In the 80s, there was this weird notion that the most hilarious thing ever was when a child is brought in from the cold into a super-wealthy family. “Why,” you might ask, “would that be so appealing?”
Could it be the socioeconomic status of the country?
Or could it possibly be the awkward transition of the “me” generation into a more responsible group?
Hell, I dunno. What do I look like, some college book learned guy?
I mean, I guess you don’t know WHAT I look like – I might not even be the REAL Charles Knauf.
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| Might this be the real Charles Knauf? |
But I digress…
In this installment of Flashback to the Present, I’m taking a look at that lil’ rascal who was taken in by someone of the upper crust.
Who could this be?
No, not Ricky in Silver Spoons. No, not Arnold from Diff’rent Strokes.
No, not Penelope “Punky” Brewster from Punky Brewster.
I’m talking about the one, the only Webster Long from the 1983 show Webster.
Webster revolved around Webster Long, a young boy (Emmanuel Lewis) who lost his parents in an auto accident. In the aftermath, he was taken in by his godfather and ex-football star George Papadopoulos (Alex Karras) and George’s socialite wife, Katherine (Susan Clark).
On the surface, it’s a pretty typical 1980s show about a rambunctious child and the adults trying clever ways to teach him a lesson.
However, what makes the show a little more interesting is the show’s background.
The two leads, Alex Karras (an actual ex-NFL player) and Susan Clark were married in real life and had their own production company. The two were definitely a power couple and were approached by ABC to do a sitcom loosely based on their life – well, more just exploiting their chemistry around a silly plot – called Another Ballgame.
At the same time, young Emmanuel Lewis was discovered by ABC’s chief of programming, Lew Erlicht, and was immediately considered to star in a show. Since the network wanted to jump on Lewis’ career ASAP, they approached Karras, Clark and their team to work him into their story.
At first, the couple loved the idea; however, as the show progressed the two quickly found the mistake in that course of action.
What had started as an ensemble show about a new family was quickly overpowered by Lewis’ talent and utter cuteness. The network scrambled to shine the spotlight on their new star, much to Karras and Clark’s dismay. This did not go over well with the couple as they had imagined this series to be their launch pad to stardom.
In the first season, the writers of the series tried their best to include several storylines involving Karras and Clark’s relationship, but it was to no avail; after the initial few episodes were shot the network wanted Webster to be solely about Webster.
This caused incredible tension between the couple and their relationship with the network. The two were so P.O.ed about it all there were legendary arguments heard on set.
As imagined, this didn’t go over too well with 12 year-old Lewis and really messed him up as most children would in a situation where they thought they were responsible for the downfall of their costars.
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| It took years, but eventually Lewis stopped blaming himself and had some fun. |
Fortunately, after the first season Karras and Clark’s demands were met – with the only caveat being that Lewis had production credit on the same level as the couple. This actually worked out; with the couple satisfied and the group now working as a team the stories actually got better.
This is what I remember – the stories being better than most of the sitcoms with the same “kid gets adopted” theme.
Webster was always on during the summer in syndication and believe you me, I watched every episode. Don’t get me wrong, Webster was still schmaltzy.
However, with episodes like “God Bless the Child” where Webster questions the decision of a God that would take his parents and “A Friend in Need” where Webster learns that life is about perspective.
Personally, I think the show is worth a watch – especially if it was something you remember liking in the past. It’s way more than “another Diff’rent Strokes” and deserves to be acknowledged as a solid series.
Until next time!
