Show Me That Smile Again

Watching Growing Pains: The Complete Second Season on DVD, out today, it is hard not wonder where did all family sitcoms go? I grew up with a heavy dose of The Seavers, The Huxtables, The Arnolds, The Winslows, The Tanners and way too many more to list. Of course sadly the answer is they all seem to have migrated to the Disney Channel after the Bundys came around and flipped the family sitcom on its head. With Friday considered the Death Slot in television, I do not understand why networks try to resurrect the success of ABC’s TGIF aimed at the families that stay home on the weekends. Luckily studios have been slowly releasing the classic sitcoms from my childhood on DVD.

For those born in the nineties and are only know of Growing Pains from the I Love the 80’s segment, the show follows a nuclear family on Long Island featuring a physiatrist dad Alan Thicke (you may be familiar with his son Robin) who runs his practice out of the home, because who would not want crazy people hanging around the place where your kids live. His wife Joanna Kerns (who played Katherine Heigl’s mom in Knocked Up) is a writer for the local newspaper. The eldest Kirk Cameron (the Justin Beiber type heartthrob of his day and current television evangelist), is the slacker ladies man. Tracy Gold (if you watch any Lifetime movies, you have seen her latest works) is the brainy one. And Jersey Miller (who showed up for the two reunion movies) is the precocious youngest child.

As with any great sitcom from the eighties, the second season of Growing Pains was filled with plenty of “very special episodes” including when Ben learns why he shouldn’t call a sex phone line. Or when Ben brings home a homeless girl for Christmas who would grow up to become (this is not to be confused with the time five seasons later when Mike brought home a homeless Leonardo DiCaprio ton stay with the Seavers). Or when Maggie learns she cannot ground Mike for lying then turn around and tell a little white lie herself. Or the time Carol contemplates getting a nose job. But there was no more special episode this season than when Mike and Boner (R.I.P.) get offered cocaine by Kristy Swanson of all people. Which leads to the great eighties tradition of a character breaking character and the fourth wall in the middle of a scenes to talk to the audience to make sure the moral of the story gets through.

The orginal Buffy the Vampire Slayer wasn’t the only familiar face to show up this season. Of course future spin off subject Bill Kirchenbauer managed to teach two different subjects this season (here’s hoping Just the Ten of Us makes it to DVD soon) but two of his future daughters, Brooke Theiss and Jamie Luner, pop up under different names. Actually Mike Seaver even dated Luner and Heather Graham (in her first credited acting role) at the same time. Future The Wonder Years stars Olivia d’Abo and Dan Lauria show up in different episode. Kirk brought in his sister Candace in for another episode. And Dawn Wells, better known as Mary Ann, shows up for an episode.

The season 2 DVD features all twenty-two episodes on three disks, but for fans of bonus content, sadly there is none to be found. Here is a synopsis:

Congratulations…you’re fired. Mike (Kirk Cameron) receives a car from his pleased parents after he’s named Employee of the Month. (So how’s he going to tell them he’s been canned?) Mike’s not the only one with secrets. Brainy Carol (Tracey Gold) wants everyone to think she has a romantic extracurricular life with a hunky football hero. And what’s up with 10-year-old Ben (Jeremy Miller) and those 67 calls to a sex line? (No, it’s not what you might think.) These events don’t all happen at the same time, but they do all happen at the same place: the Season 2 home-sweet-ho-ho-home of the Seavers – dad Jason (Alan Thicke), mom Maggie (Joanna Kerns), three on-the-grow kids. Jason works as a psychiatrist. You think maybe it’s time to add some family appointments to his calendar

Full Disclosure Notice: This DVD was given to me on behalf of Warner Bros. for the purpose of reviewing the season.