DVD Review: Growing Pains: Season 1

Meet the Seavers in this hilariously successful late eighties sit-com about a family of five living out on Long Island. Maggie has recently rejoined the workforce as a journalist, leaving Jason, a psychiatrist, to juggle his responsibilities to his patients and his three kids by working from home. Mike’s the oldest and possibly the most difficult to handle! Whether it’s for girls, dirt bikes or The Boss, Mike uses his charming smile to finagle his way into trouble. The youngest, Ben, tries to tag along with his big brother learning to be a little con-artist in his own right. And amid the chaos, Carol, the middle child, tries to keep her head on straight and maintain her straight-A status at school. Join the Seavers as they experience the growing pains of family life, including a few disputes sprinkled in among lots of love and laughter.

Review:
Growing Pains is without a doubt one of the most memorable family sitcoms of the 80’s and early 90’s. While some caught the show during its original airing on ABC, others caught it on syndication on the Disney Channel, and more recently fans could catch it on ABC Family. But nothing compares to having this show finally released on dvd, so that a whole new generation can experience the show starting with season one.

The show centered itself around the Seaver family, with the parents Maggie and Jason Seaver, and the children Mike, Carol, and Ben. In later seasons, we would see other characters brought in like the adorable little sister Chrissy and Luke who was the homeless child that the Seaver’s adopted, played by the ever-so talented and equally as attractive Leonardo DiCarpio.

The show was extremely cute, but fans can’t deny that it was also a bit cheesy. However, all the great shows of this era such as ‘Full House’ and ‘Charles in Charge’ and even further on including series like ‘Saved by the Bell’ and ‘Boy Meets World’ had that cheesy element to them as well. It’s part of what made them so entertaining and so fresh to watch. You truly don’t see series like this today, there is a great deal of sex and violence on network television, so it’s nice to take a break and look back on some good clean family shows.

While there was considerable drama going on behind the scenes, you would never be able to tell it on screen, the acting is superb and the storylines are entertaining. These dvds are a must have for any child of the 80’s, and better yet, for anyone who didn’t grow up in the 80’s and missed out on the series.

Review by Emma Loggins

Grade: B+
Official site: http://warnervideo.com/growingpains
Buy on Amazon: Growing Pains: Season 1