A 'FAMILY' REUNION
GROUNDBREAKING FOR ITS TIME, LAWRENCE CLAN IS WORTH REVISITING
By Steve Marinucci
Published Thursday, September 7, 2006, San Jose Mercury News
When prolific TV producer Aaron Spelling died in June, obituaries listed his long string of hits. ''Charlie's Angels,'' ''Dynasty,'' ''T.J. Hooker,'' ''Hart to Hart,'' ''The Love Boat,'' ''Fantasy Island'' and ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' were among them.
Though many of his series did well in the ratings, they often were built on escapist or soap opera themes and generally weren't hits with critics. One notable exception was Spelling's ''Family,'' a well-crafted, sharply written dramatic series on ABC from 1976 to 1980. The first two seasons have just been released in a six-DVD boxed set (Sony, list price $49.95).
Produced by Mike Nichols (''The Graduate''), with Spelling as executive producer, the series originally was planned for a six-episode run. But it became popular with audiences -- and a rare critical success for Spelling, winning four Emmys (out of 17 nominations) over what turned out to be a four-season run. Kristy McNichol won twice for supporting actress in a drama series ('77 and '79), Gary Frank for supporting actor ('77) and the superb Sada Thompson for lead actress ('79).
For audiences who had grown up with TV families like the Nelsons (''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''), the Cleavers (''Leave It to Beaver'') and the Andersons (''Father Knows Best''), the Lawrence clan of Pasadena, on whom ''Family'' focused, came as a shock.
The pilot, included in the package, sets up the situation: Daughter Nancy (played in the pilot by Elayne Heilveil and in the series by Meredith Baxter, before she took the married name Birney) finds her husband Jeff (John Rubinstein) in bed with another woman and walks out.
After some disagreement between her parents, Doug (played by James Broderick) and Kate (Thompson), Nancy moves back home to a family that also includes her brother Willie (Frank), a high-school dropout, and Leticia, a tomboyish ''tween'' nicknamed Buddy (McNichol).
In families like the Nelsons, the crises rarely concerned anything more weighty than the filling for the pie Harriet was baking; on ''Family'' things were decidedly more serious. Among the revelations during the first two seasons: an adulterous affair by Doug, a breast-cancer scare for Kate, Jeff's attempts at reconciliation with Nancy, a car accident in which Doug is blinded, and alcoholism. The problems lacked the usual sugarcoating for family dramas of that period, so the series came as a breath of fresh air for audiences.
While ''Family'' may not have quite the edginess of today's TV dramas, those who remember the series fondly will find those feelings rekindled by the DVDs.
The only drawback is that the set offers no bonus features to accompany the 28 episodes. It would have been nice to hear from some of the principals, looking back from today's perspective.
Still, it would be a shame if, even without extras, ''Family'' gets overlooked amid the flood of TV shows coming to DVD.
CAPTION: PHOTO: SONY PICTURES
''Family'' starred, from left, Meredith Baxter, Gary Frank, James Broderick, Sada Thompson and Kristy McNichol.
