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It’s no secret that I love Who’s the Boss? I watched the episodes when they first aired, but I really fell in love with the series, and especially Tony Danza, when I was about fifteen. The reruns used to be on Fox Family. Anyone else remember Fox Family before it became ABC Family? Anyway, I watched Who’s the Boss? every day for a long time, but when the reruns stopped airing, I was heartbroken. I found a random website that was selling the whole series on DVD, and even though I knew it seemed shady, I went ahead and paid over $300 so I could still see Tony, Angela, Mona, Samantha, and Jonathan on a regular basis. To my surprise and disappointment, the episodes on the DVDs had been recorded from TV, so they were poor quality and included commercials, and some of the DVDs wouldn’t even play. I was so annoyed that I had been fooled by this company selling crappy DVDs that I set out on a mission to try to get some sort of justice since they wouldn’t refund my money. I couldn’t even get in touch with them anymore.
When I discovered an article from a Canadian newspaper where the company was supposedly located saying that the website had been ripping off a lot of people, I felt a little bit better that I wasn’t the only one who fell for the scam. The newspaper gave a number to call if anyone had any other information about what had been going on, so, of course, I called. When the recording on the other end was in French and then in English, I realized that I had called the Canadian Police -- The Mounties. Oops! Immediately, I hung up. I didn’t think I needed to involve the police in the Who’s the Boss? DVD scam. Surely, they had more important things to do. Plus, I was a teenager, so anything having to do with the police kind of freaked me out, especially police in a foreign country. So, that was it. My sleuthing days were over. I was out over $300 and no longer trying to help crack the case. Don't call me Nancy Drew. A few years later, the first season was officially released on DVD, so I snatched it up at a reasonable price. But, sadly, the rest of the seasons haven’t been released.
Now, I have to settle for hearing Tony Danza’s famous catchphrase “Ay, oh, oh, ay,” from the first season DVDs, the few episodes saved on my DVR from when the show was rerunning a couple years ago on the Hallmark Channel, and wait until another network decides to air it again. However, for the will-they-won’t-they magic that Tony and Angela had in every episode, that kind of chemistry can be found on Melissa & Joey, because let’s be honest, they are incredibly similar. And trust me, that’s a compliment. I’m loving this updated version of Who’s the Boss? because it’s exactly the kind of show I love. And who knows? Maybe Melissa and Joey will get married at the end of their series. Tony and Angela got close, and I love how it all ended (I cry every time I watch Tony show up at the door asking for a job just like in the first episode), but I’d really be thrilled to see a different ending for Melissa and Joey. In the meantime, I love watching every week, and I really get a kick out of seeing all the similarities. And now, since pretty much every show is on DVD way before the series is even over, it’s safe to say I won’t be scammed trying to get Melissa & Joey episodes, and I certainly won’t be calling The Mounties. Have you ever done anything foolish to see a TV show? Have you ever fallen for a scam? I want to hear all about it!
Nancy Scrofano is the editor of Good Humor Girl and the author of True Love Way. She is also the editor of The Chick Lit Bee, a book blog that promotes and celebrates women’s fiction, and she writes book reviews for a prestigious book review magazine. Nancy is at work on her next novel. For more information, please visit www.nancyscrofano.com.
