Eight is Enough

Eight is Enough was a television "dramedy" series which ran on ABC from March 15, 1977 until August 29, 1981. The show was rare in that it was one of few hour-long television series to use a laugh track.

Related Topics:
Dramedy - ABC - March 15 - 1977 - August 29 - 1981 - Laugh track

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It centered around a Sacramento, California family with eight children (from oldest to youngest: David, Mary, Joanie, Susan, Nancy, Elizabeth, Tommy, and Nicholas). The father, Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) was a newspaper columnist for the fictional Sacramento Register. His wife Joan (Diana Hyland) took care of the children. Hyland was only in four episodes before falling ill; she was written out for the remainder of the first season. During the spring, Hyland died, and the second season began in the fall of 1977 with the revelation that Tom had become a widower.

Related Topics:
Sacramento - California - Dick Van Patten - Diana Hyland - 1977

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Tom fell in love with Sandra Sue Abbott (nicknamed "Abby," played by Betty Buckley), a schoolteacher who came to the house to tutor one of his children. They were married in one of Eight is Enoughs special TV-movie broadcasts in November 1977. These two-hour television events usually occurred during sweeps periods, and routinely grabbed viewing figures as high as a 40 television share.

Related Topics:
Betty Buckley - November - 1977 - Sweeps

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In another TV-movie event in September 1979, two of the children (David and Susan) were married off in a special double wedding extravaganza. As the show went on, Abby got her Ph.D. in education and started a job counseling students at the local high school.

Related Topics:
September - 1979 - Ph.D.

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After the end of the show's fifth season, production costs and declining ratings caused the show to be canceled, along with seven other shows that season (Eight is Enough seemed to grab the most headlines, as the press had a field day with ABC's choice to bring "eight shows in" and kick "eight shows out"). Reunion movies were broadcast in 1987 and 1989.

Related Topics:
1987 - 1989

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The series jumpstarted acting careers for a select few of the "eight," and cemented teen idol status for Grant Goodeve, who played David, and Willie Aames, who played Tommy. Aames would go on to star with Scott Baio in Charles in Charge. Goodeve started a minor singing career, due to his rendition of the theme "Eight is Enough to Fill Our Lives With Love."

Related Topics:
Teen idol - Grant Goodeve - Willie Aames - Scott Baio - Charles in Charge

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For some of the other children, however, success did not come and a few ended up having personal heartache, whether it be trouble with the law (like Adam Rich, who played Nicholas) or suicide (Lani O'Grady, who played Mary).

Related Topics:
Adam Rich - Lani O'Grady

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The show was modeled after a real-life father with eight children, Thomas Braden, who wrote a book with the same name.

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Eight is Enough was parodied on Family Guy, where it was implied that the show's title came from how many slaps Tom was allowed to give his daughter Nancy across the face. His other daughter Mary rushed into the room, exclaiming "Dad! Dad! Eight is enough!"

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