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Thirtysomething (1987 – 1991) was a ground-breaking and award-winning American television drama created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick for United Artists Television. It premiered on ABC on September 29, 1987 and lasted four seasons. The last of its 85 episodes aired on May 28, 1991.

Thirtysomething became a cultural icon and set new standards for television drama, influencing many of the night time soap operas which came after it such as Beverly Hills 90210 (1990), Melrose Place (1992), and Gilmore Girls (2000).

Character list and plot

Thirtysomething depicts the lives of a married couple, Michael and Hope Steadman, and their friends (Gary, Melissa, Ellyn, Elliot, and Nancy) all of whom are in their thirties (hence the title) and living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

  • Michael and Elliot work in the advertising business. Although the series began with them running their own agency, they eventually went to work for Miles Drentell, the head of DAA (a character who would reappear on the ABC show Once and Again).
  • Hope, Michael's wife, is a writer and stay-at-home mother who struggles with her desire to be at home with her daughter, Janey, and her need to work. Michael (who is Jewish) and Hope (who is Christian) are also an interfaith couple, a fact which was referenced throughout the series *. During the third season of the series, Hope is attracted to environmentalist John Dunaway and contemplates having an affair with him but decides against it.
  • Nancy, Elliot's wife, is an artist and stay-at-home mother to Ethan and Brittany. In addition to coping with Eliot's infidelities, Nancy struggled with, and overcame, cancer during the last two seasons.
  • Melissa, Michael's cousin and Gary's former girlfriend, is a photographer whose career includes an album by Carly Simon and photos in the magazine Vanity Fair. Melissa becomes involved with a younger man, Lee Owens, a house painter, but the relationship does not last.
  • Ellyn, Hope's childhood friend, works with City hall. She is initially involved with Steve Woodman who works at City Hall as well. Later, she has an affair with a married man (Jeffrey Milgrom), a friend of Hope and Michael's. During the final season, Ellyn becomes involved with Billy Sidel, a graphic designer.
  • Gary, Michael's college roommate, is a free-spirited professor of English literature. When he is denied tenure at the University of Pennsylvania, he thinks about becoming a social worker and meets Susannah who is a social worker. Despite the fact that no one else likes her, Gary marries Susannah and they have a baby, Emma. Gary dies during the last season in a traffic accident, just as Nancy recovers from cancer.

Cast

The Steadmans

The Westons

The Shepherds

Ellyn and her boyfriends

Additional characters

Episodes

Emmy Awards

Between the years of 1988-1991, Thirtysomething was nominated for, and won, numerous Emmy Awards *:

1988 Winners:

  1. Drama Series
  2. Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Patricia Wettig
  3. Writing in a Drama Series — Paul Haggis and Marshall Herskovitz (episode: "Business as Usual")
  4. Guest Performer in a Drama Series — Shirley Knight

It also received the following nominations in 1988:

  1. Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Timothy Busfield
  2. Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Polly Draper
  3. Editing for a Series — Single Camera Production
  4. Achievement in Main Title Theme Music
  5. Achievement in Costuming for a Series

1989 Winners:

  1. Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Melanie Mayron
  2. Writing in a Drama Series — Joseph Dougherty (episode: "First Day/Last Day")
  3. Editing for a Series — Single Camera Production
  4. Achievement in Costuming for a Series

It also received the following nominations in 1989:

  1. Drama Series
  2. Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Timothy Busfield
  3. Guest Actor in a Drama Series
  4. Directing in a Drama Series
  5. Writing in a Drama Series
  6. Art Direction for a Series
  7. Sound Mixing for a Drama Series
  8. Achievement in Special Visual Effects (episode: "Michael Writes a Story")
  9. Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series

1990 Winners:

  1. Lead Actress in a Drama Series — Patricia Wettig
  2. Directing in a Drama Series (tied with Equal Justice).

It also received the following nominations in 1990:

  1. Drama Series
  2. Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Timothy Busfield
  3. Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Melanie Mayron
  4. Guest Actor in a Drama Series
  5. Guest Actress in a Drama Series
  6. Writing in a Drama Series
  7. Art Direction for a Series
  8. Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series
  9. Achievement in Costuming for a Series

1991 Winners:

  1. Lead Actress in a Drama Series — Patricia Wettig
  2. Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Timothy Busfield
  3. Achievement in Costuming for a Series

It also received the following nominations in 1991:

  1. Drama Series
  2. Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Melanie Mayron
  3. Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — David Clennon
  4. Writing in a Drama Series
  5. Guest Actress in a Drama Series

Popular culture

Baby boomers

Initially influenced by the 1983 film, The Big Chill, the television show, thirtysomething reflected the angst felt by baby boomers and yuppies during the 1980s *. One theme explored by the show involved the changing expectations related to masculinity and femininity introduced by second-wave feminism (see references below).

Additional films and television programs which reflected similar themes include Baby Boom, Fatal Attraction and Wall Street (all appearing in 1987); the 1986 television drama L.A. Law; and the 1988 film Working Girl.

Oxford English Dictionary

Almost immediately after the introduction of the show, the term thirty something also became a catch phrase used to designate 'baby boomers' in their thirties. This cultural shift was reinforced by the Oxford English Dictionary * which added thirtysomething in 1993 (under the word thirty) and defined the term as one which became:

popularized as a catch-phrase by the U.S. television programme thirtysomething, first broadcast in 1987 . . . applied to members of the ‘baby boom’ generation entering their thirties in the mid-1980s; also attrib. or as adj. phr. (hence, characteristic of the tastes and lifestyle of this group).

twentysomething

thirtysomething was also responsible for the coinage of the word "twenty something", to describe Generation X. This was reflected in Douglas Coupland's 1991 watershed novel Tales For An Accelerated Culture. This work was dedicated to "the generation born in the late 1950s and 1960s;" today this group is sometimes referred to as the "Baby Busters".

Controversy

The show also made headlines with a 1989 episode in which two men, Melissa's gay friend Russell (David Marshall Grant) and his partner Peter (Peter Frechette), were shown in bed together, although not in a sexual context. Several major advertisers, fearing potential boycotts, pulled their commercials from the episode.

References

External links

1980s TV shows in the United States | 1990s TV shows in the United States | ABC network shows | Drama television series | Comedy-drama television series | Jewish film and theatre | Sony Pictures Television shows | Philadelphia in film and television

Génération pub | Livet runt trettio

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Thirtysomething".

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