This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Dreadfully Boring

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Unlike movies which appear once, it's hard to rate a TV show since you're dealing with dozens of episodes and several seasons.For 'Gimme a Break!', the synopsis on TV reads: 'A feisty housekeeper named Nell helps a widowed police chief raise his three daughters'. This was true for the first few seasons and this was when the show was at it's best.It dealt with controversial issues but gave a balanced approach as the chief represented the more conservative side and Nell represented the more liberal side. Unfortunately, the actor Dolph Sweet ran into health problems during the show's run and soon past away. I think this changed the nature of the show and it was never the same after.The show turned more into a talent exhibition for Nell Carter and her singing voice and away from family comedy. By the last season, she was no longer a housekeeper, nor helping a widowed police chief nor raising three daughters. The whole successful premise of the show was gone and the show was deservedly cancelled as it was not nearly as funny anymore.Had Dolph Sweet not incurred health problems, who knows what might have been.

This is one of many shows I used to watch just because it was on, not because I particularly enjoyed it. All these years later I watched a couple episodes just to "check in", and it was pretty much as I'd remembered it. Now, maybe it's just because I watched the three or four episodes that were the exception to the rule, but... didn't that oldest daughter ever have any lines? I saw episodes from Seasons One and Two and it seemed like the middle and younger daughters got all the speaking parts, and the youngest one all the zingers. The blonde oldest girl was very pretty but didn't have much to do, just a "hi Nell" or "bye Dad" and that was it. She might as well not have been there at all. Never could quite figure out what made Nell Carter such a big deal, either... I know she did musicals but her singing voice is like chalk on a blackboard, very nasal. Typical family situation comedy, nothing special.

This show was one of my favorite's as a kid growing up in the 1980s It had me laughing constantly. Gimme a Break starred the late great Nell Carter who plays a housekeeper that promises her friend to take care of her husband and three daughters when she dies. The husband (played by Dolph Sweet) is the chief of police of Glenlawn CA. so it is a very stressful job on top of raising his daughters without their mother, But the chemistry Nell and Dolph had was terrific. Sadly Dolph Sweet passed away during the 3rd season but the show was able to continue thanks to a stellar cast including the 3 daughters Katie, Samantha, and Julie (Kari Michaelsen, Lara Jill Miller and Lauri Hendler) also Silver screen legend John Hoyt as Grandpa Stanley, Howard Morton as the lovable but bumbling Officer Simpson as well as Thelma Hopkins as Addie and Joey Lawrence round out the cast. But the show belong to Nell Carter who was a joy to watch. Give her a break!

Nell Carter will always be known as Nell from Gimme a Break than her Broadway background which included singing and dancing. Sadly, she died in her fifties. She plays a beloved housekeeper in a Caucasian American home led by the wonderful Dolph Sweet who passed away during the show's run. The cast also included three teenage daughters. The show had an extended family of regular cast members like Telma Hopkins who played Nell's best friend. Sweet's character was a police chief of Glenlawn, California. Over the years during it's run, Nell welcomed Joey and Matthew Laurence and other cast members. The show dealt with sensitive topics like depression, suicide, teenage angst, death, loss, racism, etc., without being preachy or dumb. It was never a critical favorite but you felt at home with Nell and the gang.