Line #116 Series/CharlesInCharge


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/charlesincharge02_7.jpg]]
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3
4	->''"The new boy in the neighborhood, Lives downstairs and it's understood. He’s there just to take good care of me, like he’s one of the family. [...] And I sing, I want, I want Charles in Charge of me!"''
5	-->'''-- [[ExpositoryThemeTune The show's theme song]]''', written by Michael Jacobs, David Kurtz and Al Burton
6
7	''Charles in Charge'' was a DomCom that starred Creator/ScottBaio as a college-age "nanny" to the children of the families he lived with in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It debuted in 1984 in Creator/{{CBS}}, with the original premise of Charles being employed by the Pembrokes, headed by working parents Jill and Stan (the parents were played by Julie Cobb and eventual sitcom director James Widdoes) who hired a caretaker to handle their kids due to their work schedules – teenage daughter Lila (Creator/AprilLerman), smart middle brother Douglas (Creator/JonathanWard) and youngest child Jason (Creator/MichaelPearlman).
8
9	Charles held the responsibility of handling his charges' problems, often finding ways to fix them before the episode's end; even still, the children/teenagers he takes care of sometimes are quick to overreact when a plan of Charles to help them goes wrong. When the series originally aired on CBS, the show debuted the same season as another DomCom about a man employed by a family, ''Series/WhosTheBoss'' (although that series featured a male housekeeper instead of a male nanny). In turn, he attempted to balance a normal social life alongside his college courses and role as a live-in caretaker. His best friend was Buddence "Buddy" Lembeck (Willie Aames), a girl-crazy underachiever; Charles' love interest in the series was the fair-haired Gwendolyn Pierce (Jennifer Runyon).
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11	The show was created by Barbara Weisberg and Michael Jacobs, the latter later to co-create ''Series/MyTwoDads'', ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'', and ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' and its AfterShow, ''Series/GirlMeetsWorld''. It was produced by Al Burton Productions, the production company of executive producer Al Burton, alongside Scholastic Productions, owned by book publisher Scholastic Corporation, and Creator/{{Universal}}.
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13	In 1986, a year after CBS cancelled the series following its first season due to insufficient ratings to earn a sophomore season, largely due to being pummeled in the ratings against ''Series/HighwayToHeaven'' on Creator/{{NBC}} and ''Series/TheFallGuy'' on Creator/{{ABC}}, Universal revived the series for FirstRunSyndication through their own domestic television division, relaunching in 1987.
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15	The show was then retooled for the second season, with only Baio and Aames returning; five new cast members were added: Sandra Kerns as married mother-of-three Ellen Powell, whose husband was serving in the Navy; James T. Callahan as Walter Powell, a gruff but well-meaning war veteran and grandfather of the three Powell kids; Nicole Eggert as Jamie Powell, the popular, boy crazy eldest child; Josie Davis as smart but self-conscious Sarah Powell; and Alexander Polinsky as Adam Powell, the youngest child and only boy of the three Powell offspring. It was during the syndication run that Buddy's [[CharacterizationMarchesOn personality begins to change]], increasingly [[TookALevelInDumbass decreasing in intelligence]] to the point of being TooDumbToLive. In later seasons, Ellen Travolta joined the cast as Charles' vivacious, supportive and fairly wise mom, Lillian. The show's primary setting remained in the house inhabited by the Pembrokes, who leased the house to the Powells after the Pembrokes "moved to UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}" in the season two premiere "Amityville". The show became successful under its new syndicated format, and ran for five additional seasons, ending in 1990.
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17	----
18	!!Tropes:
19	* AdvertisedExtra: Even though Sandra Kerns is still credited as a main cast member in the opening credits, she only appears once in Season 4 and twice in Season 5.
20	* AllCheeringAllTheTime: Lila's friend Paula Thackery is ''introduced'' as this in "Extracurricular Activity", Jason pegs it one the money that Paula is the cheerleader type (something Charles told Jason there was no such thing as, immediately before Paula enters).
21	* AnAesop: In addition to giving advice (which, most of the time, is pretty sound), Charles occasionally drops life lessons to his charges; these instances, in a sense, make him the wise man of the show.
22	* AndStarring: Willie Aames is given this in the first season. For the syndication run, he is credited second after Scott Baio; the "and" credit is during this era is given to James Callahan (Walter Powell).
