The Hogan Family

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The Hogan Family
The original cast of The Hogan Family.
Genre	Sitcom
Creator(s)	Charlie Hauck
Starring	Valerie Harper (1986-1987) as Valerie Hogan Sandy Duncan (1987-1991) as Sandy Hogan Josh Taylor as Michael Hogan Jason Bateman as David Hogan Danny Ponce as Willie Hogan Jeremy Licht as Mark Hogan Edie McClurg as Patty Poole Christine Ebersole (1986) as Barbara Goodwin Judith Kahan (1986-1987) as Annie Steck Tom Hodges as Rich Steve Witting as Burt John Hillerman (1990-1991) as Lloyd Hogan Angela Lee (1990-1991) as Brenda Walker
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	110
Production
Executive producer(s)	Charlie Hauck (1986-1987) Thomas L. Miller Robert L. Boyett
Running time	30 minutes (with commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC CBS
Original run	March 1, 1986 – July 20, 1991

The Hogan Family was an American television situation comedy that aired from March 1, 1986 to July 20, 1991.

Contents 1 Valerie 2 Valerie's Family 3 The Hogan Family 4 Syndication 5 Theme song 6 Production 7 Notable episodes 7.1 "Very special episodes" 8 External links

[edit] Valerie

Early in the series' life, the show was known as Valerie, and its stories revolved around show's star, Valerie Harper. She played Valerie, the matriarch of the Hogan family, who struggled with everyday family problems while her husband, Michael (Josh Taylor), was an airline pilot who was seldom around (in the early seasons). Other stars included Jason Bateman as her eldest, girl-crazy son, David and Danny Ponce and Jeremy Licht as her fraternal twin sons, Willie and Mark (Mark was the brainy one, Willie the irresponsible one).

In 1987, during the summer taping hiatus, Harper had a falling out with the show's producers. Valerie Harper believed that she should exercise greater creative control over the series which bore her name, while the producers bitterly disagreed. Harper was dismissed and her character was written out of the show by being killed in an automobile accident. NBC explained that the series would take on difficult issues facing the family during the grieving process.

[edit] Valerie's Family

When the 1987-1988 season premiere aired, the show was retitled Valerie's Family. Taking Valerie's place in the household was Sandy Duncan as Michael's divorced sister, Sandy (she took a job as a guidance counselor at the high school where the boys attended). Later, the network dropped Valerie's name from the title completely, partially to avoid further legal issues involved in continuing to use the original star's name and partially to move on from the very public and sensational attention being drawn to her dismissal.

[edit] The Hogan Family

The series was retitled The Hogan Family in June 1988.

NBC's decision to continue the series despite the departure of Valerie Harper was considered shocking at the time, with much speculation as to whether this would be a good move. Indeed, it turned out a success for the show which continued its run on the network for several more years until declining ratings led NBC to pull the plug on the series.

In 1990, after NBC informed the producers that it would cancel the series, CBS picked it up, marking one of the rare instances of a series jumping networks. The final season also featured Michael and Sandy's father, Lloyd (John Hillerman) moving in with the family.

[edit] Syndication

ABC Family currently holds the U.S. syndication rights, and began airing the series twice daily in September 2006 in the 8 a.m. weekday time slot. This lasted for several weeks until the series was taken off the air and replaced with syndicated airings of Boy Meets World. It currently does not appear on any U.S. network.

[edit] Theme song

The show's theme song, "Through the Years", was sung by Roberta Flack and composed by Charles Fox.

[edit] Production

The show was produced by Miller-Boyett Productions in association with Lorimar-Telepictures (1986-1988); Lorimar Television (1988-1991).

[edit] Notable episodes

During its five and a half-year run, "The Hogan Family" was known to poke fun at sitcom clichés, such as defying the "happy ending in 30 minutes" ending. In that episode, Willie causes a hit-and-run accident and says nothing when David is blamed. Willie, it seems, is obsessed with a "Leave it to Beaver"-knockoff sitcom, which frequently used the "happy ending" plot device. David suspects Willie is guilty and, after finding proof, confronts him, but Willie denies his involvement. Later, he sees a positive resolution to his predicament played out in a fantasy sequence (Valerie gave Willie a brief lecture about lying, then let him go to a much-anticipated party), making him reason he has nothing to lose. Willie admits what happened, but the "real life" ending is much different – Valerie becomes very angry and tells him he may have damaged a lot more than just a car, specifically, her trust. She then tells Willie that the lecture will continue after she apologizes to David.

[edit] "Very special episodes"

There were several serious episodes, however, including:

• David and a former girlfriend renew their relationship. Shortly thereafter, they decide to sleep together, then reverse themselves when they realize they are not ready for the accompanying responsibility. The episode sub-titled "Bad Timing" addresses birth control and the first prime-time use of the word "condom". Parental discretion warnings were issued in ads for the episode.
• Shortly after Valerie's death, the house catches fire (an electrical short in a lamp stored in the attic), rekindling the family's grief over Valerie.
• When David jeopardized a long-standing friendship with his friend, Rich (Tom Hodges) by refusing to let him drive home from a party while drunk.
• In the series finale, when David learns Rich had contracted AIDS.

[edit] External links

• The Hogan Family at the Internet Movie Database
• The Hogan Family at TV.com
• The Hogan Family at Sitcom Online
• Jump The Shark - The Hogan Family