Growing Pains
Growing Pains is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that aired on ABC from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992.[1] The show ran for seven seasons, consisting of 166 episodes.
| Growing Pains | |
|---|---|
 Title card from seasons 2–3 | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Neal Marlens |
| Directed by | John Tracy (seasons 1-6) |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | John Bettis Steve Dorff |
| Opening theme | "As Long As We Got Each Other" performed by B. J. Thomas (season 1 solo) and with Jennifer Warnes (seasons 2, 3, 5 and most of 7) and Dusty Springfield (season 4); Joe Chemay, Jim Haas, Jon Joyce and George Merrill (seasons 6 and part of 7) |
| Ending theme | "As Long As We Got Each Other" |
| Composer | Steve Dorff |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 7[1] |
| No. of episodes | 166 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22–30 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | NTSC |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | September 24, 1985[1] – April 25, 1992[1] |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | |
| Related shows | Just the Ten of Us |
Premise
The Seaver family resides at 15 Robin Hood Lane in Huntington, Long Island, New York.[2]
Dr. Jason Seaver (portrayed by Alan Thicke), a psychiatrist, works from home because his wife, Maggie (Joanna Kerns), has gone back to work as a reporter. Jason has to take care of the kids: ladies' man Mike (Kirk Cameron), bookish honors student Carol (Tracey Gold), and rambunctious Ben (Jeremy Miller).
A fourth child, Chrissy Seaver (twins Kelsey and Kirsten Dohring; Ashley Johnson), is born on October 27, 1988, a day after Ben's 12th birthday. She was played in her newborn/infant stage by two uncredited sets of twin sisters, that remained in the role until the end of season four (1988–89). By season five (1989–90), she was played in her toddler stage by alternating twins Kirsten and Kelsey Dohring. In seasons six and seven (1990–92), Chrissy's age was advanced to five years old.
A new cast member was added for the seventh and final season (1991–92) when homeless teen Luke Brower (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brought into the Seaver family to live with them until nearly the end of season seven.
Often mentioned but rarely seen are the Seavers' next door neighbors the Koosmans - a reference to the 1969 Miracle Mets.
Cast and characters
Main
- Alan Thicke as Dr. Jason Roland Seaver
- Joanna Kerns as Margaret Katherine "Maggie" (née Malone) Seaver
- Kirk Cameron as Michael Aaron "Mike" Seaver
- Tracey Gold as Carol Anne Seaver
- Jeremy Miller as Benjamin Hubert Horatio Humphrey "Ben" Seaver
- Ashley Johnson as Christine Ellen "Chrissy" Seaver (seasons 6–7)
- Kelsey and Kirsten Dohring as Christine Ellen "Chrissy" Seaver (toddler) (season 5, alternating)
- Leonardo DiCaprio as Luke Brower (season 7)
Recurring
- Andrew Koenig as Richard Milhous "Boner" Stabone (seasons 1–4, 25 episodes), Mike's friend; left to join the United States Marine Corps
- Chelsea Noble as Kate MacDonald (seasons 5–7, 22 episodes), Mike's girlfriend
- Jamie Abbott as Stinky Sullivan (seasons 2–6, 19 episodes), Ben's friend
- K. C. Martel as Eddie (seasons 1–7, 19 episodes), Mike's friend
- Sam Anderson as Principal Willis DeWitt (season 1–7, 13 episodes), Mike's history teacher in season one and principal from season two onward
- Betty McGuire as Kate Malone (seasons 1–7, 12 episodes); Maggie's mother
- Lisa Capps as Debbie (seasons 2–4, 12 episodes), Carol's friend
- Rachel Jacobs as Shelley (seasons 2–4, 12 episodes), Carol's friend
- Gordon Jump as Ed Malone (seasons 1–7, 11 episodes); Maggie's father
- Julie McCullough as Julie Costello (seasons 4–5, 11 episodes), Mike's former girlfriend
- Bill Kirchenbauer as Coach Graham Lubbock (seasons 2–3; starred in spin-off Just the Ten of Us), gym teacher
- Jane Powell as Irma Seaver (seasons 4–6, 8 episodes), Jason's mother
- Jodi Peterson as Laura Lynn (seasons 4–6, 6 episodes), Ben's girlfriend / love interest
- Kevin Wixted as Bobby Wynette (seasons 2–3, 6 episodes), Carol's former boyfriend
- Christopher Burgard as Dwight Halliburton (seasons 7, 6 episodes), Carol's love interest
- Evan Arnold as Richie Flanscopper (seasons 1–3, 6 episodes), Carol's school classmate who has a crush on her.
