List of The Hogan Family episodes
| List of The Hogan Family episodes | |
|---|---|
 The original cast of The Hogan Family. | |
| Created by | Charlie Hauck |
| Starring | Valerie Harper (1986-1987) Sandy Duncan (1987-1991) Jason Bateman Danny Ponce Jeremy Licht Christine Ebersole (1986) Judith Kahan (1986-1987) Edie McClurg (1986-1991) Tom Hodges (1987-1989) Steve Witting (1987-1991) Angela Lee (1990-1991) Josie Bissett (1990-1991) John Hillerman (1990-1991) and Josh Taylor |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 110 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Charlie Hauck (1986-1987) Thomas L. Miller Robert L. Boyett Irma Kalish (1990-1991) |
| Running time | 30 minutes (with commercials) |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC (1986-1990) CBS (1990-1991) |
| Release | March 1, 1986 – July 20, 1991 |
The Hogan Family is an American television situation comedy that aired from March 1, 1986 to July 20, 1991, from Warner Bros. Television.
The show originally was titled Valerie and starred Valerie Harper as a mother trying to juggle both her career and the raising of her three sons while her husband, an airline pilot, was seldom around. After Harper left the series after the second season because of a dispute with the show's producers, her character was written out as having died, and Sandy Duncan joined the cast as the children's aunt, who moved in to become their surrogate mom. During the show's second season (Duncan's first as the show's star), the series was known as Valerie's Family: The Hogans.
The Hogan Family was televised in the United States on NBC from 1986 to 1990, and on CBS from 1990 to 1991.
Valerie
For its first season, the show was known as Valerie, and its stories revolved around the show's star, Valerie Harper. She played Valerie, the matriarch of the Hogan family, who struggled with everyday family problems while her husband, Michael (Josh Taylor), was a pilot who was seldom around due to his demanding schedule (at least in the early seasons). Other stars included Jason Bateman as her eldest, girl-crazy son David, and Danny Ponce and Jeremy Licht as her fraternal twin sons Willie and Mark (Mark was the brainy one, Willie the irresponsible one). During the 1987 summer taping hiatus, Harper had a falling out with the show's producers, after which she was dismissed and her character was written out of the show as being killed in a car accident. NBC explained that the series would take on difficult issues facing the family during the grieving process.
Valerie's Family: The Hogans
When the 1987-1988 season premiere aired, the show was retitled Valerie's Family: The Hogans. The timeline of the second season began six months after Valerie's death. Taking her place in the household was Sandy Duncan as Michael's sister, Sandy, who had moved in with her brother to help the family in their time of loss. She took a job as a guidance counselor at the high school the boys attended following her recent divorce. Later, the network dropped Valerie's name from the title completely, partially to avoid further legal issues involved in continuing to use the original star's name and partially to move on from the very public and sensational attention being drawn to her dismissal. One notable episode in the second season helped to better explain Valerie's departure; when an electrical fire burns down the house, virtually all the photographs and mementos of the family's matriarch were destroyed, causing the family to express grief.
In the season two very special episode "Bad Timing", which first aired February 7, 1987, David and a former girlfriend debate whether to have sex; the episode featured the first prime-time use of the word condom. Parental discretion warnings were issued in ads for the episode.[1][2]
The Hogan Family
The series was retitled The Hogan Family in June 1988.
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NBC's decision to continue the series despite the departure of Valerie Harper was considered shocking at the time. It turned out to be a success; the show continued its run on the network for three more seasons.
In 1990, NBC informed the producers that it would cancel the series due to declining ratings. CBS then picked it up, making it one of the rare programs to jump networks. In the final 13-episode season on CBS, Michael and Sandy's father Lloyd (John Hillerman) moved in with the family. In a 1990 episode, Sandy Duncan was reunited with Valorie Armstrong, her former co-star on Funny Face, when the latter made a guest appearance as Mrs. Gordon.
The theme song, "Together Through the Years", was performed by Roberta Flack and composed by Charles Fox.
Syndication
ABC Family currently holds the U.S. syndication rights to the program, and began airing episodes twice daily in September 2006, however this only lasted for several weeks.
DVD releases
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First & Second Seasons | 32 | TBA |
References
- ^ Associated Press (1987). "ALBANY TV STATION CANCELS NBC SHOW OVER CONDOM ISSUE". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
- ^ Lewin, Tamar (1987). "NEW SEX MORES ARE CHILLING TV ARDOR". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-14.