by Mark Dawidzia
Life will go on for Life Goes On, the acclaimed family drama that ABC premiered in September.
Although Life Goes On ranked a miserable 98th out of 124 series for the 1989-90 series, it rode to renewal on a crest of rave reviews and the endorsements of everybody from parents' groups to the National Coalition on TV Violence. Even with all the kind words, that's quite a feat.
Of the 26 series that the four networks introduced last fall, only seven will be back for a second season. "From a quality standpoint, we're extremely pleased with Life Goes On," said Robert Iger, president of ABC's entertainment division. "We think it's a wonderful program. It also represents an improvement over what we programmed in that time period last year (against CBS powerhouse 60 Minutes), and thus there is some satisfaction from a ratings standpoint."
"We knew going in that was going to be an extremely difficult time period for that program. So, from a ratings standpoint, our expectations, I think, were quite realistic."
Iger said that Life Goes On is a series "we threw to the wolves -- a high-quality program, good concept in a very tough time period ... We didn't expect it to be in the top 10 or even the top 20 in that time period."
During the weeks before and after the working-class drama's debut, most of the articles written about Life Goes On focused on Chris Burke, a 23 year old actor with Down syndrome who plays Corky, an 18-year-old with Down syndrome. The episodes that got the greatest attention were those dealing with Corky's efforts to adjust to a public high school's "mainstreaming" plan.
Several weeks later, a few critics started noticing the fine work of Kellie Martin, who plays Corky's younger sister, Becca.
It wasn't until late in the season that the spotlight finally fell on the outstanding portrayals by the actors playing Corky and Becca's parents -- Bill Smitrovich and Patti LuPone. As the writers threw more and more challenges their way, Smitrovich and LuPone responded with some of the strongest acting you could have seen in prime time this season.
"I understand that (executive producer) Michael (Braverman) was not looking for a typical TV mother and I believe that's why I was cast," said LuPone, a Tony-winning Juilliard graduate whose many Broadway credits include Evita, The Robber Bridegroom and Anything Goes. Her only previous major prime-time role was Lady Bird Johnson in the 1987 TV movie LBJ: The Early Years.
Unlike LuPone, who decided in elementary school that she wanted to be an actress, Smitrovich took to acting at a relatively late age -- 24. His many theatrical films include Crazy People, Splash, Her Alibi and Silver Bullet. He also played Sgt. Danny Krychek in Crime Story (NBC, 1986-88) and Sonny Crockett's corrupt former partner in the Miami Vice pilot episode.
Unlike Smitrovich, LuPone had no previous series experience. "I have left the stage temporarily," she said. "It's a departure. I'm very anxious to learn more about film and television technique."
She'll get a chance to learn a little more as her character's prime-time life goes on in the fall.