- Fred Applegate as Mr. Fred Tedesco (season 7, 4 episodes), principal of the learning annex where Mike teaches
- Judith Barsi as Carol Seaver aged 7 (season 3, 1 episode) and season 7, last episode : postmortem appearance)
Opening sequences
The season one main opening features various works of art and vintage photography depicting family life, closing with a shot of the cast.
The opening credits from seasons two through five features an opening shot of the cast in front of the Seaver house exterior. This is followed by a series of photos of each cast member from their childhood onward ending with a clip from the show with three looks ("original", "classic" and "modern"). The credits closed with another shot of the cast in front of the Seaver house before they all run inside. Starting in the second season, several different versions of the opening sequence were filmed. Whoever was the last to go into the house would usually be the focus of that week's episode.
The opening used in seasons six and seven featured opening and shot of the mantle on the Seavers' fireplace panning over photos of the cast. The photos of the cast from childhood remained but instead of clips from the show, current still photos were used. Some versions of these credits end with another shot of the mantle while others close with a montage of group shots from the same family photo shoot which the current photos used in the rest of the credits come from.
Theme song
The show's theme song, "As Long as We Got Each Other", was written and composed by John Bettis (lyrics) and Steve Dorff (music). It was performed by:
- B.J. Thomas (singing solo); season 1
- B.J. Thomas & Jennifer Warnes; seasons 2, 3, 5, part of 7
- B.J. Thomas & Dusty Springfield; season 4
- Joe Chemay, Jim Haas, Jon Joyce and George Merrill (singing a capella); season 6, part of 7, series finale
There were nine versions of the theme song used; others included a Halloween-themed version not sung by Thomas or Warnes used in a two-part Halloween episode in 1990. A shorter version of the Thomas/Warnes version was used starting in season two.
There was also an a cappella version of the song which was used for all of season six, but this version was abandoned for most of season seven in favor of the reinstatement of Thomas' and Warnes' duet version, although the a cappella theme returned for three episodes as well as the series finale. A full-length version by Thomas and Springfield was released as a single in 1988.
A soundtrack was released in 1988 titled Steve Dorff and Friends: Growing Pains and Other Hit TV Themes. The soundtrack contains songs penned by Dorff from his television series theme songs and three tracks from Growing Pains:
- Theme Song "As Long As We Got Each Other" (B.J. Thomas and Dusty Springfield: US AC #7, 1988)
- Aloha Episode – "Swept Away" by Christopher Cross
- Graduation Day Episode – "This Is The Day" performed by B.J. Thomas
The Theme for Growing Pains got airplay on the Adult Contemporary format in early 1989 and peaked at #5 on the Radio & Records AC chart and #7 on the Billboard AC chart.
Another version of "As Long As We Got Each Other" was performed by Louise Mandrell and Eric Carmen in 1988. Their version peaked at #51 on the U.S. Billboard Country chart.
