably jumped around, I would say, more than most But it was covering this and covering an incredible span of change that it started in 1974, 1975, and ended in 1984.

It started with Carter and ended with the second Reagan. It's a huge sea change, not quite as much as now, but a huge sea change was happening during that time, culturally, politically, economically. I was also surprised how much changes, how quickly they just jump into a new thing. So I think it's, it's slightly elevated. For this show.

Yeah. And so I started watching that David comes back episode and I'd read the description. So it's like, oh my gosh, David's back. And he wants Anne and quote, quote, quote him. I'm not leaving until I have her.

And I'm like, fascinating drama, especially with this new guy, Nick, right? Was that his name? Awesome. And Nick is like, I'm happy with our relationship. I don't want to get married and doesn't want to get married.

Awesome. But you know, I don't like this guy. He's staying around too long. I'm going to move in with her. Awesome drama.

And the best part of that episode was Schneider who is told both of this and is like acting. So like, he's a terrible actor. He's like, Nick, I didn't say. Anything about Nick. Why, why'd you bring that up?

It's like, Schneider, what is wrong with you? And I'm sitting there and I'm waiting. And I'm like, okay, David's here. He wants Anne. Let's see how this unfolds.

And he sits in a bed and he's like, oh, I'm a big Hollywood lawyer. Awesome. Cool. Okay, next scene. He's walking there thinking about when he did engage.

Awesome. And then it's the final scene where it's like, Schneider can't keep his cool. He's back into a corner and Nick comes in and says, I don't want things to change, but I don't want you with this dude. And David comes in and he's like, Ann, I still love you and I want to take you back, but I realize it's not going to happen. And he leaves.

And I'm like, where was the attempt? What? You did nothing. Nothing happened. Sharon, I know you're not like always keen on like the romance parts.

And I never in a million years thought David was actually going to come. Back where's the drama? Where's the juicy stuff? It gave me nothing and it pissed me off. I was like, you can't just come out saying like, I'm going to take her back and then sit around and not tell her that until one scene where you've already decided.

As you can tell, I did not like that episode. It disappointed me greatly. And Schneider was a little bit of balm on the wound, but I'm that episode pissed me. Off, especially because I really liked David. I'm like, he's back.

We're going to see something. Maybe it's because I have, you know, I'm not as enamored of David as you were. And I was, I, I didn't remember this episode at all. So I didn't quite know where they were going to go with it. And I kept thinking, oh my God, did they bring him back?

Are they actually going to get together? Please say it isn't so. So when he, when he basically died, got up and out of the bed and said, yeah, I'm out. I'm done. See ya.

Nice. To see everybody again and nick says the same thing well he kind of did he he faked a little injury so he could stay in the apartment which made nick a little crazy so. You know his little plan to stay with Anne so this could happen, yes, he did do a little scheming. He never talked to Anne. He never discussed his feelings.

He never said, hey, I... Until the end, it's like, how were you going to woo her? You didn't even attempt. You just sat around on your ass until you decided it was time to leave. It.

True. I mean, he was spending all of his time on the phone working the whole time with that as opposed to trying to talk to Anne and get her to understand that they belong together. That's true. I have to agree with you there. But nevertheless, I don't know.

I just found the whole thing amusing. And I really was sitting there just going, I don't know what they're going to do. The last thing I expected was for both men to just peace out and walk out the door at the end. I guess the common thread is they were not communicating with Anne. So I guess the final where she's just like, what is happening?

And Snyder's just like, let's keep this in the family. And they promise on it. I think that was a cute button ending for it after I was very much frustrated by the non-romance fighting for her attention that happened. One other question I had for the both of you. What did you think about the relationship between Barbara and Julie?

I mean, obviously they're two very different people, even though they're sisters, but... What did you think about their relationship together? I know that Sailor mentioned that she doesn't have sisters. And so there was a little bit of difficulty relating. Not having sisters myself, having a younger brother and an older sibling, it felt right on the money for a lot of it.

Especially, you know, considering that this is a sitcom family, but also just the The constant fighting and fighting when you're trying to help out, like the episode we watched all the way, where Barbara is like, oh, clearly Julie's upset. Let me stop and try to help. And then they immediately start fighting. And then they're fighting while they're trying to help each other. And then Barbara goes out and talks to Anne and is like, So I have this problem.

It's not me. It's a friend. And it explains. And immediately after Barbara's explanation just calls for Julie. And Barbara's like, I didn't say!

I didn't say! You didn't have to. That was her all the way. It both felt like a believable sibling relationship that was heightened into a sitcom that just made it perfectly meshed with what I expected. And that was, that was nice to see.

I feel like the way you put it, like I also have, I have a younger and an older brother and we're both very close in age. So I feel like your description of that, I can absolutely see like that. Like, I feel like the way they played it out was definitely how me and my brothers might have, except with a lot, maybe less name calling and far more noogies and, you know, other physical, you know, assaults but um i loved that at the beginning of that scene you're talking about barbara's like oh something's wrong with her and she knows that because she's like i'm gonna take your cashmere sweater the new one and julie's like yeah that's fine she's like something's wrong i should be i should be. Getting my my you know what handed to me right.

Now like something's wrong and that's totally how siblings do it it's like i'm going to help you but i might get slapped upside the head and punch you in the arm while we do it because you are ticking me off One thing I noticed about me and my brothers is we, the three of us, we butt heads very often. But as soon as it's like someone else is introduced to the equation, it's like time for Team Franklin to go. Because now we're. Going to focus that effort towards this outside person. Siblings always fight, but there's always this like solidarity between them that I did feel with the sisters as well.

