The Cosby Show: A Work in Progress

December 26, 2022December 4, 2022 / thewritelife61 / 4 Comments

Today is the last blog of the series on our favorite sitcom families and the last blog of the year. We have been to Long Island, Detroit, and Los Angeles, and now we are heading back to New York. Today we are going to visit the Huxtables.

I will admit, I have put off writing this blog for years. It is a very difficult one for me to write about. Writing this blog makes me mad, sad, and strangely joyful at the same time.

It makes me mad because of Bill Cosby’s despicable behavior. It makes me sad because this amazing show has been tarnished through no fault of its own. After Cosby’s arrest, the show disappeared from the airwaves. The rest of the cast has to suffer because of the bad behavior of one person. But, if I take my own advice, and I choose to celebrate the characters, not the people behind them, I can still find joy in this well-written and truly funny show.

Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner were two ABC executives who had worked on Mork & Mindy, Three’s Company, and Welcome Back Kotter. They were looking for a celebrity to star in their new show. Bill Cosby helped create this show which became The Cosby Show and was a staple on Thursday nights on NBC for eight seasons. It was the number one show on television for five of those years.

The Huxtables were an upper-class family living in a Brooklyn Heights brownstone. Father Cliff (Cosby) was an obstetrician and mother Clair (Phylicia Rashad) was an attorney. They had five kids: Sondra (Sabrina Le Beauf), Denise (Lisa Bonet), Theo (Malcolm Jamal Warner), Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe), and Rudy (Keisha Knight Pulliam).

Vanessa Williams and Whitney Houston were both considered for the role of Sondra. Originally Rudy was planned to be a boy, and Jaleel White was brought in to audition.

A couple of famous kids who appeared on the show went on to be stars including Alicia Keys and Adam Sandler.

The brownstone they lived in was a house we got to know well. It was actually located in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village.

The theme music, “Kiss Me,” was composed by Stu Gardner and Bill Cosby. Seven different versions showed up during the run of the series. Under Stu Gardner’s supervision, two albums were produced: A House Full of Love: Music from the Cosby Show in 1986 and Total Happiness in 1987.

When daughter Denise went off to college, a spin-off show was created. A Different World was about her time at Hillman College, a fictional historic black college.

The show often promoted art and music. Musicians like Miles Davis, BB King, Stevie Wonder, and Sammy Davis Jr. appeared on the series. Much of the artwork that was featured in the house was by Synthia Saint James and Varnette Honeywood.

This was an important series for so many reasons. It was the one of the first shows to have an upper middle class family who was black. At this point in time, the sitcom had become a dying art. This show was responsible for bringing the sitcom back to life. It featured music, art, and culture which is seen on very few sitcoms. It was well written and very funny, yet had its heart-warming moments. The kids all were very different just like our own families, so everyone had someone they could identify with. I do understand the human behind the character is often not what we would hope for.

A lot of stars have disappointed us with their behavior behind the scenes. Usually I can move beyond that. However, I have had two times when it has been extremely difficult for me. I love The Philadelphia Story and Harvey. They are two of my go-to movies when I am looking for something to watch on a weekend. When I heard about the racist comments Jimmy Stewart made during his career, I did not watch them for years. It was really hard for me to view them in the same way I did before that knowledge.

The Cosby Show was the other difficult one for me. I remember a story my dad told me. He was staying at a hotel in Illinois for business; he went down to the restaurant this quiet weekday evening for dinner and a drink. He was sitting at one table, Bill Cosby was sitting at another table, and only two other tables were occupied by diners. At one of these tables sat two women who were obviously excited to see him, and finally, they approached him to ask for an autograph. My dad said he rebuffed them and was quite rude, and they went back to their table, extremely embarrassed. That unkind and egotistical behavior always stuck with me. While, I totally appreciate that stars have a right to refuse to sign autographs, there is a kind and tactful way to say no.

In the New York Times, Wesley Morris wrote an article on June 18, 2017, titled “How to Think About Bill Cosby and The Cosby Show.” He described the importance of the show for its “portrayal of black people as happy, stable, well off, and free of white oppression and guilt; for sneaking into typical sitcom high jinks the occasional, hilarious, often poignant lessons about gender equality, friendship, and marriage; and for proving that such a depiction could be a ratings winner.”

