https://web.archive.org/web/20070225141752/http://jumptheshark.com/
Other Thoughts:
That little blond kid made it to the cover of Tiger Beat and started thinking he was cool.
When the runaway came on
When the mom got pregnant with the fourth kid.
There are two sure signs a kid-related sitcom is having problems - a new baby and jumping the baby ahead in years while the other kids don't age. Growing Pains did both.
This show wasn't that good to begin with, and it got worse with Leo. He couldn't act his way out of a paper bag, except in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape."
They let Alan Thicke have his own sitcom? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!
As soon as you see Alan Thicke's name on the credits, you should run screaming through the hills.
Alan Thicke is Robert Young in "Father Knows Best the Next Generation!" Someone shoot me.
"Show me that smile again..." I'd show you a smile if this show were funny.
The "pains" they are referring to is one's pancreas going into shock after the first commercial break.
A great line from Dorothy, the Golden Girl: "I can't believe Alan Thicke has a hit series, but that doesn't mean it isn't so."
Why did people watch this show? It wasn't funny, it wasn't very well acted, no it's because it was on right before Moonlighting where ABC executives knew viewers would watch. Who did Alan Thicke have to sleep with to get this show on at a good time? His talk show was so bad I don't see why they'd give him a sitcom. He should have stayed to write the theme songs to shows that WERE funny (he cowrote the classic themes from Diff'rent Strokes and its spinoff Facts of Life, two much better shows). Avoid this one; it simply isn't entertaining.
Wouldn't it be a great finale if they went camping and they drove their car off the cliff, and the last shot was of them plunging to their deaths?
What ever happened to that Rob Marks Guy?
Oh, the pains! The pains!
Not that this was a great show to begin with, but when they have to start importing kids because the ones they started with are too old for the show, you might as well reach for the remote.
The show wasn't great to begin with, but the final season was the real bottom of the barrel. The original kids were getting too old. Leonardo DiCaprio was annoying. And poor Tracey Gold (the best reason to tune in to the show) got so thin she even had to leave for a while.
As soon as Chrissy went from newborn baby to 7 year old over the summer, the episodes got stupider and stupider. It's a good thing they moved to Washington. but believe you me, if they had a reunion, I'd watch it.
The addition of Luke (Leonardo DiCaprio) made me want to vomit.
Okay, so I'm not sure this theme song was by Alan Thicke, but it sure SOUNDS like it! FUN TIP: If you're a serial killer, sing this to your victims...
Do you even have to ask when Alan Thicke and Kirk Cameron are on it?
Why did this show run for seven years? It's an enigma.
Remember Matthew Perry (AKA Chandler) who was in a few episodes as "Sandy", Carol's boyfriend who died after he drove drunk?
Ashley Johnson is hands-down the most annoying child I have ever seen on television. I thank God we were only made to endure her for a short period on Growing Pains... even the producers seemed to realize that she was a brat - after all, why bring on a homeless kid if you have successfully added a kid? The horror of Growing Pains ending, however, was that she actually went on to do the show Phenom... I shudder to think of it still.
Whats with the guy named Boner? The peak of this series is the flushed alligators attack the whitehouse. This amateur video style episode also has the telephone labeled "pubic phone" but in the next shot it says "public phone." hmmmmm, is alan Thicke masterminding all of these perverted, subliminal jokes. I knew he was a dirty old man ever since that Animal talk show. him and those little furry hand puppets, yeeesh. makes chills go up and down my spine.
When Maggie got pregnant and Chrissy was born. And we won't even discuss the addition of Leo!!!
The episode where Chrissy kept thinking she was seeing a giant rabbit, which is played by Kirk Cameron in a bunny costume. The low point of the series, of primetime television, and possibly my entire life.
A HUGE tv no-no: adding a new baby (stupid enough), then AGING her 7 years without aging the rest of the characters (damn stupid), plus the fact that she was an annoying little brat (really damn stupid)! In defense of DiCaprio: True, the addition of DiCaprio was foolish, but it was a mere SIGN that the show had jumped, not the REASON it jumped. That show jumped LONG before his character was added....(Kirk Cameron's real-life wife as an on-again-off-again character, Tracy Gold was wasting away before our eyes, the new baby/suddenly aging thing, and numerous "very special" episodes.) Leo's character was merely the end of a long line of last-ditch efforts to keep that show gasping for air. It should've ended when Boner left to join the army.
When that dork Kirk Cameron was sneaking around the house with the Babysitter. Julie who was in playboy. She was a hot babe, and we're supposed to believe he wouldn't boink her. Then..her Playboy ties come out and she's canned after becoming Mike Seaver's Fiance. It also jumped a bit when the fat version of Tracey Gold was getting all the hot guys to date here...Brad Pitt, Matthew Perry, and the guy who played Bobby the Football Player. She wasn't even close to being a babe till just before anorexia nervosa took over. Also, who could forget Alan Thicke and Cameron singing that lame rock "classic" Old Time Rock and Roll. Even more unbelievable is that Cameron actually married that babe Chelsea Noble who played his last girlfriend in real life. Oh, and don't get me started on Ashley and Leo.
What a horrible show. Joanna Kerns overacting in nearly every episode. Kirk Cameron was such a ham! And let's not even get started on Mr. Alan Thicke. What a joke of a show this was! Almost as bad as Who's The Boss. Both shows should be pulled from syndication and all the reruns burned.
During the time while Mike is going through high school, he seems to be known as the "troublemaker", and then when he grows up and takes on the responsibility of watching that one kid, he seems to want nothing to do with his old life like he grew up a saint or something.
Growing Pains jumped the shark when Chrissy was born!
Chrissy's birth! She was the most annoying kid I've ever seen on TV
Brad Pitt was in an older episode of "Growing Pains" as Carols the guy Carol had a crush on, while still with her current boyfriend.
When all the kids grew up the show went down hill. Ben became a dork after puberty. They tried to save the show by having a baby and that girl really ended up being annoying too. Another shark jump for that show was when Leonardo DiCaprio entered the show. It was the lamest story of how he got to live with the Seaver family. He was living in the janitor room at the school that Mike was teaching at. They always made Mike out to be a moron, yet he becomes a teacher, that's brilliant, and everyone lets strangers live in their house without thinking twice about it.
Growing Pains, although instilled many morals in me during it's run, definitely jumped as soon as Ben started liking girls. Mike Seaver never lived up to his stud status and definitely fizzled out without any sitcom dignity.
I think Growing Pains was epic for the first 5 seasons. Then in the 6th season, it jumped the shark when their hit upbeat theme song "As Long As We Got Each Other" was replaced with acapella version of the song. They killed the song..it was suppose to be a happy song and they turned it into something like sad. And another reason besides the song, just how they introduce the stars...instead of taking one of their trademarks like the GP stars lining up in front of the house (and the one who stays after the rest of the cast leaves is an episode revolving around the one who stay), Growing Pains kinda takes Family Ties idea with the family portrait and introduces the character in a nice dressed picture. Growing Pains should have stuck with their idea of lining up in front of their house and not go for the saccharine family portrait thing.
The real premise of this show was to keep Alan Thicke gainfully employed for seven years, keeping him out of whatever horrible mischief he could have done WITHOUT constraints. This was actually the result of great public concern and sympathy by unknown individuals. The other part of the premise was, you really weren't supposed to watch.
Dude, these kids Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold, Jeremy Miller--damn did they grow up fast...one minute they are 16 (Kirk), 15 (Tracey) and 10 (Jeremy) and then you turn around they seem to be 21 (Kirk), 20 (Tracey), and 15 (Jeremy). The show should have ended when Kirk hit 20. No sense having a teen idol over 20,
Yeah I think the addition of Leonardo DiCrappio (as I've seen him referred to on the Web) was the worst move ever. There were already four kids (it could be argued Chrissy's birth was the jumping) and the addition of a fifth - gag me.
Of course, Chrissy coincided with Mike's graduation, another problem. I don't blame them for bringing on Leo. They found out Ben wasn't going to grow up cute.
Growing Pains didn't jump the shark, at least I don't think so. But I don't think it got good until Chrissy was old enough to talk and think on her own. Luke made the show better, too, but it was Chrissy that changed it in the first place.
Man, Carol's boyfriend getting killed by drunk driving sure did depress me as a kid. The one person who liked her enough to date her died! She never was the same afterwards. Also Corey Feldman telling us all about the evil that is smoking weed was pretty bad too. God damn you, Corey Feldman.
