Could "Growing Pains' have realistically run a few more seasons

[TMC]

I've heard the suggestion that Kirk Cameron was more or less, the primary reason why Growing Pains ended after seven seasons in 1992. I think that everybody by now knows, that after he became a Born-Again Christian, he became incredibly difficult and uncompressing/uncooperative on set.

He got his on-screen girlfriend Julie McCollough fired because she was featured in Playboy, despite not even appearing topless at all. He also got Matthew Perry fired for being an "Agent of Satan".

He apparently even tried to pull the same stunt with the show's executive producers because he didn't agree to what he considered a vulgar joke. Since the executives refused to change the joke, Kirk tried to go over their heads and directly contacted then-CEO of ABC Bob Iger in order to force their hand, even calling the executive producers "Pornographers".

Ultimately, having to deal with his unreasonable demands and his forcing out other actors for not going his way, the executive producers decided that enough was enough. If you notice, in the last season, Dan Wilcox is listed as the executive producer instead of Mike Sullivan, Steve Marshall, and Dan Guntzelman.

[Novera]

Yeah I think he definitely had a role in tanking the show since he wanted Mike to be more honest and moral. The whole show is based on Mike being a bad boy, it's why girls in my class went nuts for him!

The other problem though, by 1991 80s sitcoms were starting to look really lame and cheesy compared to edgier 90s shows/humor.

[paul.austin]

Yeah. Kirk Cameron WAS and IS an "unprintable".

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Novera

Yeah I think he definitely had a role in tanking the show since he wanted Mike to be more honest and moral. The whole show is based on Mike being a bad boy, it's why girls in my class went nuts for him!

The other problem though, by 1991 80s sitcoms were starting to look really lame and cheesy compared to edgier 90s shows/humor.

I recently read this Nicki Swift article about why Jeremy Miller didn't do more high profile acting work besides Growing Pains and it stated that GP was in many ways, the definitive '80s family sitcom. It utilized that familiar formula of the era, which mixed equal parts corniness, sarcasm, and treacly sentimentality. Tastes however, naturally change over time and when GP went off the air in 1992, it was regarded as past its prime and really passé.

[RetroGuy2000]

I don't think Growing Pains could have continued for much longer. Kirk Cameron had already established a bad reputation with his on-set antics, and Tracey Gold was recovering from anorexia. They liely couldn't base the show around just Ben and Chrissy.

[Novera]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I don't think Growing Pains could have continued for much longer. Kirk Cameron had already established a bad reputation with his on-set antics, and Tracey Gold was recovering from anorexia. They liely couldn't base the show around just Ben and Chrissy.

Yeah it's strange how they all ended around the same time (Growing Pains, Cosby Show, Who's the boss...), but I guess that was a sign of the times!

It seems like family sitcoms died out after that unless they were something like Family Matters, where you had whacky antics like Urkel Robots by season 3. Any family sitcom at the time was either something outrageous (Married with children) or something over the top wholesome (7th Heaven, etc.)

It wasn't until Everybody Loves Raymond where there was a really HUGE family sitcom taking off. Even then, after a few episodes it wasn't like those 80s sitcoms with a static setup/delivery/payoff setup.

It always seemed like they wanted to do the opposite of what an 80s sitcom would do with the ending. Like when Ray rips up his superbowl tickets after his wife complains they aren't spending any time together. In an 80s sitcom she would cherish how much he loves her, but instead she gets angry because "Now I"ll always be known as the evil wife who stopped you from going to the SuperBowl"

[80s Dude]

Step by Step was a good family comedy without being syrupy or raunchy.

[Novera]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

Step by Step was a good family comedy without being syrupy or raunchy.

True, but it wasn't an "across the board" hit like Growing Pains, Cosby Show, Who's the boss etc.

I watched it every Friday as a kid/teen, but even my older brothers rolled their eyes at it and thought it was lame. My parents wouldn't even have a show like that on their radar.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Novera

True, but it wasn't an "across the board" hit like Growing Pains, Cosby Show, Who's the boss etc.

I watched it every Friday as a kid/teen, but even my older brothers rolled their eyes at it and thought it was lame. My parents wouldn't even have a show like that on their radar.

What's ironic is that Step by Step was produced by Miller-Boyett, who were likely the biggest purveyors of syrupy family comedies of the the era. They did produce Full House after-all.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Novera

Yeah I think he definitely had a role in tanking the show since he wanted Mike to be more honest and moral. The whole show is based on Mike being a bad boy, it's why girls in my class went nuts for him!

The other problem though, by 1991 80s sitcoms were starting to look really lame and cheesy compared to edgier 90s shows/humor.

I always felt that the arrivals of Married...with Children, Roseanne, and The Simpsons (which came out in 1987, '88, and '89 respectively) were the beginning of the end of of the '80s style sitcom. If you want to use a music analogy, you could argue that they were like Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and the ensuing grudge movement out of Seattle. And shows like Growing Pains, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, etc. were that era of television's equivalent to hair metal bands.

[paul.austin]

Kirk Cameron being let go if there had been a 1993 season would have been the right move given his nutty behavior, but Ashley Johnson (Christine/Chrissy) was only 9 and would be the only female main cast member left other than Kerns as Gold was having a battle with anorexia and would be gone too. That is a lot of pressure to put on a little lady like Ashley!

[Novera]

Originally Posted by paul.austin

Kirk Cameron being let go if there had been a 1993 season would have been the right move given his nutty behavior, but Ashley Johnson (Christine/Chrissy) was only 9 and would be the only female main cast member left other than Kerns as Gold was having a battle with anorexia and would be gone too. That is a lot of pressure to put on a little lady like Ashley!

Also rather than let her be a unique character, they instead thought "why don't we mix orphan Annie with Michele from Full House?" and it just didn't work. That's not a dig at Ashley herself, she was great in What Women Want, but the writing/direction for her character was just soooo bad.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Novera

Also rather than let her be a unique character, they instead thought "why don't we mix orphan Annie with Michele from Full House?" and it just didn't work. That's not a dig at Ashley herself, she was great in What Women Want, but the writing/direction for her character was just soooo bad.

Granted, I haven't had a chance or gotten around to see Growing Pains too much lately, since it doesn't seem to come on TV too much anymore. But from what I can remember and recall, Ashley Johnson as Chrissy Seaver was another one of those "child stars" from back in the day who were precocious to the point of being irritating and had an arsenal of rehearsed "cute" lines to dish out at appropriate times. It wasn't just her but also for example, the Olsen twins on Full House, Andrew Keaton on Family Ties, Sam in the later seasons of Diff'rent Strokes, and Raven-Symone on The Cosby Show.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Novera

Also rather than let her be a unique character, they instead thought "why don't we mix orphan Annie with Michele from Full House?" and it just didn't work. That's not a dig at Ashley herself, she was great in What Women Want, but the writing/direction for her character was just soooo bad.

It was like they were trying to make her into Shirley Temple.

[icecream]

Yet another thread bashing Kirk Cameron. Again, it is a lie his haters made up about him getting Julie fired, that was solely the producers' decision. And no, Growing Pains had run its course after 7 seasons just like Family Ties had run its course after 7 seasons. I don't see you starting a could Family Ties have continued without Michael J. Fox thread, just another excuse to bash a Christian actor you hate.