thirtysomething now that I'm Thirtysomething

Last week I found out that one of my favorite television shows of all time, thirtysomething, is finally coming out on DVD (took long enough...the show's last episode was in 1991). This is big news for thirtysomething devotees/television historians like me (you'll remember I also worked at The Museum of Televison & Radio back in my pre-kids life). And Ken Olin (who played yuppie hubby Michael Steadman) was my first major celeb crush in high school (my equivalent tall/dark/handsome crush now is Jon Hamm on Mad Men). For most of thirtysomething's four seasons between 1987 and 1991, the show didn't actually have a huge audience (it never cracked the Nielsen top 20) but it was discussed ad nauseum by people who either loved or hated its portrayal of Philadelphia yuppies. The main characters- Michael and Hope Steadman and their circle of married and single friends- were either considered to be wonderfully self-aware or pathetically self-absorbed. It also was one of the keenest television portrayals of SAHM anxiety (Hope Steadman always seemed disillusioned with taking care of baby Janey all day). If thirtysomething were on today, you can be sure Moms would dissect it non-stop on Urban Baby. Anyway, if you love thirtysomething as much as I did, you will definitely want to nab the first season on DVD which is being released on August 25th. Buy it for $38.99 here.