It jumped when Julie dumped Mike even when they were engaged. Although when Leo joined the show, it reverse jumped.
I'm not sure I ever caught a full ep after that horrid child with the hideous blonde curls suddenly appeared...
When Mike, Boner and Eddie went to a party and everyone who was cool was doing coke in the bathroom. The 3 of them were fools, they just had to say that they were good for now and then they had a bunch of hot girls. The ending of the episode was classic, when Mr. Seaver tells Mike, "Boner and Eddie called, they wanted me to tell you that they didn't go to the bathroom."
I kind of liked Leo on the show myself, but I think he sucks in everything else he's been in. The show had its good moments but they were few and far between. The one thing that drove me totally insane was that episode where Mike moved in that room over the garage and his dad acted like a landlord instead of a father. The line that killed me was when they were trying to talk Mike into going to dinner or something, but Mrs. Seeber burst in with, "NO! I want to stay home and cook for my family!" Ug...sexism!
The show didn't suck all that much. I mean the episode where Kristy Swanson (the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer) snorts coke. Man you think Mike is such a smart guy to turn down Kristy. And they were the family everyone admired in the 80's. Aw, what am I talking about.. the parents ruined the show.. if you took out Johanna Kearns and Alan Thicke.. then its cool. so yeah
I liked this show. I still like this show. I wanted to marry Kirk Cameron...until he got old. But then Leo was added, so I changed my mind! Of course I was 12... and they were cute. Cute boys ='s Great show... to most little girls right???
It never jumped as long as Joanna Kerns was on it. What a babe....oh she was the queen of all my puberty dreams, she was.
The show jumped the shark twice: When they added Chrissy and later when Leonardo DiCapprio was added.
The movie - aaaaghhh!!! I didn't think it was possible, I really didn't - but this movie was worse than any of the Brady Bunch reunion movies. First and foremost, this family turned out to be totally dysfunctional. Ben is a complete loser driving a rustbucket van, Chrissy sneaking cigarettes and acting like a punk and God help poor Kirk Cameron and Chelsea Noble. They writers really worked hard to make their characters look like complete idiots. You know a movie is downright awful when Alan Thicke is the best actor in it. Tracey Gold must have been hard up for cash to agree to this one. And once again, Disney, in their all too obvious effort to be super politically correct, throws a whole bunch of African-Americans into the show. I really can't believe I watched this movie - I need to go put a bag over my head.
I learned of this site only two days before the airing of this show. I didn't think I'd witness the Jumping of the Shark so soon thereafter. This show was skating on thin ice already, but for them to have a reunion show merely proves how cheesy the show was to begin with. Growing Pains was always a "guilty pleasure" (mostly for Joanna Kerns), but now I must reject this show entirely. Of course if Chrissy didn't have the double-chin forming, the show might have had some redeeming value.
Benny got the glasses (coinciding with puberty?) became geek instead of cute. This is what triggered the addition of Chrissy and Leo... a 'cuteness infusion' was required.
A post mortem on Growing Pains: as a young pre-pubescent in the 80's, I unwittingly believed the hype. (Though I thankfully had good enough taste not to be gushing over Kirk Cameron.) To my horror, ABC aired a Growing Pains Reunion. And of course I watched it. I cannot believe Tracy Gold landed an acting job. She is worse than Alan Thicke. An additional moment of shark jumping (as if the evidence wasn't already stacked up to Ben's eyeballs) was when Jason and Mike Seaver played on their synthesizers and sang Bob Seagers "Old Time Rock and Roll." I remember being so embarrassed for them.
The episode when Mike and Ben freebase cocaine and go to a Natalie Cole concert.
The acapella theme pissed me off, but I got really disillusioned when I learned that the version with B.J. Thomas and Dusty Springfield was only released as a single and never used on the show. I hope Dusty throws a cake from above at Alan Thicke.
This show began to jump the shark when Chrissy was born and then was sailing over the shark when the following season she suddenly became older! She was so annoying! And then totally cleared the shark when Leonardo DiCaprio joined the cast!! He was way more annoying than Chrissy, which is pretty hard to be.
When someone decided to cast alan thicke as the father. Alan thicke couldn't act his way through a porno, and when they started to let him sing the theme song, it was worse than the latest john tesh album.
I agree with the person who said the change in the theme song stunk. I used to love the happy song and I still sing it to myself every now and then. I also agree that adding new kids because the real ones were getting older was pathetic. Chrissy and Ben were two of the ugliest child actors ever to appear on tv. Ben was cute at first but he grew up ugly, poor thing.
When Mike all of a sudden started looking "respectable" and wearing khakis and button down shirts. And did you notice that his voice actually cracked MORE and got higher as he aged? What is wrong with him!
I can't pin down an exact "time of jumping". I think the show began to show signs of a jump around the last part of the fourth season, so maybe I should just say 1989. There were so many little things that contributed to the jump. I'll try to take them in chronological order: First, the "Coach Lubbock gets fired" two-parter. They made this sound like a "very special" episode, as all the students stage a sit-in to protest his dismissal, and the Seavers get arrested for civil disobedience as Maggie reports the whole thing on her stupid local newscast. All this junk just to get a bad spin-off on the air? Definitely the first jump, although I believe it happened in season 3. Second, the kids getting older. Once Mike and Carol graduated from high school, the show soon lost the good supporting characters like Boner (who had least had that Army gig, and his father, Walter(Chekov) Koenig's Star Trek money to live off of) and Principal DeWitt(who had that second job as Larry and Balki's boss at the newspaper on Perfect Strangers) After that, Carol went from being "brainy" to being "misunderstood" with no self-esteem-or comedic potential. Tracey Gold's personal problems also started at this time, although their effects on the show happened later. Mike had several bad character developments, which I'll get to later. Then, there was a "death" episode, as they killed off Maggie's father, Ed (Gordon Jump) in a really maudlin story line where he found out he had cancer, visited a couple of times to settle his affairs, then had an off-camera death that triggered a classic psychological response from Maggie(shock, denial, grief, acceptance). I'm not sure if this happened before or after Chrissie's birth, but it was just another sign of them trying to make the show more "serious", instead of the whacky humor that was typical of the first couple of seasons. Another serious jump, occuring around the time I specified at the beginning, was the incredibly lame storyline about Jason's mom(Jane Powell) meeting a new boyfriend,(Robert Rockwell),marrying him, and causing a lot of tension with Jason. No matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't make those old geezers funny. Even the recurring guest appearences by '50s has-been singer Jerry Vale(who just happened to be an old friend of theirs, and just happened to sing at their wedding) were too contrived to be funny. All this crud tied in with Mike almost marrying that stupid bimbo who played the baby-sitter.I remember everybody was taking a cruise someplace, and Mike's engagement was the cliff-hanger ending. I didn't even realize that she got fired from the show for being in Playboy. I don't know how they explained it on the show, other than an abrupt cancellation of the wedding. At least getting rid of her useless character was a semi-good move. This left Mike free for a while, but he would eventually meet and fall in love with Kate(who just happened to be played by Kirk Cameron's real-life girlfriend). Bad move. Kate was totally uninteresting, and just too touchy-feely. Some of the so-called "romantic" moments between them are worse than the "Joanie and Chachi" stuff that killed Happy Days. By this time, Jeremy Miller had lost the battle with puberty(once Ben could no longer let off that ear-splitting high-pitched wail, it was too late to save him). Thus, they aged Chrissie into the annoyingly super-cute (not really) Ashley Johnson. After that, Mike became a teacher (say whaaaat?) and found Leonardo DiCaprio in the closet (on the show, I mean;-). I didn't really mind Luke, although it seems like they were trying to make him into another Ben. Then, for whatever reason, they wrote Luke out of the show midway through the season, so he could be reunited with his hick truck driving father. I guess Leo jumped out of the truck when it got to Hollywood, and the rest is history! By the final season, it was past time to end the show. Jason and Maggie's bantering became more predictable, with him still losing every argument to her By the final season, everybody was pretty much going through the motions. Even Mike's insults to Carol weren't funny any more. Tracey Gold's personal problems kept her out of about half the shows in the last year. The Giant Rabbit episode didn't help, either. At least they had one more funny episode for Ben, where he dreams he's in a martial-arts movie, complete with chessy production values, silly dialogue, and bad dubbing. And, at least they managed to do a good final episode. They shouldn't have bothered with that recent reunion movie, especially since they didn't reveal the ending(Maggie running for Congress, and Election Day coming up) in a blatant attempt to leave room for a sequel. At least Ashley Johnson looks OK now that she's grown up a little.
Kirk and his dopey buddies go to a party full of hot chicks and cocaine. Kirk runs out with his buddies in tow. I remember laying on the couch thinking "how could I get these girls numbers so I could tell them I'm down to party like a rock star!" Hot chicks and blow! SO SO GOOD.
Damn this show.... I've got that stupid theme song stuck in my head. I resent this show because I became alienated from my friends when I refused to embrace Kirk Cameron as a teen idol. I've seen road maps that are better looking. The baby killed it. What's that all about? The Leo think, I understand, since Ben was a loser. I always feel kind of bad about Tracey Gold's plight - maybe if there hadn't been so many "Mike teasing Carol about her brains and appearance" jokes, she maybe wouldn't have had her anorexia issues. Did anyone catch that reunion special?!? I don't think I could ever watch another rerun again knowing that Mike's character has been completely destroyed by the actor's personal beliefs.
growing pains never jumped. this show was awesome, totally. this show continually was getting better every year. the last year was its best year. thats how you know a show is good, when a good show continues to get better every year, and its last year is its best. this show is destined to be a classic someday.
The other votes are all good reasons, but for me the show jumped after the fifth season, when ABC gave it a then-unusual two-year renewal. It seemed that, the moment everyone knew they were going to keep their job for two more years no matter what, all the characters immediately lost 50 IQ points.
Growing Pains totally jumped the shark when they brought in Leonardo DiCaprio as the foster child in the family... what WAS that about anyway?
It really jumped twice. The first jump was when Boner joined the Army, and we all realized that Mike can't be a complete jackass anymore, and that he was really lame. I, of course, denied all of this until it jumped the second time, when the Seavers had another baby- it happens in real life, but it ruined the show...
This show didn't know when to end. They also jumped when Ben hit puberty, Introduced that new daughter, Mike got his own pad. Mike vacationed in Hawaii. The list keeps going and going...... However, the ultimate jump was the recent Disney renewal show of this horrible show.....
Jeremy "says no" to drugs. At the end of the show, Jeremy says, "and remember, I'm not getting paid to say this".
I used to LOVE this show...when they used to show the pictures of the kids growing up I died every time I saw "Mike" with his jacket hanging off of his shoulders. It jumped the shark with Chrissy's birth and went downhill with Chrissy's rapid aging. Or maybe I just got a little older, realized that Mike wasn't hot anymore and that Ben, who was closer to my age anyway, wasn't going to be hot.
Ugh, I hate it when shows do this! It's bad enough using the "new baby" plotline, but it really sucks when the child is 6 months old one week and then suddenly turns 11 years old before the next episode! "Family Ties' did this with Andrew, "Fresh Prince" did it, and "Growing Pains" then did it with Janet....er, Chrissy. If the writers insist on introducing new children, don't make them age 26 years over the course of a single TV season!!!!!!!!!!!
When they did the special show (about 4 parts, I think) shot on location in Europe.
Saaaaaaaaaaannnnnndyyyyyyy! The obligatory kids drinking/doing drugs episode where Sandy gets aced. Wow, what a surprise ending, we didn't see that coming.
One word, STEPHANIE!!!!! I couldn't stand that curly headed munchkin. Oh wait, one more thing really grossed me out. Ben in all of those tank tops. That was NOT CUTE! Okay, maybe that little twerps name wasn't Stephanie, but who cares? That just tells you when I stopped watching.
1985 to 1992. are you kidding me? how many times did you have to see mike seaver push up his baggy sleeves and nervously explain to his parents that the guys in his bed were just "buddies"?
AlanThicke touching his ass in the opening credits! Why the hell was that lummox touching his buttox anyway? Did he hurt it when he sat on one of Ben's Voltron toys? I could just see him with a plastic lion sticking out of his ass! Alan Thicke is the coolest smellin' guy that ever starred on an ABC sitcom! He smells like Canadian Bacon!!!!
GROWING PAINS WAS ON WAY TOO LONG.AFTER THEY ADDED LEONARDO DICRAPRIO THIS SHOWED REALLY STARTED TO SUCK.ALSO,HOW COULD MIKE HAVE GOTTEN ALL THESE PRETTY GIRLFRIENDS?HE WAS THE BIGGEST NERD IN SCHOOL.PROBABLY THE WORST SHOW HAD TO BE WHEN ALLEN THICKE SANG BOB SEGERS "OLD TIME ROCK AND ROLL" TO THIS DAY I CANNOT LISTEN TO THIS SONG WITHOUT WANTING TO VOMIT.THE ONLY THING THAT SAVED THIS SHOW WAS THE FACT THAT JOANNA KERNS,AND TRACY GOLD WERE BOTH FOXES.I OFTEN THOUGHT ABOUT BEING MRS SEAVERS NEWBORN,AND BEING BREAST FED.
The success of this show is a mystery, but when that kid Ben got older it was frightening. The kid from Who's the Boss saved him from being the gayest teenager in TV history. This led to the family adding another little kid and Leo DiCrapula joining the cast. Pass the TUMS.
C'mon Mike! Let's Jam out! All this episode was missing was Uncle Jesse and the Beach Boys. And the episode where Ben Seaver turned into a deadbeat hobo, living in a van down by the river. No wait, that was real life. Sorry.
This show jumped the shark when Mike Seaver (Kirk Cameron) decided he wanted to become a teacher and do some good. I mean, he was the most interesting (and popular) character on the show because he was this witty, rebellious, fun high school guy that cheated on all of his tests and got all of the chicks with his infectious Ferris-Bueller-esque charm. Once he decided to go in the complete opposite direction and take away all that was fun to watch about his character, the show COMPLETELY JUMPED THE SHARK.
ok, there were some choice moments where the waters were a bit shark infested. but with Matthew Perry & Brad Pitt guest starring & a recurring character named Boner, how could you go wrong?
The new baby was kinda annoying. She was funny and cute, but she just made the show even more pointless. Plus she jumped from 0 to 3 to 7 in like a year. And once she grew up, it was like, every episode was about her. And when Mike grew up he became a teacher??? Like that would ever happen. And Carol suddenly had to go to Latin school. I know that that actor got anorexia and all and had to go to that clinic for rehab, but couldn't they have at least done a goodbye episode. And then she's magically back for the last episode. Nobody even mentioned Latin school. I'm glad they brought her back, though. I would've been an awful finale if they had not brought her back. It was a good show the 1st few seasons, though.
This show was NEVER funny and I don't know any woman who's that gorgeous after having 4 or five kids. But then again, we know this is just TV. But my complaint (and I wrote to ABC about it) was the ease with which Mike got all those girls. It made no sense. He accidentally bumps into a girl in the aisle in school presumably never having met her before, that night they're making out. They have to for the plot to work, but someone please tell me how to get so lucky. And then there was that horrible episode where he has 5 girls in leotards in his apartment and he's hiding one of them in the pantry under the sink. She's willingly hiding under the sink. Now forget the illogic (and all the girls probably ****ed him between takes, I admit) but on the show Mike is just some average loser. And yet girls pop up out of nowhere because its funny and it makes him a sexy character. But none of this had to do with real life. And then he once alluded to a situation where he and boner did something with "peanut butter and the drill team" I was like, HUH? He didn't want boner to talk about it in front of Ben in order to avoid being a bad influence. I don't even know what angle to attack that from. The hypocrisy (I'd BRAG to my brother if I did whatever the hell he's talking about), the unreality, I dunno. Hot chicks acted so unreal--I think this show gave rise to the giggling TV blonde teen bimbo device. It's depressing and unrealistic. Yes, people in high school have sex. But this show painted a fantasy world that I would give my right cornea to live in. What gives?
When Leo Decaprio joined the show as a homeless child! Please, what family would like their child bring a bum home, regardless if it was a holiday and let them stay the night?? They would immediately throw the person out of the house and watch from inside with the lights off to make sure that the person left their property!
I just say the E! True Story about this crappola show- looks like "Mike Seaver" became born again and then got the Playboy Bunny girlfriend kicked off the show. They deny it, but the timing was too coincidental. Sharking moments: theme song (second only to the sha-la-la-la ending to Family Ties theme); rapidly growing baby; and Leo. The show finally ended when Cameron called the producers "pornographers". For this squeaky clean show, that was a shark-jumping leap of logic.
Ben went from being a cute, wise-ass and actually funny kid to being unfunny and (I don't want to be cruel, but) goofy lookin' -- both he and the snow NEVER recovered. The reunion movie was good! They tried hard to make Chrissy un-annoying but she had that video camera the whole time--that didn't help. Where was Boner?
Chrissie. The baby is born and mysteriously days later is a obnoxious five year old. What are they putting in the Seaver's water?
This show sucked but it really sank to the depths of total garbage at the moment of that god-awful duet on "Old time Rock and Roll" by Mike and Jason. Ouch.
Day One. This show was a Family Ties rip-off from the start. The roles are flip-flopped: In GP you have an idiot older child, a braniac middle child, and a cute youngest. On FT you had a braniac older child, an idiot middle child, and a cute younger child. Need I mention both shows brought on a baby and aged them almost half a decade in a season? Also both shows started to get serious around the middle of their runs. Both brainiac kids lost friends to drunk drivers. Also you got the two youngest child (all the kids on both shows had the same color hair too) hit puberty pretty hard. Those are ones I can think off the top of my head. Coincidence? Maybe.
When Leonardo DeCrappio joined the cast it was the beginning of the end for Mike and Company. They also did a lot "On a very special..." But the New Kid in Town was a clear signal.
The show started to rot when Ben grew up and a good number of the shows would be about him and his goofy friends that weren't funny and his fat witch of a girlfriend. Not to mention that Ben himself was a complete dork.
Ok, this show is a tough call. Albeit that many, including myself could say that when they brought on that new baby, it jumped. However, If they jumped one shark with that, they jumped a school of them when she miraculously aged seven years between seasons. Therefore, That is my vote for jumping the shark.
I really like this show when I was younger. I could never stand Chrissy. Then younger eposides were good but after the baby ever thing got to serious. I like the rebel Mike but he grew up and got all responible and even took in a kid (Leo). Also I thought Ben was a cute kid but he grew up to be a nerd. Did anyone see the tv movie of them, I watched about 15 mins. It was weird to see all the actors totally grown. So I say that after the baby things started to go down hill. It jump the shark as the annoying little girl grew. She was just a pain in the butt.
The episode, in which a banana becomes airborne and carol sees it as a spaceship.
I can't believe no one else wrote this! When Tracy Gold's character was exercising and the ceiling gave way and she landed right in the living room where Mike was watching television, bringing the ceiling tiles and dust down with her...oh my god...classic...
In retrospect, this show is pretty lame, and it only seems more so after I saw the E true Hollywood story and found out what a jerk Kirk Cameron really was. But still, any show that has a character named boner can't be all bad.
Although this show really was pretty lame, I don't think all of the blame for it going downhill can be placed on Kirk. He is probably not the best actor in the world, but he does NOT come across as a jerk. I know that he does a lot of work with Camp Firefly, which he and his wife set up. Unlike some stars, they actually take the time to go to the camp and spend time with the kids, who have terminal illnesses, and their families. In addition, as bad as this show seems today, it is still better than most new shows, but I would recommend the fist few seasons over the last two. Although many of the plots were not very original, how many other shows really have original plots?--I can think of very few.
Let's see they have a baby when Ben is practically ready for college then Mike brings home a homeless punk. Yes I refuse to use this overrated punk actor's name I believe everyone know whom I mean. I wish the big boat had sucked him down.
The show jumped just before Leonardo DiCaprio came into it. The show jumped, was bitten, rescued, given CPR survived but was put on life support but there was a fatal moment when DiCaprio left that the shows life support was turned off and it jumped, was bitten but the body was never found. It had officially jumped the shark!
As soon as Kirk Cameron got into religion due to a past religious girlfriend. He wouldn't agree to do some scenes because he felt it went against his "beliefs". He was going against the grain with the producers and was being difficult even on a very family oriented show. Religion stopped Kirk's perfectly good mind.
Day one...Never mind Alan Thicke--Mike was a thoroughly obnoxious character. As a teacher, I could safely say that in a real life school, he'd have had his @$$ suspended many times over for the trouble he made. And mom and dad were the wimpiest parents I ever saw toward him...if I'd pulled half the crap Mike pulled at home and school, my folks would have handed me my head--and they'd have been right to do so!
I think this show jumped the shark when Chrissy became part of the family. She was fine when she was a baby, but when she became older, she was very obnoxious. It became too hard to watch.
This show never should have happened. I saw a few early episodes and I believe the gist was Mike and Boner play tickle ass all through high school and Alan Thicke is a parapsychologist who sings television theme songs and busts ghosts. Six or seven years later i tune in again and Mike's a teacher for ****sakes. In the name of welcome back kotter, what was that about? Also, that fairy Ben turned out to be a guy! Who knew?
Growing Pains started to jump the shark when Chrissy was born, and finished the jump when she aged 4 or 5 years in one season.
This show gradually started to jump the shark when Chrissy was born, but got worse when they aged her about three years into a curly-haired reject from an off-Broadway Annie show. Also about this time Kirk Cameron became really religious and wanted his character changed from a fun-loving bad boy into some kind of a saint who takes in homeless waif Leonardo DiCaprio, who looked like he had it sooo tough on the streets. The early years of this show were great, what s shame it was ruined forever when Chrissy jumped up on a table and sang Good Ship Lollipop in some strange dream sequence.
Puberty was NOT kind to this show! 'Lil Ben blossomed from chubby & cute to big, gawky & boy was his acting wooden. Did you even know puberty could turn a kid into a terrible actor? Carol got all fat & threw herself into the anorexic world of "Movie of the Week" & "Very Special Episodes". bummer. AND the crowning achievement: Kirk Cameron discovers Jesus & became a holier-than-thou, bible thunking, little punk ass, and decides his TV character has to be a little weiner too. He goes from being this bubble gum little poster boy, chasing the honeys & getting out of trouble with his perfect smile! Next thing we know, he's trying to apply himself in school & adopting impossibly pretty teenagers. On that topic, did anyone believe that Leonardo was homeless? I gotta go take a few deep breaths now, excuse me.
It's hard to tell exactly when GROWING PAINS jumped, but the symptoms were obvious: 1.Mike (everybody loves the bad boy) suddenly becomes a soft, studious, dweeb. 2. Chrissy (sitcom-little-sister-syndrome) should go to "We don't need you" heaven along with Lily from Step by Step. 3. I do not care what anybody says, I live in an area where I am confronted with homeless people 5 times a day and none of them have ever looked like Leonardo Dicaprio. Please don't argue with me. There are exceptions, but for the most part I'm right. Growing "pains" indeed.....
I think there should be a new jumping category for when the same guest actor plays a different part in two or more episodes. Growing Pains has the most famous case, when Brad Pitt played the guy Carol was cheating on dopey Bobby Whinett with, then later played a rock star Ben idolized but blew him off. There was another guy who was a DJ at a school dance who throws out his back one year, then he turned up as an annoying guy at a Seaver party another year. He may have even showed up a third time, if I remember correctly. Jamie Lunger was Sheena "Woo-Woo" Berkowitz, then was a Lubbock girl, then showed up in a Halloween episode as a ghost. How stupid do they think we are? Family Ties also did this (Chunk from Goonies played two different characters in two different seasons) as did Night Court. Do we have a new category? But you have to admire all the young talent that came out of these guest stars -- Pitt, Kristy Swanson, Heather Graham, Matt "I don't have a drug problem" Perry. Chelsea Noble, despite the fact that she is married to that twit Cameron, remains one of the hottest women ever on TV. How could all that talent just get flushed down the freakin' toilet? The best part of the whole show was watching the producers on E! True Hollywood Story trash Cameron like yesterday's leftovers. Classic and epic at the same time.
This show jumped on day one. Alan Thicke as a shrink? Give me Frazier Crane anyday. Mr. Thicke was and continues to be very smarmy. Trying to turn Kirk Cameron into the next Michael J. Fox was just plain stupid. Although I detest MJF, Kirk Cameron just totally repulsed me. They have got to be kidding when they had all those good looking guys date Carol, let's face it early on she was fat then became anorexic and throughout all that she was never good looking. Anybody ever saw the TV movie "Midwest Obsession" aka "Beauty's Revenge" the producers of that film would have us believe that a guy would pick Tracey Gold over Courtney Thorne-Smith. Joanna Kerns was the one true babe on "Growing Pains", she's just as hot as Meredith Baxter in my opinion. Even though MB was a little hotter than Justine Bateman, Miss Bateman was at least very attractive on her own right. The comparison to Family Ties is inevitable because this show was a ripoff. Firing Julie McCullough because it was revealed she posed for playboy, do you mean to tell me that in a TV crew of a couple of hundred people nobody knew that beforehand? She posed in 1987 I believe and she was casted in the show in 1989. Finally has anybody noticed that Kirk Cameron smiles like Jack Nicholson's Joker? Except that Mr. Nicholson had to wear prosthetic to look that goofy.
