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Private Notes
Scenes from the Growing Pains original unaired pilot, which featured Elizabeth Ward as Carol Seaver, prior to the role being recast and given to Tracey Gold.
Created just for the Season One DVD, "Seaver Family Reunion: S'mores and More" brings together the first-season main cast with writer/producer Tim O'Donnell for a half-hour backyard campfire chat about the show, while they toast marshmallows and make s'mores. Presented in letterboxed widescreen, it's one of the better informal retrospectives done for TV DVDs, thanks to the unique concept. It is, though, entirely positive, with some prime apple polishing, and no mention at all of what Cameron did behind the scenes.
This movie takes place eight years after the Growing Pains series finale where the Seavers are in their new house. Mike finally married and adopted children, all adopted from countries around the world. Mike is successful in advertising. Carol is a successful lawyer on Wall Street. Ben cleans out swimming pools. And Chrissy is a 17-year-old kid about to graduate from high school with a smoking habit that she stops at the end of the film. Maggie gets fired from her job as a press rep for a senator, and runs against him for the job at her grandchild's suggestion. Carol acts as her campaign manager where she first clashes with, then falls for, the single father running the opponent's campaign, which leads to confusion and chaos.
Now that Seaver children are out of the house, the Seaver parents, Jason and Maggie, attempt to sell their house, because they want to retire. They both have their own idea about what they want to do after the sale; Jason wants to buy an RV and travel the country, but Maggie wants to purchase an Italian villa. Ben is the real estate agent who is closing the sale, much to the delight of his new boss. Mike and Carol, however, are very much against it, and have both returned to the Seaver house, each with issues in their own lives that they are trying to sort out. On top of all this, Chrissy has also returned to the Seaver house, looking for a place to come to after having been evicted from her apartment.
Maggie goes back to work as a journalist, prompting psychologist Jason to move his office into their home so he can keep his eye on the kids. Things don't get off to a great start: the first night he gets a call from the police that Mike has been picked up for illegally driving a car.
Jason embarrasses Mike at a Bruce Springsteen concert when they are interviewed together.
Jason fumes when Maggie spends long hours on a toxic waste story with handsome co-worker Fred.
Maggie gives an honest assessment of Carol's writing of an article for her school magazine; Mike and Ben discover track betting.
Maggie accuses Jason of monopolizing the children.
Mike's infatuation with a Madonna look-alike worries Maggie.
Jason and Maggie want to go to a mountain lodge for a weekend, but are reluctant to leave the kids alone.
Coming across a compatibility test in Jason's office, Maggie decides she and Jason should fill it out, but her answers don't tab with his. Meanwhile, Mike feigns interest in karate when his real goal is a girl attending the course.
Carol develops a crush on a family friend, who thinks of her as his little sister.
Mike hurts more than his pride when he takes a nasty fall off a dirt bike that he promised his parents he wouldn't go near.
Mike doodles on his aptitude test and winds up with an IQ score of 27.
A depressed department store Santa consulting Jason decides to commit suicide by leaping down the Seavers' chimney.
Mike backs out of the family-bowling match so he can date a snobbish girlfriend.
Jason faces off against Ben's hockey coach, who's teaching the boys to play dirty; Mike learns ballroom dancing.
Maggie casually mentions to Jason that she might be pregnant; Mike acts as a weekend servant to Ben; and Carol wants to divorce her class-project husband.
The PTA head rejects the Seavers as dance chaperones.
Ben gives Jason a very expensive birthday present, causing speculation on how he can possibly afford it.
Mike writes test answers on his shoe soles.
Maggie's assignment interferes with anniversary plans.
Custodian Mike watches a wild party explode in his home.
Reporter Maggie and psychiatrist Jason both face important career decisions.
Mike's practical-joker uncle Bob visits from the hereafter.
Maggie plans a surprise reunion for Jason's college rock band.
A new school year brings boredom, bullies, and romantic mix-ups.
A cheerleader befriends Carol solely to meet Mike.
Ben has been calling an X-rated phone service.
Fired Mike hides the truth from his parents.
Carol spreads rumors about herself and a "hunk".
A con man sells Mike a "magic" rock.
A proposed school dress code puts Maggie and Jason at odds.
Ben invites a street girl home for the holidays.
Grounded liar Mike hears Maggie fibbing to her boss.
Carol has the chance to skip a high-school grade.
A girl raises a grade for Mike, then demands payment.
The winter formal causes opposite problems for Carol and Mike.
Maggie's quarreling parents come to visit the Seavers.
Mike and his friends go to a college party and have to decide whether to use drugs or not.
Mike plays Cupid for smitten Ben and his baby sitter.
Carol wants to use radio-contest winnings on a nose job.
Maggie's busy schedule leaves Ben feeling neglected.
A genealogy assignment unearths a dark family secret.
Airlines passengers Jason and Mike must deliver a baby.
Maggie wants Jason to fire the elderly handyman he hired to fix the furnace, but he refuses because the man is a friend.
Jason knows the editor offering Maggie a dream job is a notorious womanizer.
The family is stranded in Maui.
Ben videotapes Mike and Carol's Hawaiian romances.
Mike uses double talk to sell stereos.
The family scrambles to help find an out-of-work Maggie a job after she turns into Super Mom, preparing oversize meals and assigning new chores.
Mike is unaware that he's been nominated for student-body president because he's "a sure loser."
Ben asks Carol's advice on getting a new bike from their parents.
A star is born when Mike lands a leading role in the school play opposite the lovely Monica.
Burglars hit the Seaver home.
Bobby's annoying habits make Carol look elsewhere for the man of her dreams -- just in time for her to notice a new student.
During a tonsillectomy, Ben has an out-of-body experience, dreaming that he escapes with a friendly cabbie, only to find a new Ben has replaced him at home.
After their success in the school play, Mike and Monica set their sights on a Broadway audition for ""Our Town.""
An unearned "A" makes Carol doubt her academic record.
A troubled student named Jill (Kellie Overbey) volunteers to work on a school project with Mike (Kirk Cameron) and Boner (Josh Andrew Koenig). This, however, is a subterfuge: Jill has been contemplating suicide due to some very serious problems at home, and she hopes to get some free counseling from Mike's psychiatrist dad Jason (Alan Thicke). But as it turns out, Jason is presently weighed down with a few self-pity issues of his own.
Maggie and Jason try to keep Mike in his room to complete an English paper, but Mike's mind is of course elsewhere.
Reason flies out the window when Bobby and his parents arrive at the Seavers' for dinner and a special announcement -- that Bobby and Carol are engaged.
Maggie fumes over the many irritants that seem to be driving her and Jason apart -- until unexpected news sheds light on the situation.
Maggie and Carol share confidences at the beauty salon, but later Carol learns to her chagrin that a secret isn't safe with Maggie.
A letter from the girl he met in Hawaii has Mike scheming to fly to Los Angeles to see her without his parents' knowing.
At the school dance, Mike gets a girl and Carol gets raked over the coals. Meanwhile, Ben's adventure goes awry.
Great expectations turn sour at the Dewey High dance after Mike hears Lydia's voice; and Ben and Stinky find themselves in a seedy diner eyeing a pinball machine that pays real money.
The Seavers begin to make room for baby, relegating Ben to the guest quarters and making the others lament the changes bound to come. Meanwhile, Maggie grasps for a way to tell her boss she is pregnant.
Spring-cleaning breathes new life into the family's household objects, and each has a story to tell (via flashbacks from past episodes).
Household objects continue to recall occasions in the Seaver home.
Mike and Boner learn that Coach Lubbock has been fired, prompting them to organize a protest.
Jason, Carol, Mike and Boner are arrested in the demonstration over the dismissal of Coach Lubbock.
At Mike's high-school graduation, family members recall moments when it seemed like his graduation would never take place.
Ben gets spooked at the prospect of asking a girl to a Halloween party; Jason becomes a disruptive force at Lamaze class.
