| Runtime: | around 40 minutes |
| Creator: | Michael Braverman |
| Starring: | Bill Smitrovich Chris Burke Kellie Martin Patti LuPone Tracey Needham Michele Matheson |
| Theme Music Composer: | Lennon–McCartney |
| Opentheme: | "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" Performed by Patti LuPone and the cast of Life Goes On |
| Company: | Toots Productions Warner Bros. Television |
| Country: | United States |
| Network: | ABC |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 4 |
| Num Episodes: | 83 |
Life Goes On is an American drama television series that aired on ABC from September 12, 1989, to May 23, 1993. The show centers on the Thatcher family living in suburban Chicago: Drew, his wife Libby, and their children Paige, Rebecca and Charles, who is known as Corky. Life Goes On was the first television series to feature a major character with Down syndrome.
Drew is the husband of Libby Thatcher and the father of Paige, Corky, and Becca Thatcher. He is a Special Olympics coach who formerly worked for a construction company before going into the restaurant business.
Drew's wife, Paige's stepmother, and Corky and Becca's mother, who has been a singer and actress. She is very supportive of Corky and proud that Corky and Becca take part in their church's drama group and that Becca is in her school's drama club. At the end of Season 2, she gives birth to her and Drew's fourth child, a son named Nicholas.
Drew's daughter, Libby's stepdaughter, and Corky and Becca's older half-sister. Paige frequently dates men of whom her father does not approve. She is very caring of Corky but has a love-hate relationship with Becca.
Corky is the middle child: younger brother of Paige and older brother of Becca. Despite having Down Syndrome, he takes mostly regular classes in high school. He occasionally struggles, and indicated that mathematics was his hardest subject, but he improves through tutoring sessions.
Becca is the younger sister of Corky and Paige. She is nerdy but attractive; at school, she is socially awkward, especially around her crushes, such as Tyler and Jesse.
The drama featured the Thatcher family, whose son, Charles "Corky" Thatcher (played by Chris Burke), has Down syndrome, while their daughter Becca (played by Kellie Martin) did well at school but was socially awkward. Patti LuPone, then best known for theatrical roles, played the mother Elizabeth ("Libby") and Bill Smitrovich played the father Drew. Eldest sister Paige Thatcher was played by Monique Lanier during the 1989–1990 season and by Tracey Needham during the 1990–1993 seasons as Lanier left the series to have a child. Becca's boyfriend and Corky's buddy, Tyler Benchfield, was played by Tommy Puett. Jerry Berkson (Ray Buktenica) was Libby's quirky boss. In the last two seasons, Becca's boyfriend Jesse McKenna was played by Chad Lowe.
The show is set in the Chicago suburb Glenbrook, Illinois, which is named after the high school which one of creator Michael Braverman's children attended at the time. The name itself is a blend of the real suburbs served by the school, Glenview and Northbrook.
Each episode's opening credits end with a shot of Arnold, the family dog (billed as "Arnold the Semi-Wonder Dog"). Apparently forgotten by the family in their rush to get ready for the day, he sits in the kitchen with his empty food bowl in his mouth and lets it drop to the floor. The show's producers received a constant trickle of letters each week from viewers who thought this was cruel, so in the final episode's opening credits, a bag of dog food spills out of a nearby cabinet.
During the show's first year, the main focus was on Corky. Much of the show examined the challenges of a family whose son had Down Syndrome. The Thatchers sought to have Corky interact with regular society after spending years socializing him amongst other kids with Down syndrome in "special" classes. The need to integrate Corky into normal society was Season 1's main storyline, as the Thatchers opted to enroll Corky in a regular high school despite the principal's demand that he be placed in an alternative program for those with Down syndrome. In addition, during the first three seasons, episodes included Tyler Benchfield (Tommy Puett), Becca's high school crush, who also had a brother with Down syndrome.
Corky eventually got a job as an usher at a local movie theater. He later found a girlfriend, Amanda Swanson (Andrea Friedman), who also had Down Syndrome. They married by the series' end.
