Family (1976-80 TV Series) Appreciation Thread, Part 2

ME - SAW - DAW

Part 1:

Kate and her menopausal hot flash face welcome you.

Nancy is not a very likable character IMO. She is just so selfish! And a really shitty big sister to Buddy. The episode where Buddy is freaking out about going to an older kids make-out party with TJ is a perfect example. Even big bro Willie understands Buddy's reluctance to jump into big girl sexual stuff (or worse, be pushed into it at the party) and tells Nancy to talk to her. Nancy acts like she has absolutely no clue what the problem is and is no help at all. What the fuck do you think the issue might be for your 14 y/o sister who just started going steady, Nancy? Don't get me wrong, I love MBB, but Nancy was a selfish asshole. It's season 3 episode 3 "The First Time".

R4, that was the whole point of the character of Nancy. She was a selfish and self-absorbed from episode ONE.

Nancy was the daddy's girl princess, she had no time for other women, especially her mother.

Never got this show?????

See if this link gets you a recent pic of Gary Frank.

Betty the loon was the anti-Kate.

Kate, Aunt Ellie and Mrs. Garrett...

Full Our Town from last thread...

This entire "family" looks like they are on Prozac.

[quote]Nancy was the daddy's girl princess, she had no time for other women, especially her mother.

I've known a lot of women like this, as R6 aptly described: "no time for other women."

One is my sister, another is an older mentor. Both daddy's girls.

First born are usually daddies girl. Last born is the baby and middle is Jan.

Sada was in Juno (1959). Photo is too small for me to pick her out.

Okay, okay, I’ve been ragging on Kate… but she is nice in this scene.

Nice? She's devastating, as is the writing. "You are going to be...you are. Get my grandson, I need a baby to hold."

And you can tell how moved Baxter Birney is as well.

I find the recent photos posted of the cast to be triggering. I got physically ill after looking at them. I guess it reminds me of my own mortality. How can the rest of you be so matter of fact about it? It's somehow easier to deal with Sada and James being dead than it is to see how much Kristy and Gary have aged.

[quote]R17 Nice? She's devastating, as is the writing.

Well, I wouldn’t quite go THAT far.

R18 I don’t think they look that bad. Meredith Baxter Lesbian has a pretty hard face today, but I’ve seen worse. Frank and McNichol and have been out of Hollywood for decades and most likely haven’t had any work done. They’re just aging and seriously have no fucks left to give.

I think Frank would look 100% better if the top of his head didn’t look so flat. I think McNichol looked fine.

R18 Strongly suggest you throw out all school annuals, erase all photos of yourself and duck whenever you see a camera pointing your way. Otherwise you're going to be spending your life in falling into deep depression whenever you catch a glimpse of your younger self.

R21 Willie's hair looked like a candy corn-shaped frizzy helmet.

R16, I make fun of Sada as much as the next person, but that is some very well-done acting, both technically sound and emotionally invested. Girl's got chops!

Audrey is a pain in the ass.

Watching the episode where Willie marries a doomed Brooke Adams. Adams' mother is played by DL favorite Priscilla Pointer (Amy Irving's real life and on-screen mother in Carrie.) Harold Gould (Rhoda's pop) played the father.

Pointer was quite a striking looking older lady. I wonder why her career wasn't bigger.

R18 that's life duder. I mean, whaddya gonna do? Frankly, they don't look THAT bad

That's *Tony Award winning* Sada Thompson to you bums.

R26 Joan Crawford had her blackballed.

What a fug family.

I just watched what might be termed Family's "jump the shark" episode. It occurs late in Season 3.

Kate waks up from a horrible nightmare in which she's hit a small blond boy with her car. The dream is very upsetting to her and, unlike other nightmares she's had in the past, she can't shake this one. She wanders around in a daze, becoming increasingly more upset and not sleeping, while everyone around her tries to convince her that it wasn't a dream, it was a precognitive episode. Little things from the dream start to come true. (Kate has an accident with her own car, and the loaner she gets is red, the same color as the car in her dream.) It all culminates with Buddy being bitten by a possibly rabid raccoon that she's bought as a pet (don't ask) and Kate is forced to drive Buddy to the hospital in the dreaded red car at night because no one else is home and a cab will take too long.

On the way home, Kate starts to freak out because the same classical tune in her dream is playing on the radio and the streets look familiar. She jams on her brakes in front of a stop sign, nearly sending poor Buddy into the windshield, breaks down in a panic, and roughly two minutes later, a little blond boy runs out into the night street (at about 11pm) to catch his errant toy ball.

Kate tells Buddy that the boy is exactly the same one from her dream. Buddy says- How did you know to stop?! as though Kate had saved this kid's life, and I'm thinking- if you'd just kept driving instead of stopping and playing a scene with each other, by the time the kid had run out into the street, you'd have been four blocks away.

A really stupid, sloppy, ridiculous episode and I'm surprised an actress of Sada's intelligence (and from what I hear, force) would have accepted it.

I really enjoyed the series but yes, Nancy was such a BITCH!

In the episode where Buddy is thinking about losing her virginity she tries to talk to Nancy about it. Nancy cuts her off, saying the conversation is inappropriate. What a cunt! That what big sisters are for, answering questions you're too embarrassed to ask your mom.

I actually like the episodes where Nancy isn't part of the stories at all. The end of Season 3 there's a whole string of them, but I would say she maybe showed up in 2/3 of the Season 3 episodes at best.

Let’s fill up the first thread first.

[quote]Pointer was quite a striking looking older lady. I wonder why her career wasn't bigger.

Her career was very big. She did a ton of work over many years... but she was never "striking looking".

I think that ship has sailed, r35.

I'm guessing they needed an actor more full time than Willie Aames was able to give them in Season 4, so they gave Buddy a new boyfriend, but I think they should have just recast the role instead of creating a brand new boyfriend who is already pressuring Buddy to fuck in his first appearance. We have no idea how long they've been together and it feels like she should be able to just tell him to get lost because we haven't seen any investment in him from her. Or they could have waited a few episodes before broaching the topic so we could feel her dilemma better.

The more I see of Willie in the series, the more I want that era of Willie inside me quite deeply.

I bet his bedroom smelled of sweat socks and sweaty nuts.

Last time I remember seeing Gary Frank was on Star Trek in the late 90s.

I think Gary has aged as well or better than John Rubinstein

Isn't Rubinstein older?

By 4 years.

Instead of the "Fortysomething" spinoff they should have Willie's kids start a new era of Family. Aunt Buddy and her girlfriend can come visit once a season.

[quote]R33 In the episode where Buddy is thinking about losing her virginity she tries to talk to Nancy about it. Nancy cuts her off, saying the conversation is inappropriate. What a cunt!

She reacts the same way in the episode where Buddy’s squatting over a mirror, trying to master putting in a tampon.

Nancy is having NONE of it!

[quote]Aunt Buddy and her girlfriend can come visit once a season.

And Aunt Nancy can come by when she's in a lesbonic mood and lord her superior lesbonic experiences over little Buddy and her little lesbian girlfriend with the little tiny vagina....

I don't mind quinn cummings as much as i thought i would. they write well for her and she can handle the dialogue, as well as hold her own with Sada.

Buddy's rival for Leif Garrett's cock was none other than Miss Lisa Whelchel, who was willing to give it up when Buddy was not.

[quote]I don't mind quinn cummings as much as i thought i would. they write well for her and she can handle the dialogue, as well as hold her own with Sada.

I really like the scene where Kate and Annie were having coffee:

Kate: Would you like some sugar, Annie?

Annie: No thanks, and I have to say I admire the way you hide your disappointment in your children, Kate. That Nancy is just exhausting!

I'm watching an episode now with Annie Potts playing a washed up rock star who attempted suicide sharing a hospital room with Kate. It's fascinating. I've never heard of staying in the hospital for two nights just to get a physical, but that's what she and Doug are doing. Also, Charlotte Rae is playing a busybody nurse, and Annie Potts has absolutely no tits whatsoever. Flat as a pancake.

I'm sick of Doug's distractions.

It's time for Howard Stone to come over and lick my snatch!

I never knew Kristy was part Lebanese (and no, this is not a lesbian joke).

Everybody talks about how it was weird that Willie Aames and Leif Garrett would be drooling over Buddy, but has anyone considered that every season had as a plot point Doug either having or contemplating an affair, because he was constantly being hit on by women? That didn't exactly seem likely.

Willie and his friend Zeke should have been up in Willie's bedroom giving each other handyjays.

I'm watching an episode where Buddy is trying out for the cheerleading squad. She said she would be the first freshman on the squad if she made the cut. How could she be a freshman if she's 16?

Also, cheerleaders aren't lesbians.

[quote]Also, cheerleaders aren't lesbians.

Oh, really?

Nancy is intolerable.

I agree that Nancy is the "weak link" of the Lawrence family. First, she's under-utilized during the entire series (disappears for many episodes in a row). Second, her character is irrational and rash (too much of a drama queen). Third, Meredith is too old and too old looking to play a character who supposedly married at age 19 and had a child right away (she was 29 during season 2, Kristy McNichol was 14). I wish the show had had a Lawrence child between Willie (who also looks late 20s) and Buddy, such as a 17-year-old daughter about to start university, a sexual relationship or two, a new part-time job, etc.

All it takes is sun damage and a butch cut to be a lesbian

[quote] I wish the show had had a Lawrence child between Willie (who also looks late 20s) and Buddy, such as a 17-year-old daughter about to start university, a sexual relationship or two, a new part-time job, etc.

They did, but I died in that accident! (The one never described in specifics.)

Oh, yeah, I forgot that dead Timmy was born just before Buddy. His gravestone showed 1961-1971. Still, too huge a gap between Willie and Buddy...and Nancy too old! Also, why weren't Annie's biological relatives ever mentioned? They never contacted her or visited her. She didn't have biological grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc.?

Actually I just watched the episode where they were kind of forced to adopt her (they agreed to be her godparents and...forgot?). She had a rich business woman aunt who didn't want the responsibility of raising her, so she foisted her on the Lawrences.

R26- I really liked her as Rebecca Wentworth on Dallas.

Annie, quickie adoption. The Lawrences meet Annie, adopt her, and Annie adjusts to life with the family/Pasadena ALL WITHIN ONE HOUR-LONG EPISODE!!!

She doesn't quite adjust in one hour. There are episodes after the first one where she's having issues fitting in and missing her family and running away.

I barely wanted my own spawn, and now a smart aleck brat is ruining my quiet time?

Fuck THAT noise. Mama needs a Milltown and a fifth of vodka.

Annie never called Doug and Kate "Dad" and "Mom". That would've been nice, you know!

R60 Timmy's death was pretty well described. Doug was going to take Willie fishing. Then Buddy demanded to go, and if Buddy was going Timmy had to go to.

The boat tipped over, and Doug was saving Buddy. Meanwhile, Timmy got trapped under some tree roots, Doug and Willie were unable to get to him on time, and he drown.

A terrible, traumatic awful scene. In fact, it's had to imagine the family being so we'll adjusted only 4 or so years after the incident, which is when the series begins

Buck never would have saved Buddy.

R68 I don't remember that episode - not saying you're not correct, just didn't remember it.

In the first episode she says that she birthed 3 children - and then later in that first season the Timmy business is briefly explained in the episode where Nancy baptizes the baby. So I think they added that plot twist in after the pilot was shot.

Lisa Whelchel episode.

R70 I I believe the final episode of season one, Jeff asks Willie exactly what happened. He tells him.

And yeah the pilot was shot almost a year before episode two. They decided to add the tragedy, and also soften the mother character. I think the pilot was shot in the real house, and all subsequent episodes were a sound stage recreation.

R71, I always felt that episode ended on a strange note with Lisa hot saucing Buddy after she swore at her.

i’m watching a fabulous episode called Disco Queen where Kristy gets submerged into the Pasadena disco scene. She goes to a local club with Priscilla Lopez from A Chorus Line and meets the local disco heartthrob, played by the guy who played Double J in Saturday Night Fever. Of course, Kristy is in a satin vest/pants combo and looks like Mercedes McCambridge in Johnny Guitar.

I noticed in earlier episodes, some of the adults marvel a bit at how mature or wise Buddy can be. In a way that seems natural.

But then when McNichol was probably getting really famous....in later seasons, there's a few episodes where the adults are almost like worshipping Buddy. "I wish I was you, Buddy!" sort of shit. And McNichol just sits there with a dumb smirk.

I don't have a lot of quibbles with this show, am loving it, but a few of these moments are noticeable now. It's almost like they had a formula of "Let's have a Buddy Is Wise Beyond Her Years moment, which we insert every five or six episodes."

I just watched an episode where Kate got super puritanical about Willie fucking her duet partner (played by Shelley Long). She was totally in the wrong, but they let her get away with it.

Also, Audrey Pfeiffer is a massive cunt.

Willie was a cougar chaser before cougars had a name.

Willie got way too much trim for his rather spindly body and nightmare coiffure.

It was his 10 x 7 that the cougars couldn't resist.

You know those twinks with concave chests always unzip and THWACK, the python pops out.

R76- Audrey was SO average. Buddy was always going to Audrey's ostensibly to do homework or hang out. But we know the real reason Buddy was at Audrey's so often- to LICK HER PUSSY.

Did Lisa Whelchel even get one line of dialogue?

She had a few later in the episode.

It seemed like this was the time for uptight white family dramas, also Ordinary People and Interiors. Also houses painted entirely white inside. And boring, preppy clothes, and mousey hair. Like Ralph Lauren was directing America for a while.

Buddy and I liked the pole AND the hole.

So Blair actually lost her virginity first?

[quote]She had a few later in the episode.

"Buddy, you can't lick my twat anymore; my parents are sending me to the Eastland School for Girls."

Excuse me. EXCUSE ME.

*hair toss*

No one has mentioned me or my perfect son Timmy in at least 30 replies. WHAT ABOUT ME?

The mom is gross and fat. Is she gay, a dyke?

I never got into this show. I thought it was depressing and the mom was cold and icy to me and the first time I saw Kristy, I was a young teen, I said "she's a lesbian". My mom thought I was being too judgy and said "she's just a tomboy". I was right and Mom now admits it. Takes a homo to know one.

[quote]The mom is gross and fat. Is she gay, a dyke?

These are the kind of perceptive insights we need on this thread.

R88 I'd defend Kate but she already smacked the shit out of you and kicked you into next week.

She'll cut a bitch.

Kate always had a look on her face like she knew better than you, and you were wasting her time, and were a no-account, shiftless punk who was up to no good. I suspect people who loved this how had moms who looks like that.

*looked

R30

The family was normal-looking, which is why those of us who grew up with it feel ok with our average looks.

Your generation, OTOH, can never measure up to the air-brushed perfection that is media these days. I feel bad for you.

Standing ovation for R94

[quote]Kate always had a look on her face like she knew better than you, and you were wasting her time, and were a no-account, shiftless punk who was up to no good.

Given those three kids of hers, can you blame her?

R96 Yeah, I can blame her, she raised them. And do you really think when she was a kid, she was likely much better than them? That's what I can't stand about her smug superiority. It's easy to be that way when you've learned more of life's lessons. The writers had a bias against the kids, anyway.

R94 The ones I feel bad for today are actors. Average looking actors with talent used to get more jobs! Producers looking for good actors in those days. Looks were important (relatively) but today it's ALL about looks, and unusually good looks. There are still shows with "nerds" and average looking people but invariably they play misfits, not regular people.

I loved the episode in which the Family went backpacking on the Savage-Lundy Trail in 109° weather and cooked themselves, even baby Timmy. A Very Special Episode, indeed!

I remember shooting that episode with Lisa Whelchel like it was yesterday. Lisa kept claiming she was a "method actress" so she actually fucked Leif! Not sure how she justified fucking half the camera crew. She kept wandering around asking who had coke and finally a set designer hooked up up.

None of us could believe it; we were all disgusted by her whoring and coking. Even Sada was all "Yeah, REAL CHRISTIAN, LISA!"

[quote] Given those three kids of hers, can you blame her?

FOUR KIDS, YOU CUNT!

I birthed FOUR kids, you little demon seed! You're the fifth - the oddball.

And I rue the day we ever agreed to take you in!

R94- The men on the show including Willie had slim, natural bodies, which was the norm in the 1970's. Today every guy is either FAT or MUSCULAR or both

Just watched the ep where Nancy and Jeff divorce. Nancy had a date with some hairy, hot DILFy professor. Get that good D, Nancy!

[quote]Just watched the ep where Nancy and Jeff divorce. Nancy had a date with some hairy, hot DILFy professor. Get that good D, Nancy!

These kids today!

Tommy Lee Jones appeared as a construction worker who had a one night stand with Nancy.

I'm watching an episode from Season 4 where Willie and some ballerina "meet cute" and he gets involved in her drama, as the Lawrences are always wont to do. It's really poorly written, Willie's schtick with women has really gotten old and tiresome by this point, and Stephanie Zimbalist, as the ballerina, is so strident and awful that I don't buy for a minute Willie, even with all his neurotic tendencies, would waste more than five minutes on her when she's nothing but a massive cunt to him. I'm thinking of skipping the 2nd half.

My favorite episode was a two-parter. When Willie married Brooke Adams and she died from some disease. I think it was leukemia. Very sad. Great acting from Gary Frank, especially his breakdown scene at the beach.

The things that seem very fresh and bracing in the first three or so seasons become a little bit of self parody toward the end. As all shows eventually do.

The mile of dick my character had - including my ex real life allegedly abusive husband, David Birney - was lost on me. There was some quality cock!

Apologies to all.

David Birney was good looking in the 1970's.

I think "Ballerina" is the worst episode in the series, R106. I've never been able to get through it.

The producers were clearly burnt out at that point.

A new team took over for season 5, and it's an improvement.

Yeah, it was really terrible, R106. I made it through, but I had one eye on it while doing something else.

Has anyone mentioned me lately?

Just realized said hot DILFy professor was David Hedison.

r114 Who had something in common with Whitney Blake ... and whose daughter is married to Jodie Foster.

Yes, he was Jodie's father-in-law!

Willie had bad taste in women and would do anything for some snatch.

I've watched a few more episodes and I think I've been cured of my attraction to Willie.

What a FUCKING ASSHOLE!

Which episodes made you feel that way, R118?

I've watched a few at the beginning of Season 2 and it's just Willie being a brat.

Willie wants two women. The way he treats the girl with her own business is just....ugh.

Willie wants to make a film of everyone (ha, this is so outdated now)

He'd be a big do me queen in bed, I can just tell.

I just watched the episode with David Birney as the school child psychologist (cringe) and Nancy's boyfriend with a dark secret. When he was a 19 year old camp counselor he initiated a relationship with a THIRTEEN year old girl. He didn't get jail time and said with a lot of therapy he was "cured" from having those feelings anymore. Uh-huh. Everything about this story line is so fucking creepy to watch now. He became a child psychologist to help children with tough problems like his. (A pedophile who wants to help children not be pedophiles? Sure, that makes sense.) David Birney was cute though, even for being a tiny pipsqueak of a man. And you could definitely see the chemistry between him and MBB. She couldn't keep her hands off of him.

Especially creepy knowing how abusive he was to her.

So she says.

Well, at least we know now that Sada Thompson and Ed Asner are not the same person… 😆

R124 NOOOOOOOOO you didn't!

He is so cold to her in this clip.

I always thought he looked more like her brother than her husband.

She talks about Family and Sada around the seven minute or so mark.

And once again, I'm bawling my eyes out. RIP, Sada.

I'm watching an episode with Steve Guttenberg where he hassles our Sada on her first day of teaching school. I've always loathed Guttenberg and this episode is really irritating.

I've just started and I'm only on the episode with Timmy the Usurper's christening. I can't believe how old Sada Thompson and James Broderick look for 49 (they were both born in 1927). Were the characters supposed to be older or is this just another example of everyone looking ancient on old tv shows?

In the pilot, Kate is 46.

She and Doug are supposed to be the same age.

People looked old as hell in their 40s back then. I blame smoking.

[quote]I can't believe how old Sada Thompson and James Broderick look for 49 (they were both born in 1927). Were the characters supposed to be older or is this just another example of everyone looking ancient on old tv shows?

My parents were born in 1928 and 1926 and they looked younger in 1976 (or 1986) than those two did in 1976.

Thanks, R132. It hadn't even crossed my mind that she could have been playing younger.

Now I'm sitting here trying to picture her with a Real Housewives makeover and him without the long eyebrows and sideburns, or the side part that starts two inches above his ear.

The lighting on Sada often seemed to change and become dark and almost ominous. Didn't help her look younger.

Fat people look older.

Poor Kristy . To be in the closet and famous took a toll on her mental health.

