Editing Growing Pains (section)

== Production ==

=== Casting ===
Soon after the cancelation of ''The Four Seasons'', [[Joanna Kerns]] auditioned for a new series in late 1984, called ''Growing Pains'', which was being developed by screenwriter Neal Marlens, alongside executive producer [[Michael Sullivan (filmmaker)|Mike Sullivan]]. She auditioned with [[Alan Thicke]], who was coming off the failure of his syndicated late-night talk show ''[[Thicke of the Night]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=James |first=Emily St |date=2016-12-15 |title=Before his death, Alan Thicke spoke to us about his legacy and being a TV dad |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2016/12/15/13955480/alan-thicke-dies-interview-growing-pains |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=Vox |language=en}}</ref> Kerns joked in many interviews that she and Alan had immediate chemistry, especially when she kissed him on his nose by accident during their audition together. Kerns and Thicke's chemistry won them both the parts of lead characters Maggie and Jason Seaver, and the two became great friends off the show; both of them had many things in common, including being newly divorced single parents.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-05-06 |title=Mr. And Mrs. Seaver From 'Growing Pains' Considered Dating In Real Life |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/growing-pains-alan-thicke_n_7226248 |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=[[HuffPost]] |language=en}}</ref> [[Tracey Gold]] auditioned for the role of Carol Seaver, but was passed over in favor of [[Elizabeth Gracen|Elizabeth Ward]], who had starred alongside Gold in the 1983 ''[[ABC Afterschool Special]]'' ''The Hand-Me-Down Kid''.<ref name=":0" /> However, test audiences did not find Ward to be suited for the role of Carol, and Gold promptly replaced her; scenes featuring Ward in the original pilot were subsequently reshot with Gold for the broadcast version. 

Marlens and most of the original writing and producing staff (including wife [[Carol Black (writer)|Carol Black]], who had quickly ascended from story editor to co-executive producer during the first half of the season) were let go from the series midway through its first season; replacing Marlens and joining Sullivan as showrunners were Steve Marshall and Dan Guntzelman (who met and formed their writing partnership while working on ''[[WKRP in Cincinnati]]'').

In 1991, [[Leonardo DiCaprio]] joined the main cast in the role of Luke Brower, a homeless teenager who is taken in by the Seaver family at the behest of Mike (who, by then, was a substitute teacher at the high school where Luke had masqueraded as a student).{{sfn|Wight|2012|pp=331, 275}} Co-star Joanna Kerns recalled DiCaprio being "especially intelligent and disarming for his age," but also mischievous on set.<ref name="theindependent">{{cite news |last1=Yahr |first1=Emily |date=February 23, 2016 |title=How Leonardo DiCaprio went from being a dorky teenage actor to a superstar |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/leonardo-dicaprio-how-a-dorky-teenage-actor-became-a-superstar-a6891181.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009133108/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/leonardo-dicaprio-how-a-dorky-teenage-actor-became-a-superstar-a6891181.html |archive-date=October 9, 2019 |access-date=October 9, 2019 |work=The Independent}}</ref> Then-15-year-old DiCaprio was cast in a bid to appeal to teenage female viewers (similar to how Cameron gained heartthrob status with that demographic during the show’s earlier seasons), but was written out towards the end of Season 7, in order to allow DiCaprio to begin work on the 1993 biographical drama film ''[[This Boy's Life]]''. Still, the addition of DiCaprio—who would earn a [[Young Artist Award]] nomination for Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Television Series for his work as Luke—did not improve the show's ratings.{{sfn|Wight|2012|pp=331, 275}}<ref>{{cite web |title=13th Annual Awards |url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms13.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000202175308/http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms13.htm |archive-date=February 2, 2000 |access-date=October 9, 2019 |publisher=Young Artist Awards}}</ref>

=== Opening and closing credits ===
The opening credits varied from traditional sitcoms by having sight gags involving specifically shot scenes with the cast on locations. This was similar to the ottoman gag on The [[The Dick Van Dyke Show|Dick Van Dyke Show]] however there were far more variations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-10-03 |title=Hey Dick, Look Out for that Ottoman: Celebrating a Classic TV Moment |url=https://laist.com/news/entertainment/dont-trip-on-that-ottoman-50-years |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=LAist |language=en}}</ref> The opening theme song, "As Long As We've Got Each Other", was written by [[Steve Dorff]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Songs |url=https://www.stevedorff.com/songs |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=Steve Dorff |language=en-US}}</ref> with lyrics by [[John Bettis]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Bettis: The Songwriters on Apple Music |url=https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/john-bettis-the-songwriters/pl.4fbf3041f4e84a90a593688a79c2c0ff |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=Apple Music - Web Player |language=en-US}}</ref> The end theme was an jazzy instrumental version of the song. 

In the first season, the song was performed by [[B. J. Thomas|B.J. Thomas]], with [[Jennifer Warnes]] added for season 2. In seasons 4, Thomas and singer [[Dusty Springfield]] performed the theme song. In season 5, the theme returned to a slightly altered Thomas/Warnes performance. Season 6 introduced an [[a cappella]] version of the tune, before again returning to the Thomas/Warnes version. The last few episodes of season seven brought back the a cappella version of the song.  

In addition to the changes in the theme song, the imagery depicted on screen varied. In season 1, vintage photos of families played, with a sepia toned photo (that morphed into color) of the cast at the end.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq7Z61wdttE |title=Growing Pains Season 1 Opening Credits |date=2008-01-21 |last=Bobby Francis |access-date=2024-11-12 |via=YouTube}}</ref> Season 2 initiated the familiar show title over a live-action shot of the cast standing in front of the set of the house, before mixed imagery of clips from the show and photos of the cast when they were younger. At the end of the intro, the cast left their standing position to walk towards the house and a rotating member of the cast would lag behind.  

For the third season opening two-part Hawaiian episodes, the family was depicted standing in front of the Maui Prince Hotel, with the clips interspersed with the vintage cast photos from the episode itself. The closing credits music (over scenes from the episode) was an instrumental version of the song "Swept Away", written for the episode by Dorff, Bettis and [[Christopher Cross]] (who also performed the full version of the song in the episode).[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5I98g8BAWg] The remainder of season 3 was similar to season 2, with updated show clips and old photos of the cast.  

With the introduction of the pregnancy storyline, the first episode of season 4 depicted a pregnant Joanna Kerns with the rest of the cast standing before the house set. For the second episode of the season, as the family begins to move towards the house, the theme music fades and Kern's character announces that she is giving birth, with the family ushering her back to the house while the theme music finishes.  

The remainder of season 4 again had the family standing in front of the house set, now with the youngest member (infant Chrissy) depicted. The remainder were again vintage photos of the cast.