18 to Life is a Canadian sitcom television series that debuted on January 4, 2010, on CBC Television.
The show stars Stacey Farber and Michael Seater as Jessie Hill and Tom Bellow, a young couple who decide, on a dare, to get married right out of high school. The cast also includes Peter Keleghan and Ellen David as Tom's parents Ben and Judith Bellow, and Alain Goulem and Angela Asher as Jessie's parents Phil Hill and Tara Mercer. The two families live next door to each other and ascribe to the adage that "good fences make good neighbors." Jessie's parents are free-spirited and do not believe in societal constructs of marriage or organized religion. They have a refugee from Iraq living in their basement. Tom's parents are traditional white-collar sticklers for rules. Tom's father is a judge who converted to Judaism when he married and his mother is a homemaker. Jessie and Tom eventually settle into the attic suite of Tom's parents' house as their first marital home and try to balance college, work, and the trials of being young newlyweds. The show is set in Montreal, Quebec.
Tropes:
- Aloof Big Sister: Monica, the oldest of the Bellow family, shows up at times but is mostly off with her own life. Her default attitude regarding her siblings Tom and Wendy tends to be disdain or at least cool reserve. She's attractive, successful and much more confident than either of them.
- Camping Episode: In "If a Bellow Falls in the Forest", nature is never the same when the families roll onto the campground in an immense RV. Tom and Jessie escape from their parents only to get lost in the woods.
- Casting Gag: Jessie is a gentile, with it being a plot point that she won't convert to Judaism like her husband Tom's parents want. She's played by Stacey Farber, who is actually Jewish, whereas the actors playing Tom and his parents aren't.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Tom and Jessie. In the series' intro they can be seen playing together as little kids, then over time dating as they grew up before getting married.
- Circumcision Angst: It's revealed in the episode "Goy Story" that Ben panicked at the thought of getting circumcised when converting to Judaism, so he lied to Judith and said he went through with it. After she finds out she demands that he get the procedure done and he does at the end of the episode - and faints because of it.
- Double Entendre: "Hanging Pictures" is all about this, as a euphemism for sex.
- "Getting My Own Room" Plot:
- One episode focuses on Tom and Jessie trying to find their own place, ultimately landing them in the Bellow's attic.
- There's another episode where Wendy announces that she wants Tom's room since he now lives in the attic.
- Girl Next Door: Jessie. A Nice Girl who's a Childhood Friend of Tom's (she literally is the child of his next door neighbors), who grew into his girlfriend and later wife.
- Happily Married: Despite occasional spats, Tom, Jessie and both their parents have happy, loving marriages (although theirs is the most difficult at first).
- Hippie Parents: Jessie's parents often come across as an overgrown Granola Girl and a Granola Guy in contrast to Tom's straight-laced orthodox Jewish parents.
- Hollywood Genetics: Wendy has a darker complexion than the rest of her family, and doesn't look like them at all.
- Informed Judaism: The Bellows often reference orthodox Jewish traditions throughout the series. However, they rarely do anything specifically Jewish in the series such as following particular traditions.
- Locked in a Room: In "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", the parents get trapped in Phil's garage with unresolved tensions and hash brownies.
- Married Too Young: The main premise of the show. On a dare, Tom and Jessie marry at age 18 (hence the title), which their parents are opposed to. It's not only because of their age (Jessie's parents are opposed to getting married in general), though a major factor. However, despite difficulties they make this work and their parents later accept it.
- Mistaken for Pregnant: In "Miss Conceived", a positive pregnancy test keeps being misplaced and then found by someone else. By the end, the three husbands believe that their wives are pregnant and the women think the same about each other. Turns out that the pregnancy test is actually really old and was kept as a keepsake by one of the women from her last pregnancy almost nine years ago.
- Pregnancy Test Plot: In "Miss Conceived", a positive pregnancy test keeps being misplaced and then found by someone else. By the end, the three husbands believe that their wives are pregnant and the women think the same about each other. Turns out that the pregnancy test is actually really old and was kept as a keepsake by one of the women from her last pregnancy almost nine years ago.
- Slobs vs. Snobs: Jessie's parents are free-spirited and do not believe in societal constructs of marriage or organized religion. They have a refugee from Iraq living in their basement. Tom's parents are traditional white-collar sticklers for rules. Tom's father is a judge who converted to Judaism when he married and his mother is a homemaker.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Wendy suggests they play a Hannah Montana board game at the bachelorette party to which Judith quickly dismisses. Wendy then informs the latter that there's a drinking version. Judith doesn't question the fact that Wendy (who is only supposed to be around 13) knows anything about drinking games.
