Fryday June 16, 1989
by Ron Miller
ABC will be a strong player in the ratings next season, based on a screening of pilots for most of the nine new prime-time shows it will offer next fall. The network previewed the fall lineup this week for its station operators at the annual ABC affiliates convention here. Their enthusiasm was high, especially for what may be the best new series anybody will put on next fall, the one-hour family drama Life Goes On.
That means ABC has had the best new show two seasons in a row. Last year it was "Roseanne," already the most popular show on TV. If anything, the applause here for Life Goes On was even greater, not to mention the tears.
Now here's the bad news: Life Goes On will be plugged into one of the worst hellholes in all of prime time: Sundays from 7-8, right opposite CBS's ratings juggernaut 60 Minutes.
Still, the heavy odds against the show may cause the network to give it more time to develop a following. Federal law permits only news, public service or family-oriented programs in that hour, so it won't be easy to replace Life Goes On with anything that will do better.
The show is incredibly good. It's about a contemporary working-class family struggling to get ahead in today's hostile economy. Dad (Bill Smitrovich) works in construction and dreams of starting his own business. Mom (Patti LuPone) is turning 40 and wishing she could quit her job to enjoy life more
The kids are truly special: Paige (Monique Lanier) is depressed after dropping out of college and returning home. Rebecca (Kellie Martin) is a gawky 14-year-old who's afraid she's turning into a dweeb. And 18-year-old Corky
(Chris Burke), who has Down's syndrome, is fighting to prove he can stay in high school with the other kids after years of special education.
Young Chris Burke is a Down's child himself, and there will be no more winning performer on TV this fall. America will fall in love with him, mark my words.