What Happened to the Mom on the Hogan Family

The Hogans circa 1986. ^annotation Clockwise from elevation left: Michael, Valerie, David, Mark and Willie

The Hogan Family unit was a Dom Com that, known also in before incarnations as Valerie and Valerie's Family (The Hogans), aired on NBC from 1986-1990, and on CBS from 1990-1991.

The series originally was congenital as a starring vehicle for Valerie Harper, whose all-time known role beforehand was as the title character in the 1970s sitcom Rhoda (which spun off from The Mary Tyler Moore Testify). Fix in Oak Park, Illinois, Valerie Hogan (Harper) was a career adult female (the possessor of an auction business firm and later, a graphic designer) whose airline pilot married man, Michael (Josh Taylor, who meantime starred on Days of Our Lives), was frequently gone, significant she had master responsibility of raising the couple's three sons: sixteen-year-old David (Jason Bateman), and 12-twelvemonth-erstwhile twins Willie and Marking (Danny Ponce and Jeremy Licht). Valerie had a couple of best friends, simply the one that stuck around was the busybody (only very sweet) next-door neighbour Patricia Poole (Edie McClurg).

Things went co-ordinate to class during the early on years, simply in the jump of 1987, Harper and producer/boyfriend Tony Cacciotti became embroiled in a bitter dispute with Miller/Boyett over a decision to shift the focus of the show's stories to a comedic focus (with teen heartthrob Bateman being the major part of the plan). Eventually, Harper was fired... and Valerie Hogan (along with her all-time friend, Annie) was promptly killed in a machine accident sometime during the summertime of 1987.

Autumn 1987. Enter Sandy Duncan, the petite actress with plenty of comedic timing, to accept over... not as Valerie Hogan (as the graphic symbol was McLeaned) but as Michael's child sister, Sandy. Sandy took a job equally guidance counselor at the high school David attended; the series was re-titled Valerie's Family with the subtitle The Hogans used in the main titles. The focus of several episodes during the 1987-1988 flavour was on Val'south passing and the family coming to terms with their grief; none, however, made such a profound touch on as the episode "Burned Out", in which a poorly made lamp sparks fire and engulfs much of the house. Many keepsakes and mementos of the family'south were destroyed in the attic and second flooring, but the piece having the greatest emotional effect was a charred framed photo of Valerie, over which David breaks downward in tears upon discovering information technology while exploring the burned-out second floor. It was besides at this point that Mrs. Poole moved up to being a regular character, fifty-fifty actualization in the opening credits for the first fourth dimension.

In the summer of 1988, to altitude the series from the now long-departed Harper, the producers dropped the name Valerie completely from the title: The series was now known as The Hogan Family. Stories shifted back to typical family unit situations, many with comedic bents, although some were deadly serious. Two of those stories focused on David's best buddy, Rich (Tom Hodges): I where David locks a drunken Rich in the cupboard during a firm party to go on him from driving drunk (during the 1987-1988 flavor, not long afterwards Val died), and i of the last original episodes, in which Rich does die (of AIDS). In 1990, Michael and Sandy's newly-divorced father, Lloyd (Jonathan Hillerman), moves in with the family... at the same time the serial moved to CBS. That and other changes did nothing to stop a slowly diminishing audience, and the series ended its run in the summer of 1991.

Roberta Flack provided the soulful vocals to the theme vocal, "Together Through the Years." In syndication, all episodes are known as The Hogan Family. Though information technology was i of the highest-rated serial on TV during its heyday, it was rarely shown later on some signal during the Plow of the Millennium, until Antenna TV thankfully picked up the prove and began airing it in December 2017.

This evidence provides examples of:

