After ABC cancelled the genial sitcom Too Close for Comfort in the fall of 1983, production actually continued beyond its fourth season. A fifth season, spanning January 1984 through September 1985, aired under the same title as the original series, in first-run syndication; then, in spring 1986, a spin-off (of sorts) appeared, also in first-run syndication. While not officially a sixth season of Comfort, it did feature several of the same principals and characters, yet all were transferred to a new setting and premise. The late Ted Knight returned as cartoonist Henry Rush (the creator of 'Cosmic Cow'), and Nancy Dussault as his photographer wife Muriel, the venerable Jm. J. Bullock as the goofball Monroe Ficus, and Joshua Goodwin as Muriel and Henry's young son, Andrew. But gone were the two Rush daughters, Jackie and Sara (Deborah Van Valkenburgh and Lydia Cornell left the cast)). As this series opened, The Rushes had moved out of San Francisco. Henry, it seems, had abandoned his job as an illustrator to purchase 49% of 'The Marin Bugler,' a weekly newspaper in Mill Valley, California, north of Frisco; Muriel took on work as a staff photographer for the paper, while former security guard Monroe - having graduated from college - assisted Henry at the Bugler. On hand for the first time were Lisa (Lisa Antille), the Rushes' Hispanic maid, and Hope Stinson, the publisher of the newspaper.
This program ran in syndication from April 1986 through September 1986, and a second season was all scripted and set to go into production. Sadly, this never occurred, as Ted Knight (who had been seriously ill for some time) died during the summer of 1986. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
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