A Year in the Life

I saw the whole series during Christmas in 1988. I taped it and watched it over and over... I simply loved it! It's funny and sad at the same time. What that family goes through in one year is something that could happen to a lot of people. The actors, especially Adam Arkin and Sarah Jessica Parker is doing a good job. I remember I felt sad for the father in the house...

If someone ever reads this please send me an E-MAIL. My friend borrowed the tapes a year after, and destroyed it by accident... I was, and still are, very sad.

I would very much like to watch this movie again! If you know where to get/buy it please let me know!

Have a nice summer :o)

Now that "Parenthood" is ending, I recall how much I loved this show and how sad I was to see it canceled. It seems like the best series don't survive the ratings but it probably says less about the viewers and more about who dictates what we watch. Perhaps networks just don't give the public credit for having the consciousness to value anything more than sex and violence. One of the reasons this show didn't get a following is because the network kept moving the air date to different days and times during the week. Family dramas like, "A year in the Life," "Once and Again" and "Parenthood" seem to suffer the same fate. They reflect real life experiences... & that's my kind of "reality TV!"

The original "A Year in the Life," mini-series aired on NBC during the evenings of December 15, 16, and 17, 1986. This is one of the most heart warming and well produced movies that has ever been broadcast. Very few movies impact me the way that this one did. I simply can't understand why it was never released on either VHS or DVD. The musical score, composed by Elizabeth Swados is every bit as moving as the storyline. The writers of this mini-series did an exceptional job and the acting was superb. I was very sad to learn that David Oliver, who plays the role of Sam Gardner, died of AIDS in 1992. Richard Kiley, who died in 1999 does an outstanding job as the father and the overall emotional up and downs portrayed by the rest of the cast reminds me of very real life situations. I originally recorded the movie on VHS, EP mode, so the quality is marginal at best. If anyone learns that this exceptional mini-series becomes available on DVD or if the musical score becomes available on CD, please contact me at mr0370307@aol.com. If you are reading this but have never seen the original mini-series, try to get your hands on a rare copy that was recorded on VHS and may be available on eBay or from some other source. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

If anyone has tapes that they can make I would love to pay for them. This was my ultimate favorite show back in the eighties when it was on. I was just a teenager then but had such a crush at the time on Trey Ames! I also was a big fan of Amanda Peterson. I wish this show would have launched their careers among many others as well on the show. I sure do wonder what happened to Trey Ames and Amanda Peterson. I wish another network would pick it up. I know it was only one season but so was "My So-Called Life" and that has been picked up and the episodes aired on other networks. I just saw it the other night on a cable channel. "A Year in the Life" had an excellent cast and was excellently written/directed. Shows don't come around like this very often. I miss it and hope to see it on TV at some point in the future.

I loved this movie and was thrilled when it was made into a series. It didn't last more than one season. I can remember watching the movie during Thanksgiving break from college. I was hooked. I loved Sarah Jessica Parker's "Kay" and her romance with Sam. I would LOVE a copy of this movie and any of the subsequent television episodes. Even though it's been over 20 years (I can't believe that), I can still remember some of the most minute details of this amazing show. Acting was excellent, plots were relevant to the times, and the music used was perfect. I'm sure if it were on today they'd sell, "A Year in the Life" soundtracks similar to Grey's Anatomy. I was so sad to see that David Oliver (Sam) died several years ago. I really loved his character. Trey Ames was great as young David and I liked Adam Arkin's character and his wife, Jayne Atkinson. Great, great show. Came on same year as Thirtysomething and I think was overshadowed by the hype of that show.