GP jumped when Ben hit puberty at around age 13 and suddenly the producers decided to try and make him Mike Junior. Ben was portrayed as this teen idol-type surrounded by girls on the show and being featured on the cover of teen magazines during this time. Only one problem. Ben always was consistently uncute and being a teenager never changed this fact. No kid looking like Ben would ever be popular in real life and certainly wouldn't have girls practically falling in his lap. Mike? Yes, I can see that. Ben? Not on this planet!
When Baby Chrissy was born it all went down hill! Actually, can a show jump the shark twice? Because I caught the Growing Pains reunion special on Fox Family and it was one of the more painful experiences of my life! They created a new low for television reunions.
This show JTS when we learned that Boner's dads name was Sylvester Stabone.
This show was a winner from day one. It had every aspect of the cheesy, poorly writen, nonsensical joke playing laugh track bonanza of the 80's family TV show. I mean Mike was your typical tail chasing bad boy with a heart of gold that cpuld get away with anything cause his parenst were blind deaf and dumb to just about everything on the show. Boner, BONER DAMN YOU! If you named a kid on a show today boner, man, you'd get pulled. Boner was classic. Then there was Carol, that smart little brat who we all felt sorry for cause she dated the quarterback of the high school and matt perry? wah wah. And ben. That kid wasn't cute, he was really fat, couldn't act, developed a mullet/glasses and went on to clean pool filters. If I ever have a racoon stuck in my filter, I know who to call! THE HAS BEEN! And of course every 80's family show had a small side charatcer who made it to the big time while the rest of them ate it and made a TV movie reunion. Go figure. I am in love with this show. Roll that beautiful bean footage!
In an early episode,Jason spent a good part of his 40th birthday sitting in a rocking chair feeling VERY sorry for himself about how OLD he was getting and scoffing at all lame attempts by the family to get him to believe otherwise. Over The Hill jokes abounded like Lisa Douglas' Hotscakes! I mean he was acting as though he was some 6th century Anglo-Saxon geezer about the age. Anyway, though, Maggie invites some friends to his party and Jason has a JAM SESSION with them and suddenly becomes convinced that he will have ETERNAL YOUTH because he can ROCK [ folks, we're talking about 'Facts of Life' Theme Composer- Alan Thicke]!! ARRGHH!!
JTS when Kirk Cameron found The Lord. He got filled up with the Holy Ghost and wanted his "Mike Seaver" character to stop being a delinquent and start being a model citizen. Thank God the show finally got cancelled. Amen.
Mike Seaver would never have listened to Scritti Politti. That was just a completely absurd reference. Alan Thicke's character should have confronted him with a Poison or a White Lion album. It's obvious the writers thought the band name sounded funny; they ended up proving to the world they knew nothing about 80s teen culture or popular music.
JTS occurred at the point when Kirk Cameron decided to "Get Religion". He then got a "Holier Than Thou" attitude and started throwing his "weight" and "morals" around the Growing Pains set. He was notorious for his "Little Girl Temper Tantrums" and had actors,writers and a director even canned. He also pulled this same stunt with his short lived show on the WB (Kirk) and now is relegated to doing "Jesus Films" due to the fact no one wants to put up with his crap. If you want my opinion, I think this is one of the things that drove tracey gold to anorexia.
I lost interest in the show after they replaced the original theme song sung by B. J. Thomas (yes, the same one who sang "Hooked On A Feeling" and "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head"!) with a more late-eighties version. (Granted, I lost interest in the Top 40 countdowns and contemporary music around 1987.)
Does anyone remember the episode where Carol goes to the doctor to get a nose job? Mike went with her and eventually told her that she was indeed a beautiful sister, and he just made jokes about her because they were siblings. I hated it that the writers made Carol want a nose job. First of all, there is obviously nothing wrong with Tracey Gold's nose. Second, wouldn't it make more sense that Carol would want lipo, since Mike always made fun of her weight? Tracey Gold was not fat, but Mike always made fun of Carol for being "fat", he never once made fun of her nose! UGHGHGHGH! STUPID!
I would like to say this piece of crap jumped on day one, but it was tolerable until that Ben kid hit puberty. After that, they tried all manner of things to fix the show. A new baby, another new kid, girlfriends etc. When Ben turned into a gangly, zit faced goof ball I could no longer watch this show.
When Richard Koenig's Boner left the show to join the Marines, that was it for me. The exit of Julie (because of her "Playboy" past...yawn) was eerily similar to Ellen's exit on "Family Ties", especially with Chelsea Noble assuming the Courtney Cox replacement girlfriend role. This show really couldn't hold it together with the trifecta of losing Boner, ditching Julie, and the birth and rapid aging of Chrissy.
It was the beginning of the end when Chrissy got old enough for speaking roles, but Leonardo DiCaprio put the icing on the crap, leo is not an actor he's just a face.
Puberty was not kind to Jeremy Miller (Ben Seaver). He went from being the token "cute little kid" on the show to an ugly zit-faced geek with dirty hair. So, of course, they had to bring in cute Chrissy and Leonardo DiCaprio to assume the cute role. Gag me.
Growing Pains definitely "jumped the shark" when Kirk Cameron decided to become Mr. God. I loved Kirk, but I think it was just so stupid to bring the show down because he got religious. Everyone wanted the Juvenile Delinquent Mike, but Kirk just refused to play the part anymore, so they ended up having to make Ben the juvenile while you had Mike become a teacher, someone he used to hate! Puh-leeze. I loved this show, even when Kirk decided it was time for a change, when Chrissy was born, when Ben was getting into trouble, when Carol went to London so that Tracey could get help, and even when Leonardo DiCaprio was on there. I just didn't like the way they had to change Mike, but hey, that's why they call it "Growing Pains" right? They grow up, get mature, after all, he was an adult. I hated to see the show go, but it was time.
The show jumped the moment they not only added a certain character named Christine Ellen "Chrissy" Seaver but magically aged her too! For starters I would love to know how 2-3 year old BLONDE Chrissy was able to become a 7 year old REDHEAD - in real life she should keep her blonde hair when she gets older - which only makes what happened even more ludicrous and unbelievable!
I never had any problems with this show except for the fact that Dr. Seaver counseled his psychiatric patients IN HIS HOME. Maybe they weren't all on lithium, but doesn't it break some kind of professional code to introduce your patients to your kids? In your house??? That always made me nuts!
When Mike traded a "moon rock" to Boner for a Buzzy Babone catcher's mitt. Boner later found out that he was tricked and it wasn't really a moon rock but it was a precious stone worth a lot of money. Needless to say, Mike was pissed.
When Mike worked at the stereo store and was trained to do the bait and switch. Jason was livid and Mike had to choose between morals and money.
This show totally jumped the shark when Carol became so damn angry about EVERYTHING. I mean, maybe it was because they weren't letting Tracey Gold eat or something, but Carol was a raving lunatic for the last few seasons. In the beginning, she and Mike had something approaching witty banter. By the end, her response to his teasing was so over the top that I remember being 12 and thinking that she seriously needed to be medicated. Plus, it was a bit too obvious that they brought on Leonardo di What's His Face because Ben didn't turn out cute. The lesson for any viewer who was just entering puberty at the same time was that your parents were going to find a more attractive sibling if you turned out fugly.
Oh you're kidding me. I saw the movie for the first time 11-11-02- it was on ABC family- and i should say i saw only about three minutes of the movie before i wanted to get violently ill. This show was always crap, will remain crap, and got even more crappier with the movie. Ben was never cute, whatever that little girl's name was was always annoying, and Kirk Cameron was even a has been back then. I can't even say anything else about the movie, it has left me speechless. What utter crap.
JTS when they went on vacation and Mike and Ben were getting massages from the Hawaiian girls...and Mike says "This is my first time getting a backrub" and Ben says "Second for me"!!! How unrealistic!!! When would a ten year old boy have time to have gotten a backrub?? Also, Chrissy was boring
this show never jumped it was good from beginning to end.It was funny it had stories about what real teenagers go through.Mike was so funny and it especially got good when Leo joined the cast.I liked the episodes where the cast of the ten of us where on there.
