A Different World changed the world says a grandiose Debbie Allen

I for one do not appreciate Debbie’s hyperbole.

I guess in that I know who Jasmine Guy is and l some Marisa Tomei trivia but I'm pretty sure that's about it. And I liked the show even.

[quote] I for one do not appreciate Debbie’s hyperbole.

Hyperbole is part of her craft.

I was VERY disappointed when I grew up and went to a boring ass white college.

I've always hated Debbie Allen.

I remember her interpretative dance to Saving Private Ryan on the Oscars. I think that ended her work on them.

Living Single was way better.

Hyperbole is the worst thing in the universe.

Allen's full quote. “We changed the world with that show,” Allen says. “We did stories about racism, we did stories about the L.A. riots…we were one of the first shows to address AIDS.”

Surely she meant the TV landscape and even then she's not correct because Norman Lear series were tackling heady themes. But yes, by the time A DIFFERENT WORLD came on sitcoms were only tackling social issues in their "very special" episodes.

I wonder if she fucked Bill?

R5 totally agree. I hate her too.

Her and her sister have always been so impressed with themselves.

R12 so true, it's very off-putting.

The show was garbage. It was not funny or interesting, the characters were all one-dimensional, and they did a bunch of Facts of Life-caliber "very special episodes" that everyone involved now remembers as Great Art.

It was a time slot hit, and as soon as Cosby left the air, its ratings collapsed. It lasted one season without a Cosby Show lead-in.

But to hear the cast members tell it in that oral history, it never won an Emmy and was canceled after six seasons because of racism.

No, it never won an Emmy because it was Facts of Life-caliber junk, and it was canceled because it fell from #17 to #71 in the ratings when it was given the 8pm Thursday leadoff slot.

NBC must have been pissed they invested that valuable post-Cosby timeslot for years in a show that couldn't draw viewers on its own.

She fired Marisa Tomei and Tomei won an Oscar a few years later. Sweet revenge for Tomei.

"I got the gig because my sister was second lead on The Cosby Show."

Allen is up her own ass but you can't deny the changes she made for the show were for the better. I found the first season dull. I stopped watching. Bonet just didn't work as a lead. Tomei never fit in, thought it's nice to hear Lewis praise both of them.

Making Hardison and Guy the leads workerd surprisingly well. Dwayne and Whitley had amazing chemistry. The storylines were better. The guest stars were great.

I noticed on the Stars in the House reunion of the cast of Carrie the Musical nobody talks much about Allen.

(Buckley said Allen had her running wind sprints but I think that is the only mention and Allen isn't among the guests. I assume she didn't make Barbara Cook run wind sprints.)

[quote]Guy: That year NBC changed our time slot and put us up against Martin. I felt a plantation mentality dictating to us for the first time, because there was no reason for that, other than we had a Black show and [Fox] had a Black show. It was easy to let go of that relationship, let me just say that.

This is not the truth, Jasmine.

NBC changed the time slot because the show was flopping against The Simpsons. ADW moved back to 8:30 against Martin and was replaced at 8 by ... a sitcom starring Patti LaBelle, Vivica A. Fox and Morris Chestnut (Out All Night).

Yes, NBC had such a plantation mentality that they made Black-focused shows their big strategy for that season. They gave ADW the Cosby slot, and added three Black-focused sitcoms (Out All Night, Rhythm & Blues, and a comedy with Malcolm Jamal-Warner as a social worker). And they had Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as an established hit.

OMG I always hated her too!! But why exactly? LOL pls help me ID it. Pls put it into words. Same thing w/her sister. What's this about? Eager to find out. And I will, quickly, here at Datalounge University. Why go anywhere else for reliable information?

Debbie's interpretive dance numbers (to the Best Picture nominees) on the Oscars were always lambasted. Gil Cates was the producer for the Oscars for years and was somehow enamored with Debbie. When Cates was no longer producing the show, they got rid of Debbie. People used to mock those numbers every year, and that included the mainstream press.

r14 that's also how I remember ADW. It was not a ground-breaking sitcom, it was basically in the same league as Growing Pains and Facts of Life. And it was never a huge hit like Cosby was.

R19 Plantation mentality?! Wow, she is reaching with that nonsense.