He then went on to talk about Cosby’s court trial. He summarized, “Guilty or not, Mr. Cosby’s courthouse behavior acknowledged an additional trial: the one going on in our hearts. I don’t need a jury to know that this trial has worn mine out.” I could not agree more. It took me some time, but I have come to love this show again. I find the show innocent of any negative connotations placed on it because of Cosby’s behavior. However, the trial inside myself did wear my heart out. While I am still trying to like Cliff Huxtable, it’s hard not to remember the hardships brought about by Bill Cosby. It’s a work in progress.

Yes, Dear: The Fans Take on The Critics

December 19, 2022December 4, 2022 / thewritelife61 / 3 Comments

As we begin week three in our blog series looking at some of our favorite families, today we are heading to Los Angeles to check in with the Warners and the Hughes.

O’Malley, Snyder, Kelly, Clark Photo: imdb.com

Created by Alan Kirschenbaum and Gregory Garcia, Yes, Dear was on CBS for five seasons from 2000 to 2006.

Greg (Anthony Clark) and Kim (Jean Louisa Kelly) Warner have a son Sammy (Anthony and Michael Bain); he is a film industry businessman and she is a stay-at-home mom. They have a peaceful, although maybe somewhat boring, life. Then Kim’s sister Christine (Liza Snyder) and brother-in-law Jimmy (Mike O’Malley) Hughes move into their guest house with their two overactive boys, Dominic (Joel Horman) and Logan (Christopher and Nicholas Berry, Alexander and Shawn Shapiro, Brandon Baerg). One of the gags of this show is Greg recalling Logan’s childhood; when he reflects back on it, we see all the different Logans.

The Warners and the Hughes have very different lifestyles and views on life and parenting. Kim and Greg are a bit neurotic and try to hard to be the perfect parents. Christine and Jimmy, on the other hand, are down-to-earth and less concerned about doing everything perfectly.

For example, in one scene, the script is:

Dominic: Can I have some coffee, so I don’t fall asleep in school again?

Jimmy: Dominic, you are six years old, you can’t have coffee. Here, drink these Mountain Dews.

Rounding out the cast was Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence as Greg’s parents Tom and Natalie, Jerry Van Dyke and Beth Grant as Jimmy’s parents Jimmy and Kitty, and Dan Hedaya and Alley Mills as the girls’ mother Jenny and father Don.

The theme song, “Family is Family,’ written and performed by Bill Janovitz summarizes the plot:

1,2,3! You got a wife and kid in love with you. Yes, Dear.

You swear to God they’re poking fun at you. Yes, Dear.

You live your life the best you can. Yes, Dear.

Until your family screws up the plan. Yes, Dear.

But family is family is family is family. Yes, Dear.

Yes, Dear. Yes, Dear.

The great Betty White Photo: twitter.com

Despite its decent ratings, critics never seemed to appreciate the show at all. The only Emmy award the show was nominated for was for Betty White as a guest star in 2003. Nominees that year included Georgia Engel, Betty Garrett, and Cloris Leachman; the winner was Christina Applegate for Friends. According to Nancy Tellem, president of CBS Entertainment, “there was a huge difference between the critics and mainstream America.”

On June 23, 2021, thewrap.com posted the 37 worst sitcoms of all time. While I can get behind My Mother the Car and Two Broke Girls, along with about 30 sitcoms I never heard of, I thought the inclusion of Yes, Dear was unfair. I can’t say this was ever a “must-see” for me, but there were plenty of worse sitcoms on the air.

The show held a steady 24^th place for the first four seasons and then ratings increased, and the show placed 11th and 15th for the last two seasons. So, with ratings going up, why was the show canceled? CBS canceled the show after season four and then brought it back. However, after season six, Clark took an offer to host Last Comic Standing. With one of the four stars gone, CBS decided to be done with the show.

Although the show was on the air for six seasons and was in syndication for a while, DVDs have never officially been released. I was not able to find out why that is the case.

