Step by Step (TV series)

Step by Step was an American television sitcom which was aired on ABC from September 20, 1991 to August 15, 1997 and with a network change moved to CBS from September 19, 1997 to June 26, 1998. The show starred Patrick Duffy and Sasha Mitchell of Dallas, Suzanne Somers of Three's Company, and Staci Keanan of My Two Dads.

The premise of the show, which was set in Port Washington, Wisconsin, is about rebuilding one's life one step at a time after things have fallen apart. Frank Lambert, a divorced contractor who had custody of his three children, impulsively marries Carol Foster, a widowed beautician who had three children of her own. Both of them residents of Port Washington, the two met while vacationing separately in Jamaica. Their children, needless to say, were surprised and angered when they learned of the marriage.

Carol's children were 16-year-old daughter Dana, who was smart but tried to be perfect; 14-year-old Karen, an aspiring model who was very vain; and Mark, an 11-year-old nerd who was into computers. Frank, meanwhile, was the father of 15-year-old John Thomas (aka J.T.), a slacker; Alicia (who always went by Al), an 11-year-old tomboyish all-American girl; and 7-year-old Brendan, a shy, carefree youngster. Carol took Frank's last name, though her children kept the Foster surname.

Stories depicted typical situations of a new family trying to get to know each other and become friends. That was often easier said than done, especially in the case of J.T. and Dana who could barely stand each other. In many ways, however, many of the situations mirrored that of The Brady Bunch.

The title of the show has a double meaning. One meaning deals with main idea of the show, which is getting married again after a divorce/death of a spouse and putting your life back together. The other meaning is that every member of the family is step to half of the rest of the family, such as stepbrother, stepmother, stepsister, stepfather, stepdaughter, and stepson.

The show's biggest change came in 1995, when Carol announced she was pregnant. In the 1994-1995 season finale, she gave birth to Lilly, the only kid to take both the Foster and Lambert surnames. Like Chrissy Seaver, Nicky Banks, and Andrew Keaton, Lilly (Emily Mae Young) was suddenly aged five years after one season as a newborn infant.

The show lasted for seven seasons and the main cast changed as the storyline progressed. Frank's nephew, Cody, whom J.T. idolized and Dana liked even less than J.T., left Port Washington in 1996 to travel the world (series star Sasha Mitchell, whose character became a major character during the second season, was forced out following allegations of domestic abuse). Mitchell returns in the 1998 back in the money episode. In 1997, J.T.'s friend Rich Halke (Jason Marsden, who became a permanent fixture in the opening credits) moved in with the family after becoming Dana's boyfriend; also during that time, Al took a serious interest in acting.

Along with Family Matters, Step by Step moved to CBS in the fall of 1997, as that network attempted to build its own Friday night lineup of family-friendly situation comedies called the CBS Block Party. The ratings, which had been declining for several seasons, continued to fall and the show ended its run in July 1998. There was no official series finale, though the last show was about Frank and Carol considering selling the house.

Josh Byrne (Brendan Lambert) appeared less and less as the show moved on (especially after Lilly was born). When the show moved from ABC to CBS, his character was ultimately discontinued and he was dropped from the show.

The theme to Step by Step is called "Second Time Around", written by Jesse Frederick and Bennett Salvay (who wrote the themes to other Miller-Boyett series including Full House and Family Matters) and was performed by Jesse Frederick and Theresa James. As the seasons progressed, the theme song and opening credits became shorter. The full opening sequence used in the first season only, lasted 1 (minute):46 (seconds). Starting with the second season, the fourth verse and a portion of the sixth verse were cut and the guitar portion of the beginning of the theme was taken out in the fourth season.

The scenes comprising the opening credits were filmed at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. A CGI ocean is inserted into space where the park's parking lot would be as the camera pans away from the park. The closest real theme park near Port Washington would be Six Flags Great America in Gurnee Illinois, an hour and a half drive.

The first three seasons, the credits started with the family van passing behind a sign that said "Port Washington, Wisconsin. Population: 9,338." That was cut out after season three and after that, the sequence started with the roller coaster zooming down the track toward the camera. The opening sequence featured the Lambert-Fosters at an amusement park (J.T. playing a test your strength game, Al and Karen sliding into a ball pit, etc.). The names of most of the cast slid from both sides of the screen (though some slid from one side). In the first three seasons near the end of the sequence it featured the entire family except for Mark and (Ivy or Cody) on a roller coaster before cutting to a shot of the coaster as the camera zooms out with the producer credits shown. Another part of the sequence cut was when Carol and Frank were standing on a bridge next to a water coaster and they get splashed as it comes down the slide.

By the sixth season (the show's final season on ABC), the theme song was completely scrapped. The names of cast members and the producers' names were shown in the opening teaser. However, when the show was moved to CBS for its seventh and final season, along with Family Matters, the opening theme song was back, only this time with all but the fifth verse and part of the sixth verse left. This sequence featured the amusement park but the cast were shown in still pictures on a picture reel, like one from a photo booth. The only producer credits in this sequence were that of Thomas Miller and Robert Boyett.