The Life Goes On Semi-finished Episode Guide for Seasons 1 and 2 By Mark Rabinowitz, Shari Feldman, Cindy Camp et al.
LGO SEASON ONE: Here are the humble beginnings of the drama: It was to center around 18-year-old Corky Thacher, who has Down syndrome, and his parents' efforts to raise him. (Note: Chris Burke, who plays Corky, has Down as well, but was born August 26, 1965 and so was around 24 at this time.) Corky's older sister, Paige, about 22, is the child of Drew's previous marriage. Becca, 14, is the brainy, precocious younger sister. Drew is a construction worker at this time.
1. Pilot (9-12-89): Corky tries to mainstream into the 9th grade, the same grade as Becca. Becca worries that Corky may stop her from getting to the boy she really wants, Tyler Benchfield, a star on the football team. Corky dreams of being King at a homecoming dance with Rona Lieberman. Corky is accused of cheating off Rona's paper but it was actually the opposite. Tyler introduces the Thachers to his brother Donny who also has Down syndrome. Doubts arise over whether Corky should indeed mainstream as opposed to going into a special-ed program, or a private school (which the Thachers can't afford). But at a serious parent-principal meeting, Corky dispels all doubts by reciting "The Raven," the famous Edgar Allan Poe poem. Sub-plot: For Libby's 40th birthday, Drew buys her a heart-shaped ring that they can't afford. Paige moves home. -CC, JBM
2. Corky For President (9-24-89): Corky runs for freshman class president with the help an unpopular smart student, Lester Fishbein. He has a crush on Rona and really believes that Rona likes him as well. Rona encourages him to run and Corky doesn't realize she is just joking with him. -CC
3. The Babysitter (10-1-89): Corky gets a babysitting job; his classmates barge in at the house where he is babysitting. The intrusive folks include Tyler, who regrets the whole thing, and "Russo," who is basically a jerk/nemesis. -JBM, PS
4. Break a Leg Mom (10-8-89): An episode showcasing the singing talents of Patti LuPone. a Tony winner for the musical "Evita," actually centers on Corky, for whom nothing seems to be going right. First, he has an accident in driver's ed. Moreover, he's not doing well in his remedial arithmetic class, and if he doesn't pass a minimum-competency test he won't be able to stay in the mainstream program. What really gets to Corky, though, is the uneasy felling that his mom gave up a promising show-business career because he came along. As it happens, Libby has a chance for a comeback of sorts, at the community college's "Autumn Follies." She wants no part of it. And Corky doesn't want to take arithmetic tutoring with kids 10 years younger than himself. But they work out a deal: he'll take the tutoring if she auditions for the show. -SF
5. Becca's First Love (10-15-89): Becca falls for the lead singer (Gabe) in a neighborhood band. She stays out with Maxine to listen to the band past curfew. Gabe encourages her to stay late and she gets in trouble with her parents. -CC
6. Paige's Date (10-22-89): Drew sets up Paige with a charmer whose head is in the clouds; unfortunately his sense of responsibility seems to be mired in quicksand. -SF
7. Paige's Mom (11-5-89): Paige's mom comes back. They have a great time, and make plans for a trip to England. Paige's mom winds up living without Paige. A lot of flashbacks to when Paige's mom, an actress, originally left. (Paign's mom had also been married three times.) Tearful ending with Paige calling Libby mom. -SF
8. Call of the Wild (11-12-89): Drew works on a construction project at an Indian burial ground. A wolf who mysteriously guards the ground saves Corky from Dobermans pursuing him in a nearby wooded area. -JBM
9. Corky Witnesses a Crime (11-26-89): Corky tries out for the football team. The football coach hits a student, one of his former players, and all the team stands up for the coach except Corky who is compelled to tell the truth. The coach claims that he was hit first. He cuts Corky from the team, but later when the team comes out with the truth as well, Corky is allowed to keep trying out. Shari says Corky was just a water boy, because he can't play football (as shown in a later episode). -CC
10. Ordinary Heroes (12-3-89): A frustrated Drew decides to quit his construction job and go into the restaurant business; and he joins Libby in counseling a couple wholse newborn daughter has Down syndrome. As it turns out in the end, the guys who own the restaurant don't sell the restaurant to Drew because Corky has Down. Also, we learn that the cook at this restaurant makes the best french fries. -SF
11. Pets, Guys and Videotapes (12-10-89): Paige goes to work for a veterinarian who is very kind with suffering animals but kind of insufferable with humans. The vet is divorced and has a child. Meanwhile, Becca videotapes a hectic day in the life of her working mother. -SF