The main reason ADW ended when it did is because a show built around a group of people in college or high school only has so long before it starts to look sad. 90210 lasted too long because after they graduated I lost interest.

Another uppidy coloured on tv? That's why I'll always prefer radio.

A Different World sucked overall. It had some good moments but otherwise it just stunk, and Lisa Bonet was large part reason why.

That power NYC AA couple Dr. and Mrs. Heathcliff Huxtable (she was a high powered corporate attorney), who have such a lame ass daughter was just beyond one's comprehension.

The Huxtables were epitome of striving highly educated, cultured and urbane African Americans. You get the impression from both sets of grandparents that it ran in the family on both sides. Denise Huxtable was just weak assed and lazy. Happily for all concerned Lisa Bonet got pregnant and left after first season.

Bringing in Debbie Allen to reorientate the show towards more of a focus on traditional all AA colleges helped some, but the show really just didn't come together IMHO.

Debbie Allen also believes that Fame "changed the world's views of the arts."

My grandmother enjoyed her work as Drucilla Winters on the Young and the Restless.

It helped us learn who Jasmine Guy is and who broke up in front of her house.

Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen & Bumper Robinson starred in an adaptation of John Henry Redwood's play, The Old Settler, set in Harlem New York City in the 1940s.

It was quite good IMHO and the dynamics between real life sisters added something to the mix. By the end was rather sad and nearly weeping.

Both women should have won Oscars for their performances that changed the world, R30!

It was a TV production, but exceptions should have been made!

R31

When program first aired on local PBS station had no clue. But as was comfortable and had snacks and beverage ready sat down to give it a chance. Was hooked from the first five minutes! Hahaha..

So much so looked to see when PBS was going to repeat so could record, and did. Have watched that recording of "The Old Settler" so many times since have nearly worn the thing out.

Again believe lead actresses being also sisters in real life really helped their performances. All siblings have their ways and usually there's always some fussing and fighting going on, but beneath it all there is also love.

As said before it's the end that gets you, we the audience can see it coming, but that's another story.

It's unwatchable now, must see back then. Bonet was the true star and the show lost steam with her departure. Reading between the lines there was jealousy directed against the star and she was given a hard time.

Did anyone besides Tomei have a career after this show ?

R33

That may or may not have been true, but Lisa Bonet becoming pregnant forced the issue so we'll never know what a second season with her would have resolved issues. Bill Cosby simply felt American audiences wouldn't accept a Denise Huxtable as unwed mother, and suits agreed with his position.

Many actresses starring in prime time or other television shows concealed or worked around their pregnancies. Elizabeth Montgomery was expecting her first child when pilot and first season of Bewitched was filmed. Another subsequent pregnancy was dealt with same way.... So there was always that precedent for Lisa Bonet, but the show had other issues (as first seasons nearly always do), that needed addressing.

off topic, but i LOVE LOVE Marisa Tomei! always have....

Blanche: Uh, excuse me, sir. We are looking for a leather jacket that got mixed up with a box of clothes we donated. It was a terrible mistake.

Sophia: It was not a terrible mistake. It was a regular mistake. A terrible mistake is when you forget that A Different World follows Cosby. --"Brother, Can You Spare That Jacket?" December 3, 1988

Kind of funny that another NBC show roasted A Different World

I would have sex with Dwayne Wayne.

I bought Jasmine Guy's cd in 1990.

R39 I got that album from the library and loved it.

Debbie Allen reminds me of Nikole Hannah Jones

I've never seen A Different World. All six seasons are now available on Amazon Prime. I like Debbie Allen, so I'mma start with season 2.

R39 I did too!

[quote]I wonder if she fucked Bill?

I wonder if she even knows.

I saw Jasmine Guy as Velma in Chicago (she did the tour).

I was shocked at how good she was. She nailed the dancing.

I did as well, r45. She was phenomenal.

With the show, Debbie Allen also blessed the world with Jada Pinkett.

Not surprised that racist Datalounge has a problem with someone as innocuous as Debbie Allen.

Patti Labelle vs Diahann Carroll was hilarious and you will never see stuff like this on TV again. Lisa Bonet added nothing to the show and anyone who says the show went downhill after she left has no taste at all.

r48 people have been snarking on Debbie Allen for decades.

