Just the Ten of Us

I'm one of the many previous posters that was never a fan of "Growing Pains". This show's back-bone was the "hot" range of female actresses, playing on their "coming of age" (they conveniently managed to fit in every stereotype to meet the "preference" of nearly every heterosexual, white middle-class kid in High School). Yet, for some reason, "Just the 10 of Us" also seemed to capture the spirit of the age (late 80's humor, kitsch, and even social problems if you dig deep enough). The show was canceled without warning, although we kind of felt it coming as the character expositions were getting very deep; too deep to keep a shallow ADD audience. An example was when the Heather Langenkamp character was going into a convent-- her supposed lifelong ambition, which then progresses to a realization by both her and her mother that this was not really the case. Not saying this show should ever be "re-made", but I think it is definitely an overlooked slice of Americana that should be given more credit and respect.

God, I'm getting old because I can recall this show being shown on Friday nights on ABC when it was really family viewing. Of course, it spun off of Growing Pains which was superior but it still worked with Coach Lubbock and his over-sized family including the devoutly Catholic wife played wonderfully by Deborah Harmon. The kids were also wonderfully played by Heather Langenkamp who played the equally religious Marie. Jamie Luner played one of the twins and I forget Brooke's last name who played the other twin. They were the only girls in an all-boy Catholic school in Eureka, California. The show only lasted two seasons but I bet it could have thrived in syndication. It's a pity that we don't have family oriented shows anymore like this.

I was never a Growing Pains fan. I found that show to be pandering, simplistic, and downright stupid. I would never have given even a second though to a Growing Pains spin off, had Brooke Thies not been in it. Brooke attended the same school that I did, and a big deal was made about her appearance in this new weekly series.

I was surprised to find that the show became an instant favorite of mine. Unlike Growing Pains, the show didn't take itself seriously, didn't obsess over providing a "moral lesson" in each episode, and was actually willing to insult its own characters. Now THIS is the type of comedy which can actually be funny!

Sadly, Just the Ten of Us never achieved the popularity that Growing Pains did, and it only survived for two seasons. The final episodes, where the girls were turned into the "Lubbock Babes" signing group, were embarrassing to watch, and were a clear indication that all was not well with the show's future.

I really liked the "Connie" character, played by JoAnn Willette. Even though this actress was far too old for the role, I found her character -- the smart, down-to-earth daughter who is "forgotten" amidst her attention grabbing sisters -- to be interesting.

Hopefully we'll see it on cable sometime soon.

I loved this spin off from Growing Pains, where the character of Coach Graham T. Lubbock from Dewey High School got his own show after the stupid principal Detwit fired him. Most of the episodes were pretty good and I did like the fact that some of the characters evolved a little bit, like Wendy near the end (the nature scout episode). Coach was also an all around teacher, teaching not only phys. ed, but regular classes and even directed plays for the school. Yes, he could be protective, but what father isn't? In fact, I think most parents today aren't like him. I'm glad to see some of the episodes on youtube, although I'd love to see the final season, that had some really great moments, like when the girls go to the Virgin Islands and the smoking episode. I'd love to see the show back in reruns on USA or somewhere. Maybe on DVD. Again, it is too bad they canceled this show since it was popular, but I guess sometimes decisions are made by network execs that we don't like.

I absolutely loved this show. My favorite characters were Wendy and Cindy. I wanted to be just like them(I was about 7 at the time) A couple months ago, I was serching thru a old box of mine and found a tape full of J.T.10.O.U on it. While I was watching it, I felt like a kid again. It is a little ridiculous, but thats what made the show so great. they didn't take themselfs to seriously, like most Sitcoms do today. It's a shame that this show went off the air. I loved the Lubbock Babes!