8 Simple Rules

[[File:Eight_Simple_Rules_334.jpg|fram]

Based on a popular W. Bruce Cameron column, 8 Simple Rules is your basic John Ritte] and [[Married... with Children|Kate] [[Futurama|Sagal) attempt to ride herd on the burgeoning love life of their teenage daughters, bookish Kerry (Amy Davidson) and promiscuous Bridget (Kaley Cuoco). Rounding out the family is son Rory (Martin Spanjers), who is Paul's only other source of testosterone, and thus they bond often.

The premise was good and it worked well... until the show was derailed by the death of John Ritter. The resultant Retool brought in Cate's cantankerous father Jim (James Garner) and slacker nephew C.J. (David Spade). Because of Ritter's death, the show's name was changed from the quirky 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter to simply 8 Simple Rules. The rating also took a plunge shortly after episodes dealing with Paul's death and it was cancelled within two years.

The series lasted from September 2002 to April 2005, a total of 76 episodes in 3 seasons.

"Rory: Santa can kiss my-- Paul: Rory!"
 * [[Actor Allusio]: Paul in the [[Three's Compan] dream sequences (though he was Mr.Roper).
 * [[Aesop Amnesi]: During the first season, Cate tells Paul not to get his hopes up about the idea of being seen as popular in their daughters' eyes. However, sometime after Ritter's passing, she tries to appear to be "with it" in front of them herself.
 * [[All Girls Want Bad Boy]: Damian. He even has a guitar leitmotif when he appears in a scene. Bridget assumes that everyone can hear it, but it's just in her head.
 * [[All Men Are Pervert]: A ton of examples:
 * Kyle cheating on Bridget with Kerry
 * Kerry losing her virginity to a guy who says he'll call her but doesn't get her number
 * A 30-something guy hits on Bridget at the gym
 * A guy who asks Bridget and Kerry out on separate dates
 * Rory kissing a random girl to practice for his girlfriend
 * C.J. going gaga over a woman with big busts while dating another woman
 * [[Ascended Extr]: Cate and Rory were really just there in the first season but became more developed characters after Paul's death.
 * Which is sort of sad, because a big subplot of the first season is that Rory is Paul's other source of testosterone in the house.
 * Based on an Advice Book: The first season, at least.
 * Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Bridget (Blonde), Rory (Brunette) and Kerry (Redhead)
 * [[Bratty Teenage Daughte]: Bridget and Kerry.
 * [[But I Would Really Enjoy I] ([[Trope Name])
 * The Cast Showoff: Katey Sagal got to show her singing talent twice in the show. Kaley Cuoco, a former tennis player, got to play tennis twice on the show as well.
 * [[Caught with Your Pants Dow]: Rory. Twice.
 * [[Cerebus Syndrom]: After Ritter died, the entire show pretty much became "Let's Mourn John Ritter for 30 Minutes Each Week."
 * Not really, the show really only did that in a few episodes while largely doing it's own thing.
 * [[Character Developmen]: Kerry started out as a cynical and depressed teenager but eventually grew to be nicer and more confident.
 * [[The Character Died with Hi]: Paul Hennessy, played by John Ritter.
 * Character Exaggeratio]: [[Inverted. In the book, the older daughter was much ditzier and more materialistic, the younger daughter was an Em] [[Goth, and the son was a total [[Cloudcuckoolande]. The show toned this down a lot.
 * [[Couch Ga]: Rory's way to taunt the supposed girls' date changed between title sequences in season 1.
 * [[Curse Cut Shor]: During Season 1.

