Thirtysomething

The opening episode of the celebrated Eighties drama serial about seven friends, relatives and colleagues coping with the joys and traumas of being 'thirtysomething'. Michael and Hope's sex life comes to a grinding halt and they find themselves quite overwhelmed by the responsibilities of parenthood; Michael's cousin, Melissa, and best friend Gary try to coax the couple out of the house for a camping trip. But first, Hope must find a baby- sitter to whom she is willing to entrust baby Jane. Will anyone measure up?, An Emmy-winning chronicle of the angst-ridden lives of 1980s baby boomers in Philadelphia. Creators Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz drew on personal experiences to develop storylines rich in introspective dialogue. The results often packed an emotional wallop, though all that soul-searching occasionally translated into an excess of whining. The ensemble performances are all first-rate, and David Clennon's ad-agency head Miles Drentell is one of TV's most memorably smarmy characters.