History Series / EightSimpleRules

** When Cate's old flame shows up he is portrayed by Ed O'Neil who played Katey Sagal's husband on ''Series/MarriedwithChildren'.

** When Cate's old flame shows up he is portrayed by Ed O'Neil who played Katey Sagal's husband on 'Married with Children'.

* BareYourMidriff: Bridget. Good luck finding an episode where she doesn't do this.
** Kerry as well, although to a lesser extent.

* ActorAllusion: Paul imagines the entire cast in the roles of his previous sitcom, 'Three's Company'.

* StacysMom: Cate is an extremely beautiful and voluptuous older woman, so much so that when Bridget inhabits her body in the Freaky Friday body-swap episode she grasps her bountiful breasts and asks her "How do you walk around with these?". We also have the equally beautiful Cybil Shepherd as Aunt Maggie.

* Stacy'sMom: Cate is an extremely beautiful and voluptuous older woman, so much so that when Bridget inhabits her body in the Freaky Friday bodyswap episode she grasps her bountiful breasts and asks her "How do you walk around with these?". We also have the equally beautiful Cybil Shepherd as Aunt Maggie.

* ButIWouldReallyEnjoyIt (TropeNamer)

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Rory has tried repeatedly to get his own monkey. [[spoiler: Every time he succeeds he is forced to give it back.]]

* CatholicSchoolGirlsRule : Bridget wears one for her Halloween costume despite being an actual schoolgirl and even her grandfather thinks she looks like a stripper.

* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Bridget gets voted Class President, is able to make men do anything she wants and even is still loved when she has to walk around with a facial mask on. Everyone loves her so much that when she announces herself on the intercom, a faint standing ovation is heard.

The premise was good and it worked well... until the show was [[RealLifeWritesThePlot derailed]] by the death of John Ritter just two weeks before the Season 2 premiere. The resultant ReTool brought in Cate's cantankerous father Jim (Creator/JamesGarner) and slacker nephew C.J. (Creator/DavidSpade). Because of Ritter's death, [[OfficiallyShortenedTitle the show's name was shortened]] from the quirky ''8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter'' to simply ''8 Simple Rules''. The ratings also took a plunge shortly after episodes dealing with [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim Paul's death]] and it was cancelled within two years. Despite this the show still managed to last a total of 76 episodes, 45 after Ritter's death after when he had completed 31.

The premise was good and it worked well... until the show was [[RealLifeWritesThePlot derailed]] by the death of John Ritter just two weeks before the Season 2 premiere. The resultant ReTool brought in Cate's cantankerous father Jim (Creator/JamesGarner) and slacker nephew C.J. (Creator/DavidSpade). Because of Ritter's death, [[OfficiallyShortenedTitle the show's name was shortened]] from the quirky ''8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter'' to simply ''8 Simple Rules''. The ratings also took a plunge shortly after episodes dealing with [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim Paul's death]] and it was cancelled within two years. Despite this the show still managed to last 76 episodes, 45 after Ritter's death after he had completed 31.

* IncestSubtext: After Aunt Maggie gets a water bra and becomes more buxom, Rory is more than eager and willing to continue asking his aunt for more hugs just so he could feel her chest.

* Stacy'sMom: Cate is an extremely beautiful and voluptuous older woman, so much so that when Bridget inhabits her body in the Freaky Friday bodyswap episode she grasps her bountiful breasts and asks her "How do you walk around with these?".

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Paul is one of the walking definitions of this trope. A lot of episodes shown he's fully aware of this trope and invokes it to have fun with the girls. Cate herself is not immune from this trope either -- especially when she teaches Sex Ed in Bridget's class. Whenever Paul looks at his daughters, no matter how grown up and sexy they become he can only ever perceive them as a pair a pair of adorable 8 year olds.

The premise was good and it worked well... until the show was [[RealLifeWritesThePlot derailed]] by the death of John Ritter just two weeks before the Season 2 premiere. The resultant ReTool brought in Cate's cantankerous father Jim (Creator/JamesGarner) and slacker nephew C.J. (Creator/DavidSpade). Because of Ritter's death, [[OfficiallyShortenedTitle the show's name was shortened]] from the quirky ''8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter'' to simply ''8 Simple Rules''. The rating also took a plunge shortly after episodes dealing with [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim Paul's death]] and it was cancelled within two years.

* Stacy'sMom: Cate is an extremely beautiful and voluptuous older woman, so much so when Bridget inhabits her body in the Freaky Friday bodyswap episode she grasps her bountiful breasts and asks her "How do you walk around with these?".

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Paul is one of the walking definitions of this trope. A lot of episodes shown he's fully aware of this trope and invokes it to have fun with the girls. Cate herself is not immune from this trope either -- especially when she teaches Sex Ed in Bridget's class.

The premise was good and it worked well... until the show was [[RealLifeWritesThePlot derailed]] by the death of John Ritter just two weeks before the season 2 premiere. The resultant ReTool brought in Cate's cantankerous father Jim (Creator/JamesGarner) and slacker nephew C.J. (Creator/DavidSpade). Because of Ritter's death, [[OfficiallyShortenedTitle the show's name was shortened]] from the quirky ''8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter'' to simply ''8 Simple Rules''. The rating also took a plunge shortly after episodes dealing with [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim Paul's death]] and it was cancelled within two years.