Willie was hot

James Broderick died only a couple of years after Family was cancelled, so it's not terribly surprising that he didn't look great during its run.

I also think people of that generation, born in the '20s, had it really rough, and that probably aged them prematurely. Their childhood was during the Great Depression with its attendant poverty (poor nutrition and economic insecurity during the formative years), then their young adulthood was consumed by the privations of WWII and the rationing and shortages that continued for years afterwards. Finally, there was the heavy smoking and drinking that were part of daily life for most American adults in the '50s and '60s.

Looked at that way, it's kind of amazing any of them managed to make it into the '70s!

Buddy, on Timmy's tragic future as a child of divorce:

"It's serious. I heard that boys who grow up without fathers can become homosexuals."

[quote]Finally, there was the heavy smoking and drinking that were part of daily life for most American adults in the '50s and '60s.

Oh, come on. "Heavy smoking and drinking"? Many people did smoke, but most American adults were not heavy smokers, or heavy drinkers. My parents smoked, but moderately, and they only drank socially. I'd say that was true of most people. And people rarely did drugs, unlike in the 70s and 80s, or even today.

R141 Everyplace then reeked of smoke.

But no, most Americans were not heavy smokers. If a carton a day is your definition of a heavy smoker.

R141 In 1963, annual cigarette consumption per capita in the US was around 4,300. And of course, not everyone smoked (around 70% of men and 30% of women did), so the ones who did were smoking roughly 7,000+ cigarettes per year, or 2+ packs a day. I think that's considered heavy use by today's standards.

The 50 year olds I knew in the 70s looked just like Sada and James Broderick.

Now the women all try hard to look 25 and the men do, too.

R163 I didn't realize Family aired in 1963. And nobody's yet defended the remark about everybody being heavy drinkers.

r145 can see into both the future AND the past!

My brain was confusing the awesome FAMILY theme song with this haunting, beautiful theme song.

Very observant! By the composer Jerry Goldsmith, who produced music for a vast number of movies and TV shows.

lolol

In the clip R26 provided, MBB gets 'Family' and 'Family Ties' confused at first. Was she a little drunk? And that show seems like a parody on SNL, but it's not. Who exactly is Don Boxer?

She seemed not all together there in that clip, it's actually sad.

i thought she seemed like a pretty good sport, being bombarded by two complete ninnies.

Was Nancy a recurring role on Family?

I've seen bits of the first three seasons and it seems like she's in maybe every other or sometimes every third episode.

I have read that MBB took the role because she wanted to work, but was raising young children and liked that she wouldn't be committed every week.

R138- He was ONLY hot by the last season in 1980, when he cut his hair and grew a beard.

I saw Doug Lawrence out at that rest stop on the interstate.

He had his hands full!

Gary had sexual appeal

I wanted Gary/Willie inside me quite deeply.

I was never attracted to Gary Frank in any way. Not even as an actor.

R159 = Kristy McNichol

Wow, is it really that unusual not to be attracted to a boring fug like Gary Frank?

Nobody’s mentioned the episode where Kate was a member of the jury in a courtroom case? And of course during the verdict discussion she had her own opinions. That, to me, was a quintessential Kate episode.

R162, I always get that episode confused with the Designing Women episode where Julia serves on a jury and yells at some woman about her 'June Allyson bladder pads.'

They never seem to show the episode where Kate admits her secret fetish for BBC.

"And of course during the verdict discussion she had her own opinions. That, to me, was a quintessential Kate episode.

Of course it is. Because she demonstrates rational and intelligent thinking. Which is what one would expect from one of the best-written and played series in television history.

[quote] Which is what one would expect from one of the best-written and played series in television history.

MARY!

R162 just watched that and it was so dramatic....unusual for FAMILY.

I read the credits at the end and one of the skateboard bitches was none other than Laura of Luke and Laura herself, Genie Francis.

r167, I recognized her without even reading the credits, though I did confirm.

Well, Willie Aames was in it too but I didn't recognize those young faces, I guess!

Nancy's professor looks so fuckable

I thought he looked like a sleazeball.

I'm in the middle of Season 5 and the verdict is in- Nancy was an all around cunt.

R172- Nancy was a WASPP- a White Anglo Saxon Protestant Princess.

Nancy apparently took Kate's car one morning and left her a note instructing Kate to return her library books and pick up some suntan lotion for her.

What a spoiled little bitch!

R174- I watched that episode in July. She's LAZY too.

Real pretty hair, though.

Where is Elaine Heilveil?

And Cassie Yates?

The season four episode MAGIC with Annie Potts sharing a hospital room with Kate is a hoot. Annie smoking in every scene. In the hospital! Times have changed.

What about the episode where Kate, who is just sick of everything and everyone, gets trapped in some condo overnight? With an overdue preggo who of course has to choose that moment to shoot out her baby.

It sure makes Kate reevaluate and appreciate Family life, once and for all!

The preggo was played by real life loon Kim Darby, and her character could give Nancy a run for her money in the cunt race.

[quote] Where is Elaine Heilveil?

Playing Yente in a community theater production of Fiddler, if she's lucky.

R189 an R181- You people keep saying PREGGO which reminds me of that Tomato sauce Prego.

Ugh, Jeff is back for an episode in Season 5. Loathe him.

Does anyone think they replaced Elayne Heilveil with MBB because they realized that nobody would buy someone who looked like Heilveil getting away with acting as spoiled and entitled as Nancy does?

R184 I hated Jeff the character but for a minute in that first episode with MBB he looked extremely fuckable.

His dialogue was so retro, though.

"I was in your bed, and you need a man there, baby!" Or something like that.

And it was MBB - apparently, she needed a man like a fish needed a bicycle!

Elaine Heilveil was too Jewish looking to play Nancy!

One of the library books Nancy told her mother to return was Jill Johnston's "Lesbian Nation": Kate looked at the cover and pursed her lips, then Buddy said, "Don't return that one, I haven't finished it yet."

R188- I bet Kristy had the MAJOR HOTS for MBB on the set of the show.

Season 5 and the horrendous maid Mrs. Hanley is back, being played by yet ANOTHER actress and confounding me once more as to why Kate is putting up with such an incompetent cunt of a housekeeper.

Kristy probably crushed hard on Dominique Dunne when she guest starred on season 5

There's so much foreshadowing. Buddy just started her bakery job and sang happy birthday to Chrissie Evert apropos of nothing.

The ass ruffles must have done it.

R190. You've obviously never had a housekeeper. It's hard to find good help. And the replacement might well be worse.

R190 , R193 plus having an incompetent maid gives something to talk about when she gets together with her other cunty white-lady friends. "You just can't get good help these days." Then sighing as she lifts her third Stinger.

R194 And of course in return the helpers get together on their day off and talk about you.

I laughed when Kate told someone to go fuck themselves over the phone.

The show needed an Adam Chandler type villain to mess with the characters lives.

If only for an episode.

Nancy, you ignorant slut!

Kate, slut-shaming Nancy: "Timmy One would never let his professor fuck him on the first date!"

Nancy silently shows Kate photo of beard-y professor.

Kate: "Well second date then. You're still a WHORE, Nancy!"

[quote] You've obviously never had a housekeeper. It's hard to find good help. And the replacement might well be worse.

I actually have had several. I fire them regularly if they don't do things as I like. I finally found someone I liked, who did a good enough job, but I had to train her. And I can't tell you how many times she accidentally broke something. But she was a hard worker and a sweet lady. I haven't had her back since Covid started, which bums me out, but I look forward to seeing her again soon.

R200=Faye Dunaway

Now it's the episode where we learn Friedrich von Trapp was the father of Selina's baby.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Oh, I see Kate's passive-aggressive ghost is posting here in the form of R202 and R203. It's S-A-L-I-N-A, you salmon-lipped cunt.

If by chance it was an accident, which I know it wasn't, just remember the salinity of the tears I cried over your damaged son.

R204 In my house we called you "Sluttina," dear. You were a mess who bewitched my poor Willie.

It's a blessing you fucked it up all on your own and I didn't need to intercede - THAT time, anyway.

No, you can't have my son, or my house, or my life. Bye, Sluttina.

"TJ Latimer" today

[quote]No, you can't have my son, or my house, or my life.

Please! If Lifetime movies had been around then I would have had all three as well as your husband, definitely both daughters, and you as well. Just admit that you flicked your dusty bean to my hot bod when I turned to porn in order to support the daughter your good-for-nothing son promised to take care of, Kate; the son who didn't die of gross negligence, that is.

I'm sorry that your frustration has only grown in death.

No one wants to ride the town bicycle, Skanlina.

Buh bye now.

I have two complaints about these people: I am re-watching season 2 and I can’t get over what I call “Kate’s Grubby Kitchen Cabinets”. All of her kitchen cabinets have dirty and greasy stains, especially around the knobs. Did anybody ever clean those? And Willie is totally gross, he has freakishly long fingernails for a straight man.

If no one ever bothered to clean Willie’s greasy, filthy, stained knob, why would you expect special treatment for the cabinets?

I seriously wonder about the people here who think Willy/Gary Frank is hot. Mental illness is such a problem in our world today.

R211- as I said earlier in this thread by 1980 he was finally attractive. He cut his hair . He looked well groomed.

It bugged me that here was a prosperous Upper middle class family and Kate and Doug drove those CRAPPY Ford Mavericks. I'm not suggesting they be Vulgar like Jeff's parents and drive a Rolls Royce but maybe a nice Oldsmobile or Buick.

Willie looked a lot like the teenage/early 20s boys in my neighborhood in the late 70s, and yes, they were hot.

He does have the voice of an older/old man, though.

Elaine is suddenly in several episodes.

Does she secretly want to eat Kate's snatch or something?

This is one of the things that bugged me about Family the most- their cavalier way of recasting. I just watched an episode from Season 5 where Elaine comes back into the picture and has a major role. They recast the part with an actress named Louise Latham. I don't always remember names, but I definitely remember faces, so when I saw this broad, and they kept talking about what good friends she and Kate had been, I had no idea who they were talking about. They did this a lot- with Kate's friends, with the maid, with Buddy's friends, with Annie's friends... and then they would also bring back actors who had played significant roles but have them play brand new characters.

Well, I'll give Nancy credit, she knows how to pick the good dick.

A young Tommy Lee Jones? Leap on that dick, henny!

Put the backdrop back on the bed , Loretta.

Annie herself played a different character in an earlier episode (prior to adoption).