23	%%* AnnoyingYoungerSibling:
24	%%** Douglas in the CBS run.
25	%%** Adam in the syndicated incarnation, to Jamie and sometimes Sarah.
26	* AsianSpeekeeEngrish: In the pilot episode, a Chinese delivery man invokes this when he explains that Charles purchased four dishes (when Charles actually bought two). Gwendolyn then tells him to explain it in Chinese, only to speak the same Engrish the delivery man spoke.
27	--->'''Charles''' (with accent): I order two dishes.
28	** The delivery man suddenly reveals his ''American'' accent and asks Charles not to hassle him. He then invokes the Engrish accent again when Lila comes down for her study date (the reason why the food was ordered in the first place) all dressed up:
29	--->'''Alexander (Lila's study date):''' Lila?
30	--->'''Charles:''' Lila?
31	--->'''Delivery man''' (with accent): Rira? (without accent) Couldn't resist.
32	* AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption: In the first episode, as Mr. Pembroke is trying to give Charles some dating advice in preparation for Charles' date at the house with Gwendolyn Pierce, before driving Mrs. Pembroke to work:
33	-->'''Stan:''' "I'm telling you to be careful because you're a nice young man with your whole life in front of you, and the last thing you want to hear right now is..."
34	-->'''Jill:''' "Honey, I'm late."
35	-->'''Stan''' (after a short pause): "I think that about says it all, Charles."
36	* AttractiveBentGender: Averted in "Still at Large." A female teacher of Jamie's [[spoiler: who turns out to be a fugitive on the run for committing arson in the 1970s]] tells Charles, who with Buddy, were dressed in drag, that he's "a good looking man," but "an ugly woman."
37	* BeautifulAllAlong: Enid in the episode "A Date with Enid".
38	* BettyAndVeronica: Sarah served as the Betty and Jamie the Veronica, for the affections of Mark in "The Boy Who Loved Woman".
39	* BigBrotherMentor: Charles can be seen as this for both the Pembroke and Powell children.
40	* BottleEpisode: In a rarity for a series' first episode, the pilot episode takes place entirely in the Pembroke's house.
41	* BreakingTheFourthWall: The season two episode "Her Brother's Keeper" features a scene where Scott Baio and Willie Aames (playing themselves, instead of their on-screen characters) converse about whether Scott's the star or as Baio graciously puts it, "it's a team effort". Aames then tells Baio that he gets more fan letters each week than him. Both then promptly ask executive producer Al Burton for amenities in their dressing rooms.
42	** In the series finale, "Charles Be [=DeMille=]," Scott Baio wakes up from a dream that he was the star of a weekly TV series (sound familiar?). He then hears the voices of the rest of the cast, informing him that ItWasAllADream, but that he could get back into it by closing his eyes and saying "I don't wanna wake up." When he does, the rest of the cast (in-character) reappear on the living room set.
43	** In the episode "Brain Man", when Buddy keeps getting distracted, Charles says "Buddy, why do you keep forgetting the plot?"
44	* ButtMonkey: Buddy devolves into this.
45	* CanCrushingCranium: In the case of Buddy, it is averted in the episode "Judge Lest Not Ye Beheaded," Buddy takes out a coconut from a bag of coconuts marked "Deluxe Mixed Nuts". He smashes it on his forehead, and ends up knocking himself unconscious.
46	* CasanovaWannabe: Buddy likes to think he's TheCasanova, but he has had few girls actually accept dates with him.
47	* CatchPhrase: Charles' "You had to (something that results in some sort of foul-up), didn't ya?!", which is more often said to Buddy but occasionally said to other characters.
48	** Other characters occasionally exclaiming "Doorbell!," when they want Charles to answer the front door in the syndication run.
49	** Buddy addressing people he knows with "(person's name), It's me, Buddy" (and one time, "It's me, Buddence").
50	** Buddy's screeching "Heeeeelp me, Heeeeelp me!" cry in the final couple of seasons.
51	* CharacterTitle
52	* ChickMagnet: Charles is the biggest one in-series; Buddy, on the other hand, is hit and miss in this department, he does have a few girlfriends in the series but is more often turned down and/or slapped by females he comes on to.
53	* CloudCuckooLander: Buddy, although mainly in the syndication run and increasingly so as the series wears on.