• Absentee Histrion: Possibly due to the subject thing, Jeremy Licht does not appear in "Bad Timing".
• Developed Fright: The Firm Burn episode. Peculiarly since they react precisely the style people accept been told not to—panicking and running around, and ane of the boys going back to his room for something.
• An Aesop: While almost episodes had standard happily-ever-after morals, Valerie (and its successors) often twisted this trope. A prime number case is the second-season episode "Leave information technology to Willie," which turned the standard "happy ending" on its head; Willie (an ardent fan of a Leave Information technology to Beaver-type show, where everything ever works out in the finish) steals his dad's automobile to go for a joyride with a buddy, is involved in a hit-and-run, and keeps silent about the ordeal... even when Valerie confronts David nigh taking the car and causing the blow. David eventually finds evidence (a Cheeto) to incriminate Willie, who keeps tranquility. So, he sees some other episode of his favorite evidence, where the main protagonist is involved in a similar scrape (Harper and Ponce playing out the "happy ever after catastrophe" he envisions). When he sees that telling the truth will absolve him, he figures he has nothing to lose and comes clean with Valerie. Valerie, still, is non relieved, but very aroused with Willie that he lied (past keeping quiet and not coming frontwards when asked earlier) and allowed David to take the blame. Willie tries to say he's sorry, but Valerie — sensing that he isn't showing true remorse, allow lonely realizing or understanding the seriousness of his actions — ultimately grounds him from going to a party, but worse, says she has lost trust in him... and that's even before his dad (who does non announced in this episode) finds out.
• Aftershow: Subverted - the original Valerie but became Valerie's Family afterwards the title character was killed off. After the show ended and was farmed out to syndication all but one of the episodes with the previous titles (see Content Warnings to find out which one information technology was) were branded The Hogan Family unit. (Antenna TV opted to include the appropriate series titles for the start iii seasons, upon calculation the evidence to its lineup in 2018.)
• Always Identical Twins: Averted. Willie and Marker are fraternal.
• Christmas Episode: "Ho Ho Hogans" too turned out to exist the very last episode of the series.
• Christmas in July: An accidental example: the higher up-mentioned Christmas episode first aired in July 1991, when CBS was intent on called-for off the remaining episodes.
• Content Warnings: The 2nd-season episode "Bad Timing" — one of the outset American Dom Com episodes to address "prophylactic sex" — had these aired before the show's opening credits, also equally during commercials (either "safe sexual activity" PSAs or birth-control products). The episode itself, where David and his girlfriend consider having sex and drop the first prime time usage of the word "condom" while doing and then, was an honest, if non frank, discussion many teenage couples take virtually sex, and as such, got high praise from the public and was even given an official VHS release for teachers and health educators. (And yes, David and the girlfriend decide not to have sex.)
  • Curiously, this was the simply episode to be titled Valerie in syndication, equally all other episodes with the Valerie or Valerie's Family title were titled The Hogan Family. The syndicated version of this episode also kept the content warnings from the original airing.
• Curse Cutting Brusque: Episode three, "The Wrong Stuff", saw immature Willie begin using (mild) profanity around the house. When Valerie confronts him and threatens to wash his mouth out with soap, Willie decides to test his mother and run into if she really volition. Finally, subsequently he says a mild curse ("crap") and gets ready to say another, Valerie makes good on her hope!
• The Disease That Shall Not Be Named: Averted in "Best of Friends, Worst of Times," one of the final episodes, where a recurring grapheme dies of AIDS.
  • Also "Bad Timing", which - as noted higher up - was the first prime time discussion of a prophylactic and why information technology's used.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Valerie Hogan, subsequently her extra asked for a salary increase later on the showtime flavor. Harper would later get a sizable settlement from Lorimar and the producers for their handling of the state of affairs.
• Drunkard Driver: Midway through flavour 3, David hosts a house political party while his father Mike and aunt Sandy are gone. David'due south friend Rich gets very drunkard and wants to take a stunning co-ed out for a ride. David (whose mother had recently died in a car accident) puts his foot down and gets into a huge fight with Rich. Motivated at an earlier admonition to "exercise whatever you have to do" to proceed someone from driving boozer, David then locks Rich in the closet overnight. When David lets a somewhat sobered-up Rich out the adjacent morning, Rich remembers vividly what happened... and yells at David for non letting him complete that long-sought-later on human relationship with the supermodel of his senior grade. David then reminds him of what had happened to Valerie, and he couldn't stand the thought of now losing his best friend (non to mention the prettiest girl in loftier school). Rich eventually comes to his senses and realizes that nothing was worth driving drunk and perhaps killing himself or anyone else.
  • Why David'southward emotional desolation over Rich maybe driving drunk and the connection to his female parent? Because, information technology is implied, Valerie was the innocent victim of a drunkard driver.