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Rank | Rating | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||||
| 1 | 22 | September 24, 1985 | May 13, 1986 | 17 | 19.5[lower-alpha 1] | ||
| 2 | 22 | September 30, 1986 | May 19, 1987 | 8 | 22.7 | ||
| 3 | 26 | September 18, 1987 | May 4, 1988 | 5 | 21.3 | ||
| 4 | 22 | October 18, 1988 | May 3, 1989 | 13 | 17.6[lower-alpha 2] | ||
| 5 | 26 | September 20, 1989 | May 2, 1990 | 21 | 15.4 | ||
| 6 | 24 | September 19, 1990 | April 24, 1991 | 27 | 14.3[lower-alpha 3] | ||
| 7 | 24 | September 18, 1991 | April 25, 1992 | 75[3] | 8.6[4] | ||
| Television films | November 5, 2000 | October 16, 2004 | TBA | TBA | |||
- Tied with Knots Landing
- Tied with L.A. Law
- Tied with Baby Talk and Davis Rules
Production
Soon after the cancellation of The Four Seasons, Joanna Kerns auditioned for a new series in late 1984, called Growing Pains. She auditioned with Alan Thicke, who was just coming off the failure of his TV talk show Thicke of the Night. Kerns joked in many interviews that Alan and she had immediate chemistry, especially when she kissed him on his nose by accident during their audition together. Kerns and Thicke's chemistry won them both the parts, and the two became great friends off the show. (They both had many things in common, including both being newly divorced and both being single parents.)
In 1985, Tracey Gold auditioned for the role of Carol Seaver on Growing Pains, but was not initially cast. The actress chosen for the pilot was Elizabeth Ward, who had starred alongside Gold in The Hand-Me-Down Kid, a 1983 ABC Afterschool Special. However, test audiences did not favor Ward in the role of Carol, and she was promptly replaced by Gold. In 1988 at age 19, Gold gained some weight over the Growing Pains series hiatus. That season, the sitcom's scripts called for her to be the brunt of fat jokes from her television brothers for many episodes in a row.
Beginning in October 1988, Gold dieted from 133 pounds to about 110 pounds on a medically supervised 500-calorie-a-day (2,100 kJ) diet, but still occasionally the scripts included fat jokes at her expense. In her autobiography, she says that between 1989 and 1991, she became increasingly obsessed with food and her weight and continued to slowly and steadily lose weight.
Kirk Cameron was an atheist in his early teens.[5] When he was 17, during the height of his career on Growing Pains, he became a born-again Christian.[6][7] After converting to Protestant Christianity, he began to insist that storylines be edited to remove anything he thought too adult or inappropriate in Growing Pains.[8]
Julie McCullough landed the role of nanny Julie Costello on Growing Pains in 1989. She appeared in eight episodes until she was fired in 1990, which allegedly stemmed from series star Kirk Cameron's conversion to evangelical Christianity, a conversion that, according to The E! True Hollywood Story episode focusing on the show, served to alienate him from his fellow cast members, as he did not invite any of them to his wedding. In his 2008 autobiography Still Growing, Cameron states that he did not call for her to be fired and the show's producers have claimed that Julie's character was never intended to be a permanent character. However, the long-told story is that Cameron called for McCullough's termination because of his anger and objections to her having posed nude in Playboy, accusing the show's producers of promoting pornography. A decade later, Cameron apologized to his TV family for some of his prior behavior due to his lack of maturity.[9] He reportedly did not reconcile with McCullough, who claims that Cameron refused to speak to her during a later encounter. She remains critical of him, stating that she lost a lot from the public criticism she endured during the controversy. McCullough has criticized the evangelical television programming Cameron has produced, which she has viewed on one occasion, saying on her MySpace page:
He thinks if I read science books that I'm going to hell. [I would] rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints ... the sinners are much more fun. And a lot more interesting than some book-burner who is still having growing pains. I am at peace with God. Kirk thinks people like me are going to Hell, if I do then at least I'll go well informed and well read.[10]
At about age 14, Jeremy Miller received numerous letters from an older male stalker during the run of Growing Pains.[11]
In 1990, Tracey Gold began group therapy in an eating disorder program, but only learned more ways to lose weight. That season, her problem with weight loss was touched upon slightly on her television series, when Gold is seen looking at her body in a carnival mirror, and describes to another character the distorted image in her head. In 1991, she started starving herself more than ever and vomiting, and lost a massive amount of weight, to the point that she was admitted to a hospital in early 1992. Her lowest weight is estimated to have been near 80 pounds. She was suspended from the show for her skeletal appearance. Photos of Gold's emaciated body were plastered all over tabloid magazines, and she was one of the first celebrities ever to be formally outed for anorexia. She last appeared in the 1991 episode, "Menage a Luke" after missing the two prior episodes where her problem is very obvious in some scenes, and did not return until the last two episodes of the series in the late spring of 1992, although she was not nearly recovered at this point.