By the second season, the writers began to expand the show's scope beyond Corky, and the third and fourth seasons centered on Becca and a new character, Jesse (Chad Lowe), a junior who met Becca through the school's theatre department. As they become friends, Jesse told Becca he was HIV positive. Tyler became less prominent in Becca's life and was jealous of Becca's closeness with Jesse. His character was written out and he was given the memorable sendoff of dying in a car accident with Corky as passenger.
Much to the surprise of those around them, Becca and Jesse began a relationship despite his HIV. The writers explored life with HIV through Jesse's character, and the difficulties the disease causes with romantic relationships. The relationship between Corky and Becca, previously portrayed as close, was also explored, as Corky briefly turned his back on his sister for dumping a mutual friend to date Jesse.
The fourth season's first episode, in which a 40-something Becca (Pamela Bellwood) tours the house she grew up in while remembering the events of 25 years earlier, establishes that Jesse would ultimately die from AIDS and that Becca would move on and marry a man named David. The series itself ended ambiguously but on an upbeat note, showing Becca five years later, married with a son named Jesse. In the final episode Corky was set to graduate from high school, but he did not because the school board did not waive the math requirement.
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Nielsen Ranking | ||||||
| 1 | Sunday 7:00 pm | September 21, 1989 | May 13, 1990 | 1989–1990 |
| ||||||
| 2 | September 16, 1990 | May 5, 1991 | 1990–1991 |
| |||||||
| 3 | September 22, 1991 | May 10, 1992 | 1991–1992 |
| |||||||
| 4 | September 20, 1992 | May 23, 1993 | 1992–1993 |
|
In Canada, the show aired on Crossroads Television System. In New Zealand, the show aired Saturday afternoons on TVNZ's Channel 2.
In the United States, reruns have previously aired on The Family Channel, FX and PAX TV.
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | American Television Awards[2] [3] | Best Supporting Actress, Dramatic Series | Kellie Martin | |
| 1990 | Chris Burke | |||
| 1993 | 60 Minute Category | Marshall Goldberg (For episode "Bedfellows") | ||
| 1990 | ||||
| 1991 | Mark Mueller and Craig Safan (For episode "Corky's Travels") | |||
| 1993 | ||||
| Kellie Martin | ||||
| 1990 | Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series | Patti LuPone | ||
| 1991 | ||||
| 1992 | Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series | Kellie Martin | ||
| Founder's Award | ||||
| 1993 | Best Quality Drama Series | |||
| Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series | Kellie Martin | |||
| 1994 | Toni Graphia (For episode "Last Wish") | |||
| 1990 | Tommy Puett | |||
| Kevin Telles | ||||
| Best Young Actress Supporting Role in a Television Series | Kellie Martin | |||
| Best Young Actor Guest Starring in a Television Series | Michael Bays | |||
| Best New Television Series | ||||
| Inspiration to Youth | Chris Burke | |||
| 1991 | ||||
| Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series | Kellie Martin | |||
| Best Young Actress Supporting or Recurring Role For a TV Series | Tanya Fenmore | |||
| 1992 | Kellie Martin | |||
| 1993 | ||||
| Best Young Actress Recurring in a Television Series |
On May 9, 2006, Warner Home Video released Season 1 of Life Goes On on DVD in Region 1. It is unknown if the remaining three seasons will be released. The DVD release has a replacement theme song at the beginning of each episode, with the exception of the show's pilot. The replacement was due to high licensing costs for the Beatles' song "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da." The new song aptly titled "Life Goes On" was written by composer Marc Jackson of MoonLab Music and sung by singer/songwriter Tara Johnston. The song was written specifically for the DVD release.
In September 2021, it was reported that a possible follow-up series with original cast member Kellie Martin, and with Martin, Chad Lowe and Nkechi Okoro Carroll producing, is in the works.[4] In January 2022, it was announced that NBC had given a pilot commitment for a new series with Martin set to return as star. Carroll will write and executive produce under her production company Rocky My Soul Productions banner; Lindsay Dunn will also executive produce, while Martin and Lowe will produce.[5]