Diff'rent Strokes
A Special Friend
TV Flash files “A Special Friend” as the last listed hour of season 7 — Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986) on NBC/ABC, season 7, episode 24, aired 1985-05-04, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S07E24: listed hour 170 of 189 in the Diff'rent Strokes guide, last listed hour of season 7. It aired 1985-05-04 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Street Smarts” (S07E23). Next is “Sam's Missing - Part 1” (S08E01).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Arnold and Sam are so shaken by a friend's epileptic seizure that they're afraid to be around her again.
Viewer FAQ
Where does A Special Friend sit in the Diff'rent Strokes guide?
S07E24 is listed hour 170 of 189 — last listed hour of season 7, season 7 episode 24.
When did Diff'rent Strokes S07E24 air?
A Special Friend aired 1985-05-04 and is listed at 30 minutes.
NBC years or the later ABC stretch?
Start with Coleman, Bridges, Bain, and Plato in the penthouse. The network hop is later production weather; the catchphrase years are the entry.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Gary Coleman's Arnold makes a Park Avenue penthouse feel like Saturday morning, then the very-special-episode machine kicks in. Conrad Bain's Drummond adopts Harlem brothers; Todd Bridges' Willis plays straight man to a catchphrase factory. Sitcom grin first, then the child-star aftershocks that still haunt the reruns.
NBC, then ABC, dropped a Park Avenue penthouse adoption sitcom into Saturday-morning voltage and watched a catchphrase mint a child superstar overnight. Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986) ran eight seasons, 189 episodes. Jeff Harris and Bernie Kukoff's integrated-family hour put Conrad Bain's Philip Drummond adopting Harlem brothers: Gary Coleman's Arnold as the grin, Todd Bridges's Willis as straight man, Dana Plato's Kimberly in the penthouse. Charlotte Rae's Edna Garrett spun off into The Facts of Life. What you…
Filed against
- Gary Coleman as Arnold Jackson
Gary Coleman's Arnold Jackson made Diff'rent Strokes a Park Avenue Saturday morning — Harlem brothers, Conrad Bain's Drummond, Todd Bridges' Willis as straight man to a catchphrase factory. Sitcom grin first, then the very-special-episode…
- Todd Bridges as Willis Jackson
Todd Bridges played it straight on Diff'rent Strokes as Willis Jackson — Park Avenue penthouse, Harlem brothers, a catchphrase factory, Very Special Episodes waiting in the wings. Sitcom grin first, then the child-star aftertaste the desk…
- Conrad Bain as Philip Drummond
Conrad Bain’s Arthur Harmon needled Maude’s Tuckahoe living room as the next-door conservative — 1970s catalog Lear combat, then Diff’rent Strokes recasting the posture as Phillip Drummond’s Park Avenue experiment. TV Flash files him as…
- Dana Plato as Kimberly Drummond
Dana Plato’s Kimberly Drummond was Diff’rent Strokes’ Park Avenue sister — Conrad Bain adopting Harlem brothers, Gary Coleman’s Arnold turning a penthouse into Saturday morning, then the very-special-episode machine. Todd Bridges’ Willis…
- Charlotte Rae as Edna Garrett
Charlotte Rae’s Edna Garrett walked out of Diff’rent Strokes’ penthouse and into The Facts of Life like a housemother with a catchphrase of care — 1970s catalog into 1980s young-woman appointment TV. TV Flash files her as the spin-off…