Hogan Family, The

The Hogan Family 80's TV Show

The Hogan Family was a family comedy that ran from 1986 to 1991 on NBC. Originally, the show was titled Valerie, and starred Valier Harper, a woman trying to raise her family while her pilot husband traversed the world.  After a contract dispute with Harper, she was written out of the show (via death), and Sandy Duncan joined the show as the kid’s aunt (Sandy Hogan), and the show was then known as Valerie’s Family, the Hogans, and then later shorted to the Hogan Family.  Other stars included Jason Bateman as David Hogan, Luis Daniel Ponce as William Hogan, Jeremy Licht as Mark Hogan, Josh Taylor as Michael Hogan, and John Hilerman as Lloyd Hogan.

Like many family comedy shows of the day, The Hogan Family dealt with the everyday struggles of raising a family, with the occasional moral message tossed in.  Some of you may remember the controversial episode that aired in 1987, title “Bad Timing”, which dealt with David (Bateman) and his girlfriend contemplating having sex and using a condom.  Because this was the first prime time use of the word “condom”, some parental advisory warnings were posted and some affiliates refused to air it.  Compared to today’s TV shows, this subject matter was innocuous.