When Kelly thought back to her time on the show, she said it was a fun show. “They gave me a lot of fun stuff to do. There was so much silliness.” Fun and silly doesn’t sound so bad. Maybe the show will become available on DVD or in syndication again soon, and you can judge for yourself.

Home Improvement: It’s Just a Name; No Improvement Needed Here

December 12, 2022December 4, 2022 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

Here we are in week 2 in our blog series looking at some of our favorite families. Last week we were in Long Island with the Seavers. Today we are traveling east to Detroit to spend some time with The Tool Man and his family.

Home Improvement was on ABC from 1991 through 1999; this was the era my older boys grew up in, and I think they have some fond memories of watching this show. They weren’t alone, because it was one of the most-watched shows of the decade. It stayed in the top ten the entire time.

Matt Williams, Carmen Finestra, and David McFadzean created the series. A lot of writers worked on the show. Richardson talked about the writer’s room where all the writers were men and she did the scripts at first without saying anything, because she didn’t want to rock the boat. She said eventually she would tell them a woman would not say that and defended her position more often.

It was based on the stand-up comedy of Tim Allen. Tim Taylor (Tim Allen) is married to Jill (Patricia Richardson) and they have three boys: Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan), Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), and Mark (Taran Noah Smith). They live in Detroit where Tim has a television show for Binford Tool Co.; he was previously one of their salesman.

The cast is rounded out with their neighbor Wilson (Earl Hindman) who doles out advice to Tim, but whom we never see more than part of his face. Al Borland (Richard Karn) is Tim’s assistant on the show. During the run of the show there were several Tool Time girls including Pamela Anderson and Debbe Dunning. The show was a parody of This Old House, a home-improvement show on PBS for years.

Originally the show was titled Hammer Time. The first pilot starred Frances Fisher playing Jill Taylor. The studio audience did not view her as a comedic actress, so she was recast. Al was a harder part to cast. John Bedford Lloyd auditioned for the roles of Tim’s assistant and neighbor Wilson. He got the part of Wilson but dropped out when he learned his face would not be seen on tv. That’s when Hindman took over. Stephen Tobolowsky was then offered the role of Al, named Glen at the time. He was occupied with a project at the time, so Karn was hired, and Al was created.

In a June 6, 2017, episode of thehomeimpodcast.com, Karn was interviewed. He was asked what one of his favorite Al moments was on the show. He talked about a scene when Tim invited him over to play poker. He had asked about a theme and then showed up in a 10-gallon hat as a cowboy. He said Tim opened the door, and Karn would raise his hat and hit the light. Every time that happened, Tim cracked up. Karn said he could not stop himself from laughing.

Jill has her hands full living with four males, and I can certainly relate. Tim is a bit stubborn, accident prone, spends lots of time with his cars, and often acts like one of the kids. Allen was from Detroit himself and one of his quirks on the show was wearing Michigan sports apparel.

There were a lot of guest stars on the show during its nine seasons: race car drivers Johnny Rutherford, Robby Gordon, Mario and Michael Andretti, and Al Unser; golfer Payne Stewart; Denver quarterback John Elway; boxer Evander Holyfield; NASA astronaut Ken Bowersox; basketball player Grant Hill’ singers The Beach Boys and The Manhattan Transfer’ comedians Drew Carey and Rodney Dangerfield; ex-President Jimmy Carter; talk show host Oprah Winfrey; and actors Jack Nicholson, Dan Aykroyd, and Marlon Brando.

Home Improvement was still in the top ten after its eighth season. Richardson was offered $25 million for a ninth season, and Taylor was offered $50 million, but they both declined.

The theme song was “Iron John’s Rock.” It was composed by Dan Foliart. In addition to the music, it included Allen’s grunting that became a catch phrase of a sort and several power tools in the background.

When Allen got his second series, Last Man Standing, Karn, Richardson, and Taylor Thomas guest-starred on the show. Also, many of the tools he used on this show were Binford tools.