It jumped from day one. Why? First off, they always say what year it is "Okay, it's 1986 and we're gonna have lunch!" "It's 1988 so let's go see a movie!" okay, not quite like that. but close. Here's one that's wicked stupid - it was the halloween episode, carol was trying to look her best for her date. Ben says "That will probably be by the olympics in 92" HOW STUPID SOUNDING IS THAT???????!!!! Another thing is, the parents are always horny! They make out in front of the kids for god sakes! and then there was an episode where Ben and his friend Stinky go to school dressed like bikers (leather vest, leather cap, chains). Um, do the producers of the show know that almost every biker that dresses like that is gayer than Elton John? (literally!) I guess Ben and Stinky are gay lovers! Another thing that's really stupid, Mike's friend Boner. WHY DID THOSE PRODUCERS NAME HIM BONER!!!??? what more can they do? HIS FIRST NAME IS DICK!!! innuendo??? if not, the writers and producers are just plain stupid! and what about Chrissy? She was a 2 year old in one season, next season, SHE'S A 7 year old! and it's obviously not a 5 year later thing (cuz they continuously said what year it is in the season before, then they do again the season after). I'm glad the show got cancelled, otherwise, Chrissy would keep growing 5 years older every season. btw, it used to be my favorite show.
I have always liked the show, but as soon as Kirk Cameron's character started keeping his nose clean it got boring. I later found out that he found God and became a snob towards the rest of the cast. That was what made the show go to hell (no pun intended). I felt sorry for the live in nanny when she got bounced. Thanks to Mr Cameron. Now I have nothing against religion. I believe that there is a God, but gee I don't need it shoved in my face! Another thing. Kirk's wife. DAMN! Can that woman find a job in Hollywood without tagging along with her husband?!
This show started out being really good, but after the fifth season, it started on a steep dive. Ben hit puberty and his non-existent acting skills became obvious, they started fixing Carol up with complete idiots for boyfriends, they added the annoying little girl who looks like a clown to play the new Seaver kid Chrissy (and BTW when a show adds a new baby character, that's the kiss of death) and let's not forget the character that was played by that God-awful Leonardo DiCaprio. After he was added, the show sank faster than the Titanic!
I dont think this show ever jumped. I even liked the spinoff, just the 10 of us. Remember that episode with Tiffany back when she was cool. Mike fell asleep and dreamed about her. Kirk Cameron was a babe, but I really enjoyed Boner.
This show definetly JTS with the birth of Chrissy and may be the announcement of the pregnancy. Jason and Maggie just getting on each other nerves and then I'm pregnant ... we love each other so much ! It was so pathetic ! I was happy that the show was cancelled because at the end I think that Chrissy would have been older than Mike !!
Maybe it wasn't a complete meal for a shark, but I think the episode where Tracey Wells of 'Mr. Belvedere' fame tried to seduce Ben was a little unlikely- what the hell would she see in a freak like him?
As a recovering teenage girl from the eighties, Carol Seaver was a hell of a lot more a relatable character than Mallory Keaton. Totally.
When Carol goes to a carnival with Ben(whose trying to get lucky with some blond way out of his league) and Ben sets her up with his dates Yale alumni brother who dumps her.Carol then gets picked up by the carnie who runs the ferris wheel and (its revealed in a cameo conversation with a clown) he is going to make Carol this cities conquest.Well, poor naive Carol falls madly in love with the carnie because he can quote Shakespeare and after a romantic night in the fun house etc she decides to "give it up" to him because he says shes pretty (you'd think a psycholigist father would have seen the horribly low self esteem in his daughter and gotten her counselling).However, nice guy that he is the carnie can't do the deed and tells her she is beautiful and she should just go home. AAHHAAHH
When I was a kid, I thought this was a passable, standard issue show. In retrospect, this show was really stupid. If you wanted to spoof a cliched sitcom, you could base it on this. It went from bad to intolerable when Kirk Cameron started to think this show was written by "pornographers". I'm guessing Kirk doesn't get out much. Even by 80's standards, this piece of trashola was really tame.
This show was pretty good, but the TV movie that came out a couple years ago was horrible. My roommate and I had been looking forward to that movie for weeks when we found out it was going to be on and then it was such a letdown and we couldn't believe we had anticipated it so much.
I thought that the episode where Matthew Perry's character Sandy died was so depressing that I could not bear to watch the show after that. The ending was such a shocker with Mike delivering the bad news. It was one of those "very special" episodes.
Family Ties was a fantastic show that effectively dealt with real problems. Unfortunately, every good show must have its awful ripoff, and Family Ties' would be Growing Pains. It could be worse; it could be Full House.
The show could've gotten away with the birth of Krissy. A newborn baby really wont effect the storyline of an existing sitcom all that much. The show could've continued making great episodes. Instead the decision was made to change Krissy from a newborn baby to an elementary school student from one season to the next, thus creating more facetime for the unbearably annoying character and hindering the script.
The growing pains jumped the shark only for two reasons: 1)The acapella theme song (which sounded like the now-broken up Backstreet Boys sang it) was put in the second-to-last season, since it sounded like the a last season theme. I did not get a chance to watch the very last episode, but if I ever do, I hope they use the acapella theme song in the beginning. 2) The time when Mike's grades declined. Mike got a bad report card and Dr. Jason seaver asked what he was going to do with these grade. This JTS because in The Cosby Show, the first episode had a similar idea, only funnier. otherwise the show Rulz.
The birth of Chrissy was the death of my beloved "Growing Pains." Needless new characters, especially "suprise" babies added to a cast are a clear sign a show's writer's are tired and the show is done.
Two of the commandments for automatic shark-jumping: 1) Alan Thicke writes the theme song and 2) Alan Thicke actually stars in the show. In other words, this show double-jumped on Day One.
The show jumped the shark when mike moved into the room above the garage because he believed he did not need parent's guiadance. alan thicke and kirk cameron were just acting like mean idiots this also jumped the shark because this 2-part had the title of a TV show("Family Ties")
Growing Pains Jumped the shark: 1) When Ben throws a partty to know a girl who touches his hair. The parents were sent out to dinner at a restaraunt (No, they were not invited)by an offer from a FAKE OFFER FROM MIKE SEAVER, NOT THE REAL OWNER. It was generally kids only. There was a scene where Jason and Maggie were enjoying dinner and Jason brings up the fact to the owner that this was a offer on telephone and he admits he did not call them. Maggie and Jason come home to the ongoing party and punishes everyone in the household and told all the guests to leave. 2) When carol seaver goes on a date and makes excuses that the car was stuck in traffic. her date was in the house, hiding and it was all bad in the hood when they found the guy (Sandy). Carol was obligated to 'fess up and apologize.
This show jumped when Chrissy was born and she magically grew 7 years over one season. The first 3 seasons were the best, when it was just the original cast, no winey Chrissy and no Leo (granted his acting career jumped back with "Catch Me If You Can") But on another subject, Alan Thicke is one of the best theme song writers ever. He wrote the themes to Different Strokes, The Facts Of Life, and of course, THE ORIGINAL theme to "Wheel Of Fortune" (yes, before Pat Sajak came on)
This show jumped the shark with the episode with the imaginary freind Ike. Chrissy was playing with Ike all day, and funnily, Kirk Cameron is Ike. The fact that Kirk also appeared aas Mike was pretty unusual. Anyway he was not Imaginary. On the PBS Kids Show "Arthur", D. W.'s imaginary friend Nadine was really imaginary because only D.W. could see her and nobody else (yes that includes Arthur), and Nadine does not have the voice of D. W. Oh yeah, who ever commented Ben's Movie (The one with the alligators attacking the white house, which was an obvious model, and the "public phone" scenes) mentioned it with Mike's friend Bone, who had nothing to do with the "amateur" movie
4 (Hopefully last) Things bug me on GP: 1)Mike is always surrounded by girls whenever he goes out. I understand that he is popular, but it does not have to be shown on the TV Set 2) Joanna Kerns (Correct Spelling?) has blond hair while Alan Thicke and the kids have brown hair. 3)Until the fall of 1988, The opening credits show Alan Thicke stays outside and the rest goes inside, then he goes inside. From Fall 1988 until they did that portrait intro (Fall 1990) the character who the episode is about goes in last. 4) Whenever I think about Wheel of Fortune (not any other theme song he composed) theme song before "Changing Wheels" ("Big Wheels")I just think about the Growing Pains theme song ("As Long As We Got Each Other".).