54	* CoincidentalBroadcast: Mere seconds after introducing Jamie's favorite teacher (played by Sally Struthers), Charles and Buddy just happen to catch a TV show which reveals that Jamie's teacher is a criminal on the run from the law.
55	** In another episode, Charles can't find Sarah so when he asks Jamie and Adam to help, Adam turns on the TV and guess who just happens to be on it at that exact moment? Sarah, who is on the news at a protest.
56	* CosmeticCatastrophe: Happens when Lila attempts a makeover on her friend Enid in "A Date with Enid".
57	* CreditCardDestruction: When Charles gets a credit card, he plans on using it responsibly but the group gets a hold of it and run up a big bill. The first time he tries to use it himself, on a date at a fancy restaurant, it gets declined and cut.
58	* CurseCutShort: Through the series as had instances of the word "hell" (as a pejorative term) scattered through various episodes, as a family show, it has avoided using actual profanity, as evidenced by these two moments:
59	** In the season three episode, "Berkling Up is Hard to Do," Sarah tries to help a nervous Adam with his issues fitting in in junior high and being the smallest kid in school, an inversion of something Sarah has dealt with, as she is taller than most of the kids ("including the boys", Sarah's words exactly) in ''her'' junior high school class; Adam exclaims to Charles his interpretation that Sarah has volunteered to pound on anyone who picks on him. Charles then gives Sarah his own reinterpretation of the phrase "guys don't make passes at girls who wear glasses":
60	-->"Sarah! Guys don't make passes at girls who kick---" (''Buddy rings doorbell'')
61	** In the season five episode, "Buddy Flips a Disc," [[note]]in which Buddy hosts a show on Copeland College's radio station[[/note]] Buddy prods Charles into rapping on-air (accompanied by Buddy beatboxing), leading to this line rapped by Charles:
62	-->"I'd like to stay but I got to go. I don't wanna be on the radio. Thanks for asking, but I think I'll pass, 'cause I don't want to fall on my--- ear."
63	* DisguisedInDrag: Charles and Buddy in "Still at Large."
64	%%* DropInCharacter: Buddy.
65	* DumbassHasAPoint: Buddy, who does this to ''himself''.
66	* EggSitting: In the appropriately titled "The Egg and Us", Sarah and Jamie are assigned a project to raise an egg as a child (which Jamie shrugs off somewhat, seeing as it is an egg, and not an animate object). Sarah leaves Charles to take care of their egg baby (which was given the name Amanda), Buddy, Walter and Charles are shocked to discover Walter went out with Buddy's grandmother, whom Walter knew from his youth. In shock, Charles drops the egg on the floor right in front of them and the girls, screwing up Jamie and Sarah's chances of getting a good grade.
67	* EmbarrassingFirstName: Oddly enough, it turns out that Buddy's name is not so much a nickname as it is a shortening of his full first name, which happens to be Buddence. This is first revealed in the second episode "Extracurricular Activity", in a scene where Charles introduces Gwendolyn to Buddy:
68	-->'''Gwendolyn:''' Hello, Buddy. Is that your real name?\
69	'''Buddy:''' Oh, that's just what people call me.\
70	'''Gwendolyn:''' Oh. Well, what is your real name, then?\
71	'''Charles:''' Yeah, Buddy, what is your real name?\
72	'''Buddy:''' Buddence.\
73	'''Charles:''' (''stifling a chuckle'') Buddence?\
74	'''Gwendolyn:''' Well, you don't mind if I just call you Buddy?\
75	'''Buddy:''' Well, everyone else does.\
76	'''Charles:''' I don't blame them.
77	** Add to that the fact that he and his younger sister have rhyming names (Buddy and Bunny).
78	* ExpositoryThemeSong: The tune very finely summarizes the show itself, and the feelings of the children he looks after, saving many a fan from having to explain the program, so much as just show a friend the intro.
79	* FirstGrayHair: Buddy reacts disastrously to spotting a single grey hair.
80	* {{Flanderization}}: Buddy Lembeck; he starts out as a BookDumb guy who thinks more about girls than studying, but as the series goes on, Buddy's intelligence substantially decreases, seemingly [[TookALevelInDumbass Taking Several Levels in Dumbass]].
81	%% * GirlOfTheWeek: Most of the characters, except for the parents of Charles' charges, has had at least a couple of these.