This was one of those much-loved shows. In a time before DVR, families sat down to watch television together when their favorite shows were on. The shows were relatable to all family members. It was well written, and the stories had the right amount of humor and heart-warming moments. When a series stays in the top ten for almost a decade and the stars turn down huge piles of money to end the show, you know the quality is still there. Like The Dick Van Dyke Show, this show ended on a high note, and I’m so happy we did not have to go through the “they should have ended it a year or two before” stage. Thanks to the entire cast for being a team player and bringing an amazing show for a decade.

Growing Pains: Every Family Experiences Them

December 5, 2022December 4, 2022 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This month we are looking at some of our favorite families from classic sitcoms. Today we are traveling to Long Island, New York to visit the Seavers from Growing Pains.

Growing Pains aired on ABC from 1985 to 1992. The seven seasons provided 166 episodes.

Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke) is a psychiatrist who works from home. His wife Maggie (Joanna Kerns) works outside the home as a reporter. They have three kids: happy-go-lucky and sometimes irresponsible Mike (Kirk Cameron), bright and studious Carol (Tracey Gold), and Ben (Jeremy Miller) who looks up to his older brother. Gold and Cameron had some experience in sibling rivalry because they played brother and sister in a McDonald’s commercial. In season four, Chrissy (Kelsey and Kirsten Dohring and later Ashley Johnson) is born, twelve years behind Ben. In season seven, Mike befriends Luke Brower (Leonardo DiCaprio), a homeless kid he mentors, who moves in with the family.

Johnson said that she had fun on the show. Since she was so young, she said she didn’t really have to act; she just was herself. She said she loved working with Thicke and they stayed in touch over the years. She also recalled acting with DiCaprio. She said he was a great actor, and she appreciated her time on the set with him. She felt the family unit on the show was very strong and that it was the same off the screen with the cast as well.

Rounding out the cast are several of Carol and Mike’s friends, Maggie and Jason’s parents, and several teachers. Mike’s best friend Richard was played by Andrew Koenig, son of Star Trek’s Chekov. If you look closely, you might see a couple of familiar faces in some classroom scenes. Alan’s son Robin Thicke played a student in several episodes, and Cameron’s sister, Candace Cameron Bure, who would star in Full House, also played classmates. Carol also had a couple of famous boyfriends on the show including Matthew Perry and Brad Pitt.

Kerns and Thicke received their roles and became good friends in real life as well. Carol was originally played by Elizabeth Ward but was replaced when audience reaction was not positive.

There were four versions of the theme song during the seven seasons. B.J. Thomas sings a solo and later Dusty Springfield was added to the track to make it sound like a duet. Later Jennifer Warnes replaced Dusty in the song with Thomas. An a cappella version was used in the last season.

The show ranked in the top 30 until season seven when it fell to 75^th place. DiCaprio was brought onto the show to win teen ratings. Ratings didn’t increase, and the show was canceled.

This series gave birth to the spin-off show Just the Ten of Us; on this show, Carol and Mike’s gym teacher and coach moves to California with his wife and eight kids to work at an all-boys Catholic school.

Eight years after the show ended, two made-for-tv movies debuted: The Growing Pains Movie in 2000 and Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers in 2004.

After the show went off the air, Kerns felt she needed to switch to directing because she was getting older and there weren’t a lot of available parts for older women. Her friend JoBeth Williams did the same. Kerns had 77 acting credits, most of them before Growing Pains. She has 72 directing credits, so she has been busy behind the scenes. Currently, she is directing episodes for A Million Little Things.

In 2018 the Today show interviewed Cameron, Gold, and Miller. They said they all kept in touch some, but they all stayed connected to Alan all the time. They said Thicke set the tone on the set and taught them to appreciate their work and emphasized how important it was to have a happy set. Gold said they laughed a lot. They all agreed that they were a family unit on the set, but they were also a family unit in real life.

I do remember watching the show when it was on live. I did watch several shows for this blog. It wasn’t a show I agonized over missing, but I also didn’t mind watching it when I was home. I think kids growing up in the eighties probably had more fondness for the show and it symbolized what My Three Sons did in my generation.

thewritelife61

How pop culture influences us

Month: December 2022

The Cosby Show: A Work in Progress

Yes, Dear: The Fans Take on The Critics

Home Improvement: It’s Just a Name; No Improvement Needed Here

Growing Pains: Every Family Experiences Them