In 1991, Leonardo DiCaprio became a recurring cast member on Growing Pains, playing Luke Brower, a homeless boy who is taken in by the Seaver family.[12] Co-star Joanna Kerns recalled DiCaprio being "especially intelligent and disarming for his age," but also mischievous on set.[13] The teenage DiCaprio was cast by the producers to appeal to the teenage female audiences, but when the show's ratings did not improve, DiCaprio left it.[12] He was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Television Series.[14]
In 1992, Alan Thicke appeared as himself in the pilot episode of the sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. He appeared in the pre-credits teaser scene, alongside series star Mark Curry, humorously referencing the pilot episode being filmed on the same set used as the Seavers' home on Growing Pains.
After the series was cancelled, Kirk Cameron did not maintain contact with his former co-stars, and did not speak to Tracey Gold for eight years. Cameron has stated that this was not due to any animosity on his part toward any of his former cast-members, but an outgrowth of his desire to start a new life away from the entertainment industry, and the life he had been in for the previous seven years.
Awards and nominations
Spin-off
Growing Pains spawned the spin-off series, Just the Ten of Us, which featured Coach Graham Lubbock, Mike and Carol's gym teacher, moving to California with his large family to teach at an all-boys Catholic school after he was fired from Thomas Dewey High School.
Reunion movies
In 2000, the cast reunited for The Growing Pains Movie, followed by Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers in 2004. Prior to the premiere of The Growing Pains Movie, Kirk Cameron described his regrets over how his relationship with his castmates changed after his religious conversion during production of the series, saying, "I definitely kind of made an about-face, going toward another aspect of my life", admits Cameron. "I shifted my focus from 100% on the show, to 100% on [my new life], and left 0% on the show—and even the friendships that were a part of that show. If I could go back, I think I could make decisions that were less inadvertently hurtful to the cast—like talking and explaining to them why I just wanted to have my family at my wedding."[15]
Home media
Warner Home Video has released the first two seasons on DVD in Region 1[16] while the Warner Archive Collection released the remaining seasons as a manufacture-on-demand title that can only be available exclusively through Warner's online store, and Amazon.com.
| DVD name | Ep # | Release dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 4 | |||
| Season 1 | 22 | February 7, 2006 | June 5, 2007 | |
| Season 2 | 22 | April 26, 2011 | N/A | |
| Season 3 | 26 | May 21, 2013 | ||
| Season 4 | 22 | April 14, 2015 | ||
| Season 5 | 26 | July 14, 2015 | ||
| Season 6 | 24 | October 20, 2015 | ||
| Season 7 | 24 | January 26, 2016 | ||
Syndication
United States
ABC aired reruns of the show on its daytime schedule from July 1988 to August 1989. The show originally aired at 11:00 am (EST) until January 1989, when with the cancellation of Ryan's Hope and the expansion of Home to an hour (from 11:00am-noon), the reruns moved to 12:00 pm.
In the fall of 1989, the show was sold to local syndication, which continued until 1997. The show also aired on TBS for several years.
Reruns aired on the Disney Channel from September 1997 to September 2001. The cable rights for the show moved to sister network ABC Family, where it ran from 2001 to 2004. It has also aired on ION Television during the fall of 2006 into the spring of 2007.
Nick at Nite began airing Growing Pains on February 12, 2007, launching with a marathon from 9:00 pm ET-1:00 am ET. It was pulled from the line-up shortly after, and reruns later moved to sister network Noggin (as part of its teen block, The N). TeenNick re-aired the series on Monday, September 13, 2010, in a 5:00 am hour block, and aired its final showings on December 27, 2010.
