*full reflections on each episode coming soon :)
Welcome Back to Disney!👋😊 I hope you enjoyed my last post on A Definitive Ranking of Every Song from the Hannah Montana Forever Album, because today we’re taking a pause on the music nostalgia and going back to a show that was mentioned in one of my FIRST posts I ever did for this blog, where I listed and ranked my FAVORITE and the TOP 10 BEST Disney Channel Shows of all time, that show being Good Luck Charlie.📺👶👶👦👧👦👩👨🏡And today actually marks 15 YEARS since the FIRST episode of Good Luck Charlie premiered, which is just perfect timing.🤍💚🤎🎉🤯😮
If you’re new here, this post is a little continuation of a series of posts I’ve been doing for the past couple years, where I’ve been going back and rewatching EVERY show that I included on my Top Ten Disney Channel Shows post, in the order that I ranked them, from beginning to end, and picking the BEST episodes (my MOST FAVORITE episodes) from each season of each of those shows that I mentioned in that earlier blog post.👍😊 So, since my last post of this little series of posts, was all about The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (my #7 favorite Disney Channel show pick from my Top Ten Disney Channel Shows post, here) it was now time to rewatch, rank, and discuss all the BEST episodes from my eighth favorite Disney Channel show, Good Luck Charlie.📺👶👶👦👧👦👩👨🏡 So, of course, that is finally what I did this month. Well, I actually started rewatching Good Luck Charlie a couple years ago in September and was planning on posting this then, but other things came up and that didn’t happen.😞 At that time, though, I only had finished watching all of seasons 1 and 2, the Christmas movie, and the first episode of season 3. So, at the end of March this year I finished rewatching seasons 3 and 4, and I’m now SO EXCITED to finally get to share my thoughts and opinions about this UNFORGETTABLE and pretty ICONIC Disney Channel show with you here today!👏😊🎉
Good Luck Charlie is one of those shows that I grew up watching quite a lot as a tween/teen. As I was only 13 years old when the show first came out, and I watched it until it ended. I actually have such a fond, special memory of watching the VERY FIRST episode of this show, which was with my dad and sisters, on the night it FIRST premiered on Disney Channel.📺👧👧👧👨 Speaking of watching the first episode with my dad and sisters, I actually have a lot of other fond, special memories of watching A LOT of the other episodes from this show with them, whenever new episodes of the show would premiere on Disney Channel.🤍 Good Luck Charlie was a GREAT show in that way, because it was one of the few Disney Channel shows that the whole family could watch and enjoy. As there was something for everyone. A character for anyone of any age to be able to relate to. Me, being the middle child, I could somewhat relate to Gabe. Although, I couldn’t, and still can’t relate to the boy part of it all. 'Cause I’m a girl, obviously. Not a boy.👧😊 But, I do remember this being a weekly show that I would watch with my family at the time and I remember us all liking it. However, although, I liked the show when I was younger, I didn’t LOVE it like I LOVED other Disney Channel shows like my FAVORITE, Hannah Montana.💛💜 At the time, Good Luck Charlie was just one of the better, more entertaining shows to watch on Disney Channel. So I watched it. After like the first half of season 3, I actually remember kind of getting out of it and not caring for it as much. ’Cause at that point it wasn’t one of those shows where I was making sure to catch the new episode whenever the new episode would premiere on the channel. And I remember season 4 was just even more boring to me. My family and I (dad and sisters) weren’t even watching it together as much by season 3. I remember by season 4 just being ready for it to be over. But, I do remember watching the series finale with my dad and sisters, because it was a pretty big deal at the time. I mean, whenever a series is airing its final episode ever, it's always a pretty big deal. The LAST episode of this show being no different.