I loved that show, and I like Debbie Allen.

It may be hyperbole to say it changed the world, but it very much DID influence a generation of fans that watched it.

[quote] I bought Jasmine Guy's cd in 1990.

Sounds like something we can work with!

I'm sure Miss Debbie will dry her tears about your mean comments on her Kennedy Center Award.

The MENS up in this video!

*lifts caftan*

WHITE PEOPLE STAY PRESS THAT THEIR HIT SHOWS HAD TO BE MANUFACTURED BY HOLLYWOOD WITH ENDLESS PROMOTION FORCED DOWN EVERYONE'S THROATS(NO GAG), WHEN THE RATINGS STRUGGLE AT FIRST. BLACK SHOWS ARE HIT SHOWS FROM THE BEGINNING, BECAUSE WE WOULD BE CANCELED OTHERWISE. YOU KNOW WHAT SHE MEANS: WITHIN THE REALM OF ENTERTAINMENT. ARTSY PEOPLE ALWAYS HAVE A GRANDIOSE STYLE OF PEOPLE; ONE YOU SIMPLE MINDED, BASIC BITCHES, CUNT ENVY ASS THOTS ARE EASILY OFFENDED BY.

The trippy thread about Jasmine Guy's (old) House.

It's worth a gander.

C'mon, folks, give A Different World its due. At least it acknowledged it had Black people on its show (unlike Cosby).

The only good thing that cane out of that show was Marisa.

I would have let Dwayne Wayne and Ron take turns.

Don't think a single one of the younger cast members from Cosby Show have gone onto great careers in acting. Lisa Bonet did that nasty movie with Micky Rourke and that seemed to be the end of her career.

Raven Symone who came on the Cosby Show as a little girl probably is most famous of them all today.

As for A Different World Jasmine Guy has done well enough, Kadeem Hardison has had some work but still a very small CV overall. Cree Summer of course is fantastic and has tons of things under her belt. Dawnn Lewis went on to "Hanging With Mr. Cooper" and lots of other subsequent work. Marisa Tomei, Jada Pinket Smith, Bumper Robinson, also have gone on to do well.

All in all would say main ensemble case from ADW fared far better than TCS. Oh and it hit news this week that Bill Cosby has been denied parole because he won't go through with sexual predator treatments as mandated by terms of any potential release.

I loved A Different World but it was mainly for Whitley. One of my all time favourite tv characters.

Another one on there who has made it big is Cree Summer. She does a lot of voiceover work and voices for cartoon characters.

People hate on Jada but Jada works. If she's not doing TV or films she has her successful Youtube series.

To me Cree has the best career because she's a prolific voiceover actor. Sure Tomei has an Oscar but her career has been on and off.

Glynn Turman always works.

The biggest failure is Darryl Bell who not only washed out as an actor but he fucked up his family's fortune when took over his family business after his father died. Tempest Bledsoe (Vanessa from The Cosby Show) was propping him up because she was very wise with her money.

R60 Whitley was great. Too bad ADW and Designing Women were on different networks, because I'd have loved to seen a crossover featuring Suzanne and Whitley, two of the most beautiful and spoiled Southern Belles in the history of TV.

Keshia Knight Pulliam (Rudy on The Cosby Show) did an episode on ADW, and grew into an attractive young woman.

Her career is up and down with not very much work. What of it she gets is Tyler Perry's Midea series, and that may have been because they were dating for awhile.

R64 She really is beautiful, but I always considered her the best looking Cosby kid. I think the Cosby actors have suffered recently because of their connection to BC. At least with ADW, there is more of separation between them and him.

Keshia Knight Pulliam being molested by "Big Sal" in prison.

IMHO KKP did pretty good acting in that film showing a surprising range. With a bit more seasoning think she'd make a very good actress, but then there would have to be roles for AA actresses for her to get.

The choreography for "Carrie: The Musical" changed the world.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Geoffrey Owens also had a recent guest spot on Mythic Quest, the Apple+ series about video game developers from some of the It's Always Sunny people.

(It's a really funny show, worth checking out.)

