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In 1987 we were introduced to a group of couples, of friends: 'thirtysomethings.' A dream cast of characters that from the very first episode resonated with a nation of people who knew these people all too well. Michael (Ken Olin) and Hope Steadman (Mel Harris), the suburban 'new-parent' poster children; Elliot (Timothy Busfield) and Nancy Weston (Patricia Wettig), a couple whose marriage is falling apart; Gary Shepard (Peter Horton), the perpetually 'twentysomething' thirtysomething; Melissa Steadman (Melanie Mayron), Michael's cousin and a struggling artist and Ellyn Warren (Polly Draper), the driven but restless career-chaser. thirtysomething channeled the consciousness of baby boomers into a running commentary on what it really meant to be on the cusp of success and failure, marriage and divorce, adulthood and parenthood. Every week the show blurred the lines between television and film, drama and comedy, hard reality and twisted imagination. Each episode of this truly groundbreaking series was its own unit yet somehow fed a larger, growing experience from week to week.
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