Laurie Walters Movies

Having racked up excellent ratings for the 1987 TV movie Eight is Enough: A Family Reunion, the producers concocted yet another "retro" film, 1989's An Eight is Enough Wedding. Dick Van Patten returns as Tom Bradford, who anxiously prepares for the wedding of his oldest son David (Grant Goodeve). While most of the original cast shows up for the nuptials, Tom's wife Abby is played by Sandy Faison. She replaces Family Reunion's Mary Frann, who in turn had replaced the original Abby, Betty Buckley. Dick Van Patten's real-life wife and son Pat and Jimmy also show up in supporting roles. Like Family Reunion, An Eight is Enough Wedding was telecast opposite the World Series (on October 15, 1989, to be exact); and like the earlier film, Wedding won its timeslot in the ratings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Most of the original cast members of TV's Eight is Enough are on hand for the "retro" feature Eight is Enough: A Family Reunion. The single most conspicuous defector is Betty Buckley, who is here replaced by Mary Frann in the role of Abby Bradford. The premise: On the eve of his 50th birthday, Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) is in danger of losing his job as a journalist. He is offered moral support by his offspring, who have gathered together to celebrate Tom's half-century mark. Grant Goodeve, Willie Aames, Susan Richardson, Lani O'Grady, Adam Rich, Connie Needham, Dianne Kay and Laurie Walters portray the Bradford kids. The warm-and-fuzzy script is by Gwen Bagni-Dubov, who'd been churning out teleplays since the black-and-white era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Getting a late start due to the 1980 Hollywood actors' strike, the fifth and final season of Eight is Enough makes up for lost time with a frantic 90-minute opening episode, in which Susan Bradford Stockwell (Susan Richardson), one of the eight children of journalist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten), delivers the family's first grandchild, named Sandra Sue in honor of Susan's stepmother (Betty Buckley)--who of course prefers the nickname "Abby" to her given name. While the arrival of Sandra Sue is a high point in the lives of Susan and her professional-ballplayer husband Merle (Brian Patrick Clarke, things aren't quite so jubilant later down the line when Merle suffers an injury that injures his career. This is the season that Ralph Macchio joins the cast as Abby's troubled nephew Jeremy, who takes a bit of time adjusting to his new surroundings when he is brought into the Bradford household after his father drops out of sight. Also new to the cast is John Louie as Melvin, the geekish best friend of youngest Bradford son Nicholas (Adam Rich). Major developments this season include the breakup of the marriage between oldest son David Bradford (Grant Goodeve and his wife Janet (Joan Prather), though the couple eventually considers patching things up. Also, Abby lands a job as guidance counselor in a tough inner-city school; daughter Elizabeth (Dianne Kay) moves in with her boyfriend; the Bradfords are forced to economize when Tom is laid off during a newspaper strike; daughter Nancy (Dianne Kay) finds that her chosen career as an actress and model is fraught with professional perils and pitfalls; son Tommy (Willie Aames) and his pal Ernie (Michael Goodrow) return from college with a new "sophisticated" outlook on life; and later on, Tommy proposes to girlfriend Ellen (Tara Nutter) when he learns she is pregnant. The series concludes with a tense battle over legal custody of Jeremy between the Bradfords and Jeremy's irresponsible dad (George Ralph Dicenzo). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Three of Eight is Enough finds Abby Bradford (Betty Buckley) fully accepted as the second wife of Sacramento columnist Tom Bradford (Tom Bosley) by Tom's extremely judgemental brood of eight children, who now range in age from 10 to 25. Also, recurring actress Jennifer Darling has been promoted to "regular" status in the role of Tom's hardworking secretary Donna. The realm of "Higher Education" figures prominently in this season's episodes, as Mary Bradford (Lani O'Grady) contends with male chauvinism during her first year of medical school, Nancy Bradford (Dianne Kay) flunks out of college, Elizabeth Bradford (Connie Needham) tries to win a dance scholarship, and Susan Bradford (Susan Bradford) entertains the notion of training to be a policewoman. In other developments, Abby thinks she's pregnant, and later despairs when she learns her parents are divorcing; Nicholas Bradford (Adam Rich) has his first kiss, and also invites Vice President Mondale to have Thanksgiving dinner with the Bradfords (though the VP accepts, we never see him!); on a dark and stormy night, Nancy brings home a blind date (Larry Gilman who bears a frightening resemblance to Anthony Perkinsin Psycho); Nancy, Susan