Huit, ça suffit

This family comedy, which initially would be that of a married couple with eight children, underwent several modifications from the beginning until it found the right direction. Diana Hyland would be the mother of the boys and wife of Dick Van Patten, but her sudden death from fatal cancer forced the writers to make changes to the script, at first Tom Bradford was alone until he met Abby (Betty Buckley) Tommy's tutor and was remarried. The second and third seasons of the series were the best, scripts that ranged from drama to comedy, the entire cast was great and the stories were generally very good. From season four the three eldest daughters become independent and rent their own apartment, from here the family clan is a little disarmed and the series turns more to drama than comedy, later new characters are added, the boyfriends and husbands of the older daughters. Like any series they had their maximum peak of creativity but after a little it was losing the charm of its best time.

Eight is Enough was one of the best shows from the late 1970's and early 1980's. It was considered a dramedy. It had drama because the show could be serious at times but it also had comedy because the show was funny and it had a laugh track. Eight is Enough is now seen in reruns on CTS up here in Canada and I am happy about that. I had a major crush on Willie Aames (Tommy Bradford) when I was younger. Too bad there aren't many T.V. shows on now like this. Those were the good old days of television!

Good show. My favorite characters were Tommy and Joanie. Dullest character was Elizabeth. Not many stories about her. Nicholas was cute until about the 4th season. By then he starts growing out of his cuteness. Everyone always complains about the Jeremy character in the 5th season. I thought he was a good addition although the ratings were totally down by the 5th season anyway. I never realized the father Tom had so many lines. Every time he speaks its usually a speech or something. Not complaining, just an observation. Most of the episodes were very entertaining although there are a few boring ones here and there. Overall I liked it a lot.

I have fond memories of this show and have looked for it to stream for quite awhile. It was a favorite of mine when it originally aired for reasons I can't specifically recall other than it resonated with me since I was in the age group of the Bradford sisters. Finally found it on Tubi (along with the TV series 'Family' - another fond favorite) and am rewatching every episode from all 5 seasons.

Hate to say it, but there's a reason behind the old adage - "you can't go back"! While I still prefer Eight is Enough to today's over sexualized 'family' shows, violent fantasy shows, unflinching crime dramas, silly reality series that are orchestrated instead of scripted, and otherworldly serials... the acting by most of the cast is really, really bad. I find myself fast forwarding through Tom Bradford's dialogue and some predictable plot lines - not because it's predictable but because the acting is cringe worthy.

Adam Rich as the youngest Bradford, Nicholas, is a bright spot. I've seen better child actors but he was pretty good for a kid. Willie Ames as Tommy is decent but his repetitive plot lines are tiresome. Connie Needham (as Elizabeth), Grant Goodeve (as David), Betty Buckley (as Abby) and Susan Richardson (as Susan) are all quite good, but Lani O'Grady (as Mary), Laurie Walters (as Joanie), Dianne Kay (as Nancy) and especially Dick Van Patten (as patriarch Tom Bradford) are really hard to watch in 80% of their scenes.

One bright spot is seeing guest stars who eventually had great acting careers (Rosanna Arquette, Ralph Macchio, Peter Horton, Robin Williams, Don Johnson, Gerald McRaney, Corey Feldman) and other character actors from the era (Abe Vigoda, Frank Cady, James Sikking, Charlene Tilton, Noah Berry, David Wayne, Will Geer and Jack Elam).

I still have fond memories of enjoyment from watching in my youth, but seeing it again is a bit of a let down. Luckily, rewatching episodes of "Family" (1976-1980) is the complete opposite. Only wish I could have found it sooner on Tubi; before its run was over.

I loved Eight is Enough growing up. Age wise, I was in between Tommy and Nicholas, so I enjoyed those two the most. Plus, I think they had more story lines given to them than the others. I think there were just too many girls for any of them to stand out to me and David was way too old for me to relate to.

I liked the balance of drama and comedy. I could be laughing about one part of the show and crying about another part. I believe the death of the mother (Joan) set this show apart from the other big family shows (The Waltons, The Brady Bunch). They dealt with it pretty realistically. And when Abby joined the family, the kids continued to call her Abby instead of mom, which was much more believable. Ironically, Abby became my favorite character and I think Betty Buckley was the best actor in the bunch. But I enjoyed pretty much every Bradford and loved their big family scenes the most.

Eight is Enough was an excellent family show that still stands the test of time.