Man, Kirk Cameron really damaged the show (from the E! True Hollywood Story)

[Mcfly]

Wow, did he really cause trouble. Sad for me to see, cuz I enjoyed Mike so much, now I'll always look at him (and Cameron) so different. As Thicke said, a religious awakening is supposed to make you a better person, not turn you into a goody-goody/power hungry jerk. Trying to make every storyline G-rated, calling your producers "pornographers" (which resulted in their subsequent resignation, having had enough of his antics), but the worst off all...finding out years later...

THAT HE WAS THE ONE WHO HAD JULIE KICKED OFF!! NOOOOO!!! YOU CRAZY DORK!

I thought maybe a jealous FEMALE like Kerns or Gold. Or maaaaaaaybe Thicke, who felt Julie was getting too much attention. BUT NO! It was good boy Cameron feeling a former Playmate would ruin his or the show's image. Hopefully he's grown up and gives his kids the respect that he lacked toward others. Sheesh.


[This message has been edited by Mcfly (edited 08-20-2001).]

[Ishqs]

I think it's good that he cared enough to bring morality back to television.

[TVaddict]

Yeah, I couldn't believe what a jerk he was. Now, it's one thing to try to have moral standards on television, but it's definitely another thing to tell the head of ABC that your executive producers are pornographers when they aren't. And not inviting the cast to his wedding and not even telling them why? That's just rude.

[Mcfly]

Ishqs: Sorry, there's no way I can agree. There's having morals, and then there's going OVERBOARD.

Tv Addict: Exactly!

[Ishqs]

Well, I agree that calling them "pornographers" might be a little overboard, but at the same time it seems that some of the things we take for granted as being "normal sitcom humor" could be more damaging...for example, the fat jokes on Carol and its effect on Tracey Gold.

I totally agree. I think it was wrong for him to do that but also I'm not going to hate him for it. He seemed much more mature now and I still love his charactor and always will.

[angel676]

What trouble or damage did Kirk Cameron
cause for the show?

[Mcfly]

Angel, read my post above.

[tmacsrockets]

If he never liked her, then why get to the point where he proposed on the cruise boat? I remember watching it in 1989 just wondering how it was going to start back up once the summer was over. I still have the episode so vivid in my mind. It made me stop watching it afterwards until years later where I saw re-runs.

[MacLeaper]

It's amazing to me that this seems to always be the topic most brought up with "Growing Pains". Somewhere during the course of the show's run, Kirk Cameron accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and from there, he definitely was a different person. Well, amen! That's what Jesus does in people's lives.
And all of a sudden, there were things happening on the show that didn't mesh with what Kirk knew the Bible says and so he was careful to avoid any appearance of evil, as 1 Thessalonians 5:22 commands. And yes, he went through a phase of being a zealot and sort of went on a witchhunt. Yes, modeling nude for Playboy is definitely not a good thing. Pornography is bad too (whether or not the producers were actually involved in it is besides the point here.) But Kirk still dealt with evil as much as anyone else. And that's just the point with Christianity- all of us are evil from birth. The wrong we do separates us from God and that is why God sent Christ to die on the cross and rise again from the dead to pay for our sins and provide salvation for us.
As Christians, we are nothing more than forgiven sinners. But Christians still falter too. And Kirk was a very new Christian at this point, eager to do what's right and becoming a little Pharisical in the process.
And regarding his wedding, I don't know why he didn't invite his castmates. I guess he had his reasons. Maybe he and his wife just wanted a very private affair and they didn't really have an obligation to invite coworkers necessarily. I agree that it would have been a nice gesture, but like I said- I don't know what the deal was with that.
But the point was, I think Kirk Cameron helped ensure that "Growing Pains" was promoting good moral values for families. I know some storylines involving Mike doing things with girls that he shouldn't be doing unless he was married to them- some of those things I've heard Kirk helped ensure they stayed away from.
It's one thing to present Mike with temptation to commit adultery but why does the male lead always have to be seen giving in to temptation? That's seen commonly enough on sitcoms today as well as in earlier times. (I still don't like the fact that Alex P. Keaton on "Family Ties" had premarital sex in one of the first few episodes.) It's nice to see a man strong enough to stay true to his values and stay true to God's Word and wait to have sex in the context of holy matrimony with his wife. That's the kind of message that shows should be teaching.
At the same time, if a character is shown giving in to this vice, then it's good to have an example where we see some consequences (which doesn't necessarily mean that the girl gets pregnant and we have a teenage father all of a sudden)- but it's good to see some acknowledgement that adultery is wrong- but that doesn't mean it's the worst sin ever. God can still forgive you for that and so should other Christians when you truly repent from it. (Just read 2 Samuel 11-12 and Psalms 51 to see how King David fell to this temptation and yet repented and though he suffered consequences, God still forgave him and still called him "a man after God's own heart".)
What it came down to for Kirk is that he was forgetting 1 Corinthians 13. You gotta have love in everything you do. The Bible says to "speak the truth in love". So while you should stand up for what's right, you should do it in a loving way.
If you watch the reunion special feature on the "Growing Pains" Season 1 DVD set, they address this issue. The cast has also addressed it in appearances on The Larry King Show, I believe it was. Kirk Cameron has admitted that he was overzealous and has apologized to his castmates and they've forgiven him. So it's really a non-issue now. Enjoy the show for what it is- and it still is a fun ride all the way through from Seasons 1 through 7 and the 2 reunion TV-movies and overall, it's a good fun clean show and I appreciate that.
And I praise God that Kirk Cameron came to know Christ as his Savior and that he remains committed to living for Him each day and telling others about Him.