So, rewatching this series now as an adult, I was very curious and excited to. ‘Cause, for one, I am older now. Therefore, looking at the show with new eyes and a different mindset. And secondly, because I actually hadn’t watched this show, except for its holiday episodes and the pilot episode, since it ended in 2014. And not that surprisingly, I felt basically the same way I did when I watched this show as a teenager, rewatching it this time around as an adult. In other words, I really enjoyed seasons 1 and 2, the Christmas movie was actually better than I ever thought it was, and seasons 3 and 4 just didn’t do it for me. Although, the last episode of the series, just the last scene of it, was very emotional, sweet, and special. So, having said that, I still think Good Luck Charlie is one of the better Disney Channel shows. It would still be in my TOP 10, but it’s still not one of the BEST BEST Disney Channel shows ever made.👎👍 At least, it definitely wouldn’t be in my TOP 3. 'Cause after I rewatch all these shows I mentioned in my Top Ten Disney Channel Shows post, I will be redoing that TOP 10 list, and this show will still probably be close to where it’s at now but even a little lower. Under #5 for sure, but not anything at or above that.
Some reasons being because, after having rewatched the whole show in chronological order from when it aired on Disney Channel, there are a few things I don’t like about this show. One being some of the recurring characters I don’t like…cough, cough…Spencer.👦🚫🚩 He’s definitely one of, if not, THE WORST boyfriend, love interest, guy character from a Disney Channel show. Any episode with him I just basically didn’t like. He ruined a lot of the episodes for me.👎 Secondly, I didn’t like all the times in this show when the main characters and even just other characters would comment on, judge, and joke about Bob’s weight.👎I couldn’t and can’t stand that. It was SO ANNOYING and SO WRONG on SO MANY levels. And the only other thing I didn’t/don’t like about this show is the judgement of jobs that everyday “normal” people have. It’s like college, or you’re nothing with this show.👎 So, all the episodes with the family or even PJ himself making fun of, mocking, or just putting down fast food workers and stuff like that I hated.👎👎
So, yeah, this show definitely has its very problematic episodes. But like I’ve said before, no show is perfect, and there are still a few GREAT things about Good Luck Charlie. Plus, I mean, every Disney Channel show has its problems. So, you’re really comparing apples to oranges when it comes to that.🍎🍊 You have to look at the GOOD things it does have. For example, what I do like about this show is the family aspect, because I’m more of a family-centered-show-type-person over a friends-centered-show. Though, don’t get me wrong because you do get both of those things with this show. As the kids (and adults) do still have storylines with their friends.👍I also love that every episode usually consists of more than two storylines, because it is a big family, a pretty big main cast. And having the multiple different storylines makes some of the episodes seem not so slow or boring, which is always a PLUS.👍👍 I also like that there are characters of all different ages. From Mrs. Dabney, the parents of the main kids in the show and even their friends’ parents (for example, Ivy’s parents), you also have the teenagers (PJ, Teddy, Ivy, and Emmett), Gabe who’s even a little younger than them, and the babies (Charlie and Toby).👍 I also love the whole video diary aspect of this show. I think it’s really sweet and was definitely the first of its kind not only for Disney Channel but for kid’s television shows in general.📹 📺👏👍Speaking of the whole video diary aspect of this show, the sister relationship between Teddy and Charlie is also super cute and sweet.👧👶 In fact, in the FIRST post I ever did for this blog, I did a Disney Channel TAG and one of the questions was, “Who are your favorite Disney Channel siblings?” And of course, my answer to that was Teddy and Charlie from Good Luck Charlie.👍 So, those are all just some of the main things that I do like about this show, and more that I’ll probably mention later on as we get into my favorite episodes.🤍💚😊
Now, speaking of the show itself, for those of you who have never seen Good Luck Charlie, I will give you some brief history about it before I get into what I believe to be the BEST episodes from each season.😊
Good Luck Charlie is a Disney Channel original coming-of-age, comedy sitcom that ran for four seasons, consisting of 97 episodes, from April 4, 2010 to February 16, 2014. The show follows the Duncan family, who live in Denver, Colorado, as they adjust to the births of the fourth and later fifth child, Charlotte “Charlie” Duncan (played by Mia Talerico) and Toby (played by Logan Moreau).👶👶👦👧👦👩👨🏡🏔❄❅❆ When the parents Amy Duncan (played by Leigh-Allyn Baker), a nurse, and Bob Duncan (played by Eric Allan Kramer), an exterminator, return to work, they ask their three other children — PJ (played by Jason Dolley), Teddy (played by Bridgit Mendler), and Gabe (played by Bradley Steven Perry) — to help raise their little sister. And later, their little sister AND little brother. At the same time, PJ, Teddy, and Gabe try to deal with school and the general social challenges in each of their own lives. To which, the events that happen in each episode become material for a video diary that Teddy is making for Charlie.👧👶📹
In each episode, Teddy makes an entry to her video diary that contains advice for Charlie about their family and life as a teenager. As Teddy tries to show Charlie what she might go through when she is older for future reference when they’ve both grown up and Teddy has moved out of the house. Each video diary entry ends with Teddy and/or another family member (even Charlie) saying the eponymous phrase, “Good Luck, Charlie”. And they sometimes even say it indirectly such as, “Wish them good luck, Charlie”. SPOILER ALERT: During the movie, Teddy realizes that her mom (Amy) is pregnant with her fifth child, and this story plot is then brought into the series during the third season, when Amy gives birth to a baby boy, Toby. Each episode then ends, after the video diary, with an event that is weird and one that usually cannot happen in real life.
