Sada Thompson was a lot like my late mother. Intelligent, compassionate, and witty. I remember fondly watching this show when I was growing up in the 1970's with my mom. This show was so well written and acted. A real quality gem. Loved it!!
I live about 3 blocks from the house they used for their family home. I was in HS in the late 70s and remember them filming here. I know almost all of these South Pasadena, Pasadena locations. This show is now somewhat of a time capsule for me.
I loved this show growing up in in the late 70s in my home country of Venezuela. A few years ago I was in California and got a chance to see the house. What a thrill that was.
@@lisatrautner9426 I didnt go inside, just took pics of the outside from the street. I also wonder if the inside of the real home is the same as what we saw in the show. Probably not.
I grew up around the corner and used to watch them film. I was in elementary/jr high then. I miss the old library and can't figure out why they ever demolished and redid it.
@@lisatrautner9426 Yes it is. My brother was a classmate of one of the kids that actually lived in it. I was in the house once, the front room, and it was the same. We used to watch them film the show.
Why are there no more programs for inculcating caring and decency? This is and remains a beautiful program giving those of us from dysfunctional families a glimpse of the opposite side and how to navigate forward
Very true!! We all do not know fully what will happen next. We take it one day at a time. We live in a scary world. Our futures are uncertain. I see your statement is from 9 months ago. A lot has transpired. Normalcy is the best medicine. I look forward to it.
This show tackled some very controversial topics that were hush-hush during that time. I love this show and I am enjoying being transported back in time. Thank you for the uploads.☺️
This episode epitomizes how great, forward thinking and precedent-breaking this show was. It tackled very serious social issues at a time when most shows were mindless comedies. I'm so grateful that these episodes are once again available for all to see. Soon it will fifty years. Incredible.
All in the family, Eight is Enough, Family some 1970’s shows had substance. Remember Lou Grant, the Paper Chase and Police Story. The 1970’shad good shows
Thank you for posting and sharing. I've always loved this show. Sada Thompson was amazing as Kate. They tackled so many topical issues such as in this episode. They didn't shy away from points of view either. Miss the 70s too.
Nancy is always leaving Timmy alone in the guest cottage while she goes over to her parents house. She also leaves Timmy in his playpen in the yard & goes into the house with no one watching the child.
Different time back then..if u didn't live in that era you wouldn't understand We also didn't have child car seats,Drs smoked in their offices. We played outside without worrying someone would abduct us.
@@lisaperry5999 I know, I'm old enough to remember all that but even then & before that time there were child abductions, kidnappings & murder. I would never leave my door open even in the 1960s or 1970s & in the 1980s I surely wouldn't leave my child in a playpen alone on lawn outside or in my house with an open door while I pop into my parents house which was on the same property.
I agree that those are things that should not be done, but it was a different time back then. Child abductions were not as common back then as they now are. My parents told me stories about there were no car seats in vehicles, kids were free to roam around as they pleased, and hell, one that they told me that shocked me was that children could go to the store and buy cigarettes for their parents. All that has now changed. I didn't really grow up in the 1970s as I was only born in 1977. But I remember how things were still really different than they are now being a child that grew up in the 1980s.
Such a classy woman. Reminds me of my mom being classy it’s sad to say women don’t act like this nowadays. These are the kind of women to emulate not what we see nowadays.
This was one of the more serious episodes and I am sure the cast felt the same having a script on this subject.I applaud the writers to work the issue of child abuse into this Thanksgiving episode and to make aware that neighbors & friends must come forward to break the chains of the abuse. Fear is a horrible chain burdened by the mother's who know it is horribly wrong, and yet so filled with fear they freeze and feel helpless. I pray there comes a day no child ever has a object or a hand layed upon their bodies, and please remember, verbal abuse is just as hideous. This was a powerful episode.
It's great not to see cells, computers ,tablets, ipods it's nice to see social communication , dialogue people talking to each other in 2020 no one talks anymore its terrible 😕😕😕
Loved this show as a kid and it's still relevant today. On a side note, the boy playing Nikki also played the boy who panned for gold with Laura on Little House on the Prairie.
These shows talking about abuse were so important in an era when it was a shameful thing to talk about just like molestation..good episode......amazing when you could say a pray at the table on tv.....