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Paul is one of the walking definitions of this trope. A lot of episodes shown he's fully aware of this trope and invokes it to have fun with the girls. Cate herself is not immune from this trope either - especially when she teaches Sex Ed in Bridget's class.

* BettyAndVeronica: Kerry (Betty) and Bridget (Veronica) become this over her old boyfriend Kyle (Archie) in Season One.

** Rory's class make fun of him for Paul coming into the school wearing slippers. At the end of the episode Rory dumps a box of slippers on Paul's bed - saying kids have been stuffing them in his locker. Paul gets interested in one sheepskin pair.

* CouchGag: Rory's way to taunt the supposed girls' date changed between title sequences in season 1 and during the episodes of season 2 before Paul passed away.

* GetOut: Paul to Rory after he finds him hiding in Kerry's closet in the pilot. And later, as Kerry needles Bridget after she lied about going to the library. "Kerry! Out!" [[RunningGag And a third time]] after Rory comes up Paul mocking his sisters - "Dad? Do you think I'm pretty?" "'''''Get out!'''''" In fact, this is something of a running gag with Rory throughout the series.

* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Popular and boy-crazy Bridget is the pretty sister, while Kerry is the smart sister. A few episodes do explore the conflict between these archetypes - mainly Kerry wishing that she were thought of as the pretty sister too.

* LoveTriangle: Kerry/Kyle/Bridget in the last half of Season One.
* MadonnaWhoreComplex: Initially in season 1. Bookish conservative Kerry is contrasted with outgoing flirty Bridget. It keeps subverting the trope however as [[spoiler: Kerry is the first to lose her virginity, by cheating on her boyfriend too]]. One episode actually has Kerry remark that Paul expects her to be "some old spinster like [[Literature/GreatExpectations Miss Havisham]]" - and she acts like a Whore to annoy him.

* NotSoAboveItAll: Kerry speaks about how shallow modelling is when an agent comes around to see Bridget. However the agent says her red hair is fabulous and suggests she try it too - reducing Kerry to a bashful pile of giggles. TheStinger has her acting out the commercial Bridget auditioned for in her room.

* ThePunishmentIsTheCrime: In "Bridget's New Job," Bridget tried to get her parents to agree with this when, after getting a job at a clothing store, she racked up a huge bill for clothes, then paid it off with the emergency credit card given to her by her parents. It didn't work - she was still made to do work around the house to pay off the debt.

** Also Creator/KaleyCuoco injured her leg during filming of the 3rd season and her injury was subsequently written into several episodes.
* RetCon: Cate's parents were still married in season 1 with them both visiting for Thanksgiving and the family staying at their condo in Florida. When Paul died they were suddenly retconned into being divorced for years so Jim could move in with Cate.

** Also Jeremy - a nerdy boy for whom Bridget develops a three-episode crush.
* SwearJar: Parodied - Rory has to put a dollar in a jar each time he mentions his desire to have a pet monkey.

* TakeOurWordForIt: Kerry's painting is so brave and controversial, that even Paul can't look at it. We don't get to see it. There's also the video where Paul breaks Bridget's nose while playing tennis - we don't get to see that moment either, but it makes the entire family turn away in disgust.

* HourglassPlot: In ''No Right Way'', the second episode aired after Creator/JohnRitter's passing, sees Bridget easily bounce back from Paul's death and eagerly preparing for a dance, and Kerry sulking all alone and resenting Kyle for saying he loves her, thinking he simply felt sorry for her. Come the end of the episode, Bridget gets ready to go to the dance, but suddenly breaks down in tears. After the sisters have a conversation with Kate, Kerry ends up going to the dance and having a good time with Kyle, and Bridget stays home, crying.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After Cate's failed attempt at [[FoodAsBribe currying flavor to Kerry to get her to help Bridget study and pass her class by baking cookies]] in one episode due to the flavor being the favorite of Bridget's instead of Kerry's, she bakes cookies once more at the end of the selfsame episode, this time to compliment Kerry for her helping Bridge pass her class successfully. Unfortunately, Cate remains unable to remember Kerry's favorite cookie flavor, as evidence by everyone else's reaction when Cate announces the flavor of the cookies in question -- Jim, Rory, C.J., and Bridget all sport an OhCrap expression, drop the cookie each of them is holding at the moment, and proceed to inch away from the kitchen as quietly and quickly as they can.
-->'''Kerry''': '''''PEANUT BUTTER!!!'''''

* OhCrap: "'''You know!'''" Shouted by Kyle to Paul after a long, awkward silence before fleeing the house. Justified since Paul knows that [[spoiler: Kyle cheated on Bridget with Kerry]].

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Bridget writes her feelings towards Mr. Hennessey on a piece of paper as "I hate you." She then says that the original draft was two words.

The premise was good and it worked well... until the show was [[RealLifeWritesThePlot derailed]] by the death of John Ritter. The resultant ReTool brought in Cate's cantankerous father Jim (Creator/JamesGarner) and slacker nephew C.J. (Creator/DavidSpade). Because of Ritter's death, [[OfficiallyShortenedTitle the show's name was changed from the quirky]] ''[[OfficiallyShortenedTitle Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter]]'' [[OfficiallyShortenedTitle to simply]] ''[[OfficiallyShortenedTitle Eight Simple Rules]]''. The rating also took a plunge shortly after episodes dealing with [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim Paul's death]] and it was cancelled within two years.