Eight Is Enough 

This comedy drama focused on a family with eight very independent children.

Creator:

William Blinn

Stars:

Dick Van Patten, Lani O'Grady, Connie Needham

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 6 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Dick Van Patten	...	Tom Bradford 112 episodes, 1977-1981
Lani O'Grady	...	Mary Bradford 112 episodes, 1977-1981
Connie Needham	...	Elizabeth Bradford 112 episodes, 1977-1981
Susan Richardson	...	Susan Bradford / ... 112 episodes, 1977-1981
Adam Rich	...	Nicholas Bradford 112 episodes, 1977-1981
Laurie Walters	...	Joannie Bradford 112 episodes, 1977-1981
Grant Goodeve	...	David Bradford 111 episodes, 1977-1981
Dianne Kay	...	Nancy Bradford 111 episodes, 1977-1981
Willie Aames	...	Tommy Bradford 109 episodes, 1977-1981
Betty Buckley	...	Abby Bradford / ... 102 episodes, 1977-1981

Storyline

The sometimes-comic, sometimes-dramatic exploits of the Bradford family, father Tom (a columnist for a Sacramento, California newspaper), mother Joan and their eight children: Mary, David, Joanie, Nancy, Elizabeth, Susan, Tommy, and Nicholas. After Joan's death, Tom met teacher Abby, and they were married to make the family feel complete again. The kids all had friends and relationships as well, turning the Bradford Bunch into a free-for-all of loved ones and family members.

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Plot Keywords:

laugh track | family relationships | sitcom | large family | sacramento california | 

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Taglines:

Warm New Family Comedy! From the Producers of "The Waltons"

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eight Is Enough

Filming Locations:

10703 Chiquita Street, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lorimar Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the first couple of seasons, an instrumental version of the theme was played during the opening. However, in later seasons, lyrics were added and the theme was sung by Grant Goodeve, who played David.

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Alternate Versions

Originally, Diana Hyland was credited for appearing in ALL 9 shows from season 1. She missed half of them, due to her illness, which eventually claimed her life. In half of those shows, there were originally scenes where they explained her absence, and even voice-overs from Hyland as Joan on the phone with Tom Bradford. During the summer reruns, Lorimar aired only the shows she did not appear in. Lorimar decided to go back and reedit the shows she did not appear in, remove her credit, and all scenes featuring said phone calls and voice-overs. These are the versions of those season 1 shows that have been in use ever since.

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Connections

Featured in The O'Reilly Factor: Episode dated 1 February 2008 (2008)

User Reviews

A Dramatic Brady Bunch

This show pretty much picks up where the "Brady Bunch" left off, but on a more serious tone. This show was definitely one of the first "dramadies", but it still managed to have its lighter moments. Most of them were provided by Willie Aames as the entrepreneur Tommy and Adam Rich as the cute Nicholas. These two young actors helped make this show one of the most loved of the 1970's. I do think that the major flaw in shows of this type though is the conflict of whether or not it was to be a serious drama or whether it was to be a cute domestic comedy along the lines of the aforementioned "Brady Bunch" and another show of that era "The Partridge Family".