Genitori in blue jeans

This show was one of the best shows of the eighties at its peak. From the '88-89 season on however it got worse and worse with each subsequent year, until it just collapsed by the time the early nineties arrived. Starting off a little slow but still funny, the show kicked it into overdrive during its second and third seasons ('86-87 and '87-88). Not only did it have smart, original humour based in pop culture references and 'Moonlighting' style in-jokes with the audience, but it was also touching, even if it did cross over into the realm of sappiness on occasion. The '88-89 season however brought with it a bunch of problems, Kirk Cameron's mullett style haircut the least of them. The baby was born, breaking up the show's focus on the core family. Mike graduated high school, diminishing a lot of the funny supporting characters like Boner, Eddie, Coach Lubbock, Principal Dewitt etc. They still showed up from time to time (some of them in their own series) but it wasn't the same. I know that there was no way of preventing this, but taking Mike and then eventually Carol out of this enclosed, familiar environment made the show uneven, with new characters and settings coming and going each week. Julie the babysitter, Grandma Erma, Wally, and Luke all brought nothing to the show except bad episodes.

The shift in the characters clothing from bright colorful pastels to dark earth tones was another turnoff, at least from a viewer's standpoint. Again this might be just due to the changing of the times. I think a new producer came aboard after the show sold into syndication and that's why the series got so lame from this point on. Also I heard that because of his religion, Kirk Cameron was editing the scripts to make sure they fit in with his conservative beliefs. Whatever the reason, this show went out with a whimper when it left the air in 1992, and probably totaled more years as a bad show, than I think it should have as the good one that most people remember.

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!

Like many series from the 80s, "Growing Pain" was one of those long-running shows that was immensely popular at the time but has kind of fizzled out 25 years later. It is rarely seen in syndication and has only released two seasons on DVD.

The show originally centered around upper class parents Maggie and Jason Seaver and their pains raising three kids: Mike, Carol, and Ben. The show had the unenviable task of being aired at around the same time as two highly-rated and similar-themed family sitcoms: "Family Ties" and "The Cosby Show". While it was never as critically acclaimed as "Family Ties" nor as groundbreaking as "The Cosby Show", "Growing Pains" built up a loyal fan following that allowed it to run for 7 seasons.

In some ways, the show was both exactly similar and exactly opposite to "Family Ties". Maggie and Jason were similar to Steven and Elyse in their methods of parenting. Like the Keatons, they grew up in the 60s and had mellowed with the advent of a family. Their eldest, Mike, was basically the anti-Alex Keaton. While Alex was a habitual overachiever, Mike was the chronic underachiever who was always trying to talk his way out of trouble. Carol was the anti-Mallory Keaton. While Mallory was shallow, ditzy and popular, Carol was brainy, deep and struggled to fit in. Ben was similar to Jennifer Keaton. He was cute as a youngster but as he got older, he never really did anything to stand out. He wasn't as outgoing and charming as Mike and wasn't as smart as Carol. The similarities don't end there. Both shows added babies late in their runs and both babies mysteriously aged like 3 years during the summer hiatuses. Both Mike and Alex had strange best friends with weird names (Boner and Skippy). Both Carol and Mallory had weird, spacey boyfriends (Dwight and Nick). Both shows started with the parents being the focus and then shifted to the children with Michael J. Fox and Kirk Cameron becoming the faces of their respective shows.

As the shows ratings began to fall, the producers began to bring new characters to try and breathe new life into the show. Maggie gave birth to Chrissy in the third season. Between seasons 5 and 6, she showed "remarkable maturity". They also brought in Luke (Leonardo DiCaprio) as a homeless kid that the Seavers adopt for a season and Dwight as Carol's weirdo boyfriend.

In the later years, the show lost some of the dynamics that made it a top-rated sitcom but was still very entertaining nonetheless. The ongoing conflict between Mike and his parents had run its course. Mike had gone from being an irresponsible teen to a very responsible adult who was in charge of Luke. Carol was seen less during the final season as Tracy Gold had temporarily left the show. The producers had almost tried too hard to make Ben into a younger version of Mike. I think they eventually realized that it was not working and brought in Luke.

While the show dealt with many serious subjects, it never really took itself too seriously and found different ways to be creative. There was a show where Ben dreams that he was actually Jeremy Miller (the actor who played him) and everyone began to act as if they were not their respective characters but the actors playing them who were part of a show called "Meet The Seavers". There were also several variations on the opening song. On one episode, Mike was in an acting class where they reenacted the opening song. On another episode, Maggie went into labor at the end of the opening credits.

While this show has lost steam since it went off the air in 1992, it was one of the last truly traditional family sitcoms to grace the airwaves. With most sitcoms today being adult-themed, it is refreshing to go back in time and watch a well-meaning family show like "Growing Pains".

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.

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!