Life Goes On

This show ran entirely on Sunday evenings at 7:00pm(6:00 pm CST)and while its ratings always kept it on the cutting block--in fact,it seemed like the show wasn't even going to make it to a fourth season,with the network opting to let it run almost in mid-cancellation--the show's fan base and the general reaction to it was almost always positive. As a sibling to someone with a developmental disability(though not Down's Syndrome),I found it quite edifying that a warm,realistic television show that could be best described as a "dramedy" could be made around a person with a disability. The Thatchers have done well raising down syndromed Corky(the wonderful Chris Burke)into a bright,well-meaning and responsible young man. His struggles are actually often in tandem with the struggles of the parents(Bill Smitrovich and Patti Lupone)and the non-disabled but highly different daughters(Kellie MArtin and Paige Needham),rather than the central focus of. Three strong(maybe more like two-and-half)seasons,followed by a forced last season or so may've diluted the full quality of this show,but it was still a pleasure to follow this story and would be intrigued to see these shows again,probably on cable.

Life Goes On was pretty much about just that...LIFE. Whoever cast the show did one whale of a job. The Thatchers are a blended family, which includes him (Bill Smitrovich) and her (Patti Lupone), his daughter and their son and daughter. But the Thatchers aren't Ozzie & Harriett or Father Knows Best, they live in the real world and their son, Corky (brillantly portrayed by Chris Burke) has Downs Syndrome. They are torn between protecting Corky and giving him the opportunity to mainstream and live a real life. Unfortunately, the writers weren't up to the task after the first season and started straying from what I thought was a brilliant concept. They turned a first rate series into a soap opera in prime time taking the story line into the life's tragedies (fatal car crashes and HIV), instead of keeping the focus on the day-to-day struggles of raising a family while dealing with a child who is challenged and the effects on each family member as Life Goes On.

But with its shortcomings, it is still better than 99% of what is being offered viewers now. Wish it were still on the air. But, unfortunately, as has been their history, ABC can't deal with a winning series.

I remember watching my first prime time drama at the age of six years old with my mother and younger brother. My mother was a huge fan of "Life Goes On", the show which focuses on the Thatcher Family. She somehow got me so interested in the show that it became the first program I watched on a regularl basis. The story revolves around the two parents who guide their wayward daughter Paige, the blossoming Becca, and Charles, or Corky, their first and only downs-syndrome child. The breakout star of the show became Kellie Martin, whose portrayal of Becca captured the hearts of many awe-struck spectators every Sunday night on ABC. Her first boyfriend, Tyler, dies in a car crash and her second boyfriend was HIV positive. Words (and especially not mine) can not do this show justice. The emotion is just to pure and real that you feel Becca's pain over Jesse and vice versa. It was an incredible show. ABC, of course cancelled it in it's fourth season. "Life Goes On" and "My So-Called Life" will always be my favorite dramas for the 90's and I suppose I will always hate ABC for cutting them down in their prime. You can check out re-runs of the show if you get PAX and see a very different (and blond) Kellie Martin scrubbing for surgery on ER.

Every week I watched "Life Goes On" and it was the best show ever. Kellie Martin was the breakout star; she was great. Her boyfriend, Jesse McKenna, played by Chad Lowe, was wonderful. Corky was terrific. There is only positive about this show. It was great and I wish some network would rerun it now.

The other day I watched an episode were Corky was a bit depressed because he wasnt creative like his sister and mother. So his father talks to him and explains that creative can also be to make people happy. Corky looks at him and learns another thing about life. In his somewhat naive way he is wiser than many people, even if he has downs syndrome. During the series tune at the start they sing happy ever after in the market place etc., and there is a short picture of the caracters. Corky sits in bed making his bag ready for school, and he looks at the camera who probably is one of his parents, and smiles that smile. Another great/entertaining thing is Tyler (Beccas friend who always needs tutoring to be able to play sports) wearing those big 80+s sneakers and washed jeans and of course the mullet head hair style. GREAT for this but most for depicting a really nice family and their struggles, good times and hardships.