Other notable recurring characters in the show include Teddy’s best friend, Ivy Wentz (played by Raven Goodwin); Ivy’s mother and Amy Duncan’s friend, Mary Lou Wentz (played by Ellia English); the Duncans’ strict and easily annoyed neighbor, who is often suspicious of Gabe (and who is perhaps Gabe's real mother...jk...iykyk😂😊), Mrs. Estelle Dabney (played by Patricia Belcher); and PJ’s best friend, Emmett (played by Micah Stephen Williams). And then there’s also Teddy’s on-again, off-again boyfriend throughout the series, Spencer Walsh (played by Shane Harper), but he’s one of my LEAST favorite things about this show.👦🚫🚩 So, let’s not speak too much of him here.😊 And those are just the recurring characters that appeared throughout the series from the first season to the last. There are some others, but those are just the more consistent ones.👍
Good Luck Charlie premiered to 4.7 million viewers, making it the highest-rated series premiere for a Disney Channel Original Series since The Suite Life on Deck in 2008.😮🤯 It was also the week’s highest-rated cable program. Apparently, at the time, Maclean’s reported that overall, the first season had been doing about as well as Disney’s more successful shows – The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and so on. The season four episode, “Special Delivery”, which premiered on June 24, 2012, became the most watched episode ever of Good Luck Charlie. Having garnered 7.48 million viewers, surpassing not only the pilot episode but also the episode “Snow Show (Part 1)” which had 7.24 million viewers as well as the episode “Good Luck Jessie: NYC Christmas” that garnered 5.8 million viewers. “Special Delivery” was also the most viewed episode in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The series also spawned a successful movie in 2011. And not just any movie, but a CHRISTMAS movie. The Disney Channel premiere of Good Luck Charlie, It’s Christmas! was watched by 6.9 million viewers. With 3.3 million of those being kids (6-11), 2.4 million being teenagers, and 1.4 million being adults (18-49). The movie became the #1 live-action cable movie of 2011 in total viewers and the #1 live-action scripted telecast across all TV in kids 6-11.😮🤯 It was also watched in Australia by 111,000 viewers, and in the United Kingdom by 562,000 viewers.👏👏 Good Luck Charlie was also nominated three years in a row (2012-2014) for Outstanding Children’s Program at the Primetime Emmy Awards. And it was nominated for multiple Kids' Choice Awards and Teen Choice Awards throughout the same years. Which, whether they won or not, is still a pretty big accomplishment.👏🏆
Fun Fact: Did you know that the title of this series was changed from Oops to Love, Teddy and then finally to Good Luck Charlie? I actually didn’t know that either, until now, after doing some research about the show. But apparently, the series’ creators, Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen wanted to create a program that would appeal to entire families, not just to children. So, among other decisions, executives included adult-centric scenes and they also changed the series title to what us fans have come to know and love, Good Luck Charlie, to ensure that the show would appeal to all family members. Which, like I mentioned before, the show does do a pretty good job at appealing to the whole family.🤍💚So, that is a goal I would say they achieved.👏 Another little fun fact, but did you also know that on April 3, 2011, an Indian adaptation of Good Luck Charlie, titled Best of Luck Nikki, premiered on Disney Channel India? I also didn’t know that until now, after doing a little research. But, that’s pretty cool, huh? I think so.😊 Good Luck Charlie was also created by the same creators who did Sonny With A Chance.😮🤯 Which are two very different Disney Channel shows. So, that’s pretty interesting, too.