This show is one of my favorite shows. I really think this show deserves higher Nielsen rating. I love this show SOOOOOO much. It got better with Chrissy and Leo DiCaprio. AND BY THE WAY: alan thicke (as far as I know) did NOT sing the theme song
The moment little Chrissy was born. They already had 3 kids but the producers must have decided they were old and what the show *really* needed was a new, deluxe model! It was kind of a pathetic attempt to revive the show. Just like Leonardo Dicaprio was.
Never jumped! One of the best shows ever on tv. Mike never got lame...he just grew up! Whats wrong with that? Thank you ABC Family for putting Growing Pains back on the air EVERY NIGHT for an hour!
The last 2 seasons they changed Chrissy Switched a catchy theme song to a crappy one. But the last season really ruined the show. Ben became a nerd, Leo was the center of the show, Mike became a teacher. But I guess like life it has to change.
I don't think this show ever and I mean ever jumped the shark. If hard pressed I would have to confess that Chrissy's fast aging would seem to be a jump the shark moment, however it's still a very funny show from the first season to the last one. There is a quailty there that you don't see today. I still watch re-runs whenever they're on and I'm always laughing when I do. So, this show never jumped as far as I'm concerned.
Growing Pains is still one of my favorite shows! The best part of the show is Tracey Gold. Tracey is beautiful and a wonderful actor. However, the show jumped the shark when Carol Seaver went from dating Brad Pitt and Matthew Perry to dating Big Al and Dwight. Dwight was the biggest dork ever!
Growing Pains is one of the best shows that was on in the 1980's.It never jumped and is my favorite show ever. It showed real families with real issues. Something you don't see a lot of today.
I just wanted to add to comment about the previous person who said that the same actors would play a million characters. The same actor played, "Cousin Larry" in the infamous Jason is 40 episode, then played that DJ in the Anything Can Happen School Dance, and he also played, Rhonda Green's father in that episode where Ben dated her to get to chicks on the A-list. Then you had some old coot who played four different characters at least! In that Anything Can Happen School Dance episode he played that janitor that catches Ben and Stinky in that diner that was later used for two more episodes, one where Mike asks the three guys, "How do you know if she's the one?" in regards to marrying Julie and the episode where he and Carol get a blank check and move to New York and some bum in the diner offers to buy Carol. Back to the old coot. He also played a plumber in an early episode. Then he played the Ferry Ticket Attendant in the Martha's Vineyard episode and the Ferry Ticket Attendant's twin brother. Stinky Sullivan also started out as Louis Vasco in an early episode where Ben was afraid to go back to school because the year ago Louis said Ben was dead. Ben grew, Louis didn't and never did again, but eventually did get a nice nickname...Stinky. Heather Grahame played one of the three prom dates Mike had and then played the Pizza Dough Tossing Girl that Mike and Boner drooled over. There's probably way more actors too...and this rant shows that I know way too much info about this crappy show. Mark out moments are definitely seeing "Pubic Phone" over that movie that Ben was making and watching Boner salivate over fish...and I don't think he was talking about fish, fish, but rather a certain pu...oh you know what I mean.
Probably when "Luke" came on the show. I never really liked him, and felt he wasn't really needed. By the way, am I the only one who actually LIKED the nerdy teenage Ben?
Whay did Mike move out of the house into the room above the garage? No wonder the show needed Leonardo DiCaprio. They needed someone for Mike's old room to accompany be. But Ben, Leo, + Mike all got along together. Chrissy was not needed, nether was Carol, who was trying to stop being so skinny. (Parents know best about boys) This show would be awesome w/ only boys (No, I'm not gay). But no Full House story, please (two moms or two dads only). Catch reruns on ABC Family.
Why was each school that everybody went to named after a candidate that lost a presidential election to FDR?
It jumped when Boner left to join the army. They never even brought him back for a guest shot, or even referred to the character again. What is this need that some sitcoms have to "Chuck Cunningham" at least one character during their run? I guess Boner never got any R&R, or weekend passes, so he didn't attend his best friend's graduation or wedding. Are we supposed to believe that in real life, your best friends make career moves that often result in them being out of your life for good, and never heard from again? I mean him and Mike left on good terms, and they gave him a "Good Luck Bone" freeze-frame montage, so I would imagine he was a liked character on the show. I, for one, stay in touch with my friends who move away. Didn't seem realistic that Boner was in the army, but might as well have died. Not even Mike saying, "just finished a letter to Boner". Nothing. That said, his absense killed this show. Let's face it, Mike's antics were only funny because he had this flunkie to make him look like "not that bad of a screw up" by comparison. Once Boner went, Mike's screw-ups weren't funny anymore and they had to make him more serious. Since this ain't M*A*S*H, that isn't going to work. Boner, we hardly knew ye.
It was bad enough that they added a baby to the mix, but when they mysteriously aged Chrissy 4 or 5 years over a season break, that was too much. And, Chrissy had to be the most obnoxious child *ever* portrayed in a sitcom.
I donīt actually think that this show ever jumped the shark. Ok, maybe it wasnīt the best idea to put in Leo and this stupid Chrissy child, but still most of the episodes were quite entertaining.
That annoying little brat Chrissy. Also, when they had episodes suddenly regarding Tracey Gold's eating disorder. There was one where the character looked into a fun-house mirror and such....it was SOOO obvious and probably annoying to the actress as well.
I am appalled at how shallow most people who have commented on this show are....with all of the comments about how ugly Ben was....who are these people? So maybe Jeremy Miller wasn't "teen idol" cute like Kirk Cameron (who by the way, happens to be a superb actor, and most of you who say otherwise are probably just jealous) doesn't mean he was unattractive. It's really disturbing the kind of hatred people have for these people they don't even know, primarily because of jealousy. This show is an awesome show. And FYI...Kirk didn't start dating Kate (Chelsea Noble) until AFTER she had already started on the show. It's not like she was his girlfriend, so they wrote her in. I was ESPECIALLY shocked and disturbed by the person who said that Tracey Gold only became a "babe" (what a derogataory term!) when she was anorexic. This show never jumped the shark, but with people making ignorant comments like that, our society has.
I didn't mind Chrissy as a baby, because she couldn't talk. She was really annoying as a kid though, and I couldn't stand her frizzy hair. I think a definite JTS event was bringing Leonardo DiCaprio home as the new favorite son, but he was so hot I can't complain. I actually recorded all those episodes and watched them again and again. Tracy Gold's anorexia didn't help either, because she was conspicuously absent for a while. (Not blaming her, just saying the show suffered!) Wasn't there a reunion special a few years later?
I only vaguely remember the horrible moment that this show jumped the shark. Perhaps someone else can help fill in details. Anyway, Mike and Boner were sitting around jabbering away as they often did, then all of the sudden they kept saying something like "barone" over and over again. Evidently, it was a good thing. I don't remember specifics, but some pleasant thought would enter their heads and one of them would say "ba..rone" or the like. Perhaps I'm missing something. Perhaps it is some regional saying that was simply lost on me. How I wish it were so. Unfortunately, the only explanation I could come up with was that someone in a creative capacity (to use the term loosely) saw an opportunity to coin a lame saying or catch-phrase. No doubt they waited for this inane pseudo-word to sweep the nation, to insinuate itself into the popular culture. Thankfully, this person or persons waited in vain. I was just a dumb little kid when first subjected to this terror, but even then I realized how singularly stupid this idea was. It literally turns my stomach to think about it. Thus for me, the show jumped,nay, soared proudly and arrogantly over the shark. I will admit that I kept watching the show after this because even as a young boy I wanted to have sex with Joanna Kerns. I still do.
Two "A Very Specials . . ": 1) Carol's boyfriend dies in a drunk-driving crash (what was this, MADD propaganda?); and 2) Mike almost not saying "no" to cocaine (would any network allow him to say "yes"? well, maybe Fox . . .). Dishonorable mention: Chrissy growing up faster than real time (a trick also used in "Family Ties"). By the way, "Growing Pains" has been called "a white 'Cosby Show'": that comparison is unfair to "The Cosby Show."
