Best Television Show of the 80s: Who's the Boss?

Something happens to me when that beat-up blue van leaves Brooklyn and drives to Connecticut; when Angela Bower (Judith Light) opens the front door, wearing her bathrobe, and sees Tony Micelli (Tony Danza) for the first time. A brand-new life...brand-new life...A brand-new life arou-ound the bend! That cheesy introduction and even cheesier theme song hook me every time.

Who's the Boss? is my favorite television show of the 1980s. Oddly enough, I didn't even watch Who's the Boss? in the 80s, probably because I was too young to care about the Tony-Angela mismatch-made-in-heaven. I started watching syndicated episodes of Who's the Boss? in the early 90s. It came on right around suppertime, and sometimes we would eat our Hamburger Helper in the living room so we could watch it. As I recall, my dad liked the show, too (I'm sure he'll deny that in the comments section below, but I swear it's true!).

Here are all the reasons I love Who's the Boss?:

Who's the Boss? had a great cast. Yes, I had a crush on Tony Danza. "Eh, oh. Oh, eh." Did Tony ever cook pasta without a shirt? If he didn't, he totally should have!

Judith Light couldn't have been any better as Angela. Pretty, smart, level-headed, uptight, clumsy, nerdy, lovable Angela. I have no idea if Judith Light is clumsy or uptight in real life, but, if not, she sure had me fooled.

Remember Katherine Helmond as Mona, Angela's hot, wise-crackin', free-spirited mother who could have any man, young or old? Like we could forget Mona.

Alyssa Milano, as I'm sure you know, played Tony's daughter Samantha on Who's the Boss?, while Danny Pintauro-a truly horrible actor (sorry, Dan; I'm sure you've gone on to other things now...or gotten way better as an actor)--played Jonathan, Angela's son. I'm five years younger than Alyssa Milano and one year younger than Danny Pintauro, which means we're TV siblings-we grew up in the same time, but on different sides of the TV screen. Neat concept, huh?

The whole world got to watch Jonathan and Samantha grow up on Who's the Boss? Puberty was kinder to Alyssa Milano than to Danny Pintauro, I'm sorry to say, but I think Alyssa wore stupider (typical 80s) clothing on the show.

The premise of Who's the Boss? is perfect. This beautiful, educated, affluent career woman needs some help around the house. It's the 80s, so we're finally seeing women as more than mothers and homemakers. Angela is an advertising executive, as a matter of fact, and a single mom. No wonder she needs a housekeeper. And why shouldn't she hire Tony? He's a sexy, cheerful ex-ballplayer with a sad past-his wife died, and more than anything, he wants to give his daughter a better life. So when he sees the help-wanted ad for a housekeeper in an upscale Connecticut neighborhood, he jumps at the chance to get out of Brooklyn.

Angela doesn't want to hire a male housekeeper, of course, because what will the snooty, conservative neighbors think? And won't it be uncomfortable, having an attractive single man living under her roof, doing the laundry and cleaning and cooking-all the things that are traditional "women's work"? Of course it's uncomfortable! That's why this show is so great!

I relate to Angela's character. I, too, am tall and nerdy. I, too, wore braces as a teenager and never sprouted big boobs. Some would say I'm an uptight goody-goody. Where's my sexy male housekeeper? Where?

I wanted to be Alyssa Milano. I thought I was going to name my firstborn daughter "Alyssa"! I regret that I never ordered Alyssa Milano's workout video, Teen Steam. (Watch a clip of Teen Steam here! You're welcome!)

Who's the Boss? is, above all else, about family. Samantha comes to see Angela as a mother figure. Tony is like a father to Jonathan. Mona shares her unique version of grandmotherly love with them all.

Sometimes Who's the Boss? takes on more serious issues-underage drinking, prejudice, death of loved ones-but the shows I remember most fondly all involve Angela and Tony's complicated relationship. They're employer and employee, roommates, best friends, opposites, parents, and (eventually) lovers.

The sexual tension in that household is off the charts! Oh, the sweet, delicious agony of watching Tony and Angela, week after week, ignore their true feelings for each other! "We're just friends." "We can't do anything to ruin our friendship." "I'm sorry I saw you naked in the bathtub. My bad." "I'm sorry we have to share this one bed." "I'm in love with Tony. No, I can't be!" "I'm in love with Angela, but she's with another man." On and on...They drag it out as long as they can, and then some, but finally we get to see Tony and Angela admit they're in love.

My favorite Who's the Boss? episode is a two-parter from Season 2 called "It Happened One Summer," in which we learn that Tony and Angela met many years ago at summer camp. In Part 2, they end up spending the night in a leaky motel room together.

Rediscover classic episodes of Who's the Boss? online. From 1984 to 1992, Who's the Boss? was one of the most popular sitcoms on television. Go to hulu.com to watch some full episodes of Who's the Boss? whenever you're in the mood for an awesome, cheesy, 80s television treat.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_the_Boss?

http://www.tv.com/Who%27s+the+Boss%253F/show/443/episode.html?season=Top%20Episodes&tag=list_header;paginator;Top%20Episodes

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000192/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001622/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001340/