Quoi de neuf, docteur ?

Growing Pains is one of the greatest shows of the 1980's. However, because of "The Cosby Show" and "Family Ties" and other great shows during the late 80's, the show is constantly overlooked and very underrated. The show had very good acting. It is a shame that this show is constantly overlooked when we talk about the greatest shows in the 80's

I still love the fantastic wit Growing Pains has! Even in reruns, this show still makes me laugh--a lot. With a talented cast like this, I'm surprised none of them made it big in Hollywood (except for you-know-who from Titanic). The Seavers were one of my favorite TV families and I was sad when the show left the air. I also loved the recent reunion movie!

Growing Pains was a truly funny family show that walked the line between being "too mature" for young audiences and being corny (like Full House). The cast actually likes each other and still gets together to reminisce regularly. This chemistry comes through on screen.

Everything from the opening song to the closing credits is great. My only issues with the series were the fat jokes made at Tracey Gold's expense. The producers told her to lose weight, leading her down the dark path to anorexia. Even when she'd dropped from 133 to 112 lbs, they STILL included the occasional fat joke!

As any man will tell you, calling a woman 'fat' is the worst thing you can do. Calling a teenage girl fat on national TV every week is beyond cruel. Nevermind the fact that she never WAS fat!

Beyond that, I have no complaints about the show. I do prefer the first 3 seasons before "Luke" and "Chrissy" came in (and before Kirk converted to radical Christianity). Alan Thicke's character seemed harsher and meaner around Season 5, which I didn't like. Oh, and the "Carol's Carnival" episode is just sad and creepy.

This is sounding like a negative review, but I assure you it's not. Compared to some of the other crap that was on TV during these years, Growing Pains is a brilliant show that stands the test of time.

Long Live the Seavers!

When I first saw "Growing Pains" I referred to it disparagingly as "The White Cosby Show". In 1984, sitcoms were the junk food of the television diet. They lacked quality, and were relegated to the basement of the Nielsen ratings. Then, in 1984, NBC showed that a sitcom could be #1 in the ratings with "The Cosby Show". I greeted "Growing Pains", ABC's apparent attempt to cash in with a new family sitcom in 1985, with cynicism, and watched every week for them to drop the ball. I watched, in the beginning to see this show crash and burn, and was very surprised to find, in a few weeks that I liked it!

In a time before shows about dysfunctional families like "Married...With Children" and "Roseanne" (good shows in their own way) "Growing Pains" showed a reasonably functional family in a basically caring environment, Mike's constant put-downs of Carol being his way of handling the affection he felt for his sister but felt uncomfortable showing.

The members of this family liked each other, and their feelings were infectious. I liked being able to hang out with the Seaver family for half an hour every week, and daily when the syndicated reruns began. I haven't been able to see GP reruns in at least 4 years. When the twice-a-day reruns of "Seinfeld", "Friends", and "The Simpsons" begin to lose their steam, I hope "Growing Pains" is given another opportunity.

Growing Pains was definitely the show to watch during the dreaded 80's. Kirk Cameron (Mike) was the heart-throb of the show, and it seriously got funnier every episode. There was not ONE THING wrong with this show, (although I did really want to see something FINALLY happen with Boner & Carol), but that's a whole other story. Best Show Ever. You know you want to admit it.