nbc's "diff'rent strokes" number-one-ranked abc fought back by airing the hit show "happy days" against the new sitcom. >> mcilwain: i mean, you're seeing sort of the opposite of american life. one show, "happy days," that's obviously a sort of throwback, a longing for the supposed good old days. on the other hand, you got "diff'rent strokes," that is about now. it's about life in the '70s at that time, about the circumstances, the problems, the struggles, that are going on for this sort of very weird, different-kind-of-looking family, and so in a way, you have the sort of competing ideals, if you will, on the two networks, you know? and it's sort of like, you know, what do i want america to be like really? >> narrator: americans fell in love with kimberly, willis, and little arnold, and "diff'rent strokes" gained even more viewers as the first season rolled along. the jokes on the family-friendly show weren't as biting as past