I have yet to watch this episode, but some shows were really good at highlighting difficult issues. I remember "Diffrent Strokes" did an episode entitled "The Bicycle Man" and I think that it was the first time that I saw a TV programme about that particular issue.
Kudos to Barbara Elaine Smith who wrote this episode. Kate’s scene with Erica at the end and Doug’s Thanksgiving prayer were the best pieces of writing I’ve seen on Family, and that says a lot considering how fantastic this show was.
Thank you so much for posting this series. Can’t find the DVD for purchase past season two so this is a treat. I loved this show so much when I was a teenager. Sure makes me miss the 70s.
Actually I was stunned that they had that in the script. I was very disappointed they had her throw the book at the little puppy because I thought as Nancy having a sweet demeanor and not a violent bone in her body. That scene really threw me off.
I agree w you. I think they just had to add that scene to illustrate how others besides that abusive fathers can be loose cannons too...n lose our tempers. I also don't buy the clean cut ending where Nancy gives the boy n his mom the puppy. What if that jerk of a dad enters their lives again? That wasn't really a good move .@@sallyrickerson9139
I was put into the position of reporting abuse and neglect. It is not an easy decision to make, especially if it's a family member. As a side note, that puppy is so darn cute!!
I watched this as a teenager with my own mother who I now realize was a lot like Kate in personality. Classy, strong, witty in an understated way. I am so hooked again on it, I'm watching an episode every morning early, with coffee. It's great!
growing up in Argentina in 1977 this was my favorite series, PERFECT, even today I keep watching the reruns and never get tired. All the cast was perfect, I even believe everything that's going on. Thanks for uploading this !!! God bless you !
Actually, I'm willing to bet that the actor who plays the abusive father is a nice guy. It's like with wrestling, most of the guys who play bad guys are usually cool whereas the ones who play good guys tend to be pricks in real life.
Initially I thought it was the boy's puppy and he gave it away to protect it. I would not be comfortable with putting a pet into that environment. Dad is far from being out of the picture.
I rescued a sweet dog from a locked car in 93 degree weather. then I found out that Forsyth County Animal Control, NC euthanized him. Such a wonderful dog; I was heartbroken when i found out he had been killed. That Animal Control and Forsyth Humane Society covered the whole thing up. They got away with it by claiming that he was "aggressive," but it was not true. Beware of Animal Control; usually they don't care about the animals. Seek out an animal rescue group instead.
It makes sense that it can trigger at least a small speck of unpleasant and traumatic memories. The words criminal negligence comes to mind. Bottom line, the negligence of a child is considered child abuse, and it's criminal.
This episode was tough to watch, but damn, it was a great episode. The writing was excellent and the acting was superb. I know how hard it was for Doug to do what he did, but it took a lot of courage. Nicky's father was Doug's protege and friend. But that is what is great about Doug and the rest of the Lawrence family. Right is right, and wrong is wrong. And Doug knew that what his friend, Carl, was doing is very wrong and that it was for the best to end the friendship and do what was best for Nicky. I also like the scene with Buddy and Kate. While it was tough for Kate to answer the questions Buddy was asking her, she gave her the correct answers and with gusto. And I then loved the scene towards the end where Kate finally wakes Erica up and hers her realize that what Carl is doing is wrong, and that she needed to take Nicky and get out of that abusive relationship. And also loved the end at Thanksgiving dinner where Nancy finally finds a home for the stray puppy with Nicky. And then the Thanksgiving prayer recited by Doug was wonderful. That was a great way to end the episode.
This was a great episode.Sometimes it's the mom.who beats and stomps the kids when dad is at work.The kids are put to bed before he gets home.We lived it .
It should not have been one bit hard for Doug to intervene in that situation. As a decent human being he should have known that the child's welfare should trump his friendship with that man. And as a lawyer he should have known that adults have a duty to report child abuse. His hesitation surprised me. He needed Kate to push him.
Doug should have been allowed to physically deal with the abusive father! I don't care about adults having low self esteem especially when it comes to child abuse. Young people didn't ask to be born! Deal with your bs before the children arrive! People should be evaluated before having children. No one who is mentally unstable should have children in their care.
