101 Best Written TV Series

Aired: ABC, 1988-1993

Created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black, this sweet, intelligent confection of a half-hour comedy functioned as a looking glass into a late '60s suburban childhood. "In a sense, the series is one long flashback," Marlens told The Miami Herald at the time. ABC thought highly enough of the pilot to air it after the Super Bowl. That episode revolved around a first kiss between adolescents Kevin and Winnie, who learns that her brother has been killed in Vietnam. The show's use of voiceover narration by Daniel Stern (whose performance in the 1982 Barry Levinson movie Diner still resonated) grounded the series in an adult's wry, wistful sensibility. "It is an adult whom we'll never see," Black said, "talking about his childhood."

Credited Writers

Tammy Ader
Jane Anderson
Carol Black
Bob Brush
John Bunzel
Matthew Carlson
David Chambers
Rob Cohen
Michael Curtis
Phil Doran
Sy Dukane
Kerry Ehrin
Jon Harmon Feldman
Debra Frank
A. Scott Frank
Kim Friese
Tom Gammill
Eric Gilliland
Sivert Glarum
Gina Goldman
Jill Gordon
David Greenwalt
Ian Gurvitz
Craig Hoffman
Winnie Holzman
Stephen Jenkins
David Kohan
Todd W. Langen
Mark Levin
Gregory S. Malins
Neal Marlens
Denise Moss
Max Mutchnick
Mark B. Perry
Max Pross
Frank Renzulli
Robin Riordan
Sy Rosen
Jeffrey Stepakoff
David M. Stern
Bob Stevens
Jack Weinstein
Michael J. Weithorn
David M. Wolf