>> narrator: todd bridges played willis, the streetwise skeptic to arnold's wide-eyed innocent. >> we don't belong in no penthouse. we ain't the right color. >> i'll get me a skin transplant. >> narrator: dana plato's kimberly was the privileged prep-school teen who learned life lessons from her stepbrothers. >> this is arnold, and this is willis, kimberly. >> hi there. hi. >> hi, metal mouth. >> daddy, isn't this delicious? we just met, and already he's insulting me like a real brother. >> narrator: on november 3, 1978, silverman's faith in lear and coleman paid off. "diff'rent strokes" premiered in the family-friendly 8:00 p.m. time slot. >> silverman: and that was actually the first show that i put on the air in--at nbc, and it was an immediate success. >> drew: when "diff'rent strokes" came out, it was such a massive phenomenon. >> brown: it dealt with life