Here are some other FUN FACTS about the show that I also never knew before this, and thought would be interesting enough to share:
*As mentioned briefly before, the series was originally titled, Oops to Love, Teddy aka Love, Teddy, “Love, Teddy” being the phrase Teddy used to end her video diary entries during development. Broadening Disney Channel’s appeal was a concern when choosing the names of the characters and the title of the program. As Vaupen once stated, “You want a title that says, a) this is a sitcom and, b) this is something that will interest the main demographic, but also we’re trying to expand the Disney brand beyond just girls.” As Vaupen also stated about the original title of the show, Love, Teddy immediately felt feminized and almost excluded boys. According to Vaupen, they also didn’t want to use the word ‘baby’ in the title because that would exclude certain people.
*The Duncan baby was originally named “Daisy” during development, but producers thought that “Charlie”, which is generally a more masculine name, would attract more boys.
*Bridgit Mendler had previously auditioned for Sonny With A Chance, and network executives wanted to find a role for her, which obviously ended up being Teddy in Good Luck Charlie.
*The character of PJ was initially called Casey.
*Both Eric Allan Kramer (aka Bob Duncan) and Leigh-Allyn Baker (aka Amy Duncan) had guest starred in preceding Disney Channel shows, and they also both guest starred on the same episode of the NBC sitcom Will & Grace (a show I’ve never seen) in 2005.
*Like most series featuring baby actors, producers of Good Luck Charlie had originally intended to have identical twins play Charlie Duncan, the title character. However, the show makers were unsuccessful in finding the proper set of twins and decided to cast Mia Talerico instead. She was only ten months old at the time of her casting for the role, and Gary Marsh (President and Chief Creative Officer for Disney Channel) once said that casting Talerico was their highest risk while creating the show.
*The pilot for Good Luck Charlie, entitled “Study Date”, was shot at the same studio space where Hannah Montana was taped. And starting with the second season, the series was taped at the same studio space where Shake It Up was also taped. With most episodes being taped live in front of a studio audience.
I know, so many FUN FACTS, right? Well, here's one more. As I briefly mentioned before, according to sources, the creators of Good Luck Charlie (Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen) aspired to create a program that would appeal to entire families rather than simply kids. They were also apparently inspired by the success of reruns of Full House and George Lopez with young audiences. So, Baker and Vaupen turned to family sitcoms. As Vaupen once stated, “We wanted to do a show about a family, to bring back a family sitcom and make it about a real family, not wizards (referring to Wizards of Waverly Place), nobody’s a pop star (referring to Hannah Montana), nobody has a TV show (referring to Sonny With A Chance).” Because apparently at the time, just like it still is to this day, most network television had abandoned the traditional sitcom. However, veteran writer-producer Dan Staley (from apparently a hit TV show back in the day, called Cheers) joined Good Luck Charlie as executive producer. So, Good Luck Charlie had some experienced talent behind the camera to help bring back that traditional sitcom. Which, again, they did pretty good at. I mean, Good Luck Charlie is no Full House, but it’s still one of the better shows when it comes to Disney Channel.🤍💚
The senior Vice President of original programming for Disney even had this to say at the time about how Good Luck Charlie compared to other Disney Channel shows:
“A lot of the high-concept shows have kids in an extraordinary situation where the parent or adult takes a backseat, and sometimes the adult isn't as smart as the kid, or it's all about the kids putting one over on the adults. But we have a new show called "Good Luck Charlie" that has a very different kind of concept. It is very grounded, very relatable, and it's not about the parents being dumber than the kids. We try and mine as much comedy out of the parents as possible, but it doesn't mean the kids can't learn from the parents and get guidance from the parents.”
