History Series / TheHoganFamily

Things went according to form during the early years, but in the spring of 1987, Harper and producer/boyfriend Tony Cacciotti became embroiled in a bitter dispute with [=Miller/Boyett=] over a decision to shift the focus of the show's stories to a comedic focus (with teen heartthrob Bateman being the major part of the plan). Eventually, Harper was fired... and Valerie Hogan (along with her best friend, Annie) was promptly killed in a car accident sometime during the summer of 1987.

* VacationEpisode: The family goes to Paris at the beginning of Season 5 an in what's essentially a WholePlotReference to ''Film/RomanHoliday '', David meets and falls in love with a princess who's bored with her everyday life.

* PlayingGertrude: Edie [=McClurg=], who plays Mrs. Poole, is actually ''11 years younger'' than Willard Scott, who plays her husband. Edie was born in 1945, Willard in 1934. In addition, guest actor Kathleen Freeman was born in 1919 and thus was only 15 years older than Willard, ''despite having played his mother'' (in the season 3 episode "Mother Poole's Visit").
** Happened again when John Hillerman joined the cast after the CBS move, playing Michael and Sandy's father. John was born in 1932, Josh Taylor in 1943, Sandy Duncan in 1946. You do the math.

Fall 1987. Enter Sandy Duncan, the petite actress with plenty of comedic timing, to take over... not as Valerie Hogan (as the character was McLeaned) but as Michael's kid sister, Sandy. Sandy took a job as guidance counselor at the high school David attended; the series was re-titled ''Valerie's Family'' with the subtitle ''The Hogans'' used in the main titles. The focus of several episodes during the 1987-1988 season was on Val's passing and the family coming to terms with their grief; none, however, made such a profound impact as the episode "Burned Out", in which a poorly made lamp sparks fire and engulfs much of the house. Many keepsakes and mementos of the family's were destroyed in the attic and second floor, but the piece having the greatest emotional effect was a charred framed photo of Valerie, over which David breaks down in tears upon discovering it while exploring the burned-out second floor. It was also at this point that Mrs. Poole moved up to being a regular character, even appearing in the opening credits for the first time.

* EasilyForgiven: Subverted in "Leave It To Willie" (see AnAesop listing above for details).

* HilarityEnsues: Played straight, then reversed in "Leave It to Willie." Again, see AnAesop for details.

* ShouldersUpNudity: See NakedPeopleAreFunny.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Sandy to Valerie.
* ThematicThemeTune

* GrandFinale: "Best of Friends, Worst of Times" or "Ho Ho Hogans", depending on who you ask. ("Best of Friends" was actually initially stated on Wiki/ThisVeryWiki to be the last episode, while "Ho Ho Hogans," the ChristmasEpisode, aired in ''July'' 1991.)

* AbsenteeActor: Possibly due to the [[TheTalk subject matter]], Jeremy Licht does not appear in "Bad Timing".