[TMC]

The problem with Kirk Cameron is that he clearly had an "I'm Better Than You Are" complex. He tried to force fed his way of thinking/lifestyle onto his co-workers at the detriment of the show. Frankly, he was a totally unprofessional control freak and a cancer. I mean, can't you segregate your personal beliefs with the way you're character is written? For example, Anthony Hopkins played a cannibalistic, serial killer in Hannibal Lector. But does that mean that we should truly think that he's really like that in real life?

[Syndication]

I remember being 8 or 9 and realizing that this show was starting to suck. Looking back it centered around the fact that Mike was no longer a funny conman and I had a crush on Julie so that didn't help either. The show became better when Ben became a teenager but by then it had lost momentum so yes he DID damage the show greatly. The ratings reflected it as well

[MacLeaper]

I mean, can't you segregate your personal beliefs with the way you're character is written? For example, Anthony Hopkins played a cannibalistic, serial killer in Hannibal Lector. But does that mean that we should truly think that he's really like that in real life?

That's an interesting point you raise. And on a deep level, no I really don't think personal beliefs can be segregated from actions. Personal beliefs are what inform actions. (whether they influence actions accordingly or are ignored). I understand that Anthony Hopkins is not a cannibalistic serial killer in real life- at least I certainly hope he isn't. Of course, he also portrayed a Christian writer and apologist, C.S. Lewis and I would hope that means Hopkins is a Christian, but I can't say that for sure either.
The difference for Christians in this regard is that while it is all acting, you're still doing the actions. Because frankly I do wonder at people that I know have professed to be Christians but don't seem to have an issue with swearing. It may just be for a role in a production, but it's still using words that I would never normally use and that I know God says are wrong. It's the same with portraying scenes of adultery, murder, lying or anything else God says is wrong. It can be a tricky line for Christian actors seeking to honor Christ.

I remember being 8 or 9 and realizing that this show was starting to suck. Looking back it centered around the fact that Mike was no longer a funny conman and I had a crush on Julie so that didn't help either. The show became better when Ben became a teenager but by then it had lost momentum so yes he DID damage the show greatly. The ratings reflected it as well

I get what you're saying about that. I think Mike remained funny throughout the series, but his character definitely changed to be a more positive role model, which was commendable, but at the same time, he wasn't quite the same conniving guy as before and that was one of the main funny factors of the show. In any case, I'm generally a completist anyway, so I enjoy the show through all the seasons. You might enjoy an episode from the 7th. Season- "Don't Go Changin'", which kind of addresses some of these points. I think it was also Eddie's last appearance on the show and it showcases his friendship with Mike. I thought it was a really sweet episode.

[megamanj2004]

Like another poster said it's one thing to change your life and believe in Christanity but to alienate your fellow cast members with religious beliefs by shoving them down their throats and calling producers "pornographers" (which is really untrue in this case), that's going too far.

Supposedly his little sister is somewhat now starting to get as bad as her brother is a bit.

[MacLeaper]

Supposedly his little sister is somewhat now starting to get as bad as her brother is a bit.

Candace Cameron Bure has accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior, if that's what you mean. I don't know that she's been busy shoving her beliefs down anyone's throat or anything though. That's a funny idiom though that can be rather hard to define, as it seems different people have different definitions of that.

Like another poster said it's one thing to change your life and believe in Christanity but to alienate your fellow cast members with religious beliefs by shoving them down their throats and calling producers "pornographers" (which is really untrue in this case), that's going too far.

And as I said in an earlier post, Kirk Cameron has since admitted that he did become overzealous when he first asked Jesus to be his Savior- a mistake that many new Christians fall into. All of sudden, the entire universe is different and through a relationship with Christ, you see things from His standard and His point of view as He reveals in His Word- The Holy Bible.
And with an eagerness and excitement for his newfound salvation in Christ, Kirk plunged forward and made some unfair accusations, that I'm not entirely sure of the validity of [but from what I've heard it sounds like it was not true or at least much exaggerated]. And being the star of the show, he definitely had sway and pull on the direction of the show and he was very concerned that the show portray a good and Godly image and provide children and families watching with a positive message and positive role models - something that television seems to be sorely lacking today, in my opinion. So I don't think that's a bad goal- it's a very noble goal, in fact. However, though the producers and writers and cast did try to work with him as best they could, (and I think some people involved may have wound up leaving or perhaps they were fired- I'm not sure of all the specifics right now) I can understand how Kirk may have alienated some people though that was not his intention.
But as he and the main cast have said in an interview on Larry King Live and on the Season 1 DVD cast reunion special, this issue has been addressed by them and Kirk has apologized to them all and they have forgiven him and moved on from this issue. I really think fans of Growing Pains should too.