12. Corky's Crush (1-14-90): Becca and Corky (in the same class somehow) do a classroom exercise in which paired students must pretend to be married for a week to investigate issues of marriage and family life. Becca first is paired with Lester Fishbein, then switches to Tyler. Neither works out terribly well. Corky, on the other hand, is paired with the new girl in school (Shannen Doherty of 90201!), upon whom he develops a crush. She only has eyes for the ubiquitous Russo, though, and Corky has to make peace with only being a friend. Meanwhile, Libby's parents hole up at the Thachers' to continue their love feud. There's a great scene in which Sal Giordano encourages Corky that the right girl is out there. -SF, PS
13. Thacher and Henderson (1-21-90): At the high school football reunion, Drew finally makes peace with his best friend after a falling out over a business deal that caused Drew to lose $10000 after 10 years. Becca watches Paige who is with her vet boyfriend and then her ex (the motorcycle man) shows up and Paige has to chose between the 2 of them. Becca gets a crush on one of the football players sons until Tyler shows up putting her in the same situation as Paige. -CC
14. The Return of Uncle Richard (2-4-90): Drew's younger brother Richard, a lovable family black sheep, breezes in at a time when Corky is beginning to wonder who'll look after him when his parents die. Drew and Richard don't get along, but needless to say, the kids love him. The culmination of Drew's mending relationship with Richard comes when Libby and Drew entrust the care of Corky to Richard if something were to happen to them. -SF, PS
15. Brothers (2-11-90): The Special Olympics, a time for warmhearted competition and fun, also bring love to Corky and a challenge to Tyler, whose father won't permit Tyler's Down-syndrome brother to participate. -SF
16. Corky Rebels (2-18-90): At 18, Corky wants out from under his parents' wings --- even if it just means taking the bus to school. Unfortunately, he ends up with the bad crowd. The height of this ep comes when "bad boy" Corky auditions for the community talent show with a hip-hop dance routine to "Fight the Power" from "Do the Right Thing," the Spike Lee film. Eventually, after the rough kids with whom he's been hanging out turn on him, he mends his ways and does a tap routine with Becca (their "standard" act) in the show instead. -SF, PS
17. It Ain't All It's Cracked Up to Be (3-4-90): Becca enters a Miss Teen contest and finds out that she is sharing a room with none other than Rona Lieberman. Scholarship money is at stake in this pageant. Becca gets to know Rona a little better after Rona's mother shows up at the pageant drunk and makes a fool of Rona during her piano performance. Drew has problems with the new neighbors because their son has a band and plays loud music. Corky tries out for chorus but doesn't make it because he can't sing. Later the neighbor boy gives Corky his old set of drums and Corky seems to be quite talented at playing them. Drew and the neighbors make peace. -CC
18. Pig O' My Heart (3-25-90): Drew finally gets a chance to own his own restaurant, but it's Corky who brings home the bacon: a huge runaway porker that hogs Cork's affections. Corky adopted it to fill the void of Paige's leaving (so this must be when Monique Lanier left the show). -SF, TB How Drew got the restaurant bears discussion. In "Ordinary Heroes," he tried to buy it, but when the brothers who owned it discovered that Corky had Down, one of them got cold feet about what that would do for business. Then the writers decided to focus instead on the fact that Drew can't get the loan approved to buy the place. When the owner of the pig (which Corky named "Jeffrey," even though it was a girl) finally is reunited with the animal, he mentions something about liking restaurants but having no time to run them. Drew sees his shot and goes for it--cut to the Grand Opening of the Glen Brook Grill, with cameos by all the friends of the family from previous eps. -PS
19. Becca and the Underground Newspaper (4-1-90): As a reporter for an underground newspaper, Becca zealously pens an expose of the school janitor's criminal past that's the truth --- but not the whole truth. The janitor's name was Kominsky. He had a minor criminal infraction years ago when he broke into a house to steal money to feed himself and his wife. Becca reports on this, but never interviews Kominsky for his side of the story. The scandal breaks, and Becca realizes the irresponsibility of her actions (although she was pushed into it by the pretentious paper editor, who also asked her out on a date). She apologizes to Kominsky and publishes a retraction in the legit school paper. Kominsky gets a job at the Grill. -SF, TB, PS
20. Save the Last Dance for Me (4-15-90): Becca's aged dance teacher (Viveca Lindfors) must enter a nursing home. -TB
21. With a Mighty Heart (4-29-90): Drew is sure that his father, who stops by on his way to join the Peace Corps in the Solomon Islands, isn't telling them the whole story. -SF
22. The Spring Fling (5-13-90): Becca finally gets asked to the dance by Tyler. Only she had already accepted an invitation with someone else. She breaks it off with the first guy, but then feels guilty and dances with him or something... -SF
There's just some trouble I have, I don't know if this happened in "Paige's Date" or "Pets, Guys and Videotape": Paige needs a job, gets a demeaning one as a Swiss-Miss-type spokesmodel, another bad one selling cosmetics, then takes the family rabbit (?) to a vet, with whom she fights, then gets hired by, then starts dating.
