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

[paul.austin]

People bash him for his hurtful, cruel and nutty behaviour which has little to do with the real Jesus.

Growing Pains hadn’t “run its Course” as there were full plans in 1992 to let Cameron go and start a sort of “Taggart” in that the title is still Growing Pains but it would be rebuilt around Luke, Ben and Chrissy.

[icecream]

Yeah right, there wouldn't have been plans to continue the show. ABC knew this would be the last season when they moved it to Saturdays along with the final season of Who's the Boss? Jeremy Miller's acting had gotten a lot worse in later seasons and Chrissy was never a good actress, a show centered around them would have been a disaster. And Leo wouldn't have wanted to continue with becoming a movie star. Growing Pains had run its course, exact number of seasons Family Ties got.

[factsoflife]

I don't think another season would have been feasible simply because the math doesn't work out to support it. Ratings had started to slip in the latter seasons, In season 5 (1989-1990), the series placed #21 for the season and netted 15.4 million viewers on average; by season 7 (1991-1992) it had slipped to #75 for the season and netted only 8.7 million viewers. On top of that, ABC likely would have had to renegotiate some of the cast contracts to somehow compensate for Kirk's newly aggressive/domineering behavior and to make up for Tracey Gold's likely continued absences to treat her health issues.

Plus by 1993-1994, there was a noticeable shift in the tone and format of many sitcoms, which moved away from the "Growing Pains" family friendly formula and towards the more edgy sitcoms like "Living Single" which debuted on Fox that season, or sophisticated sitcoms like "Frasier" that debuted on NBC that season. And by Fall of 1994, sitcoms like "Friends" would come to dominate the TV landscape; leaving "family friendly" sitcoms regulated to a smaller piece of the TV landscape, most notably on ABC's TGIF block of friday programming.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by factsoflife

I don't think another season would have been feasible simply because the math doesn't work out to support it. Ratings had started to slip in the latter seasons, In season 5 (1989-1990), the series placed #21 for the season and netted 15.4 million viewers on average; by season 7 (1991-1992) it had slipped to #75 for the season and netted only 8.7 million viewers. On top of that, ABC likely would have had to renegotiate some of the cast contracts to somehow compensate for Kirk's newly aggressive/domineering behavior and to make up for Tracey Gold's likely continued absences to treat her health issues.

Plus by 1993-1994, there was a noticeable shift in the tone and format of many sitcoms, which moved away from the "Growing Pains" family friendly formula and towards the more edgy sitcoms like "Living Single" which debuted on Fox that season, or sophisticated sitcoms like "Frasier" that debuted on NBC that season. And by Fall of 1994, sitcoms like "Friends" would come to dominate the TV landscape; leaving "family friendly" sitcoms regulated to a smaller piece of the TV landscape, most notably on ABC's TGIF block of friday programming.

Yeah, I just don't see how the could have continued the show when it had already dropped to #75.

[paul.austin]

The decision to cancel only came in the mid season break. At the beginning of the season, the production office was still hoping to salvage the show and rebuild it around DiCaprio. I never said it would work but it a fact they wished to try.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by 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.

Michael J. Fox by most accounts, was a team player (even during the height of his notoriety with Back to the Future) unlike Kirk Cameron in the later years of Growing Pains. In other words, there aren't too many stories surrounding MJF being uncooperative and only in it for himself during the production of Family Ties, when compared to Kirk and Growing Pains.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Yeah, I just don't see how the could have continued the show when it had already dropped to #75.

Well, we also have to keep in mind that ABC moved the show from its long time Tuesday night slot to Saturday nights. While Saturday nights weren't exactly considered an all out death slot like today, it was still a tremendous fall from grace. Really, the last big Saturday night prime-time network show that I can think of, was The Golden Girls, which incidentally, also went off the air in the same season.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by factsoflife

I don't think another season would have been feasible simply because the math doesn't work out to support it. Ratings had started to slip in the latter seasons, In season 5 (1989-1990), the series placed #21 for the season and netted 15.4 million viewers on average; by season 7 (1991-1992) it had slipped to #75 for the season and netted only 8.7 million viewers. On top of that, ABC likely would have had to renegotiate some of the cast contracts to somehow compensate for Kirk's newly aggressive/domineering behavior and to make up for Tracey Gold's likely continued absences to treat her health issues.

Plus by 1993-1994, there was a noticeable shift in the tone and format of many sitcoms, which moved away from the "Growing Pains" family friendly formula and towards the more edgy sitcoms like "Living Single" which debuted on Fox that season, or sophisticated sitcoms like "Frasier" that debuted on NBC that season. And by Fall of 1994, sitcoms like "Friends" would come to dominate the TV landscape; leaving "family friendly" sitcoms regulated to a smaller piece of the TV landscape, most notably on ABC's TGIF block of friday programming.

I've said numerous times that the shift may have started when sitcoms like Married...with Children, Roseanne, and The Simpsons came on the scene by the end of the '80s. Even though they were also domestic sitcoms/shows about nuclear families, they were decidedly more biting, gritty, cynical, and dysfunctional than the saccharine type of shows (e.g. The Cosby Show, Growing Pains, Family Ties, Full House, etc.) that we were getting up until that point.

Shows like Growing Pains by the the time that it went off the air in 1992, felt like an anachronism from a past life and time period. Heck, even ABC's own Dinosaurs, which came on the scene about a year before Growing Pains ended was a family show that had more of an edge and something important that it wanted to say without coming across as ham-fisted or overly preachy.

[Hawkee]

In my eyes why ABC decided to end Growing Pains in 1992 was simply because it was time for the show to end and Growing Pains had run it's course. But if Growing Pains had ran for a few more seasons instead of ending in 1992 the show would've gotten a new improved storyline and how I would've chose to end it would've been an episode that featured Mike graduating college and when he returns home he brings a special surprise and makes a special surprise announcement that he and his girlfriend from college are getting married and they all congratulate him and his girlfriend on their wedding. Then the finale would've ended with Mike and his now wife starting a new life in their new home and we would see Maggie Seaver working as a newscaster for the news and as for Jason Seaver he would've retired from being a doctor and Ben would've followed in his dad's footsteps and became a doctor as well. And Chrissy would've been a bright sassy teenager and Carol would be studying to become a journalist and work around the world. And that's how Growing Pains should've ended if it had more episodes. But why I think ABC made the Growing Pains movies was they were thinking of a possible reboot of the show but it never happened. But Alan Thicke was already making a huge success as a game show Comeback Kid with the shows Pictionary and The All New Three's A Crowd for GSN. But I wouldn't be surprised if a Growing Pains reboot appears in the future with all new actors and a new storyline
Bestie

[paul.austin]

I "love" that whoever did this "Season 8" title sequence included the clip where Tracey Gold, braless in a low cut top accidentally starts her b-reasts jiggling and clutches herself in embarressment!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlW7ky2g-EY