When Good Shows Go Bad: Growing Pains

[TMC]

http://www.wewantinsanity.com/am2/pu...ng_Pains.shtml

Been a while since I've covered an ABC show. Not really any specific reason, just it seems like NBC and CBS has a lot more memorably low-hanging fruit worth talking about. Considering that recent stats show ABC in the position NBC was in not too long ago that may not change for a while if ABC keeps doing bone-headed moves like putting one of your most hyped TV series that you could put literally almost anywhere on your schedule and get viewers up against freaking NCIS (I'm not the biggest fan of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD but seriously, what the hell). So lets go back in time and look at a classic family sitcom that went completely tits up...

The History:

By the mid-1980s family sitcoms were all the rage, and the world didn't know that Neal Marlons and Carol Black were about to launch the first of three sitcoms for ABC (the others were two little shows called The Wonder Years and Ellen): Growing Pains. Mike Sullivan and Steve Marshall (both of WKRP in Cincinnati and Gloria) would executive produce Marlons and Black went to focus on their next show. Growing Pains ran for 7 seasons on ABC and was followed up with two reunion movies, one in 2000 and another in 2004. At its peak Growing Pains was the eighth most-watched program on American television, managing to pull in roughly twenty million viewers on average during its peak during the second and third seasons. While Family Ties and Growing Pains seem pretty much cut from the same mold there is no real evidence that the latter was meant to capitalize on the former.

The Show:

Dr. Jason Seaver (fairly-uknown at the time outside of Canada Alan Thicke, father of idiot Robin Thicke) is a stay at home psychiatrist, and thus the one who spends the most time with his kids. Jason's wife Maggie (Joanna Kerns) works as a reporter. The three children are Mike (Kirk Cameron), Carol (Tracey Gold) and Ben (Jeremy Miller). Chrissy Seaver (eventually Ashley Johnson after being played by various child actors) was born later on. The family dynamic was an early focus with eyes on the parents but like many other sitcoms focus eventually fell on the children, in particular Mike. In the final season Mike effectively adopted Luke (Leonardo DiCaprio), a street kid, and tried to help turn his life around. The show was known for both defying the progression of time and playing with it, such as when Chrissy seemed to age about six years with the passage of time not entirely recognized (not the first time a sitcom has done this either).

[RetroGuy2000]

Definitely went downhill when they added Luke.

[MacLeaper]

I love Growing Pains from start to finish.
(But of course I realize others have different opinions and that's fine.)

[TMC]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Definitely went downhill when they added Luke.

I think the addition of Luke was the tale-tell sign that GP was living on borrowed time. It was obviously a calculated attempt to keep the viewers interested by creating a brand new dynamic in the Seaver household.

[TMC]

The big problem w/ a show like Growing Pains (besides the obvious one concerning Kirk Cameron's off-camera behavior) is that like most family shows, it's hard to figure out what to do (as a result, the network figuratively beats it death with plot holes and poorly written characters) and where to go once the kids "grow up". As a result, they'll more than often drag in more kids (in GP's case, Chrissy and later Luke).

[mets82]

I think when Mike finally grew up, the show got stale. I actually watched the whole series or whatever has been airing on UP. I think once Mike started growing up, there was really no show because the show was really about Mike and all the trouble he gets into.

[king of comedy]

I hated when they made fun of Carol and her weight problem. It was mean spirited and unfunny.

[tlc38tlc38]

Originally Posted by king of comedy

I hated when they made fun of Carol and her weight problem. It was mean spirited and unfunny.

I totally agree. Carol was always my favorite character and to this day I still really like Tracey Gold. She has some really good TV movies that sometimes air on Lifetime.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by mets82

I think when Mike finally grew up, the show got stale. I actually watched the whole series or whatever has been airing on UP. I think once Mike started growing up, there was really no show because the show was really about Mike and all the trouble he gets into.

It wasn't so much Mike simply "growing up" per se, it was Kirk Cameron demanding that his character suddenly become super responsible and keeping his nose clean. In essence, he was trying to make his character become "too perfect" if that was possible. There were hardly any convincing build-up or growth to make the change in Mike's character make sense. There was hardly any edge or dimensions to his character anymore.

A great microcosm of this is an episode from the last season called "Don't Go Changin'", in which Mike worries that his old, fun-loving friend Eddie might be a bad influence on Luke. It just came across as tight-wadded Kirk Cameron waxing poetically and being self-serving in regards to "protecting the kids". It made Mike a massive Marty Stu (or in Kirk Cameron's case, Purity Sue).

[Vahan]

Kirk Cameron says he's not a homophobe. Well, I find it suspect that after season 4, the theme song was changed back, from the B.J. Thomas & Dusty Springfield version, to the B.J. Thomas & Jennifer Warnes version.

Would a non-homophobe demand to have a theme song changed, because one of the singers was a well-known Lesbian? I think not.

[Kasey]

I always wondered why they reverted back the the Warnes version in S5. Do you know this for sure? It seems odd that the producers would scrap that theme just because some kid actor balked at the singer's sexual orientation.

I love Dusty but I prefer Jennifer's version of the theme...to me it just wasn't "Growing Pains" without Warnes singing the theme.

[Vahan]

Originally Posted by Kasey

I always wondered why they reverted back the the Warnes version in S5. Do you know this for sure? It seems odd that the producers would scrap that theme just because some kid actor balked at the singer's sexual orientation.

I love Dusty but I prefer Jennifer's version of the theme...to me it just wasn't "Growing Pains" without Warnes singing the theme.

It is just speculation on my part, but I wouldn't doubt that was the main reason.

Anyways, was 1989 the year Cameron converted?

[glickmam]

Originally Posted by Vahan

It is just speculation on my part, but I wouldn't doubt that was the main reason.

Anyways, was 1989 the year Cameron converted?

Actually, the reason for the switch was due to Jennifer Warnes' involvement with the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing. It's the same reason why Bill Medley was brought in to perform the theme to Just the Ten of Us.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

It wasn't so much Mike simply "growing up" per se, it was Kirk Cameron demanding that his character suddenly become super responsible and keeping his nose clean. In essence, he was trying to make his character become "too perfect" if that was possible. There was hardly any convincing build-up or growth to make the change in Mike's character make sense. There were hardly any edge or dimensions to his character anymore.

A great microcosm of this is an episode from the last season called "Don't Go Changin'", in which Mike worries that his old, fun-loving friend Eddie might be a bad influence on Luke. It just came across as tight-wadded Kirk Cameron waxing poetically and being self-serving in regards to "protecting the kids". It made Mike a massive Marty Stu (or in Kirk Cameron's case, Purity Sue).

That episode was a perfect example of Kirk Cameron wanting to shove his new found morality down our throats. He couldn't let the viewers decide what was truly "right and wrong" because he was the ultimate authority. The same sort of thing happened in an episode where Mike gives Luke a lecture about the dangers of drinking alcohol. It sounded like something that Kirk Cameron would say (like reading off the Surgeon General's warning on cigarette packages), not a real person (especially somebody his age at the time).

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Kasey

I always wondered why they reverted back the the Warnes version in S5. Do you know this for sure? It seems odd that the producers would scrap that theme just because some kid actor balked at the singer's sexual orientation.

I love Dusty but I prefer Jennifer's version of the theme...to me it just wasn't "Growing Pains" without Warnes singing the theme.

Quite frankly, I never really cared much for the Dusty Springfield version of the theme (as well as the dreaded acapella version from the the second to last season I believe). The best version was the one w/ B.J. Thomas and Jennifer Warnes. I guess part of my problem is that I like Springfield's rather raspy voice and trying to overpower the song ("BABY, rain or SHINE!!!").