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83	* TheGhost: Adam's friend Kevin Holloway, and Jamie's popular and gossipy classmate (who can't keep a secret at all) Marcy Crawford are mentioned frequently during the syndication but never seen.
84	* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Jamie (the popular sister) and Sarah (the smart sister).
85	* GrammarNazi: Charles is somewhat of one, he is particular about proper use of grammar and is willing to explain the correct usage (which at times, leads to confusion). Season three's "Trading Papers" and season five's "Advice and Contempt" are key examples.
86	* GrandFinale: "Charles Be [=DeMille=]", [[spoiler:the plot involves Charles directing a variety show fundraiser involving the Powell children, only to back out in order to prepare for a test to get into Princeton University; he ultimately gets accepted into the school, resulting in his departure as the Powell children's caretaker]].
87	* GrandparentalObliviousness: Averted for the most part with Walter Powell.
88	* HandsOffParenting: Ellen falls into this category beginning in season four as her portrayer Sandra Kerns appears in substantially few episodes during the fourth and fifth seasons.
89	* HomeworkSlave: In one episode, Sarah is partnered with a boy she has a crush on for a school project. However, he starts using her feelings for him to try to get her into doing the whole project for her. Then it's revealed that the reason he does this is because he's illiterate and can't do his homework by himself.
90	* HormoneAddledTeenager:
91	** Jamie Powell is this to some degree, in terms of her love interests.
92	** Her younger sister Sarah mostly subverts the trope, though she has had occasional crushes and dates. In both sisters' cases, neither's relationships last for more than an episode.
93	* IdentityAmnesia: In two episodes (the two-parter "Charles Splits" and "All That Chaz"), Charles hits his head, resulting in him adopting an alter ego named Chaz, who acts similarly to Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli; in both episodes, the Powells and Buddy attempt to try and rid the Chaz alter ego (by hitting him in the head).
94	* IdiotBall: Buddy often comes up with ideas and thoughts that don't make a lot of sense.
95	* InSeriesNickname: Buddence Lembeck prefers to be known by his nickname Buddy rather than his full name.
96	%%* IvyLeagueForEveryone
97	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Jamie Powell has shades of selfishness and thoughtlessness of others during the final four seasons, mainly at levels where BrattyTeenageDaughter may apply; however, it is often shown that she does care for her younger siblings and can be a well-meaning person at times.
98	* TheKlutz: Buddy experiences this at some points during the series, such as accidentally bonking a customer he believed was a food critic reviewing Sid's with a pizza tray in "Five Easy Pizzas" and falling over a table in "Daffy Doc".
99	* LargeHam: Buddy becomes an exaggerated version of this by the fifth season.
100	* LastNameBasis: Walter is the only main character who addresses Buddy by his last name "Lembeck".
101	* LimitedSocialCircle: Charles' social circle consists mainly of Buddy and the Powell/Pembroke families. This could be stretched out in the first season to include his love interest Gwendolyn.
102	* LocalHangout: Sid's Pizza Parlor, which was unseen until the second season. Lillian bought the place from the manager's father (both the dad and son are named Sid) in season two, but sold the business at the beginning of the fourth season. The hangout for the remaining two seasons became the 1950s-themed Yesterday Cafe, an antique diner which Lillian also bought and managed not long after selling Sid's.
103	* LockedInARoom: Charles and Buddy get locked in a life-size animal cage in "La Cage Aux Fools" to protest animal testing at Copeland College, at Buddy's suggestion and Sarah's insistence. HilarityEnsues when [[FromBadToWorse neither has the key to unlock it and the two get kidnapped by fraternity members at the behest of Stanley Willard, while still caged]].
104	* MeaningfulName: Buddy (as in 'friend', which he is to Charles).
105	* MonochromeCasting: All of the main cast members in the series are Caucasian. In addition, very few actors of other ethnicities have appeared on the show, among those that have had guest roles include Black actors [[Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody Phill Lewis]], who played Bernie in the episode "Buddy Flips a Disc" and Jeff Robie, who played Sid (the manager of Sid's Pizza Parlor, which was originally owned by his father, before Lillian purchased it later that season) in a couple of season two episodes.
