80's TV Update: Double Trouble

Double Trouble is an 80's TV show that chronicled the lives of identical twins, Kate and Allison Foster. Kate and Allie were played by Liz and Jean Sagal, and the show is a classic 80's sitcom. The TV show also starred Donnelly Rhodes and Patricia Richardson as the "adults" in the teen fest. Double Trouble debuted on the NBC television network in 1984 in a coveted time slot between Diff'rent Strokes and Gimme a Break! The girls were quirky and cute and the show was heavily reminiscent of The Patty Duke Show (without the smoke screen), but the ideal time slot, and the nod to classic TV, could not save the unoriginal plots.

Double Trouble Cancellation

The initial problem with Double Trouble was the fact that Generation X TV audiences were bored of the same tired high school twin antics that Patty Duke and Haley Mills had already perfected a couple of decades prior. Plus, how many times can one be amused by the whole "we look exactly the same, but we're totally opposite" routine? Eventually, low ratings got the best of the show, and Double Trouble was canceled; but that wouldn't be the end for Kate and Allison Foster.

Kate and Allison Remix

In 1985, Double Trouble was retooled and brought back for a second round. This time the show had a more "grown up" appeal. The girls were moved from Des Moines to New York City - such was a positive strategy because the appeal of Iowa is probably somewhat lacking to most teenagers. Donnelly Rhodes and Patricia Richardson were axed (the talent of both actors was wasted here anyway), and they were replaced by veteran actress Barbara Barrie. Barrie played Kate and Allison's hip and worldly aunt Margo. Anne-Marie Johnson also joined the cast to provide a much needed splash of color on the milky white landscape. Gone too were the high school antics - they were replaced by artistic ventures as Kate pursued an acting career, and Allison excelled in design school.

Double Trouble Final Cancellation

The reinvention of the mediocre 80's TV show fared better (ratings, and # of episodes) than the original, but in the end, Double Trouble was given the axe again. The show probably only lasted as long as it did because of the talent of Barbara Barrie. It may appear that I am being harsh on the 80's sitcom, but I was actually starting to like the show, and I was a wee bit sad to see it come to an end.

The Cast of Double Trouble: Where Are They Now?

Unfortunately, this was pretty much the end of the road for both Liz Sagal and Jean Sagal. Besides doing guest spots on a couple of popular 80's TV shows, Liz Sagal went on to be an executive story editor, and she worked on the set of "Charmed" for a while. Jean Sagal has been a little more active than her twin sister; she has done more guest spots and has had more work as a second unit assistant, assistant director, associate director, and technical coordinator on many popular TV shows. It should be noted that Liz and Jean Sagal are the younger sisters of Katel Sagal of "Married with Children "and" 8 Simple Rules" fame.

Canadian actor Donnelly Rhodes was probably familiar to most 80's television audiences because his acting career was already in full bloom by the time he appeared on Double Trouble. Since the end of the show, Rhodes has continued to have great success as a character actor in many television roles, most prominently as Dr. Cottle on the 2004 - 2009 reinvention of "Battlestar Gallactica." Anne-Marie Johnson found success as a supporting actress, especially for her memorable role of Althea Tibbs in the late eighties television series adaptation of "In the Heat of The Night." She has also established herself as a comedic actress and she regularly guest stars on many current popular TV shows. Barbara Barrie was already an accomplished actress with one Oscar nomination, three Emmy nominations, one Independent Spirit Award nomination, and one Best Actress win at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in the racially explosive film One Potato, Two Potato (1964) (if you haven't seen it, you must). Since the end of Double Trouble, Barrie has constantly continued to grace the small screen with her talents, and she currently has two projects in post production.

Perhaps the most recognizable success story from Double Trouble is that of Patricia Richardson. She was practically useless in the 80's sitcom, but she would eventually go on to prove her worth. Most of the world became familiar with Patricia Richardson as Jill Taylor from the wildly popular 90's sitcom, "Home Improvement." Richardson has since gone on to success doing guest spots; but unlike everyone else, she has also found success as lead characters in two major roles (the aforementioned and Lifetime TV's "Strong Medicine"); she currently has a couple of projects in post production as well.

The Last Word on Double Trouble

I imagine that "Double Trouble" simply couldn't find its audience, certainly isn't one of the worst of the 80's TV shows. More than likely, we Generation X'ers were probably too "mature" for Double Trouble, because 80's television's other Kate and Allie (Kate & Allie / Susan Saint James and Jane Curtain), proved to be a huge success with its more sophisticated storyline.

The USA Television Network used to air "Double Trouble" reruns in the mid 90's, but it has since fallen into obscurity, and only those of us who absolutely love the 80's remember the show. Whatever the reason, "Double Trouble" never really caught on, but it is beloved by the few who bothered to tune in.

* You can catch an awesome Double Trouble Slideshow by clicking here.