Webster

Webster 80's TV Show

Webster was a family comedy that aired from 1983 to 1989 on ABC.  The show starred Emmanuel Lewis as Webster Long, Alex Karras as George Papadopoulos, and Susan Clark as Katherine, his wife.  It was originally called Then Came You.  After seeing Emmanuel Lewis in a Burger King commercial, ABC execs decided to get him his own show immediately (before he grew any taller).  The show had very good Nielsen rating for the first two seasons, and decent ratings for the last two seasons.

Fans of this show will remember that a retired football player named George (Karras), along with his wife Katherine (Clark), adopt the orphaned son of an old teammate named Webster (Lewis).  The focus of the show mainly revolved around how the impulsively married couple dealt with both their new marriage and the trials of trying to raise an adopted son.  However, sweet little Webster always seem to bring joy to everyone in the end.

Episodes primarily focused on Webster in the early episodes, but the focus was broadened to include more of his adoptive parents as the years rolled on.  A typical episode would be about some situation that Webster found himself in or created, such as when he nearly burnt down the apartment playing with a chemistry set, or when he tried to convince his friend to report a molestation event.