Der Hogan-Clan

I know that the Hogan's, and Valerie before it, didn't represent state of the art comedy, being utterly formulaic and looking like the very template for family sitcoms, but darn it, it was nice. The family was nice, the house was nice, the plots were nice. Nice, warm, fuzzy, safe family viewing. Sometimes I want hard-edged, risky comedy, but sometimes I just wanna watch TV safe in the knowledge that every episode will have a group-hug type ending. It's the perfect remedy if you're ever feeling a bit oppressed by all the stuff that's going on in the world right now. The comedy is still nice enough, but boy have the clothes and hairstyles dated!

I have a bunch of episodes on tape but would love to get more.

First of all Huge Val Harper Fan here from day one as far back as when she star with Mary Tyler Moore and then Her own Show Rhoda. I was excited when Valerie Family first debuted. I was such a huge Fan of the Show I loved it still do till this Day. I often try and catch it in rerun form. I have always felt never was the same once Val was gone from the show, Althou I did continue to watch it. The show always had a lovely Family vibe/cozy easy going vibe. They just do not make shows like this anymore. I feel this show never got as much respect as it should have. LONG LIVE "VALERIE" "Hogan Family" <3 (REVIEW BY: Leslie Wrona)

First of all, back in late-1985, early 1986, NBC was originally gonna name the show "The Hogan Family," but later changed their mind and opted for a name that reflected its original famed star "Valerie Harper." Thus, it was retitled "Valerie."

After, the famed contract dispute over her salary, Valerie Harper left the show, or was fired - depending who's side of the story you hear- thus the show was renamed "Valerie's Family: The Hogan's." This angered "Valerie Harper" very much, and she sued the producers for still using her name as the title of the show without her permission.

Thus, the producers opted to revert back to the original suggested production title: "The Hogan Family."

In reality they were always 'The Hogan Family.'

This show really belonged to Valerie Harper, no offense to her replacement Sandy Duncan. Harper left the show under uncertain circumstances. Regardless, the show and network wrote her off sadly. While on, she was the mother to three boys and a pilot husband who was often absent. The cast was first rate including Edie McClurg as a neighbor, Christine Ebersole as her snobby unmarried sister-in-law, and the boys played by Jason Bateman, Jeremy Licht, and Danny Ponce. Ponce and Licht played fraternal twins who were as opposite as night and day. They touched on some issues like AIDS and homosexuality and other issues in this series but the show never fully recovered from the blow of Harper's absence.

I remember watching Valerie when it first aired. And I remember the huge deal when she left the show, and it continued on. It was one of those rare shows that keep going even after the title character has left the program. I don't remember if I followed the show on it's entire run.

Fast forward to 2021. Over the years I've been a huge fan of Jason Bateman's work in the movies. He's one of the best straight man comedians on the big screen today.

I'm flipping the channels and come across the Hogan Family on TV. Mind you, it's at the Sandy Duncan years. I'm actually enjoying this show. It's not irreverent comedy like Arrested Development, or gut busting hilarious like Seinfeld. I would put it more in the 'feel good' category. I guess it's more of a male-oriented program, considering it's about 3 sons and their father (and aunt), so I can relate to a lot of the issues they talk about.

So if you want to watch something that's entertaining, and like I said, feel good TV, give this show a shot. Give it a shot again, if you hated it back in the day, too. Maybe as you've gotten older, you can appreciate the more simpler times in this sitcom.