50 Fun Facts About 8 Simple Rules

Paul Hennessy's dream in the 8 Simple Rules episode Come and Knock on Our Door parodies which John Ritter sitcom?

Three's Company made John Ritter a household name as Jack Tripper in the 1970s. In the dream Paul is the grumpy landlord Mr. Roper, with Bridget and Kerry as roommates Chrissy and Janet.

Before playing sensible mom Cate Hennessy on 8 Simple Rules, Katey Sagal was famous as which lazy sitcom housewife?

Peggy Bundy, the idle wife on Married... with Children, kept Sagal busy for a decade from 1987. Cate, the calm centre of a chaotic household, could hardly be more different.

Which future star of The Big Bang Theory played boy-crazy eldest child Bridget Hennessy on 8 Simple Rules?

Kaley Cuoco was 16 when the sitcom began in 2002, five years before she became Penny, the waitress across the hall from two physicists.

What job does Cate Hennessy return to full-time in the first season of 8 Simple Rules, leaving Paul in charge at home?

Nurse is Cate's profession, and her return to hospital shifts sets up the whole sitcom. Paul, now working from home, is left to police the dating lives of two teenage girls.

Which Saturday Night Live alumnus joined 8 Simple Rules as C.J. Barnes, Cate Hennessy's wisecracking nephew?

David Spade arrived after John Ritter's death, fresh from seven seasons as Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me! His C.J. moves in and takes over as the family's chief joker.

Which star of The Rockford Files joined 8 Simple Rules as Jim, the gruff father of Cate Hennessy?

James Garner joined after John Ritter's death in 2003 and stayed until the sitcom ended. His Jim arrives to help his widowed daughter and never quite leaves.

Which Married... with Children co-star of Katey Sagal guest-starred on 8 Simple Rules as Matt, Cate's old college flame?

Ed O'Neill, Sagal's TV husband for a decade, turns up at Cate's window as a free-spirited ex. The reunion episode is fittingly titled Old Flame.

Before turning work-from-home lifestyle columnist, what was Paul Hennessy's newspaper job on 8 Simple Rules?

Sportswriter was Paul's old beat, which is why he still treats a big game as sacred. He swaps the press box for a home office when Cate goes back to work.

Katey Sagal, who played Cate Hennessy on 8 Simple Rules, voices one-eyed captain Leela on which animated series?

Futurama has starred Sagal as spaceship captain Turanga Leela since its 1999 debut, and she is the only main cast member who voices just one character.

After 8 Simple Rules ended, Katey Sagal won a Golden Globe playing matriarch Gemma in which cable crime drama?

Sons of Anarchy cast Sagal as Gemma Teller Morrow, ruthless queen of a California motorcycle club. Her 2011 award honoured a part created by her husband, Kurt Sutter.

Cate Hennessy of 8 Simple Rules claims her middle initial S stands for Stacy, but what is her real middle name?

Stinky was the nickname of her father's best friend, whom he accidentally stabbed with a bayonet on a drunken night. Naming a child after the man was his way of making amends.

John Ritter died during production of 8 Simple Rules from which condition, first mistaken for a heart attack?

Aortic dissection, a tear in the body's main artery, killed Ritter hours after he fell ill at rehearsal. His widow later helped publish the Ritter Rules, a checklist for spotting it in time.

What is the title of the one-hour 8 Simple Rules episode in which the Hennessys learn that Paul has died?

Goodbye aired two months after John Ritter's death and drew more than 20 million viewers. It was filmed without a studio audience.

The Hennessy family of 8 Simple Rules lives in which state, home of Paul's beloved college football team?

Michigan is home, and Paul treats the annual game against Ohio State like a public holiday. Bridget earns her driving licence there in the first season.

Which boyfriend of Bridget Hennessy later dates her younger sister Kerry on 8 Simple Rules, straining the sisters' bond?

Kyle, the son of Paul's co-worker Tommy, is Bridget's boyfriend in the pilot. A kiss with Kerry at a party later that season starts the feud.

Which US network aired 8 Simple Rules for its whole run, moving the sitcom to Friday nights for its last season?

