'Family - The Complete First and Second Seasons'
(Willie Aames, Meredith Baxter, et al / 6-Disc DVD / NR / (1976) 2006 / Sony Pictures)
Overview: The trials and tribulations, joyous occasions and heartbreaking moments of the Lawrence family: lawyer father Doug, housewife Kate, married (and quickly divorced) daughter Nancy, teenage son Willie and just-hitting-puberty daughter Buddy. In this critically acclaimed series, we watched various Lawrences fight, fall in love, become ill, graduate school, begin new jobs and, most of all, love each other.
DVD Verdict: This program affects my brain waves and neuron connections. It is healing in many ways. First, Kristy McNichol is the most adorable woman I've ever seen on television, extremely talented and it was all her natural acting ability. This thoughtful program was considered ground breaking for its time as a form of reality television, dealing with real life sensitive issues previous television tried to cover-up. In fact, this was Aaron Spelling's favorite production of the hundreds of series he created in his lifetime. This program was Aaron Spelling's pride and joy and justifiably so. It had some real depth, was full of true caring, love and emotions, less contrived then other programs of its day. Matthew Broderick's (Ferris Beuller's Day Off) father played as the father. Sada Thompson and the rest of the cast are excellent. Kristy McNichol was the biggest star of the program and went on after receiving two Emmys to establish new heights for teen actress movie contracts. Kristy McNichol was the first to get a movie contract for what was back then a dizzying $1,000,000 (1980). This program may seem too boring for today's audience, but those of us who grew up back then really appreciate the value it gave to help us through hard times with our dysfunctional, careless, abusive parents. I implore anyone who has never seen this show to buy this set, as well as longtime fans, such as myself who watched it as a child. 'Family' was critically acclaimed as a result of its frank depiction of love & relationships. It also garnered an emmy for Kristy & Sada, due to their poignant performances. Buy this DVD today for either yourself or a friend. This is a Widescreen presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with no Special Features.
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