The Live episode
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Gimme a Break!
jarrodmcdonald-1 — 10 years ago(August 16, 2015 02:16 PM)
One of the show's episodes was filmed/broadcast live. It's the one called 'Cat Story.' I was wondering what everyone thought of it.
I noticed that they did not use Joey much in it, probably because it would have been harder for a kid to get through a live taping without getting too nervous and making mistakes..?
In the beginning, Nell addresses the camera telling the audience that this is a live show. We also get to see people in the studio audience.
This is one of my favorite episodes of the whole series. -
stevenackerman69 — 10 years ago(August 18, 2015 11:47 PM)
Uh, wrong season. It was season 4 that they did Cat Story live. I enjoyed the episode because there were some great funny moments in it, from the Chief asking about the cat being tied to the garage and how it wasn't a good idea because he had an automatic garage door opener, as well as Grandpa responding to Katie's line about Simpson never being a stick in the mud by saying, "Until today." Joey was in the episode to some degree, although maybe you are right, it would've been hard for a kid to handle all those lines, yet, he had a good scene with Nell where Nell sings Down by The Riverside. This was also near the end of Dolph Sweet's life and although you see he is thin, he was a trooper with a lot of lines.
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jarrodmcdonald-1 — 10 years ago(August 19, 2015 04:37 PM)
Gimme a Break was one of a handful of shows that experimented with live broadcasts on NBC, long after most shows switched to the film or videotape format. The medical drama ER also had a live episode on NBC.
I agree that Sweet was a trooper he seemed quite invigorated by the challenge of doing a live show, probably because it harkened back to his early days as an actor in theatre and on soaps where they usually had to do everything in one take. -
stevenackerman69 — 10 years ago(October 28, 2015 05:55 PM)
Well, here you had to get it all done right in one take, since it was live, like theater. Otherwise they did tape in front of a live audience, but if someone messed up a line, they would stop and go back. Of course, if you did a lot of theater in the past, maybe the taping mistakes would be minimal.
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jarrodmcdonald-1 — 10 years ago(November 28, 2015 06:51 AM)
I agree. I would think the mistakes were minimal, at least from the leads. Nell and Dolph both came from a theatre background and were very well trained. And someone like John Hoyt had been acting on screen (in movies) since the late 1940s and with all his experience he was undoubtedly a pro. Telma Hopkins went on to have a long career in television, so she was up to the task as well.
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stevenackerman69 — 10 years ago(December 04, 2015 02:32 AM)
Lara Jill Miller also came from theater. She did theater in her hometown and did Music Man with Dick Van Dyke on the road and Broadway before doing GAB. Most actors have done stage work before they get to TV to begin with.
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jarrodmcdonald-1 — 10 years ago(December 08, 2015 11:42 AM)
Most but not all. Didn't the Lawrence boys start in commercials? Some get on TV, because they have done successful print ads or commercials or are related to a casting director or network executive.
Lara Jill's training shines through. Laurie Hendler had done some guest starring roles on previous series. I remember her from a standout episode of 'Magnum P.I.' which I think she did right before Gimme a Break! started. -
stevenackerman69 — 10 years ago(January 23, 2016 04:30 PM)
I have no idea. If you look at their credits on here, you will see their early TV credits, but maybe their bios will say some other stuff as well. I have the feeling that nobody just gets on a series without having gone through training and stage work and doing guest appearances on other shows. If you read Barry Williams' book Growing Up Brady, you can see he had many guest appearances on other shows before he became a series regular on Brady Bunch.
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jarrodmcdonald-1 — 10 years ago(February 18, 2016 05:17 PM)
Yes, most of them work their way up, (unless they're the child of a producer or star and just handed a major role off the bat).
Yesterday I watched an episode of 'St. Elsewhere' on Hulu from 1982. The little girl playing Terence Knox's daughter was Candace Cameron. I didn't even recognize her at first. This was several years before she wound up on 'Full House.' -
stevenackerman69 — 9 years ago(November 06, 2016 04:34 AM)
No problem. The episodes are all on youtube uncut (except the Ray Parker, Jr. episode). Great to watch them again. By the way, a little joke for you. Since you mentioned Ferris' quote let me tell you my cousin did the score for that film.
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stevenackerman69 — 9 years ago(May 20, 2016 02:40 PM)
This episode was late in the fourth season of the series. It was done live, like that Saturday Night Live show. Watch it on youtube and you can see the live moments. It went very well with very few mistakes.