Maggie goes into labor on Ben's 12th birthday and Ben confesses to a patient at the hospital that he's already feeling crowded.
Mike has a showdown with Jason over his rights as an 18-year-old college student, and declares his freedom from parental rule.
Landlord-tenant problems abound when Mike (Kirk Cameron) moves into the storage area over the family garage
Jason sends his mother on a cruise to get her mind off her dead husband, but when she returns with a fiancé in tow, Jason finds it hard to accept the man who will "replace" his father.
Carol is chosen for homecoming court.
Mike's photography course includes nude studies.
Ben throws a party to get to know a girl.
The Seavers hire a nanny for Chrissy.
A travel snafu strands Julie with Mike.
Carol sneaks out of the house for a date.
Maggie prepares her "Working Mother of the Year" acceptance speech.
Boner flunks out of college and joins the Marines.
Maggie arranges for Ben to meet his favorite rock musician.
Guests bicker at the Seavers' 20th-anniversary party.
When Mike takes a job at a convenience store, his mother is worried about him working the dangerous night shift; but Mike is more concerned about the favoritism his racist boss shows him as one of the few white employees.
Jason punishes Carol and Ben unequally for the same offense when they are both caught after sneaking out for dates without permission.
Carol doesn't want to attend her parents' alma mater.
Jason intervenes when Mike gets bad grades in psychology.
Carol's boyfriend is injured drinking and driving.
Jason's mother plans to wed aboard a cruise ship.
Jason tries to mend his mother's broken wedding plans.
Maggie opposes Mike and Julie's wedding plans.
Julie and Mike suffer prenuptial jitters.
Jason tells Carol to get a job.
His drama teacher and classmates intimidate Mike.
Carol brings a bogus boyfriend to a family party.
An angry Jason confronts Ben and Mike, who gives conflicting versions of how Ben came to sell Carol's old term papers to students at Dewey High -- and to date a seductive 18-year-old.
Mike is over the moon when he attends an open casting session and wins a part on a TV cop show -- and crushed when his single line is cut in the editing.
Jason gets a promising job offer.
Jason can't tell Maggie about the job offer.
Ben assumes Mike's paper route for half the money.
Their grandparents give Mike, Carol and Ben $5,000 each.
Promoted at work, Carol decides against college.
Mike takes Ben girl chasing.
Mike falls for his leading lady.
David turns to Mike for help with Kate.
The Seavers' reception to raise money for a free mental-health clinic spells disaster when they forget the date of the party and must scramble at the last minute for a caterer.
Ben asks permission to get his ear pierced, which leads to a serious argument between his parents.
While on a Valentine's Day dinner date with Kate, Mike runs into Julie at the restaurant.
Mike goes to work as a substitute teacher.
Carol lands in jail after a minor traffic violation.
Chrissy becomes a teenager in Maggie's dream, which is influenced by her fear of being an older parent in a sea of youngsters taking their kids to preschool.
Ben weighs the pros and cons of cheating after he learns the tricks of the test-passing trade from sly schoolmate Vito.
In a moment of introspection as he prepares to graduate, Mike wrestles with self-doubt about his ability as a director.
With Jason's wallet missing, the Seavers must rely on others to provide them with room and board while their house is being fumigated.
Ben casts a girl he likes as the lead in his home movie.
Jason and Mike head off together to inspect the mountain cabin Jason has inherited from his Uncle George.
When Mike lands a role in an off-Broadway play, he leaves college to pursue acting full-time in New York City.
Mike is broke and homeless in New York City.
Mike becomes roommates with sister Carol, now a Columbia University student.
Mike and his friend Eddie schemingly join "Parents Without Mates" to meet women.
At the school's Parents Night, the Seavers learn Ben's been telling his friends that the girl he's dating is promiscuous.
A flirty Jason gets jealous when Maggie turns the tables.
The Seavers spend a rainy Halloween night telling ghost stories.
The Seavers spend a rainy Halloween night telling ghost stories.
Jason buys an anniversary trip to Paris from travel agent Mike, who himself wins a European tour that falls apart; Maggie, in Paris, is struck with appendicitis.
Maggie is hospitalized in Paris, while Mike finds himself stuck on the road with an angry customer.
Mike and Amy continue to bicker their way toward Paris.
Jason, happy to see his mother's second marriage crumbling, doesn't want to provide her with professional help.
Chrissy starts spending much time with her imaginary friend, a six-foot-tall mouse named Ike.
Mike's friend Eddie shows up for a double date with Mike's ex-girlfriend.
An an intrafamily communications seminar, Mike and Jason discover just how alike they are.
Jason becomes Ben's business partner in the management of a rap group, but uses the money he's invested to control Ben.
Maggie's dad drops in for an unexpected visit, with news of his imminent death.
Jason takes Maggie on a tropical getaway to lift her spirits after her father's death, trusting Chrissy to Mike and Carol.
Mike competes with a well-established actor for a role in a soap opera, learning how tenuous an acting career can be.
Though Jason had an insensitive Carol pitch in at the clinic, he objects to her dating an ex-con she meets there.
In an homage to The Twilight Zone, Ben awakens to discover he's Jeremy Miller, an actor on the set of ""Meet the Cleavers"".
On a blind date shaping up as a disaster, Carol goes to the carnival, and finds unexpected fun and excitement.
Maggie teaches Ben at home after he is suspended from school.
Mike and Kate accompany the eloping Eddie and a hat-check bimbette to Las Vegas, giving Mike and Carol the wrong idea.
Mike teaches at an urban high school.
Mike gets involved when he learns his prize pupil Luke is homeless.
Mike persuades Jason and Maggie to let Luke stay with them temporarily; then Jason's wine cellar goes missing.
Jason and Maggie compete to write a newspaper column; Ben hates his glasses.
Mike gears up for his big day as a TV soap opera star just as Luke gears up to move out of the Seavers'.
Luke is afraid to visit the doctor, so Jason accompanies him -- but it's Jason who turns out to need surgery.
Carol accompanies Maggie to a resort, which turns out to be hosting a singles convention; meanwhile, the all-male weekend planned at home is ruined when Chrissy is set home with head lice.
Nouveau riche neighbors move in next door; Ben is forced to look after Luke on his first day of high school; Jason's scheme to let Chrissie stay up late backfires when the neighbors throw a lavish party.
Consumer advocate Maggie raps a vacuum cleaner that Ben broke without telling her.
The ghost of Maggie's father oversees the Seavers' visit to her childhood home.
While Jason and Maggie are away, the principal informs Mike that Luke's birth father is back in town -- and wants him back.
Ben crams for a college entrance exam, but gets no help from Jason.
Christmas brings anger and angst to the Seavers.
Penniless Mike schemes to give Kate a skiing trip.
Luke's homeless friend steals a Seaver momento.
Maggie and Jason put Mike on the spot for Luke's curfew problems.
A love triangle involves Ben, Luke and a classmate.
Tired of being bullies, Ben takes karate lessons.
Mike thinks his friend is a bad influence on Luke.
Luke's father George visits the Seavers hoping that Luke has mellowed a little and would like to spend some time with him but Luke doesn't. He was about to leave when he collapses outside the door. He says that can't move, so they take him in. Jason and Ben offer to deliver his load, and they experience all sorts of chaos on the way. Mike thinks that George is faking his injury so that he could stay and Luke would have to talk to him. But the doctor tells Maggie who tells Mike that unless George stops driving trucks, he could become paralyzed. Mike talks to George and tells him to tell Luke but doesn't want Luke to pity him and doesn't anything else to do but be a trucker. Mike suggests that maybe he could open a truck stop. Luke finds George struggling to get up and they finally talk. The next day after Jason and Ben return, George tells them that he is giving up trucking and will open a truck stop and Luke's going with him. Luke says goodbye to the Seavers.
Maggie wants to fulfill a dream by climbing a mountain.
A power failure causes dissensions in the Seaver household.
Maggie is offered a plum job in Washington, D.C.
The Seavers move to Washington, D.C., but share a final meal and memories in the empty house.
