Family (1976 TV series)
Family is an American television drama series that aired on ABC from March 9, 1976 to June 25, 1980. It was conceived as a six-episode limited series,[1] but initial high ratings led to the production of 86 weekly episodes. Creative control of the show was split among executive producers Leonard Goldberg, Aaron Spelling and Mike Nichols.
This article is about the 1976 American television series. For other series with similar titles, see Family (disambiguation).Family
United States
English
5
86 (list of episodes)
50 minutes
- Icarus Productions
- Spelling-Goldberg Productions
March 9, 1976 –
June 25, 1980
Family depicted what was, for its time, a contemporary traditional family with realistic, believable characters.[2] The show starred Sada Thompson and James Broderick as Kate and Doug Lawrence, an upper-middle-class couple living at 1230 Holland Street in Pasadena, California, with their three children: Nancy (portrayed by Elayne Heilveil in the original miniseries, then by Meredith Baxter Birney), Willie (Gary Frank) and Letitia, nicknamed "Buddy" (Kristy McNichol). Their fourth child, Timmy, died five years before the first season, at age 10, in a boating accident.
Family raised the profiles of all its main actors. In particular, it catapulted Kristy McNichol and Meredith Baxter Birney to stardom.
Storylines were often topical. In the first episode, Nancy walks in on her husband Jeff having sex with one of her friends. Other storylines include Kate's possible breast cancer and Buddy's dilemmas about whether to have sex; she always chooses to wait. In 1976's "Rites of Friendship", Willie's childhood friend is arrested in a gay bar, while 1977's "We Love You, Miss Jessup" deals with Buddy's friendship with a lesbian teacher. Family also contends with alcoholism (Doug's sister; Buddy's friend) and dementia: a 1979 episode directed by Joanne Woodward guest-stars Henry Fonda as Doug's father, James Lawrence, who is beginning to experience cognitive decline. Two years later, Fonda won an Academy Award for playing a similar character in On Golden Pond.
Critical reception[edit]
Family attracted widespread critical acclaim during its original run. TV critics called the show a rare quality offering in ABC's schedule, which included Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and other Spelling-Goldberg productions such as Charlie's Angels and Fantasy Island.[5][6]
Despite its occasional adult themes, the National Parent-Teacher Association consistently praised the series. In February 1979, the PTA said Family contained "good parenting lessons" and "slightly controversial" but "excellent" content,[7] recommending it for viewing by teens and older.
In the fourth season, some critics took issue with the show's direction. In February 1979, Noel Holston of the Orlando Sentinel called Family "ABC's most prestigious program" but claimed "the producers' crisis-of-the-week approach is starting to strain the series' credibility."[8] Some critics complained that Family, like many TV shows of the period, had become too reliant on sex-related plots.[9] In spring 1979, ABC shifted the show to Friday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern, and its previously solid ratings dropped to the bottom of the chart.[10]
Although Family earned solid ratings and a loyal following, ABC was criticized for failing to promote the show; the network never aired summer reruns, which could have expanded its audience.[11] In an interview before Family's final season, star Sada Thompson called the network "capricious" and the lack of repeats "most unusual".[12] In December 1979, former showrunners Nigel McKeand and Carol Evan McKeand said, "We worked on that show for 4 1/2 years and there wasn't a day during that time that we felt the network (ABC) gave a damn."[13]
Seven years after the series ended, it was widely reported that a Family Reunion TV movie was planned for the 1987–88 season.[14] At least one report indicated that if the movie's ratings were strong enough, the series would be revived for the current ABC schedule.[15] The plot was to involve the Lawrence children gathering for Kate's remarriage. (James Broderick had died of cancer in 1982.) But the 1988 writers' strike halted production, and the project was abandoned.