R213, I am guessing the car thing was to virtue signal the Lawrences as being of the genteel middle class. Doug had a small law practice, not a partner in some swanky LA Law type of firm which was why he drove that Maverick. Kate had the Pinto Squire wagon, and remember people were driving smaller cars then due to the gas shortages of the 70s. Willy had an old Mustang convertible. Nancy drove a BMW, and then later a Mercedes which must have been in her settlement from Jeff. It was needed to drop baby Timmy off at the McMartin Preschool, to go law school herself, and then to tool around Pasadena trolling for hot straight cock.

There were always discussions about money on the show and not overextending one's budget, so they weren't THAT well off, middle-class genteel or not.

Salina, darling, do you have change for a 20?

Since you're a whore I figured you have to make change for your johns and all, so......

The older kids didn't have to pay rent when they lived in the guest house 🏠

Did u guys see the episode “ When the Bough Breaks?” It’s in 5th season guest starring Dominique Dunne

R220 and R213 those are simply stupid assumptions. The reason the Lawrences drove a Pinto and Mustang was because it was an Aaron Spelling production and he had a deal with Ford. Why do you think Sabrina drove a Pinto and Kelly drove a Mustang on CA?

R225, interesting

Dana Hill is bullying Annie on what seems to be the penultimate episode but was aired out of order. In this episode, Buddy is still waiting to hear from colleges, but in the prior episode, she had already gotten acceptance letters and was freaking out about leaving home.

R225 Given the cars were seen so often they practically qualified as supporting players, I always assumed there was a special deal of some sort with Ford.

What makes anyone think they're "upper" middle class, because the father is a lawyer? They're middle class.

Apparently a lot of season 5 was made and aired out of order. They really disrespected the show at the end.

R229 Because they were living in a UMC home in an UMC area.

I'm Nancy Lawrence's vagina.

Even with four lanes, traffic is backed up for miles!

That may be your view of yourself, Nancy/R232. But it's not the one I hold.

You're mine. I resent your low opinion of yourself.

Something something something butter my biscuits.

Mmm! Biscuits!

R221- They were affluent enough to have a maid.

A shitty maid who seemed to be there once a week.

Wasn't she a cleaning lady? My mother is lower middle-class and has a cleaning lady.

I just finished Season 5. I thought the final episode was somewhat meh. Hardly a fitting end for such a beloved family. I shall miss The Lawrences. Well, maybe not Nancy.

R237- If your mother is lower middle class and has a cleaning woman she is living pretty HIGH ON THE HOG.

The Lawrences were Upper middle class as were the Brady Bunch- not only did they have a maid , she was a LIVE IN maid.

You do kind of wonder how Doug and Kate were able to support all those kids on a small time lawyer's salary alone. On the one hand, they didn't have mortgage payments because the house was left to Doug. On the other hand, they were basically supporting two adult children along with their minor daughter and grandson. Once Nancy moved out, Annie took her place. They didn't have to pay for college for Willie, but they definitely paid for Nancy's college and likely her law school tuition.

Then Kate went back to school, so that was another tuition. And her salary as a high school teacher couldn't have kicked in all that much, especially with Buddy about to leave for college.

[R229] Because they were living in a UMC home in an UMC area.

R231 Yeah, you're right, I just looked up the house. The neighborhood is definitely an upscale Pasadena neighborhood -- though the house is one of the smallest in the neighborhood, and the show toned the whole thing down a bit. This looks more like the Beverly Hills neighborhood of the Walshes on BH90210. If anyone wants to look it up, it's 1230 Milan Ave in South Pasadena.

Just watched the ep with Doug's sister and I will cut a bitch who tries to come after Kate Lawrence!

[quote]The neighborhood is definitely an upscale Pasadena neighborhood -

Pasadena and South Pasadena are different cities.

South Pasadena is where the 'not rich rich' folks and some of the actual poors live. Yes a pretty nice house and grounds, and as R241 mentioned, was given to them by Doug's father. They certainly are not a flashy family, the cars were an indicator. Kate was not exactly wearing couture, but they didn't want for much, tickets to the opera, nice food, and the weekly cleaning lady. Nancy might have been living rent free in the guest house, but surely had child support for little Timmy as well as some kind of short term alimony from Jeff Maitland. John Rubenstein, who played Jeff, wrote the score for about a dozen episodes of the show..

Correct me if I'm wrong, but they actually lived in Pasadena, but the house for which exterior shots were used was in South Pasadena, which is irrelevant to the story. It could have been in Kansas or on a studio backlot.

This town's not big enough for the two of us, Kate!

The Lawrence house is valued at nearly $5 million today. Is that upper-middle or just plain rich?

Annie sounded like she swallowed a sock.

[quote]This is one of the things that bugged me about Family the most- their cavalier way of recasting

I just saw the episode where Buddy's friend Laura who moved to Detroit comes back as an alcoholic. But instead of being played by Kim Richards as she was originally Laura was played by some other actress who I don't even know. Was I disappointed!

R250- The Golden Girls was TERRIBLE about this. No show was worse about changing the actors/actresses who played a character than GG.

As others have pointed out- Doug's father was played by at least THREE actors and Mrs. Hanley was played by THREE or FOUR actresses.

HURTIN- especially about Doug's father.

[quote] Just watched the ep with Doug's sister and I will cut a bitch who tries to come after Kate Lawrence!

When she read Kate for filth and called her the "farmer's daughter" I was like NO BITCH NO!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Sada Thompson was a poor man's Maureen Stapleton.

Love me some Sada. Don't nobody talk bad about Miss Sada!

r55, are you talking about the Sada Massa kissed?

One critic said the show should be subtitled "Mrs. Stoneface tries to get an expression." Sada really did have a face made for the theater but since she didn't move it much, it was more TV/film technique.

R257 I'd love to see that review!

I mean, especially since you've shared it here a few times now

I feel like Doug's father would have been a natural addition to the cast in the 5th season, moving back to Pasadena, living in that hotel. He could have made appearances the way Nancy did, and if would have given Henry Fonda a nice gig towards the end of his life, and a shot in the arm to the series. Fonda was wonderful in his guest shot, and he clearly had a ton of chemistry with all the cast.

Hard to imagine Fonda agreeing to a regular role on an hour-long TV series given his stature and age. He was no Fyvush Finkel.

That's why I said recurring. MBB did fewer than half the episodes of the final season, and in some of those she was maybe in one scene.

A few years before, Fonda starred in his own (flop) TV show (and a decade before that he starred in another short-lived program), so I don't think recurring status on a prestigious show like Family would have been beneath him.

Please. He was in The Swarm, The Visitor and Tentacles. NOTHING was beneath him.

Happy 59th birthday to Kristy McNichol today! (Sept.11)

"That may be your view of yourself, Nancy/[R232]. But it's not the one I hold. You're mine. I resent your low opinion of yourself."

Just reading that has me tearing up....

The Smith Family was a terrible show. The Deputy. Fonda's other show, didn't require him to be in the show every week. He played the marshal, not the deputy, and was only in about a third of the episodes, sometimes for only a brief scene or two.

Kristy became friends with Dominique Dunne after Dunne guest starred on last season . She was very upset when Dunne was murdered . Dominique said that Kristy was her favorite actress of her generation.

Turns out there's a whole crew of people devoted to turning out floor plans of TV show houses. Anyone come across one for Family?

[]quote]Please. He was in The Swarm, The Visitor and Tentacles. NOTHING was beneath him.

Let's not forget his memorable series of commercials for GAF. Here he is with Jodie Foster.

R267 Link please, or it's total BS

Tizzylish!

Interesting. "Tizzy Lish" isn't just a cutesy nickname. It's from an old radio show.

One of the writers must have heard this name or the show.

I just saw the episode where Willy's boss Nora gives him a promotion out of sexual interest. I was positive that Nora was a young Joan Collins, she had those wide set eyes and same manner of speaking. But it turned out to be Samantha Eggar.

Would all these woman in real life be so hot for Willie? He's pretty plain looking and his personality leaves a lot to be desired.

No way. Willie was gross. He looked like he didn't bathe and he had terrible hair and a chicken chest.

[quote]I just saw the episode where Willy's boss Nora gives him a promotion out of sexual interest. I was positive that Nora was a young Joan Collins, she had those wide set eyes and same manner of speaking.

By the time "Family" was on the air, Joan Collins' days of being "young" were already far behind her.

So were Samantha Eggar's

R275: And gross, long finger nails. He never wore a belt and had a flat ass.

Willie was a cougar cub before "cougars" were officially a thing.

Why single out Willie? Nearly the entire cast of characters had relationships that were, shall we say, "unlikely."

Buddy had Leif Garrett and Willie Aames hot for her bod.

Doug had a rival lawyer (Linda Lavin) hounding him for sex.

Even Kate attracted Michael J. Fox who was maybe 20 and looked 12!

Nancy was the only one whose romantic escapades seemed plausible.

Don't forget Annie, who had the middle school's quarterback after her (even though he looked more like a bleach blond surfer) even though six episodes later it was established that she was a nerd and an outcast who everyone in her school hated and made fun of.

I thought Willie dropped out of college, but he's 17.

Is he a HS dropout? I'm in the episode where he's thinking of taking on Selina and her unborn child. This house is going to be full of babies and young people if Kate and Doug don't put their foot down now!

R278

That's another thing. Most people have flat asses, unless you live in Brazil, and this is something we accepted in the 70s.

Unrealistic expectations=unhappiness.

Yes, Willie dropped out of high school at age 16.

Willie dropped out of high school and he still confuses Pasadena with South Pasadena.

Little Willie, Willie won't leave home

But you can't push Willie 'round, Willie won't go

What foxy lady *wouldn't* fall like a ton of bricks for a frizzy-haired high school dropout and perpetual snacker who still lives with his parents?

Just finished “Best Friends” from season 2. Nancy hooks up with her high school sweetheart, who she jilted by marrying Jeff, but he turns out to be a speed freak. They try to rekindle the relationship but it doesn’t work. Buddy and her lesbian friend Audrey are still bumping pussies on their Friday night sleepovers. And Nancy’s kid Timmy still looks retarded.

Why didn't Kate get her teeth whitened?

They're really atrocious in some of the close-ups—almost hillbilly grade.

Was tooth whitening not possible in 1977?

Teeth whitening wasn’t a thing until the nineties. Most actors had tobacco stained teeth through the eighties.

[quote]Most actors had tobacco stained teeth through the eighties.

