Eight Is Enough

I began watching in season 1 but I never warmed up to most of the characters. I also got tired of the plot line, someone has a problem and everyone chips in to solve it. I continued watching only because I had a crush on David Bradford. He was a he-man blue collar construction worker type so I only watched to catch episodes with him. When he faded so did my interest.

I loved Eight is Enough growing up. Age wise, I was in between Tommy and Nicholas, so I enjoyed those two the most. Plus, I think they had more story lines given to them than the others. I think there were just too many girls for any of them to stand out to me and David was way too old for me to relate to.

I liked the balance of drama and comedy. I could be laughing about one part of the show and crying about another part. I believe the death of the mother (Joan) set this show apart from the other big family shows (The Waltons, The Brady Bunch). They dealt with it pretty realistically. And when Abby joined the family, the kids continued to call her Abby instead of mom, which was much more believable. Ironically, Abby became my favorite character and I think Betty Buckley was the best actor in the bunch. But I enjoyed pretty much every Bradford and loved their big family scenes the most.

Eight is Enough was an excellent family show that still stands the test of time.

Good show. My favorite characters were Tommy and Joanie. Dullest character was Elizabeth. Not many stories about her. Nicholas was cute until about the 4th season. By then he starts growing out of his cuteness. Everyone always complains about the Jeremy character in the 5th season. I thought he was a good addition although the ratings were totally down by the 5th season anyway. I never realized the father Tom had so many lines. Every time he speaks its usually a speech or something. Not complaining, just an observation. Most of the episodes were very entertaining although there are a few boring ones here and there. Overall I liked it a lot.

This family comedy, which initially would be that of a married couple with eight children, underwent several modifications from the beginning until it found the right direction. Diana Hyland would be the mother of the boys and wife of Dick Van Patten, but her sudden death from fatal cancer forced the writers to make changes to the script, at first Tom Bradford was alone until he met Abby (Betty Buckley) Tommy's tutor and was remarried. The second and third seasons of the series were the best, scripts that ranged from drama to comedy, the entire cast was great and the stories were generally very good. From season four the three eldest daughters become independent and rent their own apartment, from here the family clan is a little disarmed and the series turns more to drama than comedy, later new characters are added, the boyfriends and husbands of the older daughters. Like any series they had their maximum peak of creativity but after a little it was losing the charm of its best time.

Having recently watched the series (as a 50+ yrs old woman; who hasn't watched it in about 35+ years); I must say, it is still as entertaining as I remember.

It's not just a light family drama; it's funny AND tackles real life issues.

One of the best parts of this show, is the phenomenal acting involved.

Nobody misses a beat. It really does have the look and FEEL of a real family. The relationship dynamics & the intamacy/affection between lovers and family members seems so easy going, light-hearted and genuine. It's remarkably refreshing to watch a program where the ACTING isn't noticeable AS an act!!

Being able to stream this for free (on both Roku TV and Tubi) is wonderful; and is something an entire family can enjoy together. With a Dad, a stepmother and 8 kids of all ages; everything is relevant 😊 I just love it!!!