106	* MoodWhiplash: In the episode "Dead Puck Society", Buddy accidentally overbakes a (very poorly made) pie; when Charles and Russell (whom Sarah had been tutoring, only for him to trick her into doing his homework; played by Paul Walker) rush in to help, Russell is asked to use the fire extinguisher but passes it to Charles instead when he can't read the instructions. Charles and Buddy question why Russell didn't extinguish the fire himself, only for him to reveal that he's illiterate. Seconds later, Buddy hilariously misinterprets Russell's confession:
107	-->'''Buddy''' (misinterpreting "illiterate" for "illegitimate"): Hey, come on, big guy. [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Just because your mom and dad weren't married....]] (beat) doesn't mean you can't put out a fire, OK?
108	-->'''Charles:''' Excuse me, [[Series/WatchMrWizard MrWizard]]. I'd like to spe-- speak to Russell alone for a minute, OK?
109	-->'''Buddy:" Oh, sure. The minute the subject turns to s-e-x, I have to leave the room.
110	* MsFanservice: There are a couple of instances in which Jamie serves as this:
111	** In "Amityville," Jamie walks into the kitchen donning a Madonna-esque outfit, complete with a tight blue/purple leather tube top and zebra print pants. Ellen promptly orders her to go to back up to her room and change out of the outfit.
112	** In "La Cage Aux Fools," Sarah, Jamie and Adam wear costumes to go see ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''[[note]]Charles was supposed to take them, since neither could go to the R-rated film without an adult, but he and Buddy ended up trapped in a cage after Buddy stated to Sarah that Charles would protest of animal testing at Copeland College by locking himself in the cage[[/note]]. Jamie wears a maid's outfit, which for the most part is rather conservative, other than the fact it came with garterbelt hosiery (visible only by the straps that are visible in the short distance between the costume's skirt and the hose).
113	* NoFullNameGiven: The last name of Charles and his mother is never revealed throughout the series. It even lent itself to an occasional gag in which Charles is about to reveal his full name, only to be cut off before mentioning his surname. This was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in the final episode, "Charles Be [=DeMille=]", when Scott Baio realizes that [[ItWasAllADream he dreamt the entire in-series universe]]:
114	-->'''Lillian's voice:''' Haven't you ever wondered why you have no last name?
115	* NoLongerWithUs: Charles meets a woman in an elevator, who comments that she wishes she could see her father again. Once they step out of the elevator, she clears up the misunderstanding, pulling out a white cane; she can no longer see her father because she is blind.
116	* NuclearFamily: Played straight with the Pembrokes, but subverted with the Powells. In their case, the patriarch serves in the Navy and appears only in one episode throughout the syndication run, so Ellen is the only parent helping to raise the kids. Walter and Charles share the role of father figure in different ways.
117	* OddCouple: Aptly in the season three episode "The Extremely Odd Couple": the normally uneasy relationship between Lillian and Walter becomes a genuine friendship part-way through that episode, which quickly grinds to a halt when on the way to a bridge tournament out-of-town, they accidentally crash their cars into one another.
118	* OddFriendship: Charles and Buddy’s friendship very much falls into this, particularly in the later seasons as they become so incredibly different (especially in intelligence, as Buddy greatly slides in intelligence while Charles remains fairly smart) that they seem to be the kind of friendship that would not work, but at times it is shown that they are very close friends.
119	* OnceAnEpisode: In the syndication run, moreso from season three onward, Buddy says something completely idiotic.
120	** Charles and/or Walter makes a remark about Buddy's idiocy, and whether or not he even understands what comes out of his mouth.
121	** In most episodes, various members of the Powell family exclaim "doorbell!," signifying Charles to answer the door. At times, though, Charles tells them or gives a visual cue (such as grabbing Adam by the shoulders and dragging him to the front door for Adam to open it himself in "The Extremely Odd Couple") for the others to get the door themselves.
122	* OneHeadTaller: A combination gender-flipped and same-gender example with Sarah (the tallest of the Powell children), Jamie and Adam (who starts out as the shortest but grows to about the same height as Jamie by the final season).
123	* OnlySaneMan: Charles qualifies as this, something that is obviously not very difficult when you have a friend like Buddy, although he has his moments. Walter proved to have elements of this as well.
124	* ParanormalEpisode: The episode "U.F. Oh No" focuses on Adam believing that he spotted a UFO; Charles is originally skeptical about it, until he sees one for himself out the kitchen window later in the episode; Jamie, Walter, Adam and Sarah also see the object. [[spoiler: It turns out that Buddy simulated the UFO as part of a college psychology project to see how people would react to the existence of seeing one, the only issue is that the UFO that Charles saw two nights before wasn't Buddy's creation.]]
