Maybe it's unfair to the cast and crew that I would say this, but: 8 Simple Rules was never better than it is in this series of episodes, right here, dealing with the loss of John Ritter. The whole team put together a perfect balance of sitcom humor and raw emotion—there's no way the remaining main cast members are "acting" grief-stricken.
Blessedly few shows ever have to deal with an unplanned main-character death, but 8 Simple Rules stands far above most of its peers in this department. Kudos to the writers for setting up the dominos, and bravo to the cast for harnessing everything they felt in the weeks following Ritter's sudden passing and pouring it into a series of heart-wrenching performances.
Today, both WGA (and SAG-AFTRA) members are on strike, in part, because TV and movie producers want to use more AI tools instead of relying on human creativity. Last-minute rewrites such as those needed at this point in the run of 8 Simple Rules clearly demonstrate what a team of humans can accomplish, under time pressure. Despite losing its headline star, the show was only off the air for a month while the production regrouped, which is pretty incredible. None of that could have happened without the WGA members responsible for creating a new storyline, and the SAG-AFTRA members who then brought it to life on-screen.
Support the human creators whose work you enjoy, people. I've seen ChatGPT's attempts to write a story, and they're not worth it.
Review by dgwVIP 9BlockedParent2023-08-02T01:51:19Z
Maybe it's unfair to the cast and crew that I would say this, but: 8 Simple Rules was never better than it is in this series of episodes, right here, dealing with the loss of John Ritter. The whole team put together a perfect balance of sitcom humor and raw emotion—there's no way the remaining main cast members are "acting" grief-stricken.
Blessedly few shows ever have to deal with an unplanned main-character death, but 8 Simple Rules stands far above most of its peers in this department. Kudos to the writers for setting up the dominos, and bravo to the cast for harnessing everything they felt in the weeks following Ritter's sudden passing and pouring it into a series of heart-wrenching performances.
Today, both WGA (and SAG-AFTRA) members are on strike, in part, because TV and movie producers want to use more AI tools instead of relying on human creativity. Last-minute rewrites such as those needed at this point in the run of 8 Simple Rules clearly demonstrate what a team of humans can accomplish, under time pressure. Despite losing its headline star, the show was only off the air for a month while the production regrouped, which is pretty incredible. None of that could have happened without the WGA members responsible for creating a new storyline, and the SAG-AFTRA members who then brought it to life on-screen.
Support the human creators whose work you enjoy, people. I've seen ChatGPT's attempts to write a story, and they're not worth it.