Together We Stand

Together We Stand
GenreSitcom
Created byAl Burton
Michael Jacobs
Sherwood Schwartz
Written byStephen Sustarsic
Directed byPeter Bonerz
Andrew D. Weyman
StarringDee Wallace
Elliott Gould
Scott Grimes
Ke Huy Quan
Julia Migenes
Natasha Bobo
Katie O'Neill
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes19 (6 unaired)
Production
Executive producersSherwood Schwartz
Al Burton
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesAl Burton Productions
The Sherwood Schwartz Company
Universal Television
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 22, 1986 (1986-09-22) –
April 24, 1987 (1987-04-24)

Together We Stand, also known as Nothing Is Easy, is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS network from 1986 to 1987. It was written by Stephen Sustarsic and directed by Andrew D. Weyman.

Together We Stand is about a married couple, David (Elliott Gould) and Lori Randall (Dee Wallace), and their array of adopted children from all walks of life. According to producer Sherwood Schwartz, the plot for this show was originally written as a spin-off of The Brady Bunch called Kelly's Kids. In the January 4, 1974, episode of The Brady Bunch, also titled "Kelly's Kids" (season 5, episode 14), which served as a backdoor pilot, the Bradys' neighbors plan to adopt one child but end up adopting three boys of different ethnicities.

Summary

David Randall (Elliott Gould) and his wife Lori (Dee Wallace) had two kids, adopted daughter Amy (Katie O'Neill) and biological son Jack (Scott Grimes). After seeing how well the Randall family did with an adopted child and a biological child, a pushy social worker (Edie McClurg) gives them two more children: an Asian-American boy named Sam (Ke Huy Quan) and a little African-American girl named Sally (Natasha Bobo). The story lines centered on the cultural differences and adjustments that had to be made by all: Sam and Sally having parents for the first time, and Jack and Amy competing with the new arrivals for their parents' time and affection. After six episodes, Gould's character was killed off, and the series focused on Lori's struggles as a single mother.

Cast

Episodes

Together We Stand (1986)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Pilot"Will MackenzieMichael JacobsSeptember 22, 1986 (1986-09-22)
22"Oh, Brother!"Will MackenzieMichael JacobsSeptember 29, 1986 (1986-09-29)
33"It Happened One Night"Will MackenzieT : Michael Jacobs
S : Mark Miller
October 1, 1986 (1986-10-01)
44"Betrothal"Will MackenzieSam GreenbaumOctober 8, 1986 (1986-10-08)
55"Socks and Bonds"Will MackenzieMichael JacobsOctober 15, 1986 (1986-10-15)
66"A Chicken in Every Wok"Will MackenzieMark MillerOctober 29, 1986 (1986-10-29)

Nothing Is Easy (1987)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
71"We're a Family"Michael ZinbergT : Paul Haggis
S : Pat Shea & Harriet Weiss
February 8, 1987 (1987-02-08)
82"I Never Dance with Mother"Andrew D. WeymanDavid LernerFebruary 15, 1987 (1987-02-15)
93"A Kiss Is Just a Kiss"Jack SheaUnknownMarch 27, 1987 (1987-03-27)
104"Double Date"Joan DarlingUnknownApril 3, 1987 (1987-04-03)
115"Mother, Can You Spare a Dime?"Andrew D. WeymanUnknownApril 10, 1987 (1987-04-10)
126"That's What Friends Are For?"John BowabUnknownApril 17, 1987 (1987-04-17)
137"Sunday, Monday and Always"Peter BonerzUnknownApril 24, 1987 (1987-04-24)
148"Girls Night In"Will MckenzieDennis Rinsler & Marc WarrenN/A
159"Little Miracle"Alan BergmannTBDN/A
1610"Jack's Alter Ego"Dolores FarraroTBDN/A
1711"Against All Odds"Lee MillerCindy Begel & Lesa KiteN/A
1812"Love Is in the Air"Herbert KenwithMichael JacobsN/A
1913"My Mentor"Lee MillerDennis Rinsler & Marc WarrenN/A

Network run

Premiering on Monday, September 22, 1986, at 8:30 PM ET after Kate & Allie where its ratings were initially strong, Together We Stand moved to Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET beginning on October 1 to make room for My Sister Sam, putting it up against ABC's Perfect Strangers and NBC's Highway to Heaven instead. When the show's ratings plunged, CBS pulled the series after six episodes had aired.[1]

The show returned three months later with a new title – Nothing Is Easy – new opening credits, a new time slot (Sundays at 9:30 PM ET, after Designing Women and up against movies on the other two networks), a new theme song, and a new cast member – Julia Migenes as bitter divorced neighbor Marion Simmons. Elliott Gould did not appear in the revamped series – his character was killed off in an automobile accident, and Dee Wallace-Stone continued on as a single mother. After two weeks in that time slot, it went on hiatus again for a month only to resurface on Fridays at 8:00 PM beginning on March 27, competing with ABC's The Charmings and NBC's Roomies. The revamp lasted only for a total of seven episodes before CBS cancelled it for good. The remaining six unaired episodes are not known to have aired anywhere.

References

  1. ^ "Together We Stand - Series - Episode List - TV Tango". tvtango.com. Retrieved August 4, 2021.