Step By Step (TV series)

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Step by Step
The Step By Step opening title from Season 2-5.
Format	Sitcom
Created by	William Bickley Michael Warren
Developed by	Thomas L. Miller Robert L. Boyett
Starring	Patrick Duffy Suzanne Somers Brandon Call Staci Keanan Angela Watson Christine Lakin Christopher Castile Josh Byrne Sasha Mitchell Patrika Darbo Peggy Rea Jason Marsden Bronson Pinchot Emily Mae Young Alexandra Adi Jeff Juday
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	160 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Thomas L. Miller Robert L. Boyett William Bickley Michael Warren Alan Eisenstock & Larry Mintz (season 1) Ross Brown (seasons 2-7) Bob Rosenfarb (seasons 4-7)
Running time	approx. 0:23 (per episode)
Production company(s)	Bickley-Warren Productions Miller-Boyett Productions Warner Bros. Television
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC (1991-1997) CBS (1997-1998)
Original run	September 20, 1991 – June 26, 1998

Step By Step is an American television sitcom which aired on ABC from September 20, 1991 to August 15, 1997 and with a network change moved to CBS from September 19, 1997 to June 26, 1998. The series starred Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers as the heads of a large blended family. The show was a part of ABC's TGIF lineup from 1991 until 1997 before moving to the CBS Block Party lineup from 1997-1998.

The series was created and executive produced by William Bickley and Michael Warren, and developed and executive produced by Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett, who also produced the popular ABC sitcoms Family Matters, Full House and Perfect Strangers. ^[1] The series was produced by Bickley-Warren Productions, Miller-Boyett Productions in association with Lorimar Television (who produced the show from 1991 to 1993, when the show became produced by Warner Bros. Television).It is often rated TV-G in syndication though some episodes have been rated TV-PG,TV-PG D and one TV-PG L.The highest rating for the show was TV-PG DS.

[edit] Premise

The premise of the show, which was set in Port Washington, Wisconsin, is about re-building one's life one step at a time after things have fallen apart. Frank Lambert, a divorced contractor who had three children from a previous marriage, impulsively marries Carol Foster (Suzanne Somers), a widowed beautician who has three children of her own. Both of them were residents of Port Washington, and the two met while vacationing separately in Jamaica. In the pilot episode, Frank mentions that he "followed" Carol to Jamaica after speaking with her travel agent, Velma. Their children were surprised and angered when they learned of the marriage.

The title of the show has a double meaning. One meaning deals with the main idea of the show, which is getting re-married after the divorce/death of a spouse, and putting your life back together. The other meaning is that every member of the family is "step-" to half of the rest of the family, such as: stepbrother, stepmother, stepsister, stepfather, stepdaughter, and stepson.

Stories depicted typical situations of a new blended family trying to get to know each other and become friends. This was often easier said than done, especially in the case of J.T. and Dana, who could barely stand each other. In many ways, however, many of the situations mirrored that of The Brady Bunch.

[edit] Production

Step by Step was produced by Bickley-Warren Productions & Miller-Boyett Productions in association with Lorimar Television for the first two seasons, then Warner Bros. Television for the remainder of its run. In the later seasons (1996-1998), the production logos went from being displayed as a part of the closing credits to animated vanity plate logos. The end of the show was followed by the Bickley-Warren "Static" logo and the animated M/B Miller-Boyett logo with a 5 note piano tune.

The show lasted for 7 seasons, and the main cast changed as the storyline progressed. Cody, who Dana liked even less than she did J.T., left Port Washington in 1996 to travel the world. This was done because series star Sasha Mitchell, whose character became a major one on Step by Step during the second season, was forced out following allegations of domestic abuse; he was later acquitted of those allegations. Mitchell returned to the show for one episode in 1998.

The show's biggest change came in 1995, when Carol announced she was pregnant. In the 1994-1995 season finale, she gave birth to Lilly, the only child to take both the "Foster" and "Lambert" surnames. Like many other sitcom babies, Lilly (Emily Mae Young) was suddenly aged five years after one season as an infant. In 1997, J.T.'s friend Rich Halke (Jason Marsden, who became a permanent fixture in the opening credits) moved in with the family after becoming Dana's boyfriend; also during that time, Al took a serious interest in acting.

Josh Byrne (Brendan Lambert) appeared less and less as the show progressed (especially after Lilly's birth). When the show moved from ABC to CBS, his character disappeared and his absence was never explained (see The Chuck Cunningham Syndrome). The series' producers later admitted in a TV Guide interview that despite his absence, the Lamberts would still refer to their "7 children".

Along with Family Matters, Step by Step moved to CBS in the fall of 1997, as that network attempted to build its own Friday night lineup of family-friendly situation comedies called "The CBS Block Party". The ratings, which had been declining for several seasons, continued to fall, and the show ended its run in July 1998. There was no official series finale, although the last show was about Frank and Carol considering selling the house.

[edit] Theme song and opening credits

The show's theme song "Second Time Around" was performed by Theresa James and Jesse Frederick, which the latter co-wrote with Bennett Salvay (both wrote the themes for other Miller-Boyett sitcoms, such as Full House, Perfect Strangers and Family Matters). Season one was the only season using the full version, becoming progressively shorter afterwards until it was down to 1 minute, 6 seconds in season five. The fourth verse and part of the sixth verse were cut in season two, and the beginning guitar portion was cut in season four. By season six (the final season on ABC), the theme was dropped entirely. However, when the show moved to CBS for its final season, along with Family Matters, the theme returned with only the fifth verse, part of the sixth verse and the long instrumental at the end (which was lengthened from the season five version) remaining.

The opening sequence featured the Lambert-Fosters at an amusement park, with the cast's names sliding from opposite sides of the screen. Near the end of the sequence in the first four seasons, the family, except for Mark and Ivy (in season one; Cody from then on), were shown on a roller coaster, then cutting to a shot of the coaster, as the camera zoomed out with the names of the producers displayed. For the first three seasons, the credits began with the family van passing a sign, "Port Washington, Wisconsin. Population: 9,338". This scene's background was filmed on Meridian Ave. in South Pasadena, California (note the museum and antiques shop, nearby the Metro Gold Line station). After season three, the sequence started with the real theme park's main roller coaster zooming down the track toward the camera. After season four, the portion where Carol and Frank are standing on a bridge next to a water ride, splashing them as it came down the track was dropped. For season five, the scenes featuring the six younger cast members were reshot, while Patrick Duffy, Suzanne Somers and Sasha Mitchell's videoshots were left unchanged, and the end of the sequence went straight to the pan shot of the coaster (this end scene was also used in the closing credits for most episodes during the first five seasons).

The scenes comprising the opening credits were filmed at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. A CGI ocean is inserted into the space in the foreground where the park's parking lot really is, as the camera pans away from the park. The names of cast members and some producers were shown in the opening teaser for season six. The season seven sequence featured the amusement park, with the cast members shown in still pictures on a photo booth picture reel.

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Cast

[edit] Foster family

• Carol (Suzanne Somers) - high-strung wife/mother who eventually learned to "cut loose"
• Dana (Staci Keanan) - smart, but tried to be perfect, almost identical to Carol. She was also known as a wisecracker and was openly hostile to the Lamberts, particularly J.T., Frank and Cody. Later in the series, she dated J.T.'s best friend, Rich. She also made a small appearance in the Boy Meets World episode "The Happiest Show on Earth".
• Karen (Angela Watson) - an aspiring model, who was very vain, yet could be level-headed at times.
• Mark (Christopher Castile) - nerd, who was into computers and academics. Later on, he matured to be "a normal teenager" with "manly" friends, and even a girlfriend. Also constantly wore sweatshirts around his waist, sometimes with a fanny pack to match.

During the first season, the Foster family had two additional characters — Aunt Penny Baker (Patrika Darbo), Carol's man-hungry younger sister; and "Grandma" Ivy Baker (Peggy Rea), their outspoken mother. Both characters were dropped for the second season.

[edit] Lambert family

• Frank (Patrick Duffy) - chauvinistic husband/father, who was an avid sports fan, especially of the Milwaukee Bucks and Green Bay Packers. Will be remembered mostly for his scene in the episode when wife, Carol, believes he is cheating on her with his first love. In the scene, Frank beared no shirt and, by Patrick's request, was oiled to the extreme.
• John Thomas, a.k.a. "J.T." (Brandon Call) - slacker who was into sports and was academically challenged. Like his stepsister Dana, he resented his new step-family members, particularly Dana (his favorite name to insult her was "Barky"). During the fourth season, it is revealed he is dyslexic. In his very well remembered quote he exclaims, "Hey great news everyone, I have dyslexia!"
• Alicia, aka "Al" (Christine Lakin) - tomboyish All-American girl, who later matured in her own right, despite wearing man-clothes.
• Brendan (Josh Byrne) - shy, carefree youngster (eventually disappeared from the series after season 6)
• Cody (Sasha Mitchell) - Frank's nephew, whom J.T. looked up to. Eccentric adolescent, who had a crush on Dana and lived in his van in the driveway, although he showed bouts of wisdom on numerous occasions. He had a few catchphrases, such as "Dude!"; "Dude-sy!"; and "Ch-yeah!" (appearances in season 1, seasons 2-5, and 1 episode in season 7)

[edit] Other cast members

• Lilly Foster-Lambert (Emily Mae Young) - first child conceived by Frank and Carol together. (seasons 6-7).
• Rich Halke (Jason Marsden) - J.T.'s best friend. He could be both a slacker and seriously devoted. He later dated Dana (to the others' dismay). (appearance in season 5, seasons 6-7).
• Samantha "Sam" Milano (Alexandra Adi) - J.T.'s one-time girlfriend. She worked as a mechanic in a garage. (seasons 6-7)
• Jean-Luc Rieupeyroux (Bronson Pinchot) - a male beautician, and Carol's business partner. He was brought in to replace Sasha Mitchell's character on the series. (season 6).
• Matt Crawford (Andrew Keegan) - Al's boyfriend for a few episodes. Turned down an unforgettable evening with a popular blond, who was nicknamed the "Love Boat", showing his deep loyalty to Al.
• JakeFlashGordon (Jeff Juday) - One of Frank's employees he only appears in the final 3 episodes of Season 5 and tries to break a Russian guy's world record for riding all DisneyWorld's rides & attending their attractions.

[edit] Syndication

In 1995, Step by Step went into off-network syndication, and is distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Pay TV Cable & Network Features. It currently airs on ABC Family (joining the network in 2000, when the network was known as Fox Family), and is currently one of ABC Family's longest-running off-network syndicated programs. The show airs once a day on weekdays, and is double-run on weekend mornings. It was previously aired on KPLR-TV (1995-2000) and WGN-TV (1997-2001).

[edit] DVD Releases

Warner Home Video released a 6-episode Television Favorites collection on June 27, 2006.^[2] There are no current plans by Warner Home Video for complete season releases.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Step by Step at the Internet Movie Database
• Step by Step at TV.com
• Step by Step at EpGuides.com