@@Xanthas71 That's wonderful, & I'm so grateful. As you can see, I've been binge watching all weekend. I haven't seen most of them since they aired in syndication back in '92-93 when I was 19 years old...and even before when I was a kid in the 80's. You're the best!☺️
@@fleurmartin Kate wasn't everyone's favorite in the beginning . I don't think Sada Thompson was a bad actress. The way the writers wrote Kate made her look bad.
personally, i think - if there are ever perceived bad-acting-moments rendered in this show - it is a product of the wonky editing. i just do NOT understand the wicked long and staggering pauses in between each character's line sometimes. it's like they are waiting for us to react/laugh/cry. i don't remember it being so poorly edited in my youth, but it seems glaringly obvious to me now. IMHO. ;-)
I saw Sada Thompson in the Broadway production of “Twigs” for which her brilliant performance won her the Tony Award for Best Actress in a play--she was magnificent and we are lucky to enjoy her in these episodes of “family” 👍🏻
I was surprised how moving this was. It reminded me of a story a friend told me of an instant of abuse from his father when he was 12 years old. Apparently, he was being disrespectful to his dad, but the man overreacted and beat the boy so bad that he put he had to go to the hospital. A friend/neighbor happened to be a cop and came to his rescue. Grabbed the dad by the neck and told him that if he ever layed a hand on the boy again he would beat the living expletive out of him. The boy's parents divorced soon after, but the man never layed a hand on his son again. The neighbor/friend later married the mom and became his stepdad. Squish squish.
I thought it was going to turn out the mother was the one beating the child. I loved it when Kate told her that she was putting her fear of being left by the father ahead of her child's welfare, and I loved the way she said it.
I agree. I still remember the episode of What's Happening where Raj goes to a party and leaves Dee with an elderly babysitter who was on the cusp of senile. And when Mama found out, she decided to punish Raj by taking the belt to him. Raj then thought he'd be off the hook when he told her he had no belt. Then, without thinking, Rerun hands Mama his belt. The belt was so huge. Then she retorted by saying, "Good Lord, Rerun. I only wanna whip him, not hang him". Then follows it up by a huge belly laugh.
Doug's first mistake was confronting the father. He put the child in more danger doing this; obviously, the father was going to get angry and throw him out, and after Doug was gone, he could possibly have beaten the child to death as "punishment" for "showing" his scars and bruises. The best thing to do is get the piece of shit thrown in jail after the child is removed by a reliable child's services action. It is fruitless and dangerous to directly accuse an abuser of abuse. Go behind his back and throw the law against him. Doug is a lawyer;he should know that.
Frances Lee McCain who plays the boys Mom, played Kristy McNichols mother on the short lived series " Apples Way" 1974-1975. McCains husband Mark Wheeler was also an actor. He appeared in a controversial episode of Dallas in 1979 where his character comes out to Lucy Ewing after they become engaged and he can't go through with it.
Frankly, I was waiting for that, too. What I would have liked to seen is for him to return, the police, are there, and he gets slapped across the face, and then castrated on camera!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jeeze, Kate. How do you have any fingers left? Who cuts up celery like that? One would think the matriarch extraordinaire/domestic goddess would know how to cut celery.
Kate was a real saint at times. The first thing Kate and Doug should've done is to pretend that they don't know what's going on. While they figure out what to do. The worst thing they could do is confront the abuser right away. This was an amazing episode, one of the best. It's riveting.
What a contemptible mother, allowing her rotten husband to hurt their child. "For does the lioness lose favor with God when she fights for her cubs? Does the mother bear who kills at the mouth of the cave? In all creation is there the female of the species who will not sacrifice her own life to protect the life she has conceived?'
wow great episode didnt have shows like this back in the day talking about child beating got a bit weepy there when she was talking to the mum about the husband beating on the child great show family i cant stop watching it ☺❤👍
This is sad episode the lawyer is evil monster hitting his child. The little boy mum is fool not protecting her son from his evil dad. He should be lock up in prison.This little boy deserve to live in safe environment feel loved , protected and wanted. Buddy and her siblings lucky to have parents who love them and protected them . Thank God Buddy mother and her husband reported him to CPS for abusing his innocent child. This is good show deal with real life problems. Thank God Nicky mother listen to Buddy mother and call the cops on her crazy husband.
It would never occur to a child that age to say anything about being abused. They think it's their parents right; that they deserved it, that they're their child. - they can do with them what they want. That's how a child thinks. Very simply.. I wish I told someone about what my mother was doing to me, but I thought just that way - she was my mother and she had the right to do whatever she wanted to do. 😞
