Flashback Favorite

‘TIS THE QUESTION: ‘WHO’S THE BOSS’

FLASHBACK FAVORITE THE BUZZ 3 M A R C H 2 , 2 0 0 6 T H E B U Z Z @ D A I L Y T I T A N . C O M

By Alicia David

Daily Titan Staff Writer

In the middle of the 1980s between side ponytails and leg warmers was a television show that blended family and comedy to give us the right mix of entertainment.

“Who’s the Boss?,” which got its start in 1984, was a popular sitcom that showed us not all households are run the same.

Tony Micelli, played by Tony Danza, was a widower who wanted to raise his daughter Samantha in a different state and leave the fast-paced New

York lifestyle behind.

The Brooklyn pair packed up their blue van and headed off to a small town in Connecticut where Tony searched for a job as a housekeeper.

He showed up on the doorstep of Angela Bower, a divorced, prim and proper advertising executive, who was a little reluctant to hire a male housekeeper.

After the urging of her mancrazy mother Mona, Angela decided to hire Tony.

She hoped that he might also be a good male role model for her shy, soft-spoken son, Jonathan.

Tony, an easy-going former baseball player, and Samantha

Photo provided by nostalgiacentral.com

were the exact opposite of the overly-stressed Angela and Jonathan, but the opposites seemed to attract and had everyone laughing at their day to day problems.

The four had to learn to make adjustments for their newly combined lifestyle, which proved to not be as easy as it seemed.

Mona, the f u n - l o v i n g redhead, lived in a separate area above the garage.

This living a r r a n g e m e n t made it easy for her to frequently come and go as she pleased through the kitchen in the main house. She would sneak in to add her wisecrack comments before quickly being kicked out by Angela.

The show took us through the ups and downs of two single parents trying to raise their children under the same roof with not always the same rules.

Tony added the father figure element that Jonathan was missing, while Angela acted as a motherly figure to Samantha.

In the eighth and final season of the show, everyone started to go their separate ways.

Samantha became more lady-like and after attracting the attention of many guys, eventually got married.

Jonathan slowly broke out of his shell.

And Although Tony and Angela became close to marriage with their constant flirting back and forth and love/hate relationship, they never did tie the knot.

The show may not have had a traditional household setting, but it did show us the importance of bonding together to get through everyday struggles.

For those of us who just can’t get enough of this light-hearted family comedy, the first season DVD has been released and re-runs of the show are often shown on Nick at Nite.