'Family Affair' Sitcom Star Kathy Garver Blasts 'Terrible' 2002 Remake Series: 'Excuse My Language, it Sucked'

Among the greatest sitcoms of the 1960s and early 1970s, Family Affair continues to dazzle nostalgic viewers with its buoyant humor and energetic performances, something that original series star Kathy Garver attributes to the show’s endearing legacy today.

In spite of her positive appraisal of the original sitcom today, the 80-year-old Garver doesn’t hold a very kind view of the failed 2002 remake series starring Gary Cole and Tim Curry.

“It was terrible,” Garver bluntly told Entertainment Weekly in a recent interview.

As with the original TV show that aired in the ’60s, the failed 2000s remake of Family Affair saw an affluent engineer (Cole) and his English valet (Curry) trying to raise his orphaned children in a luxurious New York City Apartment.

Premiering on The WB in September 2002, the remake series was eventually canceled at the network after just 13 episodes, cutting its run short by early 2003.

In her assessment of the show, Garver pointedly said, “Excuse my language, it sucked. In my opinion, it’s very difficult to do remakes. I think sequels are great and they usually do well, but once something is embedded in the culture and in the fan or audience mind, that’s their character. Those are their friends.”

Garver believed that the main faults of the show had to do with the remake’s cast, who she felt were unsuited to their respective roles.

“Each person was a loving person,” Garver said of the original series’ stars. “They were amiable, they liked each other, we all got along.”

“Then, you go to Tim Curry, who is very funny,” she continued. “When they did the remake, I did my scene with him, but he has a whole different kind of humor, and he didn’t have the same kind of warmth that Sebastian [Cabot] had. [Sebastian] had a warmth for people. Tim Curry, you know, was a little more edgy, so that took away one part of the big aspects of the Mr. French character.”

“Gary Cole, love his soul…. he’s doing well on NCIS, but he’s not Uncle Bill,” she went on to say. “Brian Keith had this special ability to be this macho guy with a heart of gold and sensitivity. He especially loved children, and that really came through. That was part of who he was.”