8 Simple Rules
8 Simple Rules (originally 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter) is an American sitcom television series originally starring John Ritter and Katey Sagal as middle-class parents Paul and Cate Hennessy, raising their three children. Kaley Cuoco, Amy Davidson, and Martin Spanjers co-starred as their teenage kids: Bridget, Kerry, and Rory Hennessy. The series ran on ABC from September 17, 2002, to April 15, 2005. The first season focused on Paul being left in charge of the children after Cate takes a full-time job as a nurse, with comedic emphasis on his often  strict rules concerning his daughters and dating. The series' name and premise were derived from the book "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" by W. Bruce Cameron. While "8 Simple Rules" was renewed for a second season and production had begun, Ritter's sudden death on September 11, 2003, left the series in an uncertain position. After a hiatus, the series returned with killing off his character. James Garner and David Spade later joined the main cast as Cate's father Jim Egan and her nephew C.J. Barnes. After three seasons, ABC cancelled "8 Simple Rules" in May  2005 because of low ratings. Premise. The rules are: The third season (after Ritter's death) took a creative turn, revolving more around cousin C.J. (David Spade) and grandfather Jim (James Garner) rather than the Hennessy children. After the novelty of newly added ensemble characters wore off, the series returned to its original format. Production. Ritter's death. The first three episodes of the series' second season had been completed when Ritter experienced discomfort during a rehearsal on the afternoon of September 11, 2003. Crew members took him to a nearby hospital, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, where he was  misdiagnosed as having a heart attack and, as a result, his condition had worsened when physicians later diagnosed him with an aortic dissection. He died that evening at the age of 54. Following Ritter's death, ABC announced that "8 Simple Rules" would continue after a hiatus, and would incorporate the death of Ritter's character. The three new episodes that Ritter had completed were aired with an introduction by Sagal. "8 Simple Rules" returned two months after Ritter's death with a one-hour episode, "Goodbye", which was turned into a tribute to Ritter's character. Subsequent episodes dealt  with the family's reaction to his death and how they moved on from it. The first four post-Ritter episodes were shot without a live audience with James Garner and Suzanne Pleshette guest-starring as Cate's strict parents and David Spade guest-starring as Cate's wayward nephew, C.J. Barnes. Garner and Spade later received starring roles in order to fill the void left by Ritter for the remainder of the series' run. Third season and cancellation. Before Ritter's death, "8 Simple Rules" ranked 42nd in the Nielsen ratings. After Ritter's death, it had slipped to  50th, but was renewed for a third season, in which ABC moved the series to Friday at 8:00 p.m. as part of its "TGIF" comedy line-up. The series' creator and show-runner, Tracy Gamble, left the series for a time over creative differences prior to the third season, but he later returned as a consulting producer midway through the season. Gamble was replaced by Judd Pillot and John Peaslee, who had performed the same role in the final season of Spade's sitcom "Just Shoot Me!". The series plunged to 94th in the ratings. Even before the third-season  finale's airing, rumors began circulating that "8 Simple Rules" was facing cancellation because of Ritter's death and poor ratings. The Friday night "death slot" ratings took their toll on "8 Simple Rules". The third-season finale was not aired for May sweeps. The finale received a 3.9/8 rating share, which gave ABC a third-place finish behind NBC's "Dateline" (5.8/11) and CBS's "Joan of Arcadia" (4.9/10), which starred Ritter's son, Jason. ABC officially cancelled "8 Simple Rules" in May 2005. Syndication. While the ratings for "8 Simple Rules" were well above those of the surrounding  TGIF shows during the show's third season, ABC canceled it because a perceived inability to sell reruns of the show into syndication; a fourth season would have given the show one hundred episodes, traditionally considered the minimum number of episodes necessary for a show to successfully enter daily syndication. On July 11, 2005 (less than two months after ABC officially canceled the show), The WB network announced that it would air all 76 episodes of "8 Simple Rules" from 4–5 p.m. as part of its replacement of Kids' WB with the Daytime WB block, aimed at a broader audience . The show aired weekdays from January 2, 2006, to September 15, 2006, when it was replaced by "Reba" upon the merger of UPN and The WB into The CW. On Tuesday, June 12, 2007, the show joined the ABC Family lineup, airing weekdays from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. In September 2008, the show began airing from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., continuing at that time until October 10, 2008. On October 3, 2009, "8 Simple Rules" returned to ABC Family, having been absent for a year, airing on Saturdays from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00  p.m. Airings have been sporadic because of the channel's unpredictable movie schedule and holiday programming block. On February 8, 2010, the series was added back to ABC Family's weekday lineup, airing from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, replacing "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". After a few more months of absence, "8 Simple Rules" resumed on ABC Family at 7:00 p.m. ET on select weekend mornings, beginning on July 18, 2010. In mid-December 2012, "8 Simple Rules" was removed from ABC Family's weekday lineup, only to be added back in September 2013. The series was  removed from the network's lineup once again in 2014. In 2003, the show began airing in the UK on the Disney Channel, with the episodes edited for a children's audience. It was picked up by ABC1, which aired it until the channel's closure in 2007. The same year, Channel 5 began airing Season 1 of the series. From 2008, all three seasons of the show were aired on 5*. The series was aired uncut on subsequent channels following its cancellation by Disney Channel. Both Channel 5 and 5* aired the series in its original widescreen format. Danish  channel TV3 and Canadian channels YTV and ABC Spark (the Canadian version of Freeform) have also carried the series. The series was shown on Irish channel RTÉ Two. Later, rights to the show were acquired by TG4, which aired the series weeknights at 5:35 p.m. The series was shown on both channels uncut, despite the early time of day, but the show was issued an age rating. On RTÉ Two, it was issued a "" rating and, on TG4, a "12" rating. Comedy Central UK obtained the rights to the show and started airing it in the UK on June 12 , 2017. Israeli satellite provider yes has also carried the show, using its shortened title "8 Simple Rules" in Hebrew ("8 כללים פשוטים"). YTV in Canada has aired the show on and off since its cancellation. Home media. On August 7, 2007, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Season 1 of "8 Simple Rules" on DVD in Region 1. Season 1 was released in the UK on September 1, 2008. In August 2008, Lionsgate Home Entertainment announced that it had acquired the rights to the series from ABC Studios. Lionsgate subsequently released Season 2 on DVD in Region 1 on May  19, 2009. Reception. Critical reception. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season reports a 57% approval rating, based on 21 reviews. In a review for "Variety", Michael Speier deemed the series unoriginal, but did praise the cast performances, especially John Ritter. Critical of the show's humor, he did go on to comment, "nothing even remotely deep here, but “Rules” isn’t as silly as some of its plotlines suggest. Going for the mass appeal, bow’s reach goes a little too far, trying to appease every single potential audience member off the bat with standard-fare jokes  about clothing, dating and busy spouses. It would really be something if execs went for the slowburn once in a while, letting some of these shows breathe before jamming punchlines down viewers’ throats." The second season reports a 60% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 5 reviews.