LGO SEASON TWO: Monique Lanier left the show during season one to have a baby, so the writers had Paige (now played by Tracey Needham) move out and make visits. During this season, Patti LuPone had to do likewise; in her place were carefree younger sister Gina (Mary Page Keller) and Zoe (Leigh Ann Orsi). In the storyline, Libby was confined to her bed with pregnancy complications.
1. Honeymoon from Hell (9-16-90): Corky wins a raffle prize: a trip to Hawaii. For Drew and Libby, it's their dream vacation; Becca doesn't want to go but does. Things turn sour when they get there: Their luggage is lost; their hotel is a decrepit, lizard-filled horror, and their dining and entertainment coupons (part of the raffle prize) have expired. Within hours, the Thachers decide to go home. But Corky runs into famous entertainer Don Ho, who sets them up in a luxury hotel. Ho introduces them to luaus and a range of vacation adventures. (continued in the next episode) -SY, JBM
2. Corky and the Dolphins (9-23-90): Corky learns to surf and is asked to care for the performing dolphins at an ocean theme park. Becca meets Kimo, a handsome young surfer boy who loses interest in her after meeting Corky. Becca gives him a piece of her mind in return. Also, Drew and Libby don't get along at all with two bickering second honeymooners. -JBM, SF
3. The Visitor (9-30-90): Libby begins experiencing nighttime visions of a young boy shortly before she finds out she is pregnant. The pregnancy draws a bad reaction from Becca and Corky, who seem to think that they should have been consulted about such a big change. Drew frets that they have trouble making ends meet with the kids they already have. Eventually they come around, and the vision makes one last visit. -TJW
4. Becca and the Band (10-7-90): Rona and Tyler break up because Rona lied to him and went to a frat party. Becca becomes manager of Tyler's band and sets up a gig for them at the opening of the new mall with the prerequisite that there has to be a female singer in the band. Tyler asks Becca and she agrees. At the last minute she backs out and asks a friend to do it and Tyler ends up leaving with Becca's friend, leaving the Bec depressed. Also, Libby is offered a chance to leave the restaurant and return to her old high-pressure, but higher-paying job. -CC, SF
5. The Banquet Room Renovation (10-14-90): Drew decides to turn the back room of the restaurant into a banquet room in hopes of bringing in more money. He gets funding from Farmer Jack on the condition that Drew use his son (Teddy) as a worker. Drew agrees. Drew and the kid develop a father/son like relationship. Corky is jealous and tries to help but causes more damage than good, which Drew blames on Teddy until Corky tells him the truth. Meanwhile, Libby, back at her old job, tries to dig up a canine star for a gourmet dog-food commercial. (Is this where Arnold makes his first appearance, or was he there before?) -CC, SF
6. Halloween (10-28-90): Halloween scarres up bad time for all: Libby and Drew at Jerry's big party, Corky at the school masquerade, and Becca who is home alone. The horror movies she's watching start to get to her. The lights go out, an intruder breaks in-- it turns out to be Tyler. Confusion abounds. -SF, PS
7. Chickenpox (11-4-90): Becca dreams about figure skating with a man. She wakes up with the chicken pox and has to stay home sick. Tyler comes to visit her several times to tell her about his problems with Rona. He and Becca become closer until Rona shows up (just when they're about to kiss!) and steals him back from her. Meanwhile, Drew hires a quirky waitress at the grill and comes down with the pox. Corky also gets sick and thinks Becca got him sick on purpose. Paige's boyfriend (the Vet) has gone to a conference and then will be moving back home to take over her fathers practice. She wants Libby to go to a spa with her that weekend to get away and think about going with him. The decision is made for her when she finds out the vet wants to get married but to another woman. After all 3 Thachers get over the pox, Libby comes down with a nervous rash from all her stress and is bed-ridden for the weekend and left alone to fend for herself. -CC, EL