• Hands Forgiven: Subverted in "Leave It To Willie" (see An Aesop listing above for details).
• Thou Finale: "All-time of Friends, Worst of Times" or "Ho Ho Hogans", depending on who y'all enquire. ("All-time of Friends" was actually initially stated on This Very Wiki to be the last episode, while "Ho Ho Hogans," the Christmas Episode, aired in July 1991.)
• Hilarity Ensues: Played directly, then reversed in "Leave It to Willie." Again, encounter An Aesop for details.
• Firm Fire: "Burned Out", a Very Special Episode produced for Fire Prevention Calendar week. The episode (financed and sponsored past McDonald's) was well-received by viewers and critics for beautifully presenting a reality some families face in dealing with grief: losing a loved one, and not long thereafter a fire destroying most, if non all, of the mementos of that person. The storyline is sparked (literally) by a poorly made lamp stored in the cranium developing a short circuit and starting a burn down, which remains small plenty for several hours until the Hogans are getting set up for bed. Sandy smells fume and alerts Michael, who upon investigation immediately evacuates the business firm; the fire eventually spreads through the remainder of the house and causes major damage. The Hogans stay with the Pooles (Willard Scott had a invitee role as Mrs. Poole'southward husband, Peter) while their abode is repaired. A full recap of the episode (with screencaps) can be found here.
• Imagine Spot: Again, "Leave It To Willie". The moral in the Imagine Spot is supposedly "Tell the truth and you'll be absolved." Of form, reality doesn't work out that way – he admits his deed to his mother and gets punished, learning instead that actions exercise take consequences that aren't always proficient.
• Jesus Taboo: Averted. While hardly a religious show, David freely admits to praying or calling on God for help in a handful of occasions.
• Missing Mom: Starting in the fall of 1987 (upon Harper's divergence).
• Monster Clown: A hilarious subversion: David is dragooned into playing a clown at a birthday political party, and the girl he's been chasing walks in on him, stares and says, "David?" He stares at her in stupor, and then pulls the clown suit upwards to comprehend his caput and says in a squeaky vocalisation, "No, it'southward just me, Bobo the headless clown!" Cue the children screaming in fear and the audition howling with laughter for nearly a solid minute.
• Multi-Part Episode: "Paris", the three-part season five opener. The CBS premiere, entitled "California Dreamin'" and introducing John Hillerman to the cast, was a two-parter, every bit was the earlier "Male child Meets Girl"/"Male child Loses Girl" from 1989.
• Naked People Are Funny: Flavour 4's "The Naked Truth" centers effectually a nude painting of Sandy that is on display at an art gallery (which Marking and Willie are touring as part of a school trip). Viewers but see the painting from angles showing the shoulders upward, but information technology is very clear, past Mark and Willie'southward stunned reaction, that the painting shows far more than. Sandy learns nearly the painting and demands that its painter – an one-time higher young man, who had painted some other student's nude body, but then painted on Sandy's head instead – fix the situation immediately. (He does... by painting a dress on the lesser half. He admits he had fantasized about her in college and wanted to advance their relationship.)
• Playing Gertrude: Edie McClurg, who plays Mrs. Poole, is really xi years younger than Willard Scott, who plays her husband. Edie was born in 1945, Willard in 1934. In improver, guest actor Kathleen Freeman was built-in in 1919 and thus was only 15 years older than Willard, despite having played his female parent (in the season 3 episode "Female parent Poole'due south Visit").
  • Happened again when John Hillerman joined the cast afterward the CBS move, playing Michael and Sandy'due south begetter. John was built-in in 1932, Josh Taylor in 1943, Sandy Duncan in 1946. You practise the math.
• Promotion to Opening Titles: Zig-zagged with Edie McClurg. Though she was listed in the opening credits when she started actualization on the show in season 2, she wasn't really shown in the opening credits until the next flavour (the first after Valerie left).
• Actually Dead Montage: "Best of Friends, Worst of Times" featured one for Rich.
• Shoulders-Up Nudity: Meet Naked People Are Funny.
• Shorter Means Smarter: Willie and Mark started out about the same size, but equally the actors grew upward, Willie (the irresponsible one) was taller than Mark (the brainy ane). Notation, though, that these characterizations appeared before the split in acme.
• The Bear witness Must Go along: I of the more famous meta examples.
• Standardized Sitcom Housing: The kitchen of the Hogan firm was near identical to that used for the Winslow's house on Family Matters, while the living room is partly similar to that within the Lambert-Foster house on Stride by Pace - all 3 were done past the aforementioned studio.
• Suspiciously Like Substitute: Sandy to Valerie.
• Thematic Theme Melody
• Very Special Episode: Several, most notably "Burned Out" and "Best of Friends, Worst of Times" (one of the last episodes, in which David'south best friend, Rich, dies of AIDS-related complications). "Bad Timing" would count also; it was the get-go time safe sex was discussed on such a show.
• Wham Episode: "Movin' On", where the death of Valerie Hogan was revealed to viewers.

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Source: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/TheHoganFamily

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