Together We Stand
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox television
| image =
| caption =
| genre = Sitcom
| creator = Al Burton
Michael Jacobs
Sherwood Schwartz
| writer = Stephen Sustarsic
| director = Peter Bonerz
Andrew D. Weyman
| starring = Dee Wallace
Elliott Gould
Scott Grimes
Ke Huy Quan
Julia Migenes
Natasha Bobo
Katie O'Neill
| composer =
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_seasons = 1
| num_episodes = 19 (6 unaired)
| list_episodes =
| executive_producer = Sherwood Schwartz
Al Burton
| producer =
| runtime = 30 minutes
| channel = CBS
| company = Al Burton Productions
The Sherwood Schwartz Company
Universal Television
| first_aired = {{start date|1986|9|22}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1987|4|24}}
}}
Together We Stand, also known as Nothing Is Easy, is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS network from 1986 to 1987. It was written by Stephen Sustarsic and directed by Andrew D. Weyman.
Together We Stand is about a married couple, David (Elliott Gould) and Lori Randall (Dee Wallace), and their array of adopted children from all walks of life. According to producer Sherwood Schwartz, the plot for this show was originally written as a spin-off of The Brady Bunch called Kelly's Kids. In the January 4, 1974, episode of The Brady Bunch, also titled "Kelly's Kids" (season 5, episode 14), which served as a backdoor pilot, the Bradys' neighbors plan to adopt one child but end up adopting three boys of different ethnicities.
Summary
David Randall (Elliott Gould) and his wife Lori (Dee Wallace) had two kids, adopted daughter Amy (Katie O'Neill) and biological son Jack (Scott Grimes). After seeing how well the Randall family did with an adopted child and a biological child, a pushy social worker (Edie McClurg) gives them two more children: an Asian-American boy named Sam (Ke Huy Quan) and a little African-American girl named Sally (Natasha Bobo). The story lines centered on the cultural differences and adjustments that had to be made by all: Sam and Sally having parents for the first time, and Jack and Amy competing with the new arrivals for their parents' time and affection. After six episodes, Gould's character was killed off, and the series focused on Lori's struggles as a single mother.
Cast
- Elliott Gould as David Randall (in Together We Stand only)
- Dee Wallace as Lori Randall
- Scott Grimes as Jack Randall
- Katie O'Neill as Amy Randall
- Ke Huy Quan as Sam Randall
- Natasha Bobo as Sally Randall
- Julia Migenes as Marion Simmons (in Nothing Is Easy only)
Episodes
=''Together We Stand'' (1986)=
{{Episode table |total_width= |background=#2F4F4F |overall= |season= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |episodes=
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 1
| EpisodeNumber2 = 1
| Title = Pilot
| DirectedBy = Will Mackenzie
| WrittenBy = Michael Jacobs
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1986|9|22}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 2
| EpisodeNumber2 = 2
| Title = Oh, Brother!
| DirectedBy = Will Mackenzie
| WrittenBy = Michael Jacobs
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1986|9|29}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 3
| EpisodeNumber2 = 3
| Title = It Happened One Night
| DirectedBy = Will Mackenzie
| WrittenBy = {{WritingCredits
| s = Mark Miller
| t = Michael Jacobs
| slabel = {{abbr|S|Story by}}
| tlabel = {{abbr|T|Teleplay by}}
| order=t
}}
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1986|10|1}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 4
| EpisodeNumber2 = 4
| Title = Betrothal
| DirectedBy = Will Mackenzie
| WrittenBy = Sam Greenbaum
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1986|10|8}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 5
| EpisodeNumber2 = 5
| Title = Socks and Bonds
| DirectedBy = Will Mackenzie
| WrittenBy = Michael Jacobs
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1986|10|15}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 6
| EpisodeNumber2 = 6
| Title = A Chicken in Every Wok
| DirectedBy = Will Mackenzie
| WrittenBy = Mark Miller
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1986|10|29}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
}}
=''Nothing Is Easy'' (1987)=
{{Episode table |total_width= |background=#2F4F4F |overall= |season= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |episodes=
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 7
| EpisodeNumber2 = 1
| Title = We're a Family
| DirectedBy = Michael Zinberg
| WrittenBy = {{WritingCredits
| s = Pat Shea & Harriet Weiss
| t = Paul Haggis
| slabel = {{abbr|S|Story by}}
| tlabel = {{abbr|T|Teleplay by}}
| order=t
}}
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1987|2|8}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 8
| EpisodeNumber2 = 2
| Title = I Never Dance with Mother
| DirectedBy = Andrew D. Weyman
| WrittenBy = David Lerner
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1987|2|15}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 9
| EpisodeNumber2 = 3
| Title = A Kiss Is Just a Kiss
| DirectedBy = Jack Shea
| WrittenBy =
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1987|3|27}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 10
| EpisodeNumber2 = 4
| Title = Double Date
| DirectedBy = Joan Darling
| WