Silver Spoons

This was one of those shows from the golden decade of the 1980's and this show was produced by the same individuals who brought us the shows of our day:"Different Strokes",and the others? The short-lived sitcom "Hello,Larry","The Facts Of Life","Who's The Boss?",and so much more. "Silver Spoons" really brought audiences into the spotlight the young and talented Ricky Schroder and with the presence of his abilities and his other talents took this show to the top of the Nielsens for three out of its five seasons that it ran on NBC-TV from 1982 to 1987. This was indeed a huge favorite with the teenage set during the decade that brought out a lot and so much,much more. Ricky Schroder stars as super rich-kid millionaire Ricky Stratton-the kid who has it all,the toys,the girls,and everything else under the guidance and supervision of his father,Edward Stratton III,a single father who is coming from a painful divorce to raise his son alone played by Broadway sensation Joel Higgins and his biological mother,also facing a divorce as well who is in custody of the child,played by Christine Belford. Edward's assistant is

Dexter Stuffins(Franklyn Seales)who watches over the youngster in times of trouble,where Ricky usually gets into sometimes,along with the kooky and sometimes stuffy grandfather Edward Stratton II(played by the great John Houseman)along with Edward Stratton III's hot new girlfriend whom he would later married on in the series,Kate Summers(played by the gorgeous hottie Erin Gray).

This show had it all and about that house this kid had! He had an arcade style game room in the family den,a build-in train set that went throughout the house along with other accessories that he had-any kids dream house,a house full of toys and presents and just about everything else! But still he had the same problems other kids his age growing up since some of the times he could be totally obnoxious,and there were times when the father and the son learn a lot from each other since most of the episodes really concentrated on the "little lessons" here that each member provided and from there you can tell this was a family-oriented show with a little something extra insight in some of the episodes produced. And those friends Ricky had? One of them was his best-buddy J.T.(played by Bobby Fite),Freddy(played by Corky Pigeon), and the unpredictable Derek,who was in my opinion the Eddie Haskell of the show who was always trying to get Ricky is some hair-brained scheme and ends up being one of his closest friends,and that was played by Jason Bateman.

The best part about this show was during the series' third season,another character was introduced and the debut of Alfonso Ribeiro as Ricky's pal and close buddy,Alfonso Spears. Anyways,the show had some of the pop culture items from that era,and its a crying shame that the series "Silver Spoons" isn't shown in certain markets and I wanna know what is the holdup? Come on? Nick-At-Nite,TV Land,ABC Family Channel or Spike TV,get with it! Bring back this show! Getting back to the era of the show,the culture items from that decade were on this program: Topsider boat shoes,Michael Jackson dance moves,The RUN-DMC Collection,Break dancing,Shell-toed Adidas shoes,The Michael Jackson collection-everything from the items that were included--the glove,the hat,the shoes,the jacket from the video "Beat It",everything from Madonna too,and those Members Only Jackets were included in some of the episodes. I remember during "Silver Spoons"that they showed the now classic "Pepsi" commercial with Alfonso Ribeiro dancing with the "King Of Pop"-Michael Jackson. This was in the 1980's!

What I remember most about "Silver Spoons" and why I watched it as much as I did was Ricky's toys. The boy had a toy train that he could ride on!! Talk about living the life. I wanted Ricky's life so bad. The show never had to be funny to me nor have any message, I just needed to see toys.

Yeah, I loved this show, and it's concept. It was a winning formula. Ricky Schroder, who in my opinion was just a natural actor, and Joel Higgins, who I wish to hell, did more stuff, played so well off each other, as re united mature son versus childish, spoilt, millionaire, father who lives in a two story castle of lavish riches, it's facade, looks like another of his expensive toys. Erin Gray lean't such great and sexy support as the Higgin's personal assistant, who eventually, became Charle's Stratton's second wife. This show's also good if you want to see a really young Jason Bateman, starting out, a seasoned performer with really good acting chops. The episode where a schoolboy crush on Gray's was cute and funny. And check out Higgins's really big train set ride. His character, was one I really liked more than most comedies at that time, and this shows, one of the reasons, I'm really gonna remember 1983. Great show with bolstered performances, that never slacked, this is one 80's show you definitely must see, via Youtube.

This show was never meant to be a hit but it was with a stellar cast including a young Rick Shroeder as the spoiled but likable rich kid. Who could forget the train in the house? His grandfather was played by legendary actor, John Houseman, and his father was well-played by Joel Grey. His stepmother and father's secretary was played by Erin Gray better known for her female role in the short-lived series, Buck Rogers. Everybody knew that they would get together. Anyway the Strattons live in Long Island, we also got to see Jason Bateman before he became famous. I liked Christina Belford who played the mother and former wife, Mrs. Stratton. She left an unforgettable impression on me that I always remembered her name. Well, the series had a nice five year run during the sitcom explosion of the 1980s.

This show remains one of my favorite TV series, partly because I'm Ricky Schroder's age (and my high school class celebrated its 30 year reunion back in 2018). Watching the show takes me back to those formative years, and even now I really like how Ricky Schroder portrayed Ricky Stratton. Not only was he cute, especially during the first two seasons, but if you didn't know he was rich, you couldn't tell just by looking -- a far cry from those who feel "entitled" today. Granted, in later seasons, Ricky tried -- and frequently failed -- to be a ladies' man, but he always seemed likable and, more importantly, relatable. Though my memory of later seasons is hazy (mostly because only the first season is readily available), I'm pretty sure there were times I'd watch an episode and want to high-five Ricky, give him a hug, or strangle him. But at the end of the day, he was always someone you'd want as a friend.

The show ran the gambit of tackling different topics that '80s teenagers would have faced. in the early seasons they ranged from stuff like computer hacking (a la WarGames) to watching X-rated movies to dealing with the possibility of losing a parent while still a teenager. In later seasons the topics became more mature, like when a divorced father kidnaps his daughter from her mother or when one of Rick's friends has a drinking problem that ends up getting Rick injured.

Unfortunately I never had a VCR to record the show until after it ended, so right now I can only relive the first season in its entirety. What I would have liked to have seen, though, was perhaps some kind of special giving us a glimpse of what the characters would have been some ten years or show after the show ended. Would Ricky be as successful as his dad? Would he be married and have kids? What kind of father would he be (and what kind of grandparents would Edward and Kate be)?