The Forgotten Sitcom Kid: When TV Families Have One Too Many

Big families have always been  common in tvland. And that was fine, they were fun, and added to the chaos that fueled so many sitcoms.  But there was nothing sadder than a television family that had one kid too many. You know, that kid whose star never took off, and they just ended up as a seat filler at the dinner table.  Here are some shows that overdid it with their families.

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• Vanessa Huxtable – The Cosby Show.  Being the middle child is never easy, but it was even harder on Vanessa.  She might as well have been a lamp in the Huxtable’s living room. She wasn’t the cute one like Rudy and she wasn’t the one with more grown up problems like Denise. It got worse when the show decided it needed yet another sister and Sondra showed up in Season 2. And then when Raven Symone joined the cast, forget it. Vanessa was just an extra in her own family.
• Erin Walton – The Waltons.  Erin Walton is so lost in the shuffle of this huge cast, they don’t even make it clear where she fits in with the other kids according to age. It didn’t help that her siblings were getting better storylines. John-Boy was of course, a writer. Jim Bob was going to be a pilot. Jason got to showcase his piano skills. What was Erin’s big plotline!? She went to secretarial school.
• Jennifer Keaton – Family Ties.  Even the producers  were bored to tears with Jennifer.  They made her really smart, but sorry that spot was taken by her brother Alex P. Keaton. And it didn’t take long till she wasn’t the adorable baby sister anymore so they brought in a new baby brother. Jennifer’s big moments began consisting of walking in the kitchen and asking for a ride to school or the mall in order to move other characters out of the scene.
• Ben Seaver – Growing Pains.   Ben Seaver became one of the most unnecessary characters in TV sitcoms. His time as the cute young kid was also cut short by the new baby.  It got even worse when “Growing Pains” brought in a young Leonardo DiCaprio as a character that was basically Ben’s age. So not only is Ben not the baby anymore, there’s also a new “younger brother” character that’s better at being the younger brother than he was. The only advancement this character saw in the later seasons was that Ben got glasses.
• Carrie Ingalls – Little House on the Prairie.  It’s probably not a good sign for a TV character when you’re best known for falling down a hill in the opening credits. As the youngest, she should have been scene stealing. But she wasn’t.  She didn’t get any big stories, and in the final season of the show, she got one last indignity. Carrie Ingalls was written off the show.
• Judy Winslow – Family Matters.  Judy Winslow did a disappearing act that hadn’t been seen in network television since “Happy Days” got rid of the older brother character. That’s right, Judy Winlsow literally got “Chuck’ed”.  The youngest of the Winslow family, was getting fewer and fewer scenes. When the actress playing her asked for more money and screen time, the producers just got rid of her and the series went on as if she never even existed.
• Elizabeth Bradford – Eight is Enough.  You would think with 8 kids, most are going to be unnecessary. But with the Bradfords, everyone else got their moments. Mary was studying to be a doctor. Joanie was overly dramatic and trying to make it as an actress. Susan was the first daughter to get married. Nancy is a model. Where’s Elizabeth!? She usually answers the phone and tells other characters that they have a call.
• Mark Taylor – Home Improvement.  The two older sons worked great together. One was big and dumb and the other short and funny. Mark did not fit in with this family dynamic. Even when Randy Taylor left, Mark was still really just in the way. The show made a very lame attempt to turn him into a goth kid. It didn’t help. The kid had grown up too quickly and was lumbering around the Taylor house.
• Richie Petrie – The Dick Van Dyke Show.  This seems almost impossible to pull off, but in a TV family with only one kid, Richie Petrie was still one kid too many. There were plenty of episodes where there was no room for Richie at all, which would be explained by Laura saying she had just put Richie to bed or that she just put Richie in the tub, or worst of all– Richie was staying the night at the neighbors.