A Different World wasn't the best show on television, but the writing, and some of the acting was certainly better than Facts of Life. Granted, it could be hit and miss, but generally it was solid.

This is a wonderful scene from a wonderful episode. The sad part is it would never EVER play today.

R70 yes, it had a couple of really great episodes but a lot of very entertaining solid ones.

I found it far, far superior to the Cosby Show, which to me lost most of the wan, tepid charms it ever had after Season 3 or so.

Keisha and Tyler Perry dating?! LOL.

[quote]People hate on Jada but Jada works. If she's not doing TV or films she has her successful Youtube series.

This place hates on any black entertainer who has a sense of pride and sense of self worth about what they do. But let it be Meryl or Jessica Lange saying the same stuff and they'd be looking to fight anyone who disagrees with them.

Regarding Jada, she grew into a good actress, but she was too rough around the edges on ADW. She would have been all wrong for the Tisha Campbell episode. I think she finally got the hang of it in the second half of the last season. The episode where Lena confronts her father is excellent.

Debbie Allen thinks she's some living legend, bitch was forgotten about until Shonda Rhimes threw her a bone and gave her a role on Grey's, at which point she forced her way into a producing role.

Malcolm Jamal-Warner is on The Resident - he's not bad. He's not GOOD - but he's not bad.

The thing I like about Malcolm Jamal-Warner is that unlike Rick Schroeder or Kirk Cameron, he doesn't seem to be a dick. I dunno, maybe it's because Cosby was the unmistakable alpha male on his show?

Lisa Bonnet was the star of both shows. They were jealous of her and went after her, a young actress. That's not woke, that's a pretty disturbed person. She could have been American's sweetheart, this level, but the producers of those shows took her out.

[quote]Debbie Allen thinks she's some living legend, bitch was forgotten about until Shonda Rhimes threw her a bone and gave her a role on Grey's,

That happens

I liked Cosby and A Different World.

R78 Thanks for the input Bill.

R76 Jason Momoa

R74 he is so hot on The Resident, dont care about the acting skill. Everytime i watch i just want him to do check up on my anal cavity

R76 = Zoe Kravitz

If you think Lisa was the star of that show you are/were lost hunny! If feel bad that Lisa got the cold shoulder because she dared challenge POS Cosby, but that doesnt change my opinion of her acting. Lisa was a beautiful light-skinned young lady at that time in the 90s when that was on trend. As Aretha would say after singing the theme to this very show, "gowns, beautiful gowns". Unfortunately it took more than that to carry a sitcom! Lisa was pretty but she didnt have skills like her peers Halle Berry, etc.

The Blacks of Life?

Girl please......

Probably because she's a dancer, r45.

[quote] Lisa Bonnet

This wasn't Little House on the Prairie, bitch!

R54 blacks are only 13% of the U.S. population. An all-black cast show can't survive without the viewership of whites. THE COSBY SHOW and THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR were big hits on network TV because they appealed to whites. Just like THE COLOR PURPLE was a blockbuster hit at the box office (#4 of 1985) due to whites. In fact, the black community largely shunned the movie, initially. It wasn't until the '90s that they came around to it, thanks in part to Oprah, who promoted it and the book on her show.

I bought Jasmine’s CD, too - Did anyone else get Cree Summer’s Street Faerie and love it? I still have mine, it holds up!

A different world was on Netflix for a very brief period. I watched a few seasons and I loved it. I used to watch it on the Oxygen channel.

[quote] blacks are only 13% of the U.S. population. An all-black cast show can't survive without the viewership of whites. THE COSBY SHOW and THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR were big hits on network TV because they appealed to whites. Just like THE COLOR PURPLE was a blockbuster hit at the box office (#4 of 1985) due to whites. In fact, the black community largely shunned the movie, initially. It wasn't until the '90s that they came around to it, thanks in part to Oprah, who promoted it and the book on her show.

You had me until halfway through. But many in the black community knew that book very well from day one. Some did not and some bought into the controversy over the movie at the time. But "The Blacks" are not a single monolithic identity or opinion any more than The Whites are.

"But "The Blacks" are not a single monolithic identity or opinion any more than The Whites are."

Tell that to Al Sharpton.