One thing I don't understand about this show: I was watching "E True Hollywood Story" on Growing Pains and the writers said when Kirk Cameron became a born again Christian, he didn't want the Mike character doing anything bad, for example: Mike had a key to his girlfriend's apartment but Kirk wanted that part written out because if Mike had a key, it must mean he and his girlfriend are sleeping together. HOWEVER, there was an episode, and I remember it clearly, when Ben was just going through puberty and Mike had to take him to the store to get paste. Mike and Ben see a couple of pretty girls, and the girls go "Sticky, sticky", in a flirty way. Then Mike says, "Hey, Ben, don't get any on you"...and I'm pretty sure he wasn't talking about paste. I wonder why St.Kirk didn't have a problem with that line...ole' Kirk was probably too stupid to get the reference.
This sitcom is one of the greatest examples for what a bad idea it is to bring some new characters into a show. I loved it when I was younger and I hardly missed an episode. But later it became worse. Chrissy was so annoying, I hate children who are supposed to be cute and make stupid and totally unfunny comments all the time. Mike was quite funny and definitely an asset to the show before he became a saint. Carol and Ben actually didn't change a lot except that Ben tried to be like Mike but never managed it. On the whole GP was great for the first seasons, but the last ones with Luke and Chrissy had lost lots of its dynamics.
The episode where Ben dreams he is on a TV show called "Meet The Seavers" is the definite time of the jumping of the sharks. All of the actors played themselves in that episode except Jeremy Miller, who still played Ben. It was such a cheap attempt at blatant humor, although I haven't seen another show ever do anything like it. I actually thought that episode was original and quite funny, but it also signaled that the writers were out of ideas.
Growing Pains was a pretty good show in the 80's and early 90s. Here we are in 2004, 12 years after GP was cancelled, and 4 years after that less-than-mediocre reunion show. But, yet again, the morons at ABC decide to pull a "Brady Bunch" on us and bring the Seavers back together for SECOND reunion movie. I've already seen the promos: Carol is pregnant, Ben is a real estate agent... Need I say more. "Reunited, We Fall" definitely.
This show definitely jumped when Boner left. When Mike was in school hanging out with his buds, writing the answers to the tests on his sneakers. After Boner left, all the stuff that made this show hilarious went away. I stopped watching the show after a few post-Boner episodes and didn't watch it until the last episode (which sucked and what's the deal with another kid and that homeless kid? They could've sent his ass to an orphanage). I didn't even bother watching the movie. The commercials for it looked lame enough.
When Kirk Cameron went from witty, popular teen idol to a religious fanatic. I honestly think religion is okay, but when taken to the extreme just like drugs or anything else causes major problems. So he gets into this power trip where he refuses to do episodes or pouts unless certain people are fired or topics changed. Everyone on the show admitted how hard he was to work with and how he had no sense of humor or fun in his personality. Thicke admitted that Cameron needed to take a "chill pill." "Born Again Christians" are just as sick as those who are deemed insane. They go overboard and do and blame everything on something that can't even be seen by the human eye. Faith is great and all, but changing your whole lifestyle and not doing anything because of your religion can lead to a lifestyle of boredom and extremity. It has been taught that it's always good to have balance. Kirk Cameron is the prime example of this. He went from a fun guy to be around to an arrogent, picky pain in the *ss no one wanted to deal with. The storylines became lame, and soon "Growing Pains" joined the shark infested waters.
The Suicide Episode! When Mike and St Boner are working on some project and the mentally ill suicidal girl that was suppose to be helping them is outside chain smoking. Alan Thicke goes out to talk to her, she states she is suicidal, they push each other around, Then she breaks down to say "My mother committed suicide on my birthday!" They jumped the Shark at that Moment! Best Episode of the entire Series!
When Leonardo DiCaprio joined the show as Luke. I don't know what others saw in him, but I've always thought he was a horrible actor. He's too fake, and too overly melodramatic. Though I'll admit he's not as bad now as when he was on Growing Pains. His scenes were just painful to watch.
It truly jumped when they decided to add a new baby, a baby who aged quite rapidly one season. One season she's a baby and the next season she's a four or five year old spouting one liners that could no small child would ever say. This show was never that great to begin with. Like many girls in the 80s, I watched it because of Kirk Cameron. As someone mentioned, Alan Thicke is/was smarmy. Struck me more as the kind of dad that would hit on wife or daughter's friend, not as a shrink. Not to mention, what kind of name is Growing Pains? It sounded like the name of an Afterschool Special. At its worst, the writers had Kirk Cameron's character making fun of Tracey Gold's character's weight. It was incredibly irresponsible considering she was not overweight - in fact, she was skinny - and was just a teenager. That Gold ended up with an eating disorder was no surprise to me. Am not saying the writers' are solely to blame but that was bad.
I have a hard time pinpointing exactly when they did jump (and I do believe they did), but I would have to say when they added Ashley Johnson to the cast. Firt off, aging Chrissy so dramatically was ridiculous and secondly, she was pretty annoying. I actually liked Luke (Leo Dicapprio's character). I enjoyed watching Mike evolve and grow from an irresponsible teenager to a more mature young adult. I'd say it was innevitable. But even after the jump it was still (in my opinion) watchable to a point. I also think it really jumped when Tracey Gold had to leave. Those references to her being in London and talking about her in passing was sad and it made her absence all the more acute.
This show was great until Chrissy went from being a newborn at the end of season three to being a five-year old at the beginning of the next.
When Kirk Cameron went from witty, popular teen idol to a religious fanatic. He found his Lord and lost himself. So he gets into this power trip where he refuses to do episodes or pouts unless certain people are fired or topics changed. Everyone on the show admitted how hard he was to work with and how he had no sense of humor or fun in his personality. Thicke admitted that Cameron needed to take a "chill pill." "Born Again Christians" are just as sick as those who are deemed insane. Faith is great and all, but changing your whole lifestyle and not doing anything because of your religion can lead to a lifestyle of boredom and extremity. Kirk Cameron is the prime example of this. He went from a fun guy to be around to an arrogent, picky pain in the *ss no one wanted to deal with. Nowadays, he's doing this crapola TV/radio series with another fundamentalist religious crackpot called "The Way of the Master". What "Master"? Is Kirk Cameron a Jedi or something? What a sad, sad story. As for the show he once populated with his witty lines and glib humor, well, the storylines got really lame, and soon "Growing Pains" joined "Happy Days" and "Scoob-Doo" in the bottomless pit of shark infested waters. Long may it rot, forever!
Okay...so I think this show never jumped! Yes, it was dumb when Chrissy magically grew up. Yes, Kirk Cameron became a Christian and had a hard transition. (Which by the way, he later apologized for being so blunt....learning that to be a Christian means that you are IN THE WORLD and NOT OF IT. He said something like, he didn't have to alienate himself so much!) ALSO, the african-american's someone referred to as being in the Reunion Show for Politcal Corectness....are Kirk Camerons real children!
Here in Connecticut we have an independent network that is doing a "Growing Pains" marathon and I have to say that I think I love this show now even more than I did in it's day....maybe it's just the fact that this was old school family fun, or maybe it's just that it's an excellent show, but I'm loving it all over again...I will , however , say that the relationship between the parents does seem a little unrealistic and very forced...it was obvious that someone was trying to get sociological points across by writing their dialogue...I was a teen myself when this show was in it's prime so I couldn't pick up on some of the flaws and innocence of the younger characters, but now I can....my heart goes out to Carol when she's having boy trouble, I feel the pain of Mike when he's emabarrased at the Springstein concert with his Dad...the clothing and dialogue may be dated, but if you look past that you can truly see a classic ( and I loathe when people use the word "classic" loosely). This was made from it's own mold and was never duplicated...as the kids got older and new characters were added I think it went downhill, but to say that it ever jumped the shark is pushing it....to remember my high school years all I have to do is watch Growing Pains, a unique show with a cool cast of characters...
OK...after reading all of the above comments, I just want to say that to this day, I still Growing Pains. Loved the kids, loved the parents, love everything about it. I wish I had a family like that. If we all had families like this, maybe we wouldn't have all the problems we seem to have in the real world. But my vote is definately poor little Chrissy. Luke didn't bother me. They had something going with the 'maturing Mike' theme. They could have done the last season with a maturing Mike and the rest of the kids, but to add Chrissy and age her like they did was just insulting to viewers. Mike had to mature. It would have made no sense to have him be a punk forever. They did it with perfect timing. My beef was with Chrissy. She aged to like 7 in like one summer and viewers are supposed to just embrace her. Sorry, but it didn't work. The sad thing is that TV producers and writers still haven't learned their lesson. We will be subjected to many more TV shows for the rest of time where they add a new kid onto a show to breathe in new life, only to have the new kid sink the show. Growing Pains RULES!!!