Life Goes On
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Michael Braverman
Starring	Chris Burke Kellie Martin Patti LuPone Bill Smitrovich
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	60 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	September 12, 1989 – May 23, 1993
Links
IMDb profile

Life Goes On was a television series aired on ABC from September 12, 1989 to May 23, 1993. It was a drama about the Thatcher family, whose son Charles "Corky" Thacher (played by Chris Burke) had Down syndrome, while their daughter Becca (played by Kellie Martin) was gifted but socially awkward with her fellow classmates. Tony Award winning stage actress Patti LuPone played the mother and Bill Smitrovich played the father. Eldest sister Paige Thatcher was played by Monique Lanier during the 1989-1990 seasons and by Tracey Needham during the 1990-1993 seasons. However this character initially had relatively little involvement in the plot of the show and was infrequently seen for the first two seasons. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Christopher Joseph Burke (born August 26, 1965, in Point Lookout, New York) is an American actor with Down syndrome who played Charles Corky Thacher on the television series Life Goes On. ... Kellie Noelle Martin (born October 16, 1975) is an American television actress. ... Patti LuPone in her Tony Award winning role as Eva Perón in the Broadway musical Evita. ... Bill Smitrovich, right, with Steve Ryan, left, and Dennis Farina, center Bill Smitrovich (b. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... This is a list of television-related events in 1989. ... May 23 is the 143rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (144th in leap years). ... This is a list of television-related events in 1993. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 23 is the 143rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (144th in leap years). ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Christopher Joseph Burke (born August 26, 1965, in Point Lookout, New York) is an American actor with Down syndrome who played Charles Corky Thacher on the television series Life Goes On. ... Kellie Noelle Martin (born October 16, 1975) is an American television actress. ... Patti LuPone in her Tony Award winning role as Eva Perón in the Broadway musical Evita. ... Bill Smitrovich, right, with Steve Ryan, left, and Dennis Farina, center Bill Smitrovich (b. ... Tracey Needham (b. ...

First Seasons

During the show's first couple of years, the focus mainly was placed upon Corky. Much of the show examined the challenges of a family whose son had Down syndrome. The Thachers sought to have Corky interact with regular society after spending years socializing Corky amongst other kids with Down syndrome in "special" classes. Indeed, this need to integrate Corky into "normal" society was the main storyline in season one of the series, as the Thacher family opted to enroll Corky into a regular high school despite the principal's demand that Corky be placed in an alternative program for those with Down syndrome. Corky eventually got a job as an usher at a local movie theater. He later found a girlfriend, who also had Down syndrome, and whom he married by the end of the series.

Last Seasons

By the beginning of the second season, the writers had begun to expand the scope of the show beyond Corky, and in the third and fourth seasons the show's focus centered on Becca and a new character named Jesse (played by Chad Lowe). Jesse was a junior and met Becca through the school's theatre department. As the two became friends, Jesse told Becca he was HIV positive as a result of unprotected sex he had with a one-night stand. Despite his HIV, Becca and Jesse began a relationship much to the surprise of those around them. The writers began to explore life with HIV through Jesse's character, and the difficulties the disease causes with romantic relationships. The relationship between Corky and Becca, previously portrayed as close, also was explored as Corky briefly turned his back on his sister for dumping a mutual friend in order to date Jesse. Chad Lowe (born January 15, 1968 in Dayton, Ohio, USA) is an actor. ... Species Human immunodeficiency virus 1 Human immunodeficiency virus 2 Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS, a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections). ...

The first episode of the fourth season, in which a 40-something Becca (played by Pamela Bellwood) tours the house she grew up in while remembering the events of twenty five years earlier, establishes that Jesse would ultimately die from AIDS, and that Becca would move on and marry a man named David. The series itself ended ambiguously, but up-beat, showing Becca five years later, married, and with a son named for her true love, Jesse. Pamela Bellwood (born June 26, 1945) is an actress most famous for her role as Claudia Blaisdel Carrington on the primetime soap opera, Dynasty. ...

DVD Release

On May 9, 2006 Warner Home Video released Season 1 of Life Goes On on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. It is unknown if the remaining 3 seasons will be released at some point. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Cover Art	DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date
	The Complete 1st Season	22	May 9, 2006
	The Complete 2nd Season	22	TBA
	The Complete 3rd Season	22	TBA
	The Complete 4th Season	17	TBA

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (130th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

Trivia

• The theme song was a cover of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", as sung by Patti LuPone and the rest of the cast.
• The show won two Emmy Awards, one for Chad Lowe ("Jesse") in 1993, and one for Viveca Lindfors in 1990.
• Executive Producer Michael Braverman first cast actor Chris Burke in the 1986 television movie Desperate, based on Braverman's favorite book, Lord Jim. After seeing Burke's work, ABC executives asked Braverman to create a show around Burke.
• The show is set in the fictional Chicago suburb of Glen Brook, Illinois, which is named after the high school attended at the time by one of Braverman's children.
• In the opening credits of each episode, Arnold, the dog, sits forlornly in the kitchen with his bowl in his mouth, apparently forgotten by the family. The show's producers received a constant trickle of letters each week from viewers who thought this was cruel, so in the final episode's opening credits, a bag of dog food spills out of a nearby cabinet.
• The DVD release of Life Goes On, season one, has a replacement theme song at the beginning of each episode with the exception of the show's pilot. The replacement was due to high licensing costs for the Beatles' song "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da." The new song aptly titled "Life Goes On" was written by composer Marc Jackson of Zoo Street Music and sung by singer/songwriter Tara Johnston. The song was written specifically for the DVD release.
• The series was broadcast in South Africa, dubbed in Afrikaans, under the title "Môre is Nog 'n Dag" (Tomorrow is another day).

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Patti LuPone in her Tony Award winning role as Eva Perón in the Broadway musical Evita. ... An Emmy Award. ... Chad Lowe (born January 15, 1968 in Dayton, Ohio, USA) is an actor. ... Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors (December 29, 1920 - October 25, 1995) was a Swedish-American stage and film actress. ... Chris Burke (born August 26, 1965 in Point Lookout, New York) is an American actor with Down syndrome who played Corky Thatcher on the famous series Life Goes On. ... We dont have an article called Desperate Start this article Search for Desperate in. ... Lord Jim is a novel by Joseph Conrad, originally published in Blackwoods Magazine from October 1899 to November 1900. ... Nickname: The Windy City, The Second City, Chi Town, City of the Big Shoulders, The 312, The City that Works. Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in Chicagoland and Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Cook & DuPage Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government... Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ...

External links

• Life Goes On at the Internet Movie Database
• The Unofficial Life Goes On Page!
• Life Goes On tv.com