"Jim: Try to wipe it off. Cate: (beat) C.J.'s moving back in the basement with you. Jim: You're bluffing. (Cue C.J. walking into the room)"
 * [[Dawson Castin]/[[Playing Gertrud]: the older daughter was played by Kaley Cuoco, b. 1985; the younger daughter was played by Amy Davidson, b. 1979.
 * [[Teens Are Shor]: Justification for why Amy plays the younger daughter rather than the older.
 * [[Deadpan Snarke]: Kerry.
 * The Ditz: Bridget.
 * [[Dumb Blond]: Bridget. And Kyle.
 * [[Everyone Loves Blonde]: Bridget of course. She gets voted Class President, is able to make men do anything she wants and even is still loved when she has to walk around with a facial mask on. Everyone loves her so much that when she announces herself on the intercom, a faint standing ovation is heard.
 * [[Fallen Princes]: Bridget, after Kyle breaks up with her.
 * [[Freaky Frida]: Cate and Bridget, Jim and CJ, Rory and..... his hamster, and a jealous, left out Kerry.
 * [[Free the Frog]: This was the whole plot in an episode and with several impacts, but they're minor.
 * [[Full Name Ultimatu]: Rory gets this treatment more than once.
 * [[Gilligan Cu]: An episode contains Kerry thinking of working at some food joint at the mall irksome... followed by her doing what she hated thinking about in the next scene.
 * [[The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalr]
 * Groin Attack: When Cate mentioned a school coach who tried to impress her despite her lack of interest, Jim [[Lampshade Hanging|offered this advic]: "Have you considered kicking him in the grapes?"
 * Happily Married: Paul and Cate, before Ritter's death obviously.
 * [[He Who Must Not Be See]: Grandpa Jim in the first Thanksgiving episode (pre-Ritter-death).
 * [[Hidden Depth]: Bridget, Rory and CJ all showed these after Paul died.
 * [[Homag]: One ep pre-Ritter-death contains a dream sequence that mimics [[Three's Compan] with the kids in the main roles.
 * And Paul in the role of the landlord. He noticed something odd about the situation.
 * Kyle's older brother's bachelor pad even resembles the set.
 * [[Iron]
 * [[I Want You to Meet An Old Friend of Min]: Ed O'Neill (Al Bundy) plays one of Cate's old flames.
 * Laugh Track: Used in every episode, except for the one where Paul dies.
 * Although a laugh track WAS later added to that episode in syndicated airings.
 * Marshmallow Hell: Rory with his aunt.
 * [[Middle Child Syndrom]: Kerry
 * [[Mistaken for Ga]: Both Kerry and her prom date are straight, assume the other to be gay, and are only going to the prom together to support gay rights.
 * At one point, Jim thought Principal Gibb was hitting on Rory.
 * [[Nice Job Breaking It, Her]: C.J. ruined Jim's chance of being together with his wife.
 * [[No Bisexual]: During the gay episode, Kerry and her prom date are immediately assumed to be lesbians, and Rory's date [[Suddenly Sexuality|discover] that she's not attracted to men at all.
 * [[No Indoor Voic]:
 * [[Noodle Inciden]: The water bottle scene.
 * The reason C.J. goes by C.J. is implied to be the result of some illegal activity.
 * [[One Side of the Stor]: Standard shoplifting mix-up.
 * Overprotective Dad: The whole premise, at first.
 * [[Parting Words Regre]: The last thing Bridget said to her father before he died was "I hate you."
 * [[Put on a Bu]: The majority of the supporting characters were written out after John Ritter's death, since they were largely characters that only shared scenes with Ritter's character.
 * Several did made a few appearances.
 * jumped the shark or grew the beard after John Ritter's untimely demise. On one hand, the main premise was gone. On the other hand, the characters gained a lot more depth.
 * Also Kaley Cuoco injured her leg during filming of the 3rd season and her injury was subsequently written into several episodes.
 * [[Single Woman Seeks Good Ma]: "Dorky" Donny Doyle, a clean-cut Naval Academy student that Bridget dates shortly. They didn't last long together.
 * [[The Ta]: While the episodes with John Ritter had tags, the post-Ritter ones did not. In post-Ritter episodes, the [[Closing Credit] would start in the middle of the final scene.
 * [[Take Our Word for I]: Kerry's painting is so brave and controversial, that even Paul can't look at it. We don't get to see it. Also, the video where Paul breaks Bridget's nose while playing tennis, we don't get to see that moment neither, but the entire family turns away in disgust when they see it.
 * [[Tempting Fat]: When Jim manages to get his driver's license despite not studying the materials properly and acts smug in front of Cate, the following exchange takes place:
 * [[Tempting Fat]: When Jim manages to get his driver's license despite not studying the materials properly and acts smug in front of Cate, the following exchange takes place:


 * [[Twerp Sweatin]
 * The Unfair Sex: Averted:  mostly out of lust, and is clearly portrayed as being the faulty party of the two.
 * Although after its broadcast over the school intercom that she's had sex, he  remarks he can't be too mad at her for cheating on him, since everyone thinks he was the one she lost her virginity to.
 * Will They or Won't They?: Post-Ritter, between Cate and Principal Gibb.

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