125	* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: In the final season, the producers attempted to give three cast members their own spinoffs in which they would each play a new character. These new characters were relatives that just happened to look identical to the characters they play on ''Charles in Charge'':
126	** The backdoor pilot for the proposed ''Almost Family'' had Charles visit the car wash owned by Lillian's sister Sally (also played by Ellen Travolta), which is in danger of closing.
127	** "Fair Exchange" had Sarah visiting Jamie's identical twin cousin Amanda (played by Nicole Eggert). The episode focuses on Amanda's family taking in a foreign exchange student from Romania.
128	** The episode "Last Resort" focused on Buddy's cousin (played by a blonde Willie Aames) working at a hotel in Hawaii and dealing with a wacky staff and even wackier guests.
129	* PutOnABus: In the season two premiere "Amityville", the Pembroke family leaves New Brunswick, New Jersey, to live in Seattle; they lease out the house to the Powell family.
130	** TheBusCameBack: Gwendolyn Pierce, which was one of the original characters who did not return as a regular for the syndication run, reappears in the season two two-parter "Twice Upon a Time".
131	* ReallyGetsAround: Charles and Buddy are serial daters (considering that they are college students, them playing the field is justified), both guys have had only a couple of girlfriends who appear in more than one episode.
132	* RecklessSidekick: Buddy slides more into this role as the series goes on; his recklessness had reached the levels where he [[TooDumbToLive nearly causes himself head injuries at the hands of a mallet and knocked himself out trying to smash a coconut on his head]].
133	* {{Retool}}: Upon moving to syndication, Charles' employers the Pembrokes were replaced by the Powells. In addition, the series added a prominent recurring (and by the end of season two, regular) role in Charles' mother Lillian, portrayed by Ellen Travolta.
134	* ShrinkingViolet: Sarah.
135	* SheCleansUpNicely: Lila in a couple of season one episodes, particularly the latter half of the pilot. Sarah in the later seasons, particularly in the episodes "Judge Not Lest Ye Beheaded", "The Boy Who Loved Woman" and "The Organization Man"[[note]]In the latter two episodes, Sarah models herself after Jamie (which Adam quips in "The Boy Who Loved Woman", "it's the invasion of the Jamie clones!"); she first made herself over to attract a boy – who is also interested in Jamie – in "The Boy Who Loved Woman" and as part of a plan thought up by Jamie to prevent the possibility of another boy Sarah is interested in from being attracted to Jamie by having both sisters adopt the other's personalities for the night in "The Organization Man"[[/note]].
136	* TheSlacker: Jamie shows some shades of this, although she more or less qualifies as BrilliantButLazy.
137	* {{Slapstick}}: Absent in the first season, some slapstick began to creep in to show during the syndication run. One of the most hilarious examples was in "Let's Quake a Deal", when Charles demonstrated a "Quakemaker", a belt that simulates earthquakes. When he set it to simulate a 4.5 magnitude tremblor, Charles was rocked all the way to the fireplace and tossed some light objects near the fireplace at a group of investors looking to resell the product; Buddy then turns it back on to simulate an 8.5 quake, Charles shakes all over the place (even nearly yanking the tie off of one of the investors) and Buddy ends up shaking himself then the "Quakemaker" winds up on his face after he gets it off of Charles and crashes into the kitchen. [[spoiler:Only one of the investors decides to purchase an interest, but asks for 90% ownership of the product, which Charles turns down.]]
138	* SoapboxSadie: Sarah in the syndicated incarnation, although it is mainly seen in the latter half of the show's run. In one such instance, the season four premiere "No Nukes is Good Nukes", Sarah is part of a group of protesters picketing against nuclear weapons; she gets arrested, resulting in Charles, Jamie and Adam attempting to prevent their mom Ellen and their navyman father Commander Powell (who is visiting his family on naval leave) from seeing the story about the protester arrests on the local news. However, Walter finds out about it. In "La Cage Aux Fools," Sarah plans to investigate claims that Charles' school, Copeland College, is experimenting on animals, and plans to protest if the rumors of this are proven true.
139	* SpecialGuest: Olympic gymnast Julianne [=McNamara=] and [[http://www.samanthasmith.info/ Samantha Smith]], the girl who wrote to Yuri Andropov, in "Slumber Party".