~ Adam Bonnett
I don’t totally agree with that statement. Because, yes, although Good Luck Charlie was/is more "normal" when it comes to the show not being about a pop star or a family of wizards, etc. etc., it wasn’t the only Disney Channel show that centered around a "normal" family. For example, Even Stevens and Lizzie McGuire are just two other examples of that. And there were other Disney Channel shows, including the two I just mentioned, where the parents or adults didn’t just take a backseat and they weren’t “dumber than the kids”. For example, the dad, Robby Ray, in Hannah Montana was a parent who showed up and gave great guidance to his kids throughout the series run, as did the mom, Carrie, in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. And those two shows specifically also showcased more “normal” types of families with it being single parent households. So, NO, Good Luck Charlie was NOT the first Disney Channel show to feature a “normal” family. Nor was it the first to include parents that weren’t just there for the jokes, but ones that actually guided their kids and knew what was going on in their kids' lives. So, that’s just my two cents on that.😊
Although, again, don’t get me wrong because Good Luck Charlie was one of my favorite shows to watch in the 2010s era of Disney Channel. And it still holds up as a good, decent show to watch when you just want to watch a nice, family comedy, comfort show. Which is why I’m so excited to finally get to share with you here what I believe to be the BEST episodes from the show. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get into the Top 12 BEST Episodes from Good Luck Charlie!🤍💚👶👶👦👧👦👩👨🏡📹
Just a brief note before we begin: Since there are four seasons of this show, to make it a fair and even total number of episodes, I decided to choose only three episodes from each season that are my MOST FAVORITE and ones that I truly believe are the BEST. So, three episodes for each season to make twelve total BEST episodes. The seasons are also not going in any particular order of what I like least or most best, only the episodes in each season. In other words, the seasons themselves are not ranked in any particular order. You will just see season one’s episodes first, but then the episodes for that season and for each season after that are ranked from my least to most favorite. I will just tell you my favorite seasons in order at the very end of this post. Now, for real this time, let’s get into the Top 12 BEST Episodes from Good Luck Charlie!🤍💚👶👶👦👧👦👩👨🏡📹🎉
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Well, that concludes my ranking of the Top 12 BEST Episodes from Good Luck Charlie (in honor of the show’s 15th Anniversary)!😊🎉 I enjoyed getting to go back and watch ALL the episodes from this show through an adult lens after a long time of having not seen it, and I hope that you enjoyed reading my thoughts on these episodes as well. Like I briefly mentioned before, I don’t know if this was a show I watched a lot as a tween/teen just because I was already watching Disney Channel at the time, and it was just one of the better shows playing on the channel at the time. Or, if it’s because I actually just really did like it. But, nonetheless, I still think it’s one of the better shows to come from the Disney Channel even now. Again, I don't like every episode or every season of this show, but no show is perfect. And at least the first two seasons of this show are pretty GREAT, the movie is GOOD, and a few episodes from the last two seasons of the show are, too . So, I would still definitely watch this show again. At least, all the episodes I do like. Especially whenever I just need a boost of nostalgia. Having said all that, after rewatching Good Luck Charlie from beginning to end, it’s still in my TOP 10 list of the BEST and my MOST FAVORITE Disney Channel shows of all time, but it would also rank a little lower than I initially had it on my Top Ten Disney Channel Shows post. All in all, this isn’t one of the worst shows that Disney’s ever made, but it’s also not one of the MOST BEST. Though, it’s still definitely a must-watch for anyone who hasn’t seen it. I would still even LOVE to see Disney do a spin-off of this show. In fact, I don't understand what's taking SO LONG for Disney to give us Thank You, Teddy! Just make it happen already.😉😊🙏
Before I sign off, I know I mentioned at the beginning of this post that I would let you know my favorite seasons from MOST FAVORITE to LEAST FAVORITE, so I will do that now. The seasons of Good Luck Charlie go like this for me (again, from most to least favorite): Season 2, Season 1, Season 4, Season 3. So, there you have it. Let me know in the comments below what your favorite season(s) or episode(s) is/are from Good Luck Charlie and come Back to Disney soon for more!!✌👋🤍💚🤎Wait, I just have to say/type this one last time...for no reason, other than...Good Luck, Charlie!😉😊
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