Back in the day before Kirk Cameron was afraid of being "Left Behind", I faithfully watched Jason, Maggie, Mike, Carol, and Ben (and later Chrissy, too) get in and out of predicaments that could always be solved in a half an hour and end with a group hug. Growing Pains was my favorite show and I never missed an episode. I, like millions of little girls, had a crush on Kirk
Cameron and read every Tiger Beat and Bop! magazine that his crooked grin could be found in.I like the character of Carol because she was smart. Yeah, she was whiny a lot, but I was always the smart girl in school so I understood who she was. The fact that she got to date the hunky football player who was dumber than a box of hammers gave me hope for the future. Alas, I never dated a football player (probably because my school didn't have football...) but then again that means my make believe football boyfriend also didn't die from internal injuries suffered from a car accident, either.
A few years ago, I watched the Growing Pains movie when Maggie was running for congress. It was just strange to see the kids as adults, but it was a pretty well done script with the characters staying mostly true to who they were during the series. Of course, Mike was now a responsible family man, but aren't most of those mischievous suburban high school boys from the 80s?
I was also excited to watch the E! True Hollywood Story about the Growing Pains crew. All of the juicy backstage gossip was highlighted. It was great to hear the stories behind the presumed off screen romance of Joanna Kearns and Alan Thicke, Tracy Gold's anorexia, Kirk Cameron's finding God and his future wife Chelsea Noble, Jeremy Miller's stalker, Julie McCullough getting kicked off the show because of her Playboy spread, and the eventual addition of Ashley Johnson and Leonardo DiCaprio to the family in order to try and save the show from cancellation. Alas, it was not to be, and the show sadly ended its run and left a gaping hole in my television viewing schedule.
Thank goodness for syndication!
Answer: Seaver
