Growing Pains is an American television sitcom that ran on the ABC network from 1985 to 1992.

The show's premise is based around the fictional Seaver family, who reside on Long Island, New York. Dr. Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke), a psychiatrist, works from home because his wife, Maggie Malone (Joanna Kerns), has gone back to work as a reporter. Jason has to take care of the kids: troublemaker Mike (Kirk Cameron), honors student Carol (Tracey Gold), and rambunctious Ben (Jeremy Miller). From 1988 on, Chrissy Seaver became a part of the family. She was played in her infant stage by twins Kristen and Kelsey Dohring (who alternated). Beginning in the fall of 1990, Chrissy's character's age was advanced ("SORAS'ed") to six years old, whereupon Ashley Johnson took over the role. The show was relevant in the mid-1980s, as women going to work was becoming more and more common, as were stay-at-home dads.

Main cast

• Alan Thicke as Dr. Jason Roland Seaver
• Joanna Kerns as Margaret Katherine "Maggie" Malone (she kept her maiden name, although at some points she did refer to herself as Maggie Seaver)
• Kirk Cameron as Michael Aaron "Mike" Seaver
• Tracey Gold as Carol Anne Seaver (1985–1991, 1992) (Replaced Elizabeth Ward after the pilot was shown to test audiences with poor results.)
• Jeremy Miller as Benjamin Hubert Horatio Humphrey "Ben" Seaver
• Ashley Johnson as Christine Ellen "Chrissy" Seaver (1990–1992)
• Leonardo DiCaprio as Luke Brower Seaver (later became Seaver after they adopt him). (1991–1991)

Opening sequences

The season 1 main opening featured various works of art, closing with a shot of the cast, which goes from black-and-white to color.

The opening credits from seasons 2 through 5 featured an opening shot of the cast in front of the house where establishing shots of the Seaver house are used, switching to photos of each cast member from childhood and, in Alan Thicke and Joanna Kerns' case, to adulthood, mixed with various episode clips. In all episodes that aired from 1986-1990, the opening sequence ends with a "house gag" immediately after the final episode clip, and, starting with the fifth season, ran while the executive producers names' were listed. The house gag changes from episode-to-episode, and usually features the cast standing in front of the Seavers' house. A typical gag featured all but one member of the cast (this was usually the cast member whom the main story was about in that particular episode) leaving to go inside the Seaver house, with the other leaving seconds later. This was a running visual joke mildly similar to that of the "couch gag" sequences on The Simpsons. Most house gags last only about 10 seconds, but the longest one on record lasted roughly 20 seconds. Certain house gags include: