Earlier in the show's run, it more closely adhered to the format of its British predecessor "Steptoe and Son" with 16 episodes (12 in season one and four in season two) being remade from the original Galton and Simpson scripts with Fred and Lamont often at odds over various issues. Fred and Lamont also are depicted as being equally manipulative. Fred manipulates with constant threats of "the big one" and avoids manual labor due to his "arthur-itis". In earlier episodes, Lamont through various antics would try to drive a wedge between his father and Fred's girlfriend Donna Harris (Lynn Hamilton), of whom he disapproves because he thinks she is trying to usurp his mother's place.