The AIDS episode.....very emotional

[88survivor]

:( That was quite a sad episode for Rich's sad demise. He was David's best friend and this was possibly the saddest episode I have ever seen. Creating a documentary about Rich's last months was almost too much.....very sad episode.

[JRR4]

Which was Rich's last episode prior to this one. He seemed to get very sick very fast, even in TV time.

[88survivor]

I know, the sickness was not realistic.....including the 30 minute T.V time. But it was sad....:(

[Smokin' Sods]

They never explained how he got it either. That was frustrating. They just said "Rich has AIDS." Nobody ever asked how it happened.

[88survivor]

I was only seven at that time.......but I have not seen it since the reruns, though. How would I know?

[fullhousefan91619]

Does he die? I'm a new fan of this show.

[MikeL]

does he die in real life or just in the show this very confusing thanks

[88survivor]

Just in the show. He is still alive and kicking. He was in Heavy Weights. Not to mention he was the jock in Lucas(1986).

[Sophie Treadmill]

Just bumping this thread because I just thought of this episode the other day. I think it was one of the most well-done eps of a sitcom ever (as was the fire episode) as were the fire I really wish I could see it again. It was heartwrenching.

It was especially endearing and moving that they didn't tell us how Rich contracted AIDS. That's what made the episode stand out even more, in a critical sense. The writers knew what they were doing and made a conscious choice for a reason.

The whole point was that it doesn't matter how he got it. He had his whole life ahead of him and David was losing his best friend to a disease with no cure. It was devastating and, at the time, there was less understanding and tolerance for those with AIDS than there is today.

*Oh, and I just watched Lucas last night. He was really good in that role. So obnoxious and mean and perfect at it.

[RetroJessica]

I remember seeing this episode when I was about 12 when it first came on TV. There was alot of talk going on before it aired and after seeing the promo, I had to watch it. It was truly one of the most touching and thought provoking episodes dealing with such sensitive subject matter on episodic television. I remember tearing up when David learned of Rich having AIDS and then thinking back to all their times together. But I lost it at the end when David was talking about him and they started showing clips of Rich's last days where he started getting really sick and David had to help him with a glass of water, then they cut back to David during the school essembly and he says, with the tears streaming down, "Rich died last night", and he started talking about him. I was crying really hard. Jason Bateman was so good in that scene and the entire episode. You could tell that he was really touched and moved because he really was crying. I think Sandy Duncan was crying also as were the two young actors who played his younger brothers. I really wish they would air this show in reruns again, but then again we are living in a world where '70s and '80s shows are poisonous. When you think of all the shows on TV in the past two decades, like "Seinfeld", "Friends", "Frasier", "How I Met Your Mother" and "Two and a Half Men" where everybody is so careless about having sex, and the writers seem to be advocating promiscuity, you watch this episode of "The Hogan Family" and get kind of ticked off because it seems all these newer shows are being so cavalier about unsafe sex. I really wish they'd air this show again. I hate all these crappy '90s reruns they seem to be rerunning ad nauseum.

[chris jacob]

not onlly was it a teriblepiode but it was rule wasto endthe series

[chris jacob]

not onlly was it a teriblepiode but it was rule wasto endthe series

[Rambo Stallone]

Just bumping this thread because I just thought of this episode the other day. I think it was one of the most well-done eps of a sitcom ever (as was the fire episode) as were the fire I really wish I could see it again. It was heartwrenching.

It was especially endearing and moving that they didn't tell us how Rich contracted AIDS. That's what made the episode stand out even more, in a critical sense. The writers knew what they were doing and made a conscious choice for a reason.

The whole point was that it doesn't matter how he got it. He had his whole life ahead of him and David was losing his best friend to a disease with no cure. It was devastating and, at the time, there was less understanding and tolerance for those with AIDS than there is today.

*Oh, and I just watched Lucas last night. He was really good in that role. So obnoxious and mean and perfect at it.


This is what i hate about sit coms when they start becoming sappy. I like this show when it was called Valerie then called this.

Their were many of those shows like Step By Step,Family Matters that did serious episodes and i didn't like it. I watch Comedy for laughter not sadness.

This is why even thou i liked this show a lot as a kid,shows like this,Growing Pains,Family Ties,Step By Step don't hold up as much for me like shows at the same era like Sledgehammer,Night Court and Cheers.

I think i would prefer Hogan Family more then Charles in Charge back then but probably would get Charles in Charge on DVD before this now.

[ssudioTVgirl]

Yeah this was a very sad episode. I also wish they'd air this again in reruns.

[Scoobiedoo30]

it was a very sad episode

[dave insinga]

this episode was one out of the cbs lot the last season in actuality i thought it should have been the series final because this show never had a final but i remember seeing it the first time.it was such a well written episode and such a great message ,because at the time young people didn't know much about aids.jason baseman and sandy duncan were outstanding in that one.and you guys are right this show should air someplace.

[dave insinga]

and it was exactly how i remembered it,emotional well written,and well acted
should be shown again with the rest of the series.