Safe at Home

... heard a great deal about it at the time. The girl who played Amy ... I knew her as Brenda Klemme, now Brenda James ... was the daughter of a very good friend of mine. I never saw the show because my family and I were living on a sailboat in Mexico during the time it was on the air. I was told that the pilot was picked up because Ted Turner himself saw it and was enchanted by the Amy character. A few years later my family and I all went to see "Patriot Games" and suddenly there appeared Brenda ... the redhead Harrison Ford sees in the rest room which reminds him of the redheaded terrorist. Yesterday I was watching "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" and there was Brenda again jumping off the screen at me. So, there is life after "Safe at Home" for some of the actors.

She was from Peoria, and she moved into Chicago to live with her brother who was a sportscaster and an ex-Chicago Bears football player. This was so she could go to a special high school of performing arts where I believe she played the cello. Her best friend (with the long curly red hair) lived in the same building and went to her school. I think she was a dancer and quite boy-crazy. Her brother had an old football pal who was always hanging around who had probably been tackled a few too many times. The brother also had a girlfriend who I believe he eventually married. I can picture their apartment. Right now, that's what I remember about the show. You're right, all three shows just disappeared.

the lead character was actually caroline, not amy. amy was the redhead who lived in dan's building and immediately became close friends with caroline. iirc, caroline moved in with dan after their parents died. the premise was how he dealt with suddenly having a teenager living with him.

roger was the obnoxious neighbor, tatum was the anchor on dan's news show (he was a sports reporter) and gary was...something. i really don't recall exactly what gary's job was at the tv station, but it was something along the lines of gopher/lackey. i think he was the nephew or grandson of the big boss.

the episode that always sticks out in my mind is the "gilligan's island" fantasy where gary hit his head and dreamed that everyone in his life was a character on GI.

it was actually a really good show for what it was.

This show became an obsession of line along with Growing Pains. I only noticed it because of the great Theme Song. Safe at Home. If someone could find out who sang this song, it would end 30 yrs of torment for me. One of my top 5 sitcom themes!

I was CRAZY obsessed about this show and never missed an episode. I remember it used to be on with those other two syndicated TBS sitcoms, Down to Earth and Rocky Road, and then one day POOF! They all three disappeared into thin air and were never heard of/mentioned again. I was heartbroken. Before any of you think that I don't have a life, keep in mind that I was about 9 or 10 at the time. I always harbored a secret hope that eventually some other station would air them in syndication or that TBS would show the re-runs at some god-forbidden hour (like 4 a.m. after infomercials), but alas, I haven't come across anything. I'd kill to see re-runs, although I'm sure the passage of time has made this show much more memorable than it ever had the right to be.

I do have to disagree on a few points, however. I found Caroline to be a bit of a one-dimensional character with little personality, so I would definitely quibble with the Grace Manning comparison from O&A. I agree with the person who said that her loony sex-pot friend Amy was ten times more amusing. I also thought the show went down the toilet after they re-cast the lead and added that pain in the ass sidekick Dokie Petersen (I think that was his name). I never saw any of the actors again either, except I remember Gary VanSickle was in Summer School (classic flick). I think the actor probably lost out on most of the '80's token dork roles to Anthony Michael Hall and disappeared into oblivion or something.

Also, I'm almost POSITIVE that this show aired before 1986. I clearly remember being in 3rd grade when it was on the air, which would have put it in either 1984 or 85.

Alright, enough reminiscing. I sincerely hope someone else responds to this. I know this show was pretty forgettable, but it would be kinda cool to get a little forum/discussion going.