8. La Dolce Becca (11-11-90): Becca gets a crush on a French student and Maxi with this French guy's friend. They have hopes of getting in with this "mature" crowd. She and Maxi go to a bar with these boys and Maxi gets drunk. Becca tells her mom the next morning to get some help for Maxi's hangover. Becca's mom ends up telling Maxi's mother what happened after giving her word to Becca that it was just between them. Becca and Maxi get into a fight and Maxi is in with the mature crowd. Becca ditches school and gets grounded but has to go out that night when she receives a call from Maxi because one of these guys had left her stranded. She gets caught sneaking back in the house. Side plot: A lady is choking in the restaurant, Corky runs to get Drew who gives the lady the Heimlich maneuver and the two of them become heroes. Later the lady sues Drew for $25,000 because supposedly he broke one of her ribs. (I can't remember right now if the suit was dropped or not.) -CC
9. A Thacher Thanksgiving (11-18-90): Corky pictures the family at the Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving; Drew, opening the restaurant for the holiday, meets an old classmate who's homeless. -SF
10. Libby's Sister (11-25-90): Tension between Becca and Drew isn't helped by the arrival of Libby's sister Gina (Mary Page Keller) and niece Zoe (Leigh Ann Orsi).-SF
11. The Buddy (12-9-90): A fun-loving old buddy brightens up Drew's life, but the man has a shady side. Meanwhile, Becca and Zoe squabble over room-sharing. -SF
12. The Bicycle Thief (12-16-90): Corky resolves to enter a 50K bike race despite his father's objections, and makes friends with another bike rider who is epileptic. He bought a brand-spanking new bike from a guy in the bike store who had a crush on Paige. The bike was stolen, and Zoe, seeing Corky's heartbreak, stole him an almost identical one. The truth wins out, though, and all gets cleared up in the end. -PS
13. Isn't It Romantic? (1-16-91): Cupid is shooting arrows at almost everyone. First Hans gets a crush on a lady that delivers the newspapers whose husband just died. Kent, Paige's motorcycle man returns and sings "Wild Thing" to her at the grill and they get back together. Becca has to dissect a frog in biology and her partner is a boy named Matt. They have an up and down relationship but still end up together rather than as friends. Tyler catches them smootching in the hall and becomes jealous. He sneaks into Becca's room that night and proclaims his feelings to her only to find out that it is Zoe he is talking to...Becca is out with Matt. Jerry develops a crush on Gina and they go out on a date provided that only the human part of Jerry is allowed on the date and if Jerry shows up, the date is over. -CC
14. The Bigger Picture (1-13-91): Gina despairs when nothing she does is right in the eye of her mother, and Corky despairs when his special-ed substitute suddenly takes leave. -SF
15. Last Stand in Glen Brook (2-3-91): Becca organizes a '60s-style protest in support of a record store owner (Qunicy Jones) arrested for selling allegedly obscene material. -SF
16. Head Over Heels (2-10-91): Becca does a double flip over her gymnastics coach -- as does Gina over a handyman (Michael St. Gerard) several years her junior. -SF
17. Corky's Travels (3-10-91): Corky gets lost and wanders around the mean streets of Chicago. He meets a kindhearted, young hooker who gives him his first sexual experience--essentially a few long kisses. (The episode is intentionally vague over whether they went further.) Corky is shadowed (and mystically guided) throughout the evening by a semi-mythic blues singer, the great Leon Redbone. Becca and Tyler spend a rainy, frustrated evening driving around Chicago looking for Corky, and end up smoochin' in the car. This episode was filmed mostly in black and white. -JBM, PS
18. Thanks a Bunch, Dr. Lamaze (3-17-91): Drew confronts his feelings about them having yet another child. He comes through in the end when another woman goes into labor early. Becca makes muck over athletes' unearned grades -- only to muddy herself. -SF
19. Ghost of Grandpa Past (3-31-91): Drew is having doubts about the restaurant and keeps having conversations with his Grandfather. I think in the end he decides on the new look for the restaurant. -SF
20. Arthur (4-7-91): Corky befriends an older man with Down Syndrome who leads a kind of life that Corky would like to lead. -SF
21. Lighter Than Air (4-28-91): Libby cooks up a great ad for a line of diet frozen foods; Cork and Zoe play Sherlock Holmes and snoop into Tyler's furtive behavior. -SF
22. Proms And Prams (5-5-91): Expectations run high as Becca awaits Tyler's invitation to the prom, and Libby expects her baby. Patti Lupone sings "More than You Know." -SF
-------------------------- This concludes Part I of II of the Life Goes On Semi-finished Episode Guide. Part II, which contains summaries for seasons 3 and 4, is next. -- Mark Rabinowitz *** The Internet's #1 Kellie Martin Fan All replies forwarded to [email protected]