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Post by Kim Parker on Jun 23, 2018 20:05:23 GMT -5
Having many discussions online and in person with other MAJOR fans of the show, I tend to get mixed reviews on what people feel was the catalyst that turned fans off from Moesha. Some people say it was when Countess left for The Parker's, many others say it was the revelation that Dorian was Frank's child (which ultimately is why Sheryl Lee Ralph decided to leave).
For you, what would you say was a factor in why Moesha hit such a snag with viewers? How would you fix the dynamic of the show?
My honest opinion...
I personally feel that it's a mixture of both. When The Parker's came on, I believe you had a splitting of fans: Team Kim and Team Moesha, who made it very clear where they preferred to be every Tuesday (and then Monday) night. The Parker's proved to be a much needed, lighthearted comedy break from the bleak changes that were taking place on Moesha (I mean, watching besides watching Moesha feel her way through the working world and then college wasn't as bad as LITERALLY watching the Mitchell family dynamic change right before your eyes. Which brings me to being really sad that when Mo goes to college, they throw in Dorian and once again, leave Miles out of having any major story-lines).
However, Dorian becoming Frank's son, out of the blue, proved to rub many people the wrong way, including the stars of the show!! BUT the show (to me at least) was able to still keep its momentum with a lot of pressing topics and discussions that viewers found compelling enough to tune in, each and every week. Season 5 was by far, one of (if not) THE BEST seasons of Moesha. Too many "Oh Shit!" episodes to take place for it to NOT have been! But for Moesha to go from family comedy seasons 1-4 and then WHAM! Season 5-6- The "Dramedy" Seasons, it makes sense why some fans decided to fully jump ship and devote their time with Countess and Mo'Nique. I mean, there was RARELY anything serious taking place on The Parker's.
If it were up to me, Dorian would have stayed a LONG- period. He would NOT have become the illegitimate Mitchell. As for The Parker's, there would have been another crossover, just to feed that craving for the old gang to be back together again (Especially for the episode when Q comes back to town).
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Post by vodkie on Mar 11, 2019 10:23:03 GMT -5
I still say when they made Dorian become Frank's son in season 5 completely ruined the show.
There were still some good moments after that But even those good moments couldn't save the show.
They tried to Redeem Frank during season 6 (when Dorian went looking for his birth mother) by explaining he only cheated during a separation he thought was headed towards divorce.
But it just didn't work. The damage was already done.
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Post by vodkie on Apr 10, 2019 17:56:05 GMT -5
As I'm rewatching the show on Bounce,
I'm starting to think that maybe the character Dorian in general was the downfall, not just the fact they made him Frank's out of wedlock son.
The show was just so different after Kim left for the parkers
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Post by Kim Parker on Apr 21, 2019 22:21:30 GMT -5
I think he may have added a new dimension to the show, he wasn't the downfall. But overall, Moesha was becoming an adult, doing adult things. I'm not sure they (writers) knew how to make that transition between Moesha the child and Moesha the adult. And now that I think about it, most shows that focus on a teen or a child, have a hard time rebounding with audiences who've come to love the child-like antics of the main character. Once the child becomes of age, the show is over. The writers really tried to make grown up situations that Moesha was discovering, funny and a lot of them weren't.
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Post by vodkie on Apr 22, 2019 11:28:16 GMT -5
perhaps you're right.
it just seemed the show was running out of ideas once moesha was in college. A lot of shows don't survive once the main teenage character grows up.
I think this is why All of Nickelodeon's sitcoms of don't generally go past 3-5 seasons.
iCarly, Kenan & Kel, taina, Drake & Josh, Clarissa Explains it all, Zoey 101, Victorious, Salute your Shorts, Hey dude, Cousin Skeeter, True Jackson Vp, ETC
None of these have gone past 5 seasons. Some didn't even make it past 2 or 3 and they all had Teenagers as the main characters
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Post by vodkie on Jul 20, 2019 10:03:10 GMT -5
I'm in the facebook group "I was a nick kid" which is a group by Nickelodeon, a division of their "nick rewind" (formerly "the 90s are all that") segment on their TeenNick (formerly The-N) channel.
Someone made a post asking "Why are all the Nickelodeon sitcoms always cancelled?". I saw a reply that made me think About Moesha.
Someone said "They hire teens to play teens. Then the teens grow up and are too old for the role."
I'm beginning to think even without Dorian's story, that the show probably wouldn't have survived as long with Moesha As a college student. Because it just wasn't the same show anymore.
Nickelodeon had a Clairssa Explains it all Spin-off to be aired on CBS instead of nickelodeon, "Clarissa Now" with Clarissa as an adult, but it never went past a pilot because it wasn't picked up for series.
The Audience doesn't always embrace change
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