Coffee also stains teeth. But people also just have natural tooth coloring that isn't blazing white. People weren't obsessed about freakishly white teeth then. Shaming people about their natural tooth color is another way commercial interests have gotten people to spend millions on something they don't need.

R291 Exactly. Most people have teeth that match their complexion as well. The bright white teeth always stand out to me as not normal. Friends actually did a funny episode where Ross overdid it and they glowed in the dark.

I just watched the episode where 30 year old Nancy steals and fucks Buddy's 21 year old crush. She doesn't even feel particularly bad about it. It's AJ from Simon and Simon! Nancy really is an asshole.

Nancy couldn't resist shitting where she ate.

She also dated a writing mentor of Willie's (played by studly David Selby) and complicated things between them.

Sheesh, I didn't remember that old Nance couldn't put that thing away for even five minutes.

She needed a man in her bed, baby!

Nancy was a real cunt.

When Nancy was born and the doctor spanked her, she batted her eyes at him and said "at least buy me a drink first, big boy".

Ha ha 😂

Remember the episode when Kate was pregnant with the post-menopausal fetus and the family went to Red Lobster for dinner and she had miscarriage after eating the hush puppies ?

[quote]I just saw the episode where Buddy's friend Laura who moved to Detroit comes back as an alcoholic. But instead of being played by Kim Richards as she was originally Laura was played by some other actress who I don't even know. Was I disappointed!

As someone upthread pointed out, they didn't even try to keep the same actors for characters who were only seen a few times. But what can you expect with three different Nancys?

You can expect trouble.

So nice to see Jameson Parker mentioned above. Not only very handsome, but very charming to boot. Coincidentally, I just saw him yesterday in THE BELL JAR (available on YT), a relic from the 70s, in which he is not only a loving boyfriend to our neurotic leading lady, but strips down in a carefully lit nude scene (but his dimpled buttocks get their day in the sun).

[quote] She needed a man in her bed, baby!

She went from cock slut to stinkfish only!

Me Saw-Dah, you - Saw-Dah, us - Saw-Dah, them - Saw-Dah

[quote]where 30 year old Nancy steals and fucks Buddy's 21 year old crush. She doesn't even feel particularly bad about it.

That was an episode of "One Day A Time," where Julie slut-steals, BJ and The Bear from Barbara and Fried Egg Titties points out, if Barbara really had him, she wouldn't have lost him.

R304, is a flaming F He resents women

[quote]No way. Willie was gross. He looked like he didn't bathe and he had terrible hair and a chicken chest.

That describes Lindsey Buckingham as well.

R307 doesn't recognize long running DL jokes, and eats huge piles of shit.

Pasadena is for people who say, "I Have the AIDS."

South Pasadena is for people who say "I Have AIDS."

R310, did Kate say that Buddy in the last episode or am I misremembering?

Sada was supposed to be "Irene Lorenzo" on "All In The Family," but Carroll O'Connor was side fucking Betty Garrett so that was that,

[quote]Kristy became friends with Dominique Dunne after Dunne guest starred on last season

Friends? Yeah I just bet she was friendly with her.

R13, said Kristy was her favorite actress 🤔

Dominique said

[quote] That describes Lindsey Buckingham as well.

Not since Tusk, hon.

r316

He still looks like he hasn't bathed since then.

I don't know why but I consider Nancy a boring character and Meredith a terrible actress. She made it on her looks, and those seem dated, as well.

*And her mom's and stepdad's connections, probably.

I think she got better with age R318. But I do know what you mean, there are times where she just kind of has a blank stare at a pivotal moment and you wonder if she's a crap actress or is it just Nancy being her typical self centered asshole self?

I think she got better with age [R318].

R320 Not in comedy. She was funny as a stick on Family Ties. And never able to throw away a line.

[quote] She was funny as a stick on Family Ties.

she wasn't even as funny as a rock. she was on par with Tina Yothers.

R322 And in whose universe was Meredith Baxter-Birney an aging hippie?

R320 You weren't supposed to like Nancy. And in that sense MBB played her exactly right.

Elyse Keaton was funny when she did that commercial with Sir Penguin.

[quote]You weren't supposed to like Nancy. And in that sense MBB played her exactly right.

I didn't like MBB in anything, though. At least she was consistent.

I thought MBB was good on Family Ties. I watched a few episodes recently after not having seen it in years and I still find it funny. The scene where Elyse is giddy with excitement upon learning she's pregnant and sends an object flying across the room which narrowly misses Skippy's head is hilarious.

But she does seem rather affectless on Family.

Me Saw Dah

[quote] Me Saw Dah

Fuck Off Ah

[quote]I thought MBB was good on Family Ties. I watched a few episodes recently after not having seen it in years and I still find it funny. The scene where Elyse is giddy with excitement upon learning she's pregnant and sends an object flying across the room which narrowly misses Skippy's head

I don't think she was essentially a comedienne. Her battles with the show for reducing her screen time in favor of MJF's are well known. Yet she couldn't have generated interest or laughs, herself, on that show, sufficient to make it a hit without the presence of MJF. Lucille Ball or Mary Tyler Moore she ain't.

MBB is the OG Betty Broderick though.

I enjoyed Family Ties while growing up, but revisiting it as an adult...nah.

[quote] Michael Gross was oddly hot, though.

Meredith's TV husbands - John Rubinstein and Michael Gross - were both kinda hot in a dorky way in their day. Both had weird hair, though.

r329

You - Saw Dah

R333 Didn't I read somewhere he and MBB were born on the exact same day (same year)?

I met her MMB in early 2000’s in Studio City . She was super nice and approachable.

R333 and let's not forget hot hairy but unfortunately creepy pedi Stephen Collins as Dan Broderick.

MBB/MB had some kind of beef with Wendy Williams

There was a whole big thread here about it which involved a block of frozen soup that Meredith liked. 👍

R338 Thanks for that fascinating story.

r335 I don't know. Did you?

The thread with Meredith and that talentless piece of shit Wendy W

Just saw an episode that had two, two, TWO high octane guest stars!

Julie the Cruise Director was Willie's love interest

and

Tovah Feldshuh (!) was Kate's illegitimate daughter....or was she?

The whole thing with Elaine's daughter was a bit weird. Clearly they didn't think out the timelines well.

Kate and Elaine talked about it being 20 years ago, but both Sada and Priscilla Morrill were 50, and Priscilla LOOKED 60. Their characters weren't really all that much younger, maybe 5 years. so they should have at least had the daughter be 25 or older.

Vulva Toadstool was on Family?

R344 and she was pretty terrible. She overacted. Badly.

Nancy was a ratchet ho!

When she was entertaining a marriage proposal from the hot bearded professor, she ditched him to ride the dick of a random construction worker played by Tommy Lee Jones, leaving Kate and Doug to babysit Timmy into the wee hours.

Tacky bitch!

Tommy Lee looked hot as fuck in that episode. I'd want to ride that ride, too.

Michael J Fox tried to hook up with Sada in one episode.

r347=Al Gore

I would think r348 was kidding if I hadn't seen the episode myself.

Their chemistry was undeniable. Doug’s face says it all.

MJ Fox deserved an Emmy

"Michael J Fox tried to hook up with Sada in one episode."

And it is charming. Their penultimate scene is hilarious and wonderfully written.

I'm afraid to see this Sada/MJF thing. I'll never be able to stop laughing

r325...

Joseph Bottoms was hot AF in his episode as a sociopathic ex-friend of Willie's who charms Buddy into unwittingly helping him steal from the Lawrences.

R356 love me some Joseph. He showed some great naked ass in one of DL fave Tanya Roberts soft core porn films from 1991 Inner Sanctum.

It's poignant to watch the episodes where Kate and Doug are celebrating their 27th wedding anniversary and looking forward to many more, and when they're celebrating Kate's 49th birthday and Doug is pledging to love her at 79 and 109, while in reality, James Broderick would be dead in four years, at age 55.

Had Sada ever received sodomy?

Kate was an early anal MILF. The clues are everywhere throughout the series.

Shirley Knight might have been a better choice for Kate.

She would have brought more warmth. And she would have been believable as the mother of blond Willie and Nancy.

I wonder if she was considered. Shirley in 1977:

Nancy wasn't blonde when the show was being cast, though.

261 Probably not, since she was only 11 years older than Meredith Baxter.

--and 14 years older than Gary Frank.

Meredith is only 14 years older than Michael J. Fox.

There's no evidence Shirley Knight was ever considered for the role, and she was too young for it anyway, so I don't even get why it matters. Everyone would have said she and Meredith looked more like sisters than mother and daughter. Meredith's own mother, Whitney Blake, was 10 years older than Shirley Knight.

R366 totally agree. I love Knight, but Thompson brought a steely take to the role instead of the usual warm loving mother tripe found on countless other shows.

Meredith was not Nancy when they cast the role of Kate; she replaced Elayne Heilveil after the first season of six episodes. They wouldn't have cast the mother based on Meredith's age or looks, but on Elayne's, and Sada and Elayne did resemble one another.

A decade in Woman Years is significant time.

Sada looked a bit younger in season one when she had longer hair. In Season 2 she said "Fuck all y'all bitches" and cut her hair shorter.

You can tell Aaron Spelling produced this show just by the fact that he fired Elayne Heilvill and replaced her with hot piece, MBB.

[quote] Meredith Baxter Birney

Qui etait cette cunt?

It was Fred Silverman who wanted Elayne gone. And he was right; she sucked.

It seems like the producers realized it too. In the first season, Nancy was barely evident after the pilot.

Elayne wasn't dreadful but she didn't stand out. The dramatic tension was much stronger with MBB than it was originally.

There were two episodes that had a supernatural theme, that I recall: the one with David Birney as a psychic (or is he?!?) and the one with Kate having a terrifying precognitive dream (or is it?!?). If I recall correctly, Birney turned out to be phony but the dream was real.

Both episodes weren't so much bad as misplaced. The Lawrence world was usually a very realistic one for the era, so to suddenly seriously present ESP, etc. as being real felt false to the premise of the show. They felt more like Fantasy Island episodes than like Family.

R375 I thought it fit because that era of the 70s had so much of that sort of self-help awareness, or people trying to explore other layers of consciousness. It felt very 70s in a way that would just seem very limited in terms of appeal (e.g. new age) today. Back then the hip suburban key party types would read Asimov or Eckardt Tolle (or whoever it was like that) before drunkenness and fucking.

David Birney only played a headmaster who was dating Nancy. He was accused of sexual molestation by one of his students in revenge for him breaking up with her mother. He never played a psychic on Family, nor do I believe there was ever an episode with such a storyline.