Awesome. I think. We've got to wrap up. Any last thoughts? We had thrown the little moment of the sisters singing as Elton John and Kiki D.

It's really hard to picture how popular Elton John was at the time and how popular that song was and how popular they were. But last thoughts. I did really like Elton John, Kiki D. It reminded me of my siblings, all three of us in my brother's old beat-up truck. as we drove home from marching band practice and like singing along to the CD, one of our friends burned that, like, like that was the thing that me and my siblings did was, you know, sing along and be silly, which I, you know, gives you the warm fuzzies. And one thing I noticed while I was watching, not so much just about one day at a time, but kind of all of the shows that I've been introduced to through 80s TV ladies is just kind of, I feel like all the, all the, Shows we watch definitely tackle topics that were issues of the time, like sexuality and racism and immigration, maybe in the sense of the Golden Girls did that, and sex work in a couple of the other ones.

I feel like most of the shows. I've watched from here, they're all trying to touch on these topics and have something to say about that. And I'm wondering, is that where a lot of shows doing that? Or is that just. through the 80s TV ladies vision that because they did that, it's being brought to 90s TV babies. I think a lot of shows were doing that.

There was kind of this, often they would put a bow on it, like, you know, this week's very special episode where they would talk about something important other than just regular hijinks of the show. But it was very much, I think more, I could be wrong, but I feel like it was more so in comedy than in drama for some strange and odd reason that we're tackling issues of the day. And there were a lot, I mean, things changed in the culture of the United States radically between the late 60s and certainly into the 70s and into the 80s. There was a whole sea change of things going on. And television shows continued comedies in particular seemed to be willing to go there and willing to tackle it with their characters.

And having producers like Norman Lear around made sure that that kind of thing happened. Yeah, I would definitely say that was very much a signature of the Norman Lear shows, including this one. It was not necessarily a signature of every show in the 70s and 80s. But the ones that did do it, they were trying to speak to what was happening in culture and what was important to talk about, given the context of the show. And yet still bring the funny and still try to give you a very special episode, but with a humor and or unique approach.

Spencer, your last thoughts? This might be because I am still adjusting to TV shows of the time despite having seen plenty. But A, I'm still astounded by the hair on everybody. Bonnie's hair in that first season, it's giving coconut head. It got better.

It got a lot better. I'll give her that. But yes. The hair, especially when we jump seasons, it's just like, oh, it's one wild hairstyle to another wild hairstyle. And I've seen shows that make fun of a live studio audience, but I haven't really sat down and watched one that has that.

So there were a few episodes where the live studio audience kind of threw me for a loop. I think it's in all the way. There's a scene where Julie's just like, well, if you're so against it, maybe I'll just go do it. And then people started applauding. I got really confused because I'm like, why do you all want her to go sleep with her boyfriend so badly?

And it took me a minute to just realize, oh, they're still plotting because the scene's over. And this is like the stage play. It really took me a moment. It did kind of make me think how different that kind of vibe is. I picked up on that too.

I was like, this is an interesting, like they're all applauding and I'm just like, this is not totally appropriate. Also, one thing that drove me nuts, there's a guy in the studio audience who keeps coughing like right when everyone else laughs. And that might just be me being a bit type A, but I was just like, dude, find a tissue. Anyways, it distracted me. That is hilarious.

And now I want to go back. Which episode was it? Do you remember? No, I don't remember. I just remember like listening and it kept bugging me.

I feel like I was watching like The Runaways. I think I watched all of that. I think it was that. That's so funny. Okay, well, thank you guys so very much.

This has been amazing. Hope you guys had a good time talking to us today and also watching the episodes yeah this is we really appreciate your thoughts and insights it's always so fascinating to hear. Absolutely it was it was a blast. Yes thanks for having us on thank you. And i'm so glad you could join spencer welcome to being a 90s tv baby.

Thank you for having me. Well, we will have you back. And thank you, guys. Have a great rest of your week. And love you.

Love you, too. We'll talk soon. You can go to 80s TV Ladies My Deals link in the show notes to get 21% off Cozy Earth's amazing soft bamboo sheets. Use promo code 80TVLADIES and get 21% off Cozy Earth. If you're looking for gear that aligns with your values, you have to check out Terrain.

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For today's audiography, you can stream the original One Day at a Time series for free on Tubi at tubitv.com or purchase episodes on Apple TV and Amazon Prime. Thank you so much to our fabulous 90s TV babies today, Sailor and Spencer, for diving into One Day at a Time with us. If you have questions for them, reach out through 80s TV ladies and we will try to get them answered. Want to let your elected representatives know where you stand on the issues shaping our country today? Visit fivecalls.org.

That's the number five, C-A-L-L-S dot org to find your reps and get Easy to use phone scripts. Thank you all for listening. What are your favorite memories of One Day at a Time? Did you watch Ann, Julie, and Barbara back in the day? Send us your thoughts and questions at our website, 80stvladies. com, or drop us an email at 80stvladies at gmail.com.

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That's right. We did this a while back and we're doing it again. So stay tuned and keep watching. fabulous female-driven television and remember to keep moving forward. As always, we hope 80s TV Ladies brings you joy and laughter and lots of fabulous new and old shows to watch, all of which will bring us closer to being amazing ladies of the 21st century. Ladies, ladies, ladies.