When I first saw "Growing Pains" I referred to it disparagingly as "The White Cosby Show". In 1984, sitcoms were the junk food of the television diet. They lacked quality, and were relegated to the basement of the Nielsen ratings. Then, in 1984, NBC showed that a sitcom could be #1 in the ratings with "The Cosby Show". I greeted "Growing Pains", ABC's apparent attempt to cash in with a new family sitcom in 1985, with cynicism, and watched every week for them to drop the ball. I watched, in the beginning to see this show crash and burn, and was very surprised to find, in a few weeks that I liked it!
In a time before shows about dysfunctional families like "Married...With Children" and "Roseanne" (good shows in their own way) "Growing Pains" showed a reasonably functional family in a basically caring environment, Mike's constant put-downs of Carol being his way of handling the affection he felt for his sister but felt uncomfortable showing.
The members of this family liked each other, and their feelings were infectious. I liked being able to hang out with the Seaver family for half an hour every week, and daily when the syndicated reruns began. I haven't been able to see GP reruns in at least 4 years. When the twice-a-day reruns of "Seinfeld", "Friends", and "The Simpsons" begin to lose their steam, I hope "Growing Pains" is given another opportunity.