There was an episode with that storyline.

It was David Dukes who played the psychic.

My bad. Got my Davids confused.

And the preternaturally sexy David Dukes was superb in the heartbreaking episode, as was Sada.

I love MBBs dyke makeover with the haircut, sun damage, and suit with big butterfly collar.

The show is unclear on Doug's legal specialty.

Isn't it initially established he's a tax lawyer? In one episode, he agrees to represent the mother of Buddy's friend Audrey in her divorce, despite having "little experience in that area."

But two melodramatic episodes hinge on Doug's previous divorce cases: One where the actress whose divorce he handled comes back to hop on his cock, and one where a man who blames Doug for the loss of his visitation rights stalks the Lawrences and provokes a shootout in the living room (!).

There was also an episode where he did patent law. (The one with Linda Lavin.)

R383, was that the episode where Lavin went to court over the rights to the lyrics of the theme song to the tv series Alice. And the whole case hinged on whether scatting counted as lyrics or melody?

I've been wanting to thank OP for starting these threads. I watched the whole show from start to finish over the past month or so, and it was such a comfort to me during a really rough patch in my life. Cheers, OP.

R384 I SO wanted to be cast as the judge in that episode and have that cunt Linda sent to a really rough women's prison for a long time!

"I watched the whole show from start to finish over the past month or so, and it was such a comfort to me during a really rough patch in my life"

You echo my sentiments wholeheartedly, r385. Thank you for expressing them in such a lovely way.

Wasn't there a B plot in one episode where Kate kept referring to her debilitating case of piles and Willie told her to call them what they really were: hemorrhoids, and Kate just walked right out of the kitchen without saying a word.

r368

Even at that age, Kristy had caneface

[quote]Shirley Knight might have been a better choice for Kate.

I would been much better of a choice

[quote]who charms Buddy into unwittingly helping him steal from the Lawrences.

Didn't Jo do the same thing with Tootie and Natalie when buying Mrs G a blouse?

Reading the recently published Elaine Stritch biography, I was surprised to discover that Sada Thompson was considered for the role of Joanne in Company before they decided on Elaine.

[quote] I was surprised to discover that Sada Thompson was considered for the role of Joanne in Company before they decided on Elaine.

I would have fucked her if I'd played Bobby!

Bitchy Kate strikes again: early episode in season 4 where Nancy is FINALLY moving out of the guest house. She gets into an argument with Doug and Kate and tells them: “Save the For Rent section in tomorrow’s paper so I can find an apartment”. Kate, cold as ice, replies, “I’ll save the entire newspaper so you wrap all of your China!”. Snap, Kate reads that ingrate daughter to filth once again.

I'm convinced that Lil Buddy became a bulldyke because Kate gave her the nickname "LezzyTish".

What in this world!!!!!!???? Who would call (an already masculine young gal) a LezzyTish??

That BITCH, Sada Thompson, that's who!

Kristy was super cute . She has a soft demeanor. Not a butch

She called her TizzyLish, you dope.

It's interesting how Kristy's sexuality was called into question by the Helen Cunt character during the Blair Brown episode. Apparently the writers knew Kristy was a dyke before she did.

R398, Kristy was traumatized over it . Poor thing

And Helen knows a lesbian when she sees one!

Sada Thompson's short haircut in seasons 4 and 5 did her no favors.

The longer poofy hair of the first seasons drew attention away from her multiple chins and ever-increasing girth.

Not to mention those 1950s matronly dresses they always put her in.

We’re Kristy, MBB, and sada all fucking?

No. Lesbians aren't as slutty as gay men.

[quote]Kristy was super cute . She has a soft demeanor. Not a butch

No, even then she had caneface

What’s caneface, exactly?

Caneface = Ann B Davis or Meredith Baxter-Lesbian (but only after she turned lez)

Canevoice = Jodie Foster and Helen Hunt (both say yesh)

Yeah but why is it called Caneface?

Because this is DL, where every lesbian is assigned a cane, a key carabiner, a rescue pit bull, and a pair of Oakleys upon coming out.

Don't forget the Subaru and the nutloaf, R409.

R394 Kate Lawrence is a fucking legend.

Read that ungrateful bitch for filth, Kate!

Did you guys see the episode “when the bough breaks?” I believe it’s the fifth season . It’s where mom Is pregnant and contemplating an abortion. Dominique Dunne plays a friend of Buddy’s who tries to seduce Willie? Dominique was great in this . So alluring

I think Dominique has been mentioned approximately 987,463,245,173,853 times, so yes, we're well aware Ms. Dunne was in an episode.

Was it before or after Dominique's death?

R414, 2 years before

us - saw - dah

Are we really saying goodbye to the Family thread after two editions?

Sada it ain't so!

R401- It distracted one from her ever increasing PLUMPISHNESS.

I've just finished the first season on Tubi. I think I re-watched some of it on YouTube many years ago. I'd forgotten how much I liked it and the main reason was Sada Thompson. She's a great combination of snarky, sarcastic, funny and loving. I'm just about to start the episodes with MBB. Can't wait to see her scowling bitchiness.

Kate invited her husband's former sidepiece to dinner. Who does that?

Family is a lesbian cult favorite.

I want someone to lick my Tizzy-Lish!!!!

I'm watching season 2, episode 2, "Such Sweet Sorrow." The one where Salina Magee comes back in town to stir up Willie's loins.

When Salina shows up at the house, Kate is wearing a totally sheer shirt and you can see her white bra straps/girdle underneath!

Is this some sort of error introduced by HD upscaling? Or was this acceptable fashion for matrons in 1976? I thought the camisole under a sheer shirt thing didn't happen until the '90s.

Or was Kate a horny exhibitionist MILF seeking kink?

Why is there no picture of Timmy #1 prominently displayed on the piano? I guess it would get in the way of the opening credits but I can't imagine a family would relegate a dead child to the background like that.

Timmy didn't like piano music.

Just finished season 3. It was a strong finish, with the final two episodes being about Kate locked in a battle of wills with professor William Daniels and then Dinah Manoff as an artistic free spirit who Buddy treats like shit because staying friends with her could threaten her popularity. Interesting to see them together pre-Empty Nest.

Extra bonus: No Nancy in either episode.

Life goes on. And so do we. Just how we do it is no mystery.

R422 hon, no one has SEEN your Tizzy Lish for years!

Doug needs a woman like ME!

Damn, if that baker chick who Willie drops in r423's episode doesn't look like young Joan Crawford in BABY JANE!

This was an intelligent show but I found it boring, or on the boring side. Recently watched an episode because of this thread and didn't change my mind. My family had a much better sense of humor, and were livelier. We had fun, and my parents were warmer. I can't picture Sada taking the kids to an amusement park when they were younger, or being a Cub Scout den mother, or something. She's so dour. Parents like Sada, who I knew as a child (parents of friends) were usually drinkers. And thought they were better than everybody.

Watching Family was like watching paint dry.

Sada was a very accomplished stage actress. Her resume is impressive.

Nancy yelling at the poor cute young man that likes her.

Whatta man hating cunt!

I do have to LOL at Meredith's story in her book at how awkward she was during her first scenes.

James Broderick pointed up to the rafters and said, "That's where we keep all the old Nancys."

Well, R430, perhaps you should create a show about your amusing amusement park attending family then. Do tell us how lively and cheerful your mother was being a den mother for a bunch of prepubescent closeted gay boys. And how she was so cheerful, driving her clan all over creation in her station wagon without the thought of a Manhattan or four awaiting her as a reward at the end of her day?

Please, please tell THAT story, dear.

[quote] Please, please tell THAT story, dear.

"Oh no! All my dresses have shrunk AGAIN!"

[quote] I do have to LOL at Meredith's story in her book at how awkward she was during her first scenes. James Broderick pointed up to the rafters and said, "That's where we keep all the old Nancys."

I don't get it.

A more appropriate end to the show would have been for the family to die of carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty furnace at Christmas time.

[quote]I do have to LOL at Meredith's story in her book at how awkward she was during her first scenes. James Broderick pointed up to the rafters and said, "That's where we keep all the old Nancys."

[quote]I don't get it.

Meredith was a replacement for the first actress who played Nancy.

R439, I believe there was also a second actress before MBB whose episodes never aired.

]quote]Meredith was a replacement for the first actress who played Nancy.

Yeah I know., The part I didn't get was why he said they kept them in the rafters. Or why that would make her any less nervous. Sorry. lol

R441 The rafters thing was a joke. The notion that they were unseen, but nearby in case they were needed. If it WAS a tactic to make her at ease, it wasn't the best way to do it.

Tom Bosley used to make a similar joke on the set of Happy Days. If the attic was ever mentioned, he'd adlib "Lemme know if you see Chuck up there!" And of course they'd have to take the scene again. For those who don't know, Chuck was the eldest son in the first two seasons. He was played by two different actors, and by season three he was gone.

Just watched the lez episode.

Quite a roster. Joyce Van Patten as the Anita Bryant. Helen Hunt as her daughter. And Blair Brown as the lez teacher!

Joyce and Helen are total CUNTS in the lez ep! And Kate pretty much knew Blair wanted to scissor with Buddy, but needed to wait till she was more or less legal age.

I actually was a little disappointed in how they worded some of this - the episode with Hot Zeke coming out was better done.

However I am guessing this was also an attempt to do the story of the Briggs Initiative or whatever that was in CA to ban gay teachers.

I thought they were going to imply Buddy was or could possible eventually be a lez stronger than they did.

[quote] The rafters thing was a joke. The notion that they were unseen, but nearby in case they were needed. If it WAS a tactic to make her at ease, it wasn't the best way to do it.

Well, not quite. It was more "this role has already claimed a few victims." And she ended up being fine, of course, but actors do have a bit of gallows humor about them, as I'm sure James Broderick did.

Is there a Christmas episode on Tubi? If so, can you please tell me the season and episode.

R447 I think it's season 2 but am not sure. One of the Christmas episodes features Doug's father, I think.

R448, Thanks.

There's also a Christmas ep where Baby Timmy is near death. Nancy has to take a break from fucking inappropriate men in order to stay by his side. There are some comparisons to the Christ Child.

In maybe the final season, Willy wants to do his own thing by going to Mexico with whatever girlfriend he has at the time. Doug is furious!!

I just watched “Disco Queen” from season 4. Buddy gets involved with an older woman, played by Priscilla Lopez (from the original A Chorus Line), by staying out all night in a 21+ Disco. Doug and Kate are furious.

