'' (originally known as '''''8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter''''') was a
United States Television Situation Comedy that aired on
ABC , starring television veteran
John Ritter .
8 Simple Rules is about a
Married couple with three
Child ren, set in
Detroit, Michigan . The father, Paul Hennessy, played by
John Ritter , is a sportswriter who is prompted by his wife Cate's (
Katey Sagal ) return to
Nursing to take a more active role in raising their two
Teen age daughters (Bridget played by
Kaley Cuoco and, Kerry played by
Amy Davidson ) and the young preteen - teen son Rory played by
Martin Spanjers . The show, created by veteran comedy writer
Tracy Gamble , derives its name and some of its elements from
W. Bruce Cameron 's
Book ''8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter'' (ISBN 0761123148).
On
September 11 ,
2003 ,
John Ritter suffered an
Aortic Dissection and died hours later. ABC later announced that the show would continue after a hiatus, and would incorporate the death of Ritter's character. The three new episodes that Ritter completed were aired with reflections from the cast.
The show returned on
November 4 ,
2003 with a one hour episode, "Goodbye", dedicated to Paul Hennessy's death. Subsequent episodes dealt with the family's reaction to his death and their moving on. The first four post-Ritter episodes were shot without a live audience, in a respectful transition from the shock of his passing.
Suzanne Pleshette and
James Garner guest starred as Cate's parents.
David Spade later guest starred as Cate's wayward nephew, CJ. Both Garner and Spade eventually received starring roles.
Shortly after the third season finale, rumors began circulating that ''8 Simple Rules'' was facing cancellation. In its first season, the show ranked a respectable 42nd in the
Nielsen Ratings . It did a little better when more viewers tuned in out of sympathy and curiosity after Ritter's unexpected death. But by the end of the second season, the show slipped to 50th. After ABC moved ''8 Simple Rules'' to
Friday Nights at 8:00 p.m. it had fallen to 94th in the Nielsen standings. Some observers simply could not get beyond the tragic absence of John Ritter and welcomed its end. But others applauded the show's portrayal of a family sticking together and growing after a staggering loss that millions of families have shared. Regardless of either view, it is certainly one of a few times, if not the only time, in television history that a series continued two full years beyond the death of its star.
But the Friday night ratings took their toll on the show that had already endured so much. The third season finale (in which Katey Sagal's character tells her family that she's been dating the school principal played by
Adam Arkin ) wasn't even aired for May
Sweeps . The finale received a 3.9/8 rating share which gave ABC a third place finish behind
NBC 's ''
Dateline '' (5.8/11.) and
CBS ' ''
Joan Of Arcadia '' (4.9/10.) which happened to star John Ritter's son
Jason (and, coincidentally, was also cancelled due to poor ratings).
On
May 17 ,
2005 , ''8 Simple Rules'' was officially cancelled by ABC.
Some fans believe that the post-Ritter show hit a creative nadir when a third season episode parodied the movie ''
Freaky Friday '' (the episode itself was aptly titled "Freaky Friday"). Fans who stuck with the show after John Ritter's death found the ''Freaky Friday'' episode to be absolutely
Cliché d, predictable, and full of cheap sexual humor. Many fans also felt that the storylines in the third (and final) season became decidingly more contrived when it became apparent that virtually the entire family (including James Garner and David Spade's characters) had a prominent role at the local high school. Also during the third season, the show seemed to rely quite heavily on special guest stars (such as
Pamela Anderson and Katey Sagal's old ''
Married... With Children '' colleague
Ed O'Neill ) to serve as quick ratings boosts.
"
Jump The Shark " founder
Jon Hein believed that the idea of ''8 Simple Rules'' bringing in David Spade was like bringing in
Scott Baio to play Chachi on ''
Happy Days ''. Hein added that while he thought Spade was really funny, the show should have ended immediately after John Ritter died.
Some have chastised and ridiculed ''8 Simple Rules'' for arguably being excessively sentimental (especially in the immediate aftermath of John Ritter's death). On the short-lived
WB sitcom ''
The Help '' (which incidentally, featured Katey Sagal's ''Married... with Children'' co-star
David Faustino ), one of the male characters joked about ''"Not seeing so much phoney emotion since the promos for 8 Simple Rules."'' It should be noted however that there was never a direct reference to John Ritter's death. Any other way,
TV Guide still placed that particular joke in their weekly ''"Cheers & Jeers"'' section as one of the ''.
Howard Stern also slightly mocked the considerably heavy-handed approach in the first few post-Ritter episodes.
The
Fox animated series ''
Family Guy '' mocked the original title for ''8 Simple Rules'' by titling one of the episodes ''
8 Simple Rules For Buying My Teenage Daughter ''. On the premiere episode of the Fox sitcom ''
The War At Home '', the main character portrayed by
Michael Rapaport boldly proclaimed ''"I only have one simple rule for dating my teenage daughter. If she sees your penis, I'll cut it off!"'
On
July 11 ,
2005 (less than two months after ABC officially cancelled it),
The WB Television Network announced it would air back-to-back repeats of all 76 episodes of ''8 Simple Rules'' from 4–5 p.m. weekdays from in
January 2 ,
2006 to September 2006 when it will be replaced by ''
Reba ''.
''8 Simple Rules'' currently airs its first and second seasons in the , the show was shown on
M6 .
The 8 Simple Rules mentioned in the series title represent a collection of beliefs that overprotective Paul is keen to enforce on any of his daughters' potential
Boyfriend s. The rules, as stated in the Bruce Cameron book are:
- If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure as heck not picking anything up.
- You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.
- I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to assure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric staple gun and fasten your trousers securely in place around your waist.
- I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate: when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I WILL kill you.
- In order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early."
- I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.
- As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process which can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?
- The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places lacking parents, policemen, or nuns. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka zipped up to her chin. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which feature chainsaws are okay. Hockey games are okay.
See Also: List of 8 Simple Rules episodes
