I am a 34 year old "Family" fanatic! It was my fifth birthday (March 9th, 1976) when "Family" first aired. My mother and grandmother would watch it occasionally and I, in turn, got hooked. I think because I came from a broken home, was an only child, and had a mother who was married numerous times, and an alcoholic and drug-addict to boot, I bonded with the Lawrence's, and especially Kate, via the tube.
In the mid-eighties "Family" re-runs were aired at 2:00 in the morning on a Canadian station, and being a teen insomniac, I'd watch it every week-night and even tape each episode for posterity. I still have some of those tapes!
My favourite episode is probably the pilot. It was much darker and bittersweet than the later episodes, especially the 1979 and 1980 seasons. The theme song was different, too: sad, melancholy. I loved the episodes with Season Hubley as Willy's troubled girlfriend, and the episode titled "The Sleeping Gypsey" with Dina Manoff as Buddy's free-spirited and artsy friend.
Another favourite is the episode where Kate discovers she is pregnant and spends the episode coming to terms with this late-in-life surprise only to miscarry. It's really gut-wrenching.
Some personal anecdotes: I did my senior year-long independent study in English class on Henry David Thoreau just because Kate quoted him when she was trying to get Buddy to understand "Mara's" (Dina Manoff)
non-conforming ways:
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far-away. "
And I guess this is testament to how different "Family" was from any other television show at the time; it was as literate as "Charlie's Angels" was vapid.
Another anecdote: when I was seventeen or so, and my mother was at the height of her addictions, she read my diary and discovered that I had actually confided that I wished Kate and Doug Lawrence were my real parents! During one of Mum's drug-induced tirades she lashed out at me and sarcastically apologized for not being "THE MOTHER ON FAMILY!!"
One episode that I only viewed once and which alluded to a troubled relationship between Kate and her mother "Hattie" made a big impression on me, but for the life of me, I can't remember why Kate was so hard on her mom. Does anyone out there remember what the issues were there?
And before I sign out, is anyone out there as big a fan of the show as I am and know the floor plans of 1230 Holland Street like I do? Pathetic, I know. (I actually used to doodle the big, blue house on my binders in high school) I've often said if I came into a large sum of money I would have an architect design and build that house right down to the most infinitesimally (spelling?) small detail!
In closing, I just have to say that I find it astounding that this site exists and that I am not the only "Family" freak out there! I could go on and on about the virtues and talents of Kristy McNichol, James Broderick, and Gary Frank, but that will have to wait 'til another time.
And Sada Thompson, if you ever read this, just know that Kate Lawrence saved my young life. I held on through years of mental anguish and every kind of abuse you could imagine telling myself that someday I would be as strong and gentle a woman as Kate herself. Was I dangerously close to blurring the line between fantasy and reality? Doesn't matter. I got through it all, and in this case the ends justifies the means. Bet ya didn't know a TV role could have such an impact on a young viewer, huh?
--Annie Laurie
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