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Was continuing this series after Ritter’s death a good idea?

If the star of a network television show suddenly passed away, what do you think should happen? 

The show should end, right? 

That’s what I always thought until John Ritter suffered from an aortic dissection while filming the second season of 8 Simple Rules ... for Dating My Teenage Daughter. 

The first couple of episodes were already in the can but nearly a whole season was left to shoot.  Instead of stopping there with the head of the family passing on, the producers brought on two new actors to fill in - the grandfather (James Garner) and a nephew, C.J. (David Spade).  After airing Ritter’s last episodes they shortened the title to 8 Simple Rules and they were off in a slightly new direction. To deal with the sudden death of the actor in real life the writers wrote the same thing for his character, Paul.  A few episodes in there is an hour long installment dealing with Paul’s untimely passing.  The laugh track is not there and they didn’t film with an audience.  I’m sure the emotions ran high during the taping of the post-funeral happenings of the Hennessey family, and many of them were genuine in reaction to their friend’s demise. 

The episode is highly effective. You feel what the family goes through and anyone who has watched John Ritter since his bumbling days as Jack Tripper cannot help but get a little misty-eyed. The addition of Garner in the grandfather role is a bit shaky at first, but eventually the show begins to find a new foothold when Spade enters the house.  Things completely change in regards to the overall tone.  Everything becomes about the single mother with three kids, a cantankerous old man and the thirtysomething flaky nephew.  The premise is not horrible, but it just doesn’t hold the same magic Ritter shed across the screen.

For the DVD release there is nothing added for the fan.  Sure, you get all of the episodes, but there are no extras.  I figured they would have at least thrown a short vignette of some of Ritter’s work, even if just on this show, as a sort of remembrance.  Nope.  Maybe if the studio decides to finish out the series with the third (and final) season they will give the consumer a little more to work with.

Fans of the show will want to pick this up, and fans of Ritter might not want to miss the opportunity to see some of the man’s last work.  Sure the series lost some of its appeal after the tragic events and never recaptured that same feel, but you may be surprised at some of the laughs the series still produced.

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