ABC launched the sitcom on Tuesday nights in September 2002 and cancelled it in May 2005, one season short of the 100 episodes prized for daily reruns.

Artistic middle child Kerry Hennessy is a passionate activist for which cause on 8 Simple Rules?

Animal rights drive Kerry to rail against a circus advert, take in a stray at Christmas and stage a sit-in to spare the frogs in biology class.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who guest-starred on 8 Simple Rules as Bridget's tutor Jeremy, grew up on which earlier sitcom?

Home Improvement made Thomas a teen idol as middle son Randy Taylor. On 8 Simple Rules his Jeremy is a class nerd whom Bridget is embarrassed to fall for.

Which Backstreet Boys member guest-starred on 8 Simple Rules as Ben, the drum instructor Bridget falls for?

Nick Carter plays Ben in the two-part story Drummer Boy, and Bridget is so smitten that she secretly follows him back to his college in Ohio.

What full-time job does slacker C.J. Barnes finally land at the Hennessy children's high school on 8 Simple Rules?

Teacher is the job C.J. earns after a spell as a substitute, and his first thrill is access to the staff lounge. His grandfather is quietly proud of him.

Which actor, famous as Puddy on Seinfeld, plays Paul Hennessy's newspaper boss Nick Sharpe on 8 Simple Rules?

Patrick Warburton plays Nick, an editor with teenage girls of his own. Watching him bully Rory shows Paul how he treats the boys who call for Bridget and Kerry.

What pet does Rory Hennessy get by trading away his father's baseball cards on 8 Simple Rules?

A monkey is Rory's long-running obsession, and Paul's plan to distract him with card collecting backfires. Rory later swaps it for a guitar.

Where does Paul Hennessy collapse and die offscreen early in the second season of 8 Simple Rules?

A grocery store is where Paul collapses while buying milk, and Cate learns of it in a phone call that sends her running from the house in tears.

Which Moonlighting star played Maggie, the rival sister of Cate Hennessy, on 8 Simple Rules?

Cybill Shepherd arrives as Maggie when her marriage hits trouble, reviving a lifelong sibling rivalry. Maggie is also the mother of Cate's nephew C.J.

Cate's father Jim on 8 Simple Rules is a proud veteran of which conflict, bristling when it is called a police action?

The Korean War is Jim's proudest chapter, and the setting of the bayonet mishap that saddled his daughter with an embarrassing middle name.

Where in the Hennessy house does Cate's father Jim settle on 8 Simple Rules, later sharing the space with C.J.?

The basement becomes Jim's bachelor pad once he gives Rory his bedroom back. His grandson C.J. later joins him down there.

After John Ritter died, Disney chief Michael Eisner pitched which 8 Simple Rules plot for Cate, appalling colleagues?

A pregnancy, with the birth timed for May sweeps, was Eisner's idea for keeping viewers. Network bosses thought it exploitative, and the pitch faded after heated arguments.

In the 8 Simple Rules episode Daddy's Girl, which dream does a family therapist urge Cate Hennessy to pursue?

Becoming a singer is Cate's dream, and she takes the stage at a bar to perform. The song was a real track from the album Katey Sagal released in 2004.

After Paul's death on 8 Simple Rules, how does Rory really injure the hand he claims he burned on a casserole dish?

Punching a wall in his bedroom is how Rory vents his grief, and he hides the truth until he confesses to his grandfather Jim.

John Ritter was rushed from an 8 Simple Rules rehearsal to a Burbank hospital with which personal link to him?

He was born there in 1948, at what is now Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, and died there six days before his 55th birthday.

Which actress played Kerry Hennessy on 8 Simple Rules despite being six years older than her on-screen big sister?

Amy Davidson was already 23 when the first episode aired, yet played a teenager through all 76 episodes.

Despite her ditzy image, which classic novel is the favourite book of Bridget Hennessy on 8 Simple Rules?

The Catcher in the Rye is Bridget's surprising pick, revealed during the Drummer Boy two-parter. It is one of the flashes of depth behind her fashion-first image.

Which historical figure does Bridget Hennessy portray in a school play on 8 Simple Rules, to her family's surprise?

