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More than just a ratings hit for NBC, the Norman Lear/Bud
Yorkin-produced Diff'rent Strokes was a pop-culture phenomenon, thanks
largely to the wise-beyond-his-years performance of star Gary Coleman. And while
the show has languished of late in syndication in a heavily edited form,
Columbia's first-season set amends that situation by packaging all 24 uncut
episodes on a three-disc set with some interesting extras. Launched in November
1978 as a mid-season replacement for the failed Joe Namath series The Waverly
Wonders, Diff'rent Strokes vaulted to no. 27 in the Nielsen ratings;
audiences responded to the warmth and humorous culture clash between wealthy
Philip Drummond (Lear vet Conrad Bain) and Arnold and Willis (Coleman and Todd
Bridges), the sons of his late housekeeper whom he adopted. Though Bain,
Bridges, Dana Plato (as Bain's daughter), and Charlotte Rae (as housekeeper Mrs.
Garrett) all delivered solid performances, it was Coleman's charm, his timing
and most of all, his catch phrase "Whatchoo talkin' bout?" that drew in viewers.
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