1970's tv show Family - Page 2

marcSo · 07-13-2006, 10:31 AM

other than kristy mcnichol and meredith baxter birney. I don't remember seeing the other 3 actors that much after Family left the air. speaking of sada thompson.james broderick and gary frank.

JeffWld · 07-13-2006, 12:01 PM

Sada Thompson made guest appearances on a number of prime-time series as well as returning to do work on Boradway. James Broderick died 2 years after the show ended. Gary Frank continued to do various guest shots and still appears periodically in TV and theatrical films.

David Von Pein · 09-10-2006, 05:44 AM

I just finished watching the Pilot episode of "Family" (by way of the very nice 6-Disc DVD set that came out on 09/05/2006). I've seen many of these episodes previously, but I don't recall ever having seen the Pilot program, which co-stars Elayne Heilveil in the part of "Nancy".

The Pilot episode for "Family" is simply fabulous, as it does a perfect job of introducing us to the Lawrence "family". I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this Pilot. Everybody in the cast, from Sada Thompson right on down the line, is just perfect.

DVD video quality looks mighty good too.

Some "Did You Know?" trivia for this TV show --- I was surprised to learn that some of the original music for "Family" was created by Pete Rugolo and John Rubinstein. (Rubinstein played Nancy's husband in various episodes throughout the series; while Rugolo is probably best known for the music he created for "The Fugitive".)

Also: Joanne Woodward directed at least one "Family" episode. I hadn't realized that tidbit of information either.

Jeff Willis · 09-10-2006, 06:57 AM

Thanks, David for the early info on this one. Mine's in the mail. It was a favorite of mine in the 70's. I didn't know that trivia stuff either. I don't remember the pilot but I think I saw it when it aired. Should bring back the memory when I watch the DVD.

David Von Pein · 09-10-2006, 07:33 AM

Quote:

I don't remember the pilot, but I think I saw it when it aired. Should bring back the memory when I watch the DVD.

I thought I had probably seen the Pilot at some time, but when watching the DVD, nothing about it rang any "I've Seen This" bells at all. It was, therefore, a brand-new episode for me. Darn good too.

A fuller review can be found here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-...A1FDW1SPYKB354

Aryn Leroux · 09-10-2006, 11:09 AM

Quote:

I've seen many of these episodes previously, but I don't recall ever having seen the Pilot program, which co-stars Elayne Heilveil in the part of "Nancy".

Yea Elayne plays nancy in the pilot and the 5 season one episodes. Meredith didn't show up till season 2. I have been watching the set for about a week now just a all around fantastic show.

Mike Frezon · 09-10-2006, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David VP

Some "Did You Know?" trivia for this TV show --- I was surprised to learn that some of the original music for "Family" was created by Pete Rugolo and John Rubinstein. (Rubinstein played Nancy's husband in various episodes throughout the series; while Rugolo is probably best known for the music he created for "The Fugitive".)

Hey Dave...

Rubinstein has quite a pedigree. The son of reknown pianist Arthur Rubinstein, John appeared in many important theatrical productions along with his TV & film work. He originated the role of Pippin (for which he won the Theater World Award)and he also won a Tony for Children of a Lesser God. He also appeared in Ragtime, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along.

Besides the music for Family, Rubinstein also wrote the theme to China Beach.

I had forgotten he was in Family. He was all over TV in the 70s and 80s.

VERY glad to hear the quality of the set is good. Hope this one's sales keep the seasons coming.

Rubinstein is the tall guy in the back!

Elena S · 09-10-2006, 10:48 PM

Watching this show again just reinforced what a wonderful show it was. The writing and acting were stellar. This time around I was most impressed with Kristy McNichol's portrayal of Buddy and with how much sibling chemistry she had with Gary Frank as brother Willie. Kristy truly was a gifted child actress, something I didn't realize the first time around (when I was too young to recognize such a thing). So glad, though, that they replaced Elayne with Meredith. I think she made a far better Nancy.

Jeff Willis · 09-11-2006, 10:17 AM

Can anyone confirm that this set is an un-cut (video scenes) set? I'm guessing that it is but I was curious.

Michael Alden · 09-14-2006, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Willis

Can anyone confirm that this set is an un-cut (video scenes) set? I'm guessing that it is but I was curious.

I just watched the pilot this morning and yes, it is complete and uncut, coming in at roughly 50 minutes. I haven't watched this show in a long time and I'm anxious to see more of them. I tell you, the thing that I find most enjoyable about shows like this compared to the stuff now, is not the lack of camera tricks, not the lack of idiotic pop culture references, but the absence of god awful treacly pop songs. It is so nice to be able to watch a program with a nicely written underscore instead of hearing these awful modern pop tunes.

Aryn Leroux · 09-17-2006, 01:09 AM

Yes they are definately uncut except i question one i watched today. The runtime was only 44 change compared to the 48 minutes. The name of the episode slips my mind but you will see when you watch it. Also for the first time the christmas episode started with a preview of the episode. That was the first one like that so far, the rest have started with the opening credits.

I probably said this allready but this show holds up very well and i think it is great. Sure a few things are outdated but even still they turn out well done storylines. Thank god there is no laugh track in here like they stuck in Eight is Enough for whatever reason. Hopefully we will see that released in the not to distant future though.

Michael Alden · 09-17-2006, 01:48 AM

I would also like to see eight is enough, although with that being a Warner show I don't think it's likely. Sony seems to be the only company willing to take a chance with lower profile series.