The show was very difficult to get through, though I thought the addition (for tonight's episode) of fellow 1970s TV legends James Garner and Suzanne Pleshette to be very nice touches.
My dad died when I was 15. I know what those "TV kids" are feeling, and to some extent, the real-life actors are feeling as well. I thought the show handled all of the emotion very well.
But that said, this show should end. Its concept was, IMHO, weak to begin with (I found the two daughters almost intolerable, though I appreciated the final idea, expressed last night in the fictional "last column" written by Ritter's character, that it's good for kids to not fear their parents)...during most of the series' run, the attitudes expressed by the daughters pissed me off a lot, to the point I often found myself telling my own daughters not to behave like the characters did.
It was, IMHO, misguided with Ritter. It can't be anything but awful without him. Last night's episode was a fitting tribute for the fallen actor. It let us all feel that we'll miss him.
Jim
