Flashback Friday – Who’s The Boss

Who’s The Boss first aired September 1984 on ABC. I was only one year old when this aired, but I remember and love the show from reruns I saw as a kid and some new seasons as I got older too.

Tony Danza played Tony Micelli, the widower who wanted to make a better life for his daughter Samantha “Sam” played by Alyssa Milano. So, he became TV’s first manny in the upscale Fairfield, CT home of Angela Bower (Judith Light) and her son Jonathan (Danny Pintauro). Angela’s mother, Mona Robinson (Katherine Helmond) was a feisty lady for her age in TV back then and I always found her to be pretty funny. However, my favorite character was Sam because she was the girl on the show even if she was a tomboy to start with.



As stated on the WTB Wiki page, “The title of the show referred to the clear role reversal of the two lead actors, where a woman was the breadwinner, while a man stayed at home and took care of the house. Moreover, whereas Angela employed Tony, it was Tony who seemed to run the house, thus the question of who the "boss" really was. It challenged media stereotypes of Italian-Americans as wholly ignorant of life outside of urban working-class neighborhoods.

The contrast between easy-going, spontaneous Tony and driven, self-controlled Angela resulted in their mutual attraction. While there was playful banter and many hints of attraction for much of the run, Tony and Angela did not at first consummate the relationship, and dated others. They did, however, become best friends along the way relying on each other frequently for support. Angela had a steady man in Geoffrey Wells (Robin Thomas), while Tony had many girlfriends who came and went, including Kathleen Sawyer (Kate Vernon) in seasons six and seven. Finally at the start of the eighth season, Tony and Angela admitted their love for each other, and had a whirlwind romance until the end of the series which did not close with the widely expected marriage but on a more ambiguous note. This was due primarily to concerns by the network that a marriage, representing a definitive ending, could hurt syndication. Tony Danza, too, vehemently opposed the marriage, saying it would contradict the original purpose of the show.

In addition, Tony provided a much-needed male role model for geeky Jonathan, while Angela (and even Mona) gave Samantha the woman's guidance she had been missing.”



Did you watch Who’s The Boss? Ever catch it on reruns or hulu.com? Who was your favorite character?