140	** Australian pop singer/model Samantha Fox, portrayed Samantha Steele, who Charles becomes involved with [[spoiler: before finding out she's married, which turns out to be a fake story to create publicity and controversy]] in "Paper Covers Rock".
141	* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Series/TheNanny'' to this show, as both shows feature broadly similar premises (fish-out-of-water becomes a nanny) and by way of Pamela Eells O'Connell, who has written for both shows (and co-executive produced the later series for a time).
142	** Also ''Series/{{Jessie}}'' on Creator/DisneyChannel as a DistaffCounterpart, which was created by Pamela Eells O'Connell.
143	** The Creator/NickAtNite DomCom ''Series/SeeDadRun'' is a Spiritual Successor to ''Charles in Charge'' in that both feature Scott Baio as someone finding themselves in a new role as a father figure.
144	* StandardizedSitcomHousing: Subverted. The Pembroke/Powell home seen in the opening credits and some scene transitions is confusingly shown as a apartment-style building, though it is structured as a three-bedroom home with a basement (that is converted into an extra bedroom for Charles) and has a ground-floor front entrance.
145	* StartMyOwn: Buddy and Charles create a business to look for caretakers for other families in their neighborhood in "Charles 'R' Us".
146	* TemptingFate: At the end of the season three Christmas episode "Yule Laff," after Charles and the Powells return home from a [[HorribleCampingTrip vacation in a cabin]] ([[spoiler: which results in them and Buddy being trapped due to a snowstorm just before the holiday]]), the family asks if Charles remembered to get the stuff they brought along on the trip. Then this happens:
147	-->'''Charles''' (assuredly): Everything we took up there, I brought back. I did not forget anything.
148	-->'''Sarah''': Where's Adam?
149	* TokenHouseguest: This is pretty much the whole premise of the show, in which college student Charles lives with a nuclear family, (first the Pembrokes and then the Powells).
150	* TomboyishName: Mike Lewis, a female classmate that Charles is scheduled to tutor but has to pawn on Buddy due to having to chaperone Sarah's date and look after the diner, in "The Organization Man".
151	* TomboyishPonytail: Averted. Sarah is the SmartGirl to Jamie's GirlyGirl, though the younger Powell sister usually wears her hair in a ponytail while Jamie more often wears her hair down. There are some instances in which Sarah [[LettingHerHairDown does wear her hair down]] herself, but these are fairly rare.
152	* {{Uncanceled}}: There was a year-and-a-half gap between when ''Charles in Charge'' was cancelled by CBS to its revival as a first-run syndicated series (atypical for a syndicated program, it relaunched during midseason, in January 1987).
153	* UnnecessaryMakeover: In-universe, in "The Boy Who Loved Woman", Sarah gives herself a makeover to try and win the affections of a boy named Mark who Jamie ends up asking out without realizing that Sarah is already interested in, modeling herself after Jamie; the impetus for this, Jamie inferring that it isn't fair for Sarah to compete with her for guys since they would more often pick Jamie over Sarah. When Mark arrives, he asks Sarah why she looks weird. Charles helps her realize that [[JustTheWayYouAre she is smarter, more sensitive and warmer than Jamie is]], which is why Mark was interested in her. Then Jamie walks in, leaving him to clarify that both sisters have their own great qualities. It turns out that Mark only asked Jamie out because of her looks, and because Sarah was busy the night before, it turns out that he was more interested in Sarah.
154	* WackyMarriageProposal: The first part of "Twice Upon a Time" features Buddy interrupting Charles' attempt to tell Gwendolyn [[spoiler:(who already has a fiancee)]] that he is still in love with her at a going-away party the Powells and Buddy have set up by blasting music from the jukebox; Charles, in frustration, shouts to Gwendolyn to marry him in front of everyone (including Buddy and the Powells) at Sid's Pizza Parlor.
155	* WhoNamesTheirKidDude: Buddy's real name is Buddence; his sister Bunny's real name is likewise Bunnence.
156	* WildTeenParty: Jamie throws one of these (after Buddy suggested that Sarah would not allow one) after the Powell kids convince Charles to let them make their own rules, throwing out the entire house rules in the process, in the season five premiere "Summer Together, Fall Apart".

Context Series / CharlesInCharge