Growing Pains aired on Up TV from January 2015-July 2017. Antenna TV began airing the series in December 2017.
It is currently available on the Roku channel (streaming app) as of November 2019.
Asia
- Mainland China
- This show was dubbed in Chinese by the Shanghai Television in the late 1980s with the title of Chéngzhǎng de Fánnǎo (成长的烦恼; literally "Growing vexation")
- Taiwan
- This show was dubbed in Chinese by Chinese Television System in the 1980s–1990s, and was given a Chinese title called Huānlè Jiātíng (歡樂家庭; Happy Family)
- Japan
- Growing Pains was dubbed in Japanese, and broadcast by the NHK of Japan in the title of "Yukai na Shiba Ke (愉快なシーバー家)" (Happy Seaver family) from 1997 to 2000
- Indonesia
Europe
- France
Two books published in French exclusively about Growing Pains: Cyrille Rollet, PhD (EHESS, Paris),
- Physiologie d'un sitcom américain (voyage au cœur de Growing Pains), (volume 1) – Physiology of an American Sitcom (Journey to the Heart of Growing Pains)
- Circulation culturelle d'un sitcom américain (volume 2) – The Cultural Circulation of an American Sitcom
- Germany
The show aired with the title of Unser lautes Heim (Our noisy home) on ProSieben from 1993.
- Italy
In Italy, the series aired in 1987 with the title Genitori in blue jeans (Parents in blue jeans).[17]
- Netherlands
The show aired from 1986 with Dutch broadcast organisation AVRO as Growing Pains in English with subtitles in Dutch.
Australasia
- Australia
- Digital free-to-air channel 7TWO began airing reruns of Growing Pains in October 2010, and reached the final episode in June 2011, replacing it with Night Court. The Nine Network first aired the show back in the 1980s and 1990s.
- New Zealand
Turkey
The show aired in the beginning of the 1990s in Turkey's first private TV channel, Star TV.
Latin America
The show was previously aired on Nickelodeon's block, Nick at Nite from 2006 until 2009.
References
- "Growing Pains TV Show: News, Videos, Full Episodes and More". TV Guide. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
- "Alan Thicke, '80s icon and renaissance man, wasn't a Long Islander, but he played one on TV". Newsday.
- |title=1991-92 Ratings History|http://www.tvratingsguide.com/2017/08/1991-92-ratings-history-political.html
- |title=1991-92 Ratings History|http://www.tvratingsguide.com/2017/08/1991-92-ratings-history-political.html
- Weeks, Lee (July 1, 2019). "Kirk Cameron and Candace Cameron Bure—Hollywood Siblings Leverage Stardom for Audience of One". Decision. Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
- "Back of Book Segment". The O'Reilly Factor Flash. April 12, 2006. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- Cameron, Kirk; Ray Comfort (2004). The Way of the Master. Tyndale House Publishers Inc. p. Foreword. ISBN 1-4143-0061-1.
- "The Cast of 'Growing Pains:' Where Are They Now?". Fox News. December 18, 2008. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- Julie McCullough at TV.com; Accessed August 21, 2010
- http://blogs.myspace.com/juliemccullough%5B%5D
- "Show Me That Smile Again". TMZ.com. 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
- Wight 2012, 331, 375.
- Yahr, Emily (February 23, 2016). "How Leonardo DiCaprio went from being a dorky teenage actor to a superstar". The Independent. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- "13th Annual Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on March 4, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- Keck, William (November 3, 2000). "TV Family's Cast Gets Over Its Own 'Growing Pains'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- Leonardo DiCaprio Joins the Cast for the Final, '7th Season' Archived 2015-12-22 at the Wayback Machine
- Genitori in blue jeans: che fine hanno fatto i protagonisti
External links
- Growing Pains at IMDb
- Growing Pains at TV.com
- Growing Pains French website (in French)
- Growing Pains Archived 2018-06-25 at the Wayback Machine at UP TV Network