Ode to Thirtysomething.
I was a freshman in college when thirtysomething began its four-year run. And even though I was only 18 at the time, there was something about this show that drew me in. It was unlike any program I’d seen before and I remember thinking that when I eventually became a mother, I’d want to revisit thirtysomething to see how its storylines resonated with me.
The focus of the show was a couple in their 30s, both college grads and overachievers who’d just become parents and were struggling with the impact parenthood had on their lives. The husband was the co-owner of a fledgling advertising company and the wife had been a journalist working for an environmental magazine before she had a baby. As the seasons progressed, she worked part-time for that environmental magazine and then an environmental advocacy group, had a second kid, worried about what her Princeton college advisors would’ve said upon seeing her taking the mommy track, and, in thirtysomething’s final episode, took a full-time job at a magazine. The character of Hope Steadman (played by Mel Harris) was flawed, whiny, uncertain, self-absorbed, sometimes martyred, sometimes strong. She wasn’t quite sure how her desires, her career aspirations and her family all fit into her own life. And there was something quite remarkable about that.
But I never did get the chance to see if my thirtysomething self could relate to Hope by the time I became a mother in 1998 because thirtysomething was no longer being shown in syndication anywhere, and, despite public demand, had not been released on DVD.
Then along came Once and Again, created by the same folks who made thirtysomething. This TV drama started in 1999, when I’d been a mother of twins for a tad over a year. I had begun working part-time -- writing from home and was preparing to teach part-time – and was fueled by excessive amounts of caffeine. Surprisingly, I found myself riveted by Once and Again. I was moved by Sela Ward’s character Lily Manning, a mother of two who worked part-time in a bookstore she owned with her sister until she was forced to seek full-time employment when she was going through a divorce with her philandering spouse. It was as if Once and Again took the women from thirtysomething and moved them a decade ahead in time to when they were fortysomething and coping with divorce and with the task of raising teenagers who challenge everything you say and everything you are . . . and then throw it in your face.
04.16.08
Yes. MURPHY BROWN. Meredith -- you should do an essay on that series and how Murphy handled returning to work with her son Avery. Would be interesting to see if anything from that show (other than the clothes) rings out as totally dated.
04.15.08
You are so right! Once and Again was such a wonderful show precisely because the characters weren't perfect and the families grappled with real issues. I regularly check amazon for the third season to come out on DVD-ABC moved it around so much that I only caught 2 episodes of that final season.
Its not just the real families that are missing from TV. What happened to all the strong female characters? Where are the Murphy Browns and Julia Sugarbakers of today? Any recommendations?
04.15.08
Speaking of Brothers & Sisters, I hope Calista Flockhart's character has a child and we get to see how she handles it all.
04.15.08
I love dthis article. I was also a young college student when T-something came out and loved it. I would love to revisit now that I have my first baby at 40 and am staying home. I was so drawn to Once & Again that I watched the entire series on DVD from netflix while I was pregnant. This article just fits me.
04.15.08
I was a big fan of Thirtysomething and when it started my first child was 3 months old, almost exactly like the Steadmans. I had decided that I wanted to stay at home with my child, although I never thought that I would do that beforehand. I really related to the show and many of Hope's struggles.
I never watched Once and Again for some reason. I don't think there is anything on right now that deals seriously with working mothers
To CEO in your comment above - Ken Olin and Patricia Wettig are probably too busy with Brothers and Sisters to do another show right now. But I would love another show with the Studio 60 people.
04.14.08
Is there anyway we can start a petition to get Zwick and Herskovitz, the creators of thirtysomething and Once and Again, to do a modern version of those shows? Peter Horton, Melanie Mayron, Patricia Wettig, Ken Onlin and Timothy Busfield are still working -- some directing, some acting. How great if they just pick up where they left off with thirtysomething and do fortysomething. Cast Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford and I will chip in my own money to get the pilot written. In fact -- would love Aaron Sorkin's take on these issues. He writes female characters so well. We could get Amanda Peet to play a Studio 60 Jordan McDeere like character.
Dare to dream.