There's a unique kind of warmth that lives in the television landscape of the 1980s-a mix of light comedy, subtle drama, and a gentle earnestness rarely found in today's irony-soaked content. Few shows embody this better than Valerie, later known as The Hogan Family. What began as a modest family sitcom became a quietly affecting series that dealt with loss, growth, and the shifting dynamics of home. And at its emotional core-quiet but unmistakable-was Roberta Flack's hauntingly beautiful theme song.
Flack's "Together Through the Years" is not your typical sugar-rush jingle sitcom theme. Instead, her voice moves like memory itself-gentle, reflective, touched by melancholy. The lyrics speak to love and continuity, but there's always a wistfulness, as though the song knows how fragile that love can be. It sets the tone for the show's emotional undercurrents, especially after Valerie Harper's departure from the series, which was unexpectedly echoed in the story arc with Valerie Hogan's death in a car accident, and the devastating house fire which followed, where the material traces of her were lost to the family forever. The theme never changes though, and that constancy-of voice, of sentiment-becomes more moving as the family adjusts and carries on. It's one of the most emotionally resonant theme songs in television history, and Roberta Flack sings it like she's holding something sacred.
The show's two successive stars anchored the plotlines with incredible skill and lovability -first Valerie Harper as the same-named mother, then Sandy Duncan as the same-named aunt-becoming exemplary screen role models for motherhood in both their realism and their heart. If they were the soul of the show, then it was the three sons who gave the show its heart. Jason Bateman, as David, delivered a performance far beyond his years, grounding the series in a kind of smart realism that let you believe every moment.
Two extraordinary and beautiful looking young actors named Danny Ponce and Jeremy Licht rounded out the trio of boys, providing a lovely contrast as the twins Willie and Mark. Ponce's Willie brought a highly charismatic and lovable presence-the sporty jokester of the sons, he was also at times insecure about not measuring up to his twin brother's academic achievements, which made Willie all the more lovable and sympathetic. Licht, as the bookish and sensitive Mark, offered a sincere sense of innocence and kindness, his delivery often disarmingly thoughtful. An incredibly moving example was the episode where Mark was the only one of the three sons to remember his mother's wedding anniversary, who was anxiously waiting for a call from their overseas father. The chemistry among the three brothers felt lived-in and unforced, which became even more essential as the series matured and dealt with the absence of their mother. The actors playing the twins have remained extremely close friends since the show ended, which speaks to their sense of brotherhood being a very real fact, not just an illusion.
In closing there is something profoundly bittersweet about The Hogan Family-the way it grew out of tragedy (on-screen and off) and kept moving forward. Like Flack's voice, the show quietly insisted that love can survive change, and family, in all its complications, is the enduring source of continuity in this life. It was never the loudest or flashiest sitcom on air. But it was one of the most honest and beautiful.
In revisiting it today, what lingers isn't just the jokes or the plotlines-it's that gentle theme song echoing over scenes of ordinary life, and the quiet brilliance of those three young actors growing up in front of us, together through the years.
