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Silver Spoons

Silver Spoons is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982 to May 11, 1986 and in first-run syndication from September 15, 1986 to March 4, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for the first four seasons, until Columbia Pictures Television (now Sony Pictures Television) took production of the series with the move to syndication.

About the show

The title of the show is based on the expression that rich children are born with a proverbial silver spoon in their mouth, implying that they are given only the very best and work for nothing. It is also a term for family wealth.

In the pilot episode, Ricky Stratton (Ricky Schroder) arrives at the mansion of the father he has never met to introduce himself, move in and get to know him better. Edward Stratton III (played by Joel Higgins) epitomized the phrase "overgrown child," having never taken responsibility for anything in his whole life including his toy business named Eddie Toys, which showed in the pilot as he tried to take his mind off the fact his business associate embezzled some of his money. The elder Stratton thinks that his son is too uptight and needs to get out and have fun while he's still young. Edward's father is played by John Houseman in a recurring role as the thoughtful, well-to-do patriarch and industrialist whose demeanor starkly contrasts with Edward's and seems more similar to Ricky's (at first).

Ricky's mother Evelyn Bluedhorn (with whom Edward had a romantic relationship which led to a marriage that lasted one week, played recurringly by Christine Belford) placed him in a military boarding school after she remarried, thinking Ricky would be in the way. Needless to say, Edward was surprised to find that his short-lived marriage to Evelyn had produced a son. After originally sending Ricky back to boarding school, Edward changes his mind and decides to surprise his son by dressing up as a swamp monster to tell Ricky that he would let him live with him at the mansion.

The series centers on Ricky and his single father Edward. As an overgrown kid who owns a multinational toy company empire, Edward's mansion is stocked with arcade video games (including Tempest) and has a scale model freight train that runs throughout the house. Edward exhibits his childishness and playfulness in many behaviors; for example, he performs a little dance before playing Pac-Man when the video game plays its theme song. Stratton's personal assistant, Kate Summers (played by Erin Gray), was often the voice of reason. Kate's role added tension to the show and provided incentive for Edward to act more mature (at least sometimes). Edward and Kate had a will-they-or-won't-they relationship which led to the two dating and later becoming married in the third season.

Supporting characters

During the early years of the series, Ricky meets Derek Taylor (Jason Bateman, appearing 1982-84) and Freddy Lippencottleman (Corky Pigeon), appearing from 1983-86). They get into a lot of trouble and learn all the childhood lessons along the way. Ricky also tries to teach his father Edward to grow up and be an upstanding adult, while Edward taught Ricky to be a kid and have fun. In the third season, Ricky develops a friendship with Alfonso Spears (Alfonso Ribeiro), the nephew of Edward's stuffy accountant Dexter Stuffins (Franklyn Seales).

Guest stars

Guest stars that appeared on the show included Whitney Houston, Joey Lawrence, Matthew Perry, Mr. T, Menudo, Jonna Lee, Gary Coleman (in a crossover from Diff'rent Strokes as Arnold Jackson), Sharon Stone, and Ray Walston. Baseball Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda appeared at the end of one episode.

Episode guide

Cast

Ricky Schroder as Ricky Stratton
Joel Higgins as Edward Stratton III
Erin Gray as Kate Summers Stratton
Leonard Lightfoot as Leonard Rollins (1982-1983)
Franklyn Seales as Dexter Stuffins
Jason Bateman as Derek Taylor (1982-1984)
Corky Pigeon as Freddy Lippincottleman (1983-1985)
Alfonso Ribeiro as Alfonso Spears (1984-1987)
Bobby Fite as J.T Martin (1983-1984)
John Houseman as Grandfather Edward Stratton II
Ray Walston as Uncle Harry Summers (1985)
Billy Jacoby as Brad (1985-1986)
Christine Belford as Evelyn Bluedhorn Stratton (1983-1986)

Reruns and syndication

The series has not been in regular syndication since the mid-1990s, except for a few airings of select episodes on Nick at Nite in 2001 and 2005.

Some of the Sony Pictures Television program library (including Silver Spoons) had been acquired by ION in August 2006. No date has been announced when Silver Spoons will air. The show is also available on Comcast digital cable's On Demand service as of September 19, 2006.

The first season is also available for purchase by episode or season on iTunes.

In 2008, popular video on demand site Hulu began airing the first season of "Silver Spoons."

Theme song

The show's theme song titled "Together" was written by Rik Howard and Bob Wirth. The original version was accompanied mostly by guitar. Two other versions of the theme were used during the show's run. A synthesized version was used in 1985 when all other Embassy Television series (The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes included) modified their opening credits. The third version of the theme, a rock version, was introduced in 1986 when the show moved to first-run syndication.

Issues addressed

While largely a comedy, Silver Spoons commonly addressed certain issues that affect people using the "very special episode" format.

In a Season 2 episode, Ricky suspects that a girl he's babysitting was kidnapped by her father. Many missing children cases have involved children being kidnapped by one of their parents or relatives.

In an episode from Season 3, Alfonso is doing poorly in school, and a teacher (played by Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner) helps him by discovering that Alfonso has dyslexia, a condition which causes the mind to retain information differently, and letters are seen in a different way, usually backwards.

Ricky attends a party and is pressured into drinking by his friend. He later finds out that his friend has a drinking problem and tries to get him help.

The issue of school bullies was touched upon in an episode in which Ricky is being picked on by a bully and Edward decides to hire a bodyguard for Ricky (played by Mr. T).

Homelessness was addressed in an episode when Ricky discovered a family living in a cave on his father's estate.

Teen pregnancy was also a subject in an episode where Ricky is paired with a girl in a mock marriage project at school and finds out his partner is pregnant, both in the mock marriage project and in real life.

In the Season 3 episode "Spare the Rod," Ricky discovers that his friend is being beaten by his father. The end of the episode reveals that the father is also a child abuse victim.

In the Season 1 episode "The Great Computer Caper", Ricky and friend Arnold Jackson (Gary Coleman, playing his Diff'rent Strokes character in a crossover episode) hack into a military computer and access the plans for a top-secret fighter jet. They soon learn they might be guilty of treason and attempt to run away from home to avoid punishment.