Rewatching episodes on Tubi this holiday time. It's comforting.

I just saw that R450. I mean I love going back and watching repeats but this was like the 4th episode in a row that just BUMMED ME THE FUCK OUT.

Although the dude that plays Timmy's dad looked maybe the hottest I'd ever seen him look in this ep. Minus the fro, of course. When he cries I just want to comfort him. In my mouth.

I’’m watching the disco episode right now and feeling nostalgic. This show still gives me the feels even after all these years. Quinn Cummings was a nice addition to the cast. It could have been another ‘Cousin Oliver’ situation but she really jelled with the rest of the cast.

Kristy mcnichol making lesbianism into a disability for well over 40 years

Slight tangent: Quinn is on Twitter and she's hilarious. One of my favorite accounts there.

The mother was the coldest fish of any tv mom....I hated her

R457 HOW DARE YOU BESMIRCH THE REPUTATION OF OUR BELOVED KATE LAWRENCE!!!!

She was no cold fish. I mean, she could be a little hangry from time to time, but.....

My mom was a bit of a cold fish but I never doubted for one second that she loved me and would do anything for me. So, for me, the character is very real and relatable.

R48 ironic, given that Lisa refused to appear in the FOL episode where 20 year old Natalie finally, at long last, has sexy time with Snake.

R459 Amen.

There's a thin line between Kate Lawrence and Beth Jarrett

To remind everyone: SaDAH spoke her lines as if she were wearing a crown.

Did someone say THIN and Kate Lawrence in the same sentence?

It's so interesting to me how many people say Kate is cold. She really isn't. She's quite passionate about the well being and morality of her children. She cares, but she's flawed, like we all are.

Kate Lawrence is, quietly, one of the best, most realized characters in television history.

[quote] Kate Lawrence is, quietly, one of the best, most realized characters in television history.

MARY!

How old are all of you who think Kate is a cold fish?

In certain eras, parents and children didn't expect parents to be their kids' best friends. Parents were disciplinarians whose jobs were to raise kids right.

You can't blame Kate for being angsty and somewhat reserved. She had one dead kid, one high-school dropout, a flighty slut, and a budding dyke. For a woman of her era and station, she was a fuckup as a mother. As an acting choice, it made sense that Kate constantly held her softer side in check.

But she broke her back for those brats: She let Willie and Nancy live at home after their failures to launch, cooked for the lot of them, ran all over town doing Nancy's errands, babysat at the drop of a hat, was always there with supportive words of wisdom, etc. etc.

As an 8-13 year old when the show aired, I remember feeling sorry for Buddy that she had a dumpy, chubby, plain old woman for a mom. I never actually watched the show back then, just saw the previews etc. When I watched the whole series as an adult last year I was very pleasantly surprised at how wonderful Kate really was. She was a really good mother and good person in general. Sada deserved a much better wardrobe and hairstyle on the show. Cramming her into those outdated and unflattering Leave It To Beaver style dresses was bullshit. Nobody was still wearing that crap except grandmothers in the late 70s.

R468, to be fair, Sada herself said she was very uncomfortable when she was doing tests for Charlie's Angels as Kate Jackson's replacement that she was not comfortable at all wearing twin sets, jeans and pumps, so she might have been the one who insisted on the frumpier wardrobe.

Sada does it all here. This should have landed her in a Hall of Fame somewhere.

"Kate Lawrence is, quietly, one of the best, most realized characters in television history."

Bless you, r465 and r 470. I'm crying now.

"Melt me down to butter your biscuits."

"You are going to be...you are..."

I'm crying harder now. Such fabulous writing and playing.

R471 R472 A hug for you.

A well deserved MARY! too, but a hug all the same.

R471 thank you. Someone MARY!'d me for that comment, and I really didn't understand why. I think Kate Lawrence is a classic character. Like Archie Bunker, or Diane Chambers, or Tony Soprano. A television character who seemed l like she could actually be a real person you knew in life.

Hey Kate, remember that time you took Buddy to volleyball camp in Big Bear? I bomba-de-BOMPED Doug all weekend. In your bed!

I remember feeling bad for the dad when the show aired - like, he had to come home to [italic]that?[/italic]

I was used to seeing glamorous actresses on TV.

How was Sada the star of Family and winner of both Tony and Emmy when she lacks even the rudimentary tool kit of an actress. There's no warmth, vulnerability, charm, glamour, humor, truth, or depth.

Sada is also not believable as a heterosexual.

This show is all about awkward silences. Sada is the worst. Was Willy adopted from the east coast? (I like when he yells, rowr). Kristy McNichol is the only thing approaching a natural or nice performance.

"Family" aired in the midst of my ugly duckling adolescence, complete with rage-aholic father and alcoholic mother. To me the Lawrence family were everything I wished my family had been.

Sa-DAH's Sabrina Duncan would never have driven a Pinto, she would have taken the bus everywhere R469.

Nobody ever called her Katie.

Kristy McNichol's haircut in the OP's photo is a thing of wonder.

Meredith Baxter Birney can get a haircut, bleach, and a red skin tan but she's just in kabuki drag and she's hardly a dyke. She's mindfucked is what she is. She never had anything. She was pretty then she wasn't that. Gary, Kristy, and the dad carried the show on their backs. Mostly Kristy.

I see the fucking weirdo Dominique Dunne obsessee has found his way to this thread.

I’m wish the Family cast had tried a comeback variety show, like the Brady Bunch did.

Sada singing on top of a piano, eric.

^^ ETC.

A dramatic episode of Family NEXT on all ABC stations.

I don't think Willy is weird with his sister. He's demonstrative and affectionate and would have likely taken to a little brother the same way, he just ended up with this tomboy. They have a positive relationship.

[quote]I’m wish the Family cast had tried a comeback variety show, like the Brady Bunch did.

Puhleeze, R486. She would have just made them do a remake of Our Town.

Penny Fuller really hammed it up in that episode, R488.

Miss Sada was fearsome in getting that drunk away from Nancy and her grandson!

It appears the show has been removed from Tubi

SOB!

The show is still on Tubi, R492. All five seasons.

Fabulous episode

Family is airing on Me TV Plus: 1 episode per day, M - F, 6am PST. They're currently in season 4.

Just watched A Friend of the Family. Joseph Bottoms was so fucking hot in this episode. Square jaw and wavy hair that made Willie look like a meerkat by comparison.

DECADES is having a Family marathon this weekend. In this episode, The Family has to deal with Aunt Emily being a falling down drunk and Tizzie Lish decides to help an elderly neighbor even though the neighbor doesn't want any help.

I was just thinking about that episode today, R497!

I was working on my taxes and wondered if I will end up like that old lady, pocketing cans of tuna and requiring a mother like Kate to give her version of Buddy a talk about moral relativism on the way home from the grocery store.

Doesn’t drunk Aunt Emily drive a Pinto into a dumpster in this one?

Yes, R499. And Sada Thompson was also seen running down the driveway!

Kate ran down the driveway and all but yelled MARY!

R499 she backed into some trashcans at the end of the driveway.

I just watched the episode where William Daniels played her prisspot, woman hating music professor and she almost drops out of class.

I recently watched the episode where Buddy's beloved English teacher is a lesbian. Everyone finds out, and a Karen tries to drive her out of the school. But not before Buddy is accused of doing the lez-lez with her!

The teacher is played by a thin and young Blair Brown, and the episode's pretty well written for the time.

Kate ends up saving the day for this formative academic influence on Buddy who is never heard from or referred to again!

R504- The KAREN who drives her out of the school was also a FRAU and a CUNT

Wow, the Lawrences were drunk magnets. In "Childhood's End" Buddy's beady-eyed friend Laura has come for a visit and is a drunk too. Right now she's filling an empty Fresh 'N Nice mouthwash bottle with Scotch but not before she slams about a pint of Vodka in the middle of the night after all The Family has gone to bed.

[quote]DECADES is having a Family marathon this weekend.

We prefer to call it "the weekend binge," OP.

Viewing Alert! Kristy McNichol rarity on TCM today at 6:15 pm ET:

Just the Way You Are (1984) with Michael Ontkean. It sounds like every Hallmark holiday movie. No wonder I've never heard of it.

"A young woman self-conscious about the brace on her leg goes on a concert tour in the French Alps and spurs a brilliant idea. Masquerading as an injured skier, she not only finds love in the arms of a handsome photographer, but her true self as well. "

Okay so I am the only person I know who is into this show. I bought season 1 on dvd (1&2 maybe?) but then nothing. I was so sad. And the only place to talk about Family ended up being here…with Family! Ha!

Now I found this thread and was so excited to hear about all the seasons now steaming on Tubi (thank you, OP!) that I texted a few people immediately and turned on the tv to start streaming…and there is Buddy! And Willie Aames on a 10-speed! Does this mean Family is in the same universe as Charles in Charge?

Also I must share one little nugget from a previous DL thread about this weird drama - the poster watched a scene in HD where you could see the grime and fingerprints on the white painted doorframe in the kitchen. I was fucking delighted and it confirmed how this website is filled with my people. Also now I can’t watch any show from before the 90s without looking for shit like that.

(Tangent!) My St. Elsewhere rewatch has been a T R I P How many random rapes can a hospital have for two years without someone notifying the authorities? More like St. Rapes-here, am I right? Christ, I sound like Ehrlich

Yeah R509 but Terence Knox was the rapist and he was fucking gorgeous.

God could you even imagine that heifer Kate lumbering onstage for the reunion? Dressed in her sensible shoes and frowning?

Meredith Baxter Nutloaf has NO chemistry with that kid who plays her son.

Please look up the definition of “penultimate.”

r509 There's another completely full (600 replies) thread on "Family" that was just recently closed.

The one where Willie's friend comes out as gay is a good one.

And also, the guy playing him was fucking hot. In my fantasy he went on to appear in William Higgins or Falcon movies....

R515- In MY fantasy David Bradford/Grant Goodeve from Eight Is Enough went on to do GAY porno.

R511- I must correct you. She was not a Heifer she was just merely

Plumpish

Ooh! A Fear of Shadows is about to start!

[quote]A recurring nightmare of running over a small boy with her car haunts Kate. Meanwhile, Buddy takes in a pet raccoon.

Someone posted in one of these threads an excerpt from Meredith Baxter Lesbian's book where she describes Sada returning to set after a summer break and shrieking at the top of her voice that her costumes had SHRUNK!

Meredith and Kristy lapped up each others pussies in a daisy chain lesbian leg lock.