Anne Frank is the role that turns Bridget serious: Cate hands her the famous diary, and her performance weeks after Paul's death wins over even Kerry.

What family nickname belongs to prickly middle child Kerry Hennessy on 8 Simple Rules?

Care Bear is Kerry's pet name, a soft label for the family's biggest cynic. Bridget's is Beach, after the place where she was conceived.

Which future star of The Vampire Diaries appeared on 8 Simple Rules as Damian, a bad-boy boyfriend of Bridget?

Paul Wesley played Damian years before starring as Stefan Salvatore, whose vampire brother has almost the same name: Damon.

John Ratzenberger plays neighbour Fred Doyle on 8 Simple Rules; which Cheers co-star first played his wife Mary Ellen?

Shelley Long, the bar's Diane Chambers, originated Mary Ellen before Cindy Williams of Laverne & Shirley took over the part.

Which 1960s screen siren guest-starred on 8 Simple Rules as Jackie, an old flame of Cate's father Jim?

Raquel Welch plays Jackie, now head of the modelling agency that rejected Bridget for a car commercial. Jim's plea on his granddaughter's behalf rekindles old sparks.

The sitcom 8 Simple Rules took its name and premise from a humour book by which newspaper columnist?

W. Bruce Cameron published the bestseller in 2001 and went on to supply stories for several first-season episodes himself.

Which former sitcom landlord of John Ritter appears as himself in Paul Hennessy's dream on 8 Simple Rules?

Don Knotts, who played landlord Ralph Furley, turns up at the end of the dream. It was the last time he and Ritter appeared on screen together.

In a family contest to quit bad habits on 8 Simple Rules, what must middle child Kerry Hennessy give up?

Sarcasm is Kerry's vice in the episode Give It Up, where the last person standing picks the family vacation. She and Paul, who surrenders the TV remote, outlast everyone else.

Before moving in with the Hennessys on 8 Simple Rules, C.J. Barnes lived in what, later burned by his grandfather?

A van was C.J.'s home until Jim torched it, which is how grandfather and grandson end up as reluctant roommates under Cate's roof.

In the second-season finale of 8 Simple Rules, C.J. turns down a roadie job with which rock band?

Aerosmith really does want him, against all expectations, but C.J. chooses a summer road trip to Florida with Rory and Jim instead.

What mishap burns down the Hennessy garage in the third season of 8 Simple Rules?

A turkey fryer blast levels the garage at Thanksgiving, and the episode replays the day in flashback: the children cooking, Jim wrestling with the TV and Cate bringing the principal to dinner.

Which Chicago Hope actor plays Ed Gibb, the high school principal Cate Hennessy begins dating on 8 Simple Rules?

Adam Arkin's Ed Gibb dated Cate back in their own school days, and the two tell very different versions of how that first romance went.

Which star of The Bob Newhart Show played Laura, the mother of Cate Hennessy, on 8 Simple Rules?

Suzanne Pleshette first appears in the tribute episode, where Laura and her estranged husband Jim rush to comfort their widowed daughter.

Which CBS drama starring John Ritter's son Jason beat the final episode of 8 Simple Rules in the ratings?

Joan of Arcadia cast Jason Ritter as Kevin Girardi, the heroine's older brother, and drew a bigger share that night than his late father's sitcom.

Which young actor played Rory Hennessy, the tattling youngest child, in every season of 8 Simple Rules?

Martin Spanjers won a Young Artist Award for the role in 2004, and later played Justin on the Disney sitcom Good Luck Charlie.

What name does Rory Hennessy give the ventriloquist dummy he uses to mock people on 8 Simple Rules?

Skeevy lets Rory insult everyone in sight, in the same episode in which Bridget takes on a demanding stage role.

In Cate's body-swap dream in the 8 Simple Rules episode Freaky Friday, Rory Hennessy trades places with what?

His hamster gets Rory's body, while Bridget swaps with her mother and C.J. with Jim. The episode was written by the author of the book that inspired the sitcom.

In the 8 Simple Rules episode Good Moms Gone Wild, how do Bridget and Kerry discover their mother's wild youth?

Archive TV footage of a young Cate letting loose in a bar is broadcast just as she is about to punish the girls for partying with spring breakers.