Life Goes On, Our House, Full House, etc.

[fairfarmhand]

I was thinking about these shows from the 80s. They were sweet, interesting, sometimes funny and something the whole family could watch together.

 

Do they even make shows like that anymore?

 

Are there some I'm forgetting?

[Tsuga]

The Cosby Show? Seriously, I am appalled as anyone at Cosby's crimes but the truth is... it was one of those shows.

[happypamama]

I don't know, but I loved Our House and Life Goes On! (Always enjoy seeing Kellie Martin on other shows and in different stages of life.)

[Joker]

The Middle and Last Man Standing are a lot like those and they've been on a few years now.

 

We've all been enjoying a new show, The Real O'Neals, as well but it might be too much for some.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Joker

[Southern Ivy]

Ahh, Growing Pains, Step by Step, Family Ties, Family Matters. Loved all those! 

We currently like Last Man Standing. 
To me, Parenthood was the more adult themed version of Life Goes On and Growing Pains. That might be why I liked it so much. 

[ktgrok]

I had forgotten about Our House! Loved that one. 

 

Closest we've had in the last decade or two was probably 7th Heaven. 

[fairfarmhand]

I don't know, but I loved Our House and Life Goes On! (Always enjoy seeing Kellie Martin on other shows and in different stages of life.)

 

I've been watching these the last few days while I fold laundry and I"m just blown away by how....sweet? they are. They're engaging, not too cutesy, but the characters are just lovely, normal families.

 

I miss shows like that.

[Farrar]

I don't think of Life Goes On in that same category. Life Goes On dealt with a *lot* of issues. Like, remember how the girl dated that guy who was HIV positive? It was super risque for the time period. I think how the son was portrayed was also a bit cutting edge for the time. I mean, now, of course a kid with downs would be portrayed as a real individual, but at the time I think they could have easily gotten away with making him nothing but a caricature, but they didn't.

 

Full House on the other hand... everything was so super sanitized. Even their "issue" episodes were so squeaky clean. The writing was so dopey. I mean, it has a place and all, but...

 

I think Parenthood is probably a show that is more recent that's closeish to the Life Goes On model. They deal with issues, some of it is a little risque, but it's basically a pro-family, positive family show.

 

My understanding is that a lot of writers who would have been writing for the Full House type sitcoms - like the TGIF shows - now write those Disney sitcoms that are so ubiquitous on Disney Channel. But there are some family friendly sitcoms still. I let my kids watch Modern Family. I know a lot of people feel like The Middle is family friendly. I know both of those do toss in some slightly risque jokes, but honestly so did Full House and some of the other "wholesome" sitcoms of the time. We just forget because it went over our heads as kids - just like it does for our kids for the most part. Sitcoms themselves have changed though. Single camera is much more the norm and laugh tracks are more out, even on many more mainstream sitcoms. So it makes sense that it would be made differently.

[Tsuga]

I liked the Wonder Years as well.

[vonfirmath]

Remember the Very Special Episodes? "Tonight, on a very special episode, someone almost tries a drug or a minor character dies in a DUI related crash." And ABC Afternoon Specials? 

 

On 7th Heaven, it wasn't a minor character. One of the sons kills a boy on a bicycle and it has major effects on him over the next season.

[OH_Homeschooler]

I was thinking about these shows from the 80s. They were sweet, interesting, sometimes funny and something the whole family could watch together.

 

Do they even make shows like that anymore?

 

The Goldbergs, Fresh off the Boat, Blackish, The Middle, Modern Family. A little more diverse than your 80's favorites but they do exist.

[happypamama]

The Goldbergs, Fresh off the Boat, Blackish, The Middle, Modern Family. A little more diverse than your 80's favorites but they do exist.

Fresh Off The Boat makes me laugh because it reminds me that dial-up internet and even a desktop computer was Special, as I sit here and realize that all of our devices mean we could have more movies going at once than residents of the house.

 

The Goldbergs probably represents my childhood better (I did catch the Double Dare episode and that brought back memories), but I've only seen a couple of episodes.

 

Both make me think, "WHAT were we thinking with the clothing???"

[Ravin]

There is a Full House sequel on the air now: "Fuller House."

 

Girl Meets World is a fun one to watch with the kids, especially if you were a fan of Boy Meets World as a kid yourself.

[happypamama]

As for ones you're forgetting, wasn't Home Improvement generally pretty family-friendly? (I used to watch that as a teen, not realizing that I'd be Jill Taylor someday, with my houseful of boys. . .)

[sassenach]

I liked the Wonder Years as well.

There was an awesome sitcom that reminded me very much of the Wonder Years recently, but it didn't last. I can't remember the name, but the dad was blind and it was narrated by the son character. 

 

Our family loves the Middle. Dh and I like Last Man Standing, too.

[Caroline]

There was an awesome sitcom that reminded me very much of the Wonder Years recently, but it didn't last. I can't remember the name, but the dad was blind and it was narrated by the son character. 

 

Our family loves the Middle. Dh and I like Last Man Standing, too.

 

I liked that one, too. Growing Up Fisher? something like that.

[sassenach]

I liked that one, too. Growing Up Fisher? something like that.

Yes! I wish it had been given more of a chance.

[Guest]

Current shows we watch as a family--My Little Pony, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Once Upon A Time, Agrnts of Shield and Agent Carter. I know several of those are cartoons but they really are good.

[teachermom2834]

We like Modern Family but we are pretty conservative so I am not comfortable with the frequent sexual jokes. They are funny and not vulgar but just too much for me with my younger kids. Especially as the young boys on the show are at the age where they are always trying to get some.

 

I love The Middle and there is so much there for my family to relate to. My dh likes Blackish and Fresh off the Boat and we haven't been watching those as a family but they are pretty mild and comparable to Family Ties or Home Improvement in family friendliness. Those shows occasionally had themes or jokes that were not G rated.

[Incognito]

I think Blackish and Fresh Off the Boat are both quite comparable to the old sitcoms. 

[Guest]

Interesting.  I don't think I have watched a single episode of any TV show mentioned in this thread, with the exception of the Tim Allen one...and I liked that one.

 

I'm probably older than most of all y'all, for one thing, AND I think that when these shows were on the air, I was in a super-busy time of my life (full time grad school, three jobs, completely absorbing jobs, and so on) and so there wasn't much time for TV.  

 

A few nights ago, we watched a few episodes of the first Bob Newhart Show and I laughed my head off.  It was so much fun...and the jokes were kind of new, too, because there is a lot of *not obvious* innuendo and so the shows were enjoyable when I was a kid, and now, in a two-level way, as an adult.  

 

 

[poppy]

 

 

My understanding is that a lot of writers who would have been writing for the Full House type sitcoms - like the TGIF shows - now write those Disney sitcoms that are so ubiquitous on Disney Channel.

 

This is where the shows are, for sure.  There is no shortage of wholesome, sentimental, simplistic, comfort food shows on TV.  Just not on the primetime network tv.

I like it.  I like having more adults shows.  And it's not like the family shows are harder to find or less accessible than they used to be.  We had to wait til Friday night for goodness sake!