Well, seeing as though Kristy was a minor and Meredith was a married woman, I would suspect NOT.

She was really pretty in ca. 1972 and her husband ( I know he turned out to be a real creep) was handsome in 1972. I had a crush/attraction on him when I watched the show Bridget Loves Bernie in 1972.

Family has been removed from Tubi!

This must not stand!

Email Tubi and tell them we won't tolerate this injustice!

Damn. But they removed it before and I fell out of the habit of watching. I only got up to mid season 3. Still have not seen any episodes with the young Quinn Cummings.

It's still on MeTV+ every morning.

Which no one has

[quote] Also I must share one little nugget from a previous DL thread about this weird drama - the poster watched a scene in HD where you could see the grime and fingerprints on the white painted doorframe in the kitchen. I was fucking delighted and it confirmed how this website is filled with my people.

R509 I think that was me.

Pssst…..

Kate as a juror made for a quintessenntial Family episode. Except I don’t think she got to call Buddy “ Tizzy Lish” in this one.

R529 That was the last one I watched. A two parter, even!

We watched most of what was on TV in those days but I was in college during a lot of the run of Family and only saw it in reruns, I guess. My mom liked it but I found it sort of stuffy. Sara Thompson *and* James Broderick both drove me up the wall. Very good actors but not loaded with charisma (at least not Sada) and the were so proper and uptight.

*they

Husband and I are going to be in Pasadena in a couple of weeks and we’re going to walk by this house, huge fans of the show and we’ve always wanted to see the exterior.

I'd love to see a crossover episode where Kate and Julia Sugarbaker are jury members who have to be sequestered together. Do you think Kate used June Allyson bladder pads?

[quote]Kate looked at the cover and pursed her lips

Pursing her lips was Kate's go-to expression, R188.

Kate Lawrence walked so that Karen Fairgate McKenzie could run.

r535 It's why she always looked constipated.

I think she also ate a lot of cheese.

Well wasn't that a B-plot in one of the episodes? Kate having piles and not wanting to bring it up in front of the cleaning lady...

All right, R538/R539, commenting is your privilege. But do you hear me saying you're disgraceful?

I emailed Tubi to complain, and one of their customer service people wrote back within a day. With a form response, but oh well.

[quote]Although we make every effort to license TV shows and movies, the process is complicated and can take time. While we can't guarantee that we'll be able to add this particular title to our lineup, we will certainly take your request into consideration as we continue to evaluate and update our content offerings.

How much could Sony really be charging Tubi to stream a 50-year-old series? The bad-quality bootlegged episodes on YouTube have hundreds of comments; there's an audience for it.

I'd comment on this thread, but I'm so busy disapproving of my disappointing daughter Nancy I can't spare the time

Wait until you find out when you’re in assisted living years later that she’s a lez.

Good God. I just watched the episode where a 14 year old boy (played by Michael J. Fox) has a crush on Kate. More than a crush actually—he wanted to MARRY her.

I think my eyes rolled out of my head watching this episode.

Now watching this show again after 40 or 50 years because of this thread. It’s a good show but like I remembered, a little like that Woody Allen movie where he did an homage to Ingmar Bergman.

Buddy was a little vulgarian!

Not that James Broderick was very attractive but I always wondered what he (or anyone) saw, as the character, in Sada Thompson. If her plain, chubby looks had only been leavened with a more sparkling personality, instead of her antiseptic grumpiness.

Sorry for replying to myself but I have watched many episodes now and have gained a real appreciation for Sada Thompson, and for Kristy, who wasn't perhaps the greatest actress but really did listen and react like a human being, and was super cute. About the only things that still bother me about the show are Willy's very nasal twang and Nancy's occasional mumbling.

Quinn Cummings was the downfall of the series. Who could deal with something like her in your family?

She was in a tv movie playing Patty duke’s daughter. She made her babysitter (Stephanie Zimbalist) wast to kill her.

It upset me when Kate defended the teen-molesting teacher to Buddy and lectured Buddy about being judgmental.

Damn Tubi for taking this off. : (

I had missed this episode, until now. But it was just weird that this teacher (cute and good actor Cliff De Young) is allowed to resign after it comes out he had a sexual relationship with a female student. Buddy rightly wants nothing more to do with the creep, but Kate points out no one is perfect and he's a good teacher and inspired Buddy as a student, and that sometimes good people do bad things.

Since Buddy had been spending time alone with the creep in his apartment on a school assignment (where they danced to romantic old records, unbeknownst to Kate), Kate's reaction was odd. Then Buddy goes to his classroom as he's packing up, and gives him a kiss on the cheek, remarking that she doesn't know it's that's appropriate or not. Nobody calls the cops on him and he's allowed to go away quietly. Possibly to repeat his behavior.

*if that's appropriate or not.

That was definitely a weirdness of the 70s that would never be allowed today.

Loved how slowly, slowly Sada Thompson would walk into the house during the opening credits.

Was surprised they allowed that busted up fence in the shot of the house as well.

This morning I watched an episode from season 5 where Willie’s old writing teacher came back to Pasadena to teach and Willie wanted the hunky teacher to critique his film script draft. Of course Nancy shoved her vagina at the teacher and they started dating, that is until hunky teacher told Willie the script sucked and that he, Willie, had no writing talent. How on earth did Kate and Doug cope with these adult loser children?!

The pilot is very good. Buddy is tiny as it was filmed so much earlier. But I wish the show had followed through with the father as a cheater. In the pilot, it sounds very clear that the father had an affair in the past. Then, in maybe season two when the "other woman" appears, it's been downgraded to having been not much more than a flirtation. That was a soft pedaling of what was an interesting and compelling twist.

Guess they figured by that point that NOBODY cheats on Kate.

Hmm....I remember the mistress came back to town and it was clear they HAD fucked.

Then Doug almost fucked Linda Lavin, too.

He was kind of a hot daddy. Anything had to be better than Kate's boring old snatch.

Yeah, it was clear they fucked.

And the actress made it clear she wanted to bounce on Doug's cock again. She practically humped his leg.

R559: what a cunt that Maggie Calder was. Showing up after all those years in a play at the Pasadena Playhouse all the while running after Doug like he was some stud. Kate was having none of it.

Maggie Calder! That was her name.

It was all very "Deidre Chambers! What a surprise!"

The first Nancy was f****** laughable

R557 You may be right (?) but I don't remember that - I don't remember it having been downgraded. (Played by Pat "Please Don't Eat The Daisies" Crowley, btw).

R556 Weird - I watched this one yesterday, on YouTube. The teacher was played by David Selby ("Falcon Crest"). What surprised me is how tiny and frail Willie looked next to him.

Willie's hair was a tragedy. But still, I would have blown him and his gay friend too. No need for crusty socks in that bedroom when I'm around....

And who wouldn't want to fuck prime era David Selby? Rawr

Old man Gary Frank in 2021:

I was watching an episode yesterday where James Lawrence says to Willie, "You're a minor". In California, this would be someone under the age of 18. This wasn't even in the first season. Gary Frank was born in 1950 and the show ran from 1976-1980. He didn't really look like a minor in that episode.

James Lawrence? Doug Lawrence was the dad, played by James Broderick.

Willie was a minor for the first few seasons - Gary obviously wasn't, but the character of Willie was.

R567 Oh excuuuuuuuuuse me. His secretary called him Mr. Douglas.

Tonight I'm watching another only-in-the-'70s episode, where Willie is promoted from gofer to staff photographer at an ad agency run by a horny cougar played by Samantha Eggar.

She blatantly sexually harasses him at work and keeps trying to fuck him, and he keeps dodging her. Ultimately, she fires him because he won't pound her pussy, but it's a totally amicable parting, both acting like that was a completely valid reason for dismissal.

R569 I watched that and none of that even occurred to me. I’m old.

I watched one tonight where Blair Brown plays a lesbian teacher of Buddy. Joyce van Patten plays a teacher who wants to get her fired. Seems she had a relationship with a student in San Francisco. The Lawrences have her to dinner (Blair) and she explains herself. The student was a college student (not hers) 22 years old. Kate and Doug decide to defend her.

But then Kate talks to buddy and has a few lines saying she’s not condoning the teacher’s lifestyle. It kind of ruined everything. But I suppose to was imposed by the network.

*I meant Joyce Van Patten played a parent.

Despite his hair I always kinda thought Willie was hot.

When John Davenport came along he was like an 80s version of Willie....nerdy with curly hair but man, once his pants were open.....

I was 17 when this show started. Willie didn’t seem like he was my age, and I never really liked older guys. Plus he was that thin, curly-headed Pippin type, like Jeff. I did like Willie Aames, and a couple of other Buddy boyfriends.

Unfortunately, this show is nowhere to be found on any streaming services.

R574 Yes, we know.

I blame that harlot Maggie Calder.

Many episodes are on YouTube last time I checked.

R574 No, but it’s on YouTube.

Sada didn’t get any heat for wearing dresses with heeled pumps all day long.

My problem with Family is now everyone knows what an evil cunt Sada Thompson was, it ruins it for me.

R579 I never heard she was, so I guess it’s not ruined for me.

She wasn't a cunt. She was a fat whore and in denial about it, but never cunty. Just hangry.

Didn’t Meredith write in her book that Sada was cold to her?

If you look up "matronly" in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Kate Lawrence.

One big happy ... well, you know.

At least until they dumped Original Recipe Nancy.

Meredith wrote how Sada would shriek when her wardrobe shrunk......and yell at the costumers, instead of taking the blame for getting fatter

Sada was by no means a cunt. According to Meredith, she didn't shout at the costumers, she said, "I can't believe all my dresses have shrunk again!"

It was mean for Meredith to poke fun at Sada's weight like that.

R586 In other words, Sada was making a joke?

Willie was a babe.

Sada showed up to the Emmys high af!

Will there be a part 3 of this thread? Have we appreciated Doug and Kate enough?

Drooled over Willie's bulge enough?

Made fun of that hussy Nancy enough?

Do we need another thread to discuss Tizzylish?

Bitch would smoke and drink coffee at the same time!

Meredith was so fucking gorgeous. Too bad she didn't get a spin in the opening credits.

Created a part 3.

I started the first discussion thread after a pandemic-era rewatch and am glad that so many of you found, and continue to find, refuge in the Lawrence household.

Tizzylish!

Nancy!

Willie!

Willie's hot gay friend!

Elaine Hogan!

Annie Laurie!

SHRIEEEEKKKKKK!!!