More Brand Spanking New Doug (All Grown Up, Married With Kids)

[oldmanwinters]

I never really saw Doug and Patti as getting serious and married, personally.

EDIT: I always thought a large part of the appeal of the show (and their relationship) was the "first love/puppy dog crush" aspect of pre-teen kids. It's largely one-sided, but Patti really likes him as a friend but probably not beyond that. Doug's affections for her doesn't really have any substance other than the fact that he's smitten with her instantly and she's a pretty good person. His longings for her serve as the basis for his imagination to run wild with ideas, which usually serve the needs of the particular episode. At the end, he doesn't come to any deeper understanding of what his relationship to Patti "should be" but still learns something about himself. The show's theme is about enjoying childhood and growing up a little bit along the way, not that D&P are destined to end up together. And that's perfectly ok.

Now... I never really watched much of the Disney version of the show because it never hit the same way. Maybe they changed up all that.