and their sister Joannie (Laurie Walters) defiantly move out their parents' house and into their own apartment; and in a foretaste of a plot development which will occur in the series' final season, Tommy Bradford (Willie Aames) offers to wed his pregnant girlfriend (played by a young Rosanna Arquette), even though he's not the father. The biggest news this season concerns oldest Bradford son David (Grant Goodeve), who falls in love with an attractive attorney named Janet (Joan Prather. By the time the season finale rolls around, David and Janet have embarked on a cross-country vacation to celebrate their engagement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Acknowledging the death of series regular Diana Hyland during the previous season of Eight is Enough, Season Two opens with Sacramento columnist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) being identified as a widower, whose wife Joan has been deceased for nearly one year. While this time passage makes it respectable for Tom to re-enter the dating scene, it does not explain the fact that his eight children have only aged a few months since last we saw them at the end of Season One! But Tom does not remain unattached for long. In the season's second episode, Betty Buckley joins the cast as Sandra Sue "Abby" Abbott, a widowed teacher hired to tutor Tom's son Tommy (Willie Aames) while the boy is healing from a sports injury (in the same episode, daughter Mary [Lani O'Grady] defiantly moves out of the Bradford home to set up housekeeping with her boyfriend, played by no less than Don Johnson). The subsequent romance between Tom and Abby leads swiftly to the altar, as they become man and wife in the two-hour episode "Children of the Room", originally telecast November 9, 1977 (which is the same day that they wed in the context of the episode!) The following week, the entire family honeymoons in Hawaii, where the younger Bradfords characteristically stir up as much trouble as possible. Later on, an emotional high point is reached when the children celebrate their first Christmas without their "real" mom. In other episodes, daughter Joannie (Laurie Walters) precipitates a crisis when she agrees to appear nude in a stage play; Mary despairs when she is rejected from medical school; Tom is strongarmed into writing a newspaper advice column as "Ms. Dinah"; Tommy (Willie Aames) resorts to cheating in order to pass his English class; and when Abby suffers a serious concussion, the kids keep her awake until the doctor comes by describing highlights from past episodes (yes, it's a "clip show"). The season finale "Who's on First" takes place during a community talent show, permitting Broadway veteran Betty Buckley to show off her spending singing voice (no, she doesn't sing her signature tune from "Cats", mainly because it hadn't been written yet). Guest stars during Season Two include Sylvia Sidney, Robin Williams, Will Geer, Danny Bonaduce, Stepfanie Kramer, and Dick Van Patten's own sons Jimmy and Timmy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The sequel to The Harrad Experiment focuses on the students of a sexually-progressive college who spend the summer finding a practical application for what they've learned. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

In The Harrad Experiment, young men and women attend Harrad College for what is essentially a one-year "control group" trial in pre-marital sex, to be overseen by Prof. Philip Tenhausen (James Whitmore) and his wife, Margaret (Tippi Hedren). Although initially paired off for the first month, they will be free to change partners once a month if they so desire. The film focuses on two couples, the somewhat shy Sheila (Laurie Walters), who is paired with the rich and swaggering Stanley (Don Johnson), and alluring Beth (Victoria Thompson), whose roomie is the awkward Harry (Bruno Kirby). The two couples don't get off to a good start, as Stanley is disappointed in his partner and Harry intimidated by his. There's a great deal of tension as the partners consider whether they have been paired off appropriately, and the jealousy and discomfort they feel comes to the surface in an improvisational exercise overseen by Philip. Whether this is all a result of mismatched pairs or more a result of Stanley's inability to "feel" is the subject of some debate, and leads to a number of confrontations and scenes (not to mention nude yoga classes and discussions of group marriage). Stanley also attempts to interest Margaret in having sex with him, but when she suggests that they do so freely and openly on the lawn, he can't go through with it. Stanley decides he wants to leave Harrad, but at the last minute changes his mind and joins Sheila, Beth and Harry for a group hug. Based upon Robert Rimmer's best-seller, Harrad was followed by a sequel, The Harrad Summer. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide