Spiderbite

Two comments made by two people. One being myself calling him a shithead and the other guy apologized if he offended anybody for his comment.

Ton of animosity in this thread. Haha.

Spiderbite

Fucking liberals! Always virtue signaling!

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...oid-trump.html

Obi-Wanma

Certainly not, but they cast her as the frumpy one for some reason. The blonde sister was supposed to be the other hot one. Don't remember her name though.

gmanca

RIP, thought I did see him in Growing Pains, I now think of him for the theme he made to his early 80s talk how, Thicke of the night.

https://youtu.be/rd_3jziC0HY

DJariya

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-...attack-w455999

Dr. Oz thinks that Thicke could have over exerted himself with his hockey workout, especially in colder weather, which may have led to the heart attack.

Josh-da-man

...and Dr. Oz went on to say he'd still be alive if he had consumed five gallons of rooibos tea before he went out to play hockey.

Paff

I was thinking today about his Growing Pains character. It wasn't as memorable as many other sitcom fathers, but that was because he made Jason Seaver real and not a caricature. But in one episode, his performance really stood out. It's more than 25 years since I saw it, but the basic plot was Mike, Boner, and some classmate went to the Seaver house to do a project (not to hassle Kirk Cameron more, but how weird is it that his Christian sensibilities allegedly conflicted with having a gorgeous co-star who happened to be a Playboy centerfold, but he was totally ok with his character having a best friend named "Boner"?). Anyway, it turns out that the other classmate was suicidal, and purposely chose to work with Mike and Boner in order to talk to Mike's psychiatrist dad. Watching the way Dr. Seaver (and Thicke's understated performance) pick up on the subtle clues really was pretty emotional. Will any channels be doing a Growing Pains marathon this weekend? I'd like to see some episodes, since I haven't visited that show in more than two decades..

JZ1276

I remember that episode, & I agree he was very good in it & that one always stood out. I do disagree with your first statement though, I'd rank him in my top 3 sitcom dads (and I'm not just saying that because he's dead lol)

Spiderbite

Top 3 is pretty high. That would make a good thread.

My top 3 sitcom Dads are easy:

1. Ward Cleaver of Leave It To Beaver: just an awesome Dad all the way. Don't believe me, go back and re-watch a lot of those episodes. Charming, funny, understanding, angry...he was everything. Very realistic portrayal of a Dad who doesn't have to whip his kids in a kid-whipping time. I have never understood why Leave It To Beaver gets dumped in those "unrealistic nuclear family portrayals." LITB was far different from Ozzie & Harriet, Father Knows Best, etc.

2. Mr. Cunningham of Happy Days: A little cantankerous at times but he always gave great advice. He just seemed so hugable.

3. Steven Keaton of Family Ties: They wrote the character a little too airheaded as the show went on but damn he was funny.

Runner-up - Mike Brady of The Brady Bunch: Perm or no perm, he was always there for the kids and never chose his own boys over the girls he adopted. Totally fair and always understanding.

Best TV show Dad of ALL TIME (since the above were all sitcoms) goes to Lucas McCain of The Rifleman. If you have seen just one episode of The Rifleman, you know why.

mwbmis

Tuesdays at 8:30/7:30 after Who's the Boss.

GuessWho

I'd like to re-see that.

The "very special episode" I remember best is when Carol's boyfriend Sandy--played by Matthew Perry--was killed by a drunken driver.

Fun fact, Boner's real-life dad was Chekov from Star Trek

movieguru

I believe it was her boyfriend Sandy who was the drunk driver. Tracey Gold should have learned some lessons from this episode as she has been arrested several times since for drunk driving.

stopgap

No love for Al Bundy spider?

LaxBandit

Wendy played by Brooke Thesis - whose major roles was 6 episodes of Good vs Evil (1991) - 13 episodes of Home Free (1992) and 9 episodes of the orginial Beverly Hills 90210 in the years 1993-1995. Like her TV sister Marie (Heather Langenkamp - who was star of the Nightmare On Elm Street movies) - she appeared in one of them - A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.

movieguru

Oddly another one of the sister was also part of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Joannne Willette starred in Nightmare on Elm Street 2.

Paff

Yup. The boyfriend was the drunk driver. One of the most talked-about "very special episodes" in TV, along with the "Sylvia" episode of Little House on the Prairie, and of course the Diff'rent Strokes episode where Mr. Carlson from WKRP attempts to molest Arnold. The Growing Pains VSE was a real gut-punch, as Carol went to visit him in the hospital and he seemed fine but later died of internal hemorrhaging. Tracey Gold really sold it too, great bit of acting on her part.

Even when not doing a VSE, Growing Pains always addressed social issues. I remember the one where Mike had a graveyard shift job at a 24-hour convenience store, much to his mom's dismay. He asked for a better shift, and was given it, at the expense of the minority employees (who had more seniority). Long before "white privilege" had a name, the topic was tackled. Jason was aghast at Mike receiving preferential treatment, but the real dilemma was shown by Maggie. She also found it objectionable, but was willing to accept it rather than have Mike work the dangerous overnight shift.

astrochimp

Good list.

I'd add Jack Arnold from The Wonder Years.

Talk about cantankerous, but still was there when needed.

He was more like the dads I knew, including my own.

DWilson

The Food Network is running yet another "Chopped" tournament, with quartets of "stars" of sports, comedy, and the internet competing against each other for charity. Round Four (premiering this week) is "Actors", and Alan Thicke is a contestant, which makes it a little downbeat.

Sonic

I always saw him as a cool and kind actor especially in Growing Pains.