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Family (1976) ABC - Kate Has Nancy's Number

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Family 1976 Sada Thompson Meredith Baxter-Birney Kate Lawrence Nancy 70's Series James Broderick Kristy McNichol Gary Frank ABC TV Spelling Classic Television
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  • Added: 04-Sep-09

Wonderful mother/daughter moment from "Family" starring Sada Thompson and Meredith Baxter Birney. From the 1976-77 episode "Coming of Age". Nancy's been acting the fool, simultaneously leading on two different men, and taking advantage of the family's goodwill. By the end of the episode, Nancy's feeling ashamed and lets her guard down. Kate steps in with her patented motherly wisdom.

Easy to see why Sada Thompson won Emmys in this role. The writing's not bad and both women do it full justice. Meredith is particularly appealing showing her character's seldom-seen softer side.

Seasons 1 & 2 are available from Sony. Let's hound them into releasing the rest of the series, or gang up on Shout! Factory and get them to take over!

http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/tvondvd/
http://www.shoutfactory.com/

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Family (1976) ABC - Kate Has Nancy's Number

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  • dear, dear sada... ...

    dear, dear sada...what a TALENT! i was just a little girl when i first saw you on family, but i knew you were something special. while my friends tuned in to see kristy and leif, i was more interested in the dynamic relationship between you and james broderick. great chemistry!! oh how i miss quality television!

    By 2harts4ever [Affiliate User] 1254009769 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • She has a great ...

    She has a great resonant voice and commanding presence. Of course she came from Broadway. :-)

    By AppallingRetroTrash [Affiliate User] 1252908534 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • I miss shows like ...

    I miss shows like this. I remember my brother-in-law once commented on Sada's voice production. He watched the show just to listen to her speak.

    By brownies4you [Affiliate User] 1252554917 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • From what I ...

    From what I understand on Family Ties they aged her a bit because many housewives were complaining that Meredtih looked too young and still look like the daughter on Family to play the mom of teenagers. To me Family Ties did make Meredith look older because the show came on not too many years after Family went off.

    Meredith Baxter Birney is not a sitcom actress. She is more of a dramatic actress and we saw that on Family.

    By mstewart61 [Affiliate User] 1252193751 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • I absolutely agree ...

    I absolutely agree on all counts. Meredith was at her most beautiful in this, and had many more opportunities for showing her acting skills than in Family Ties. The show was meant to focus on Meredith and Michael Gross, but once Michael J. Fox became the breakout star, it was game over for Meredith's character.

    She's still been very gracious in interviews about that. She has class.

    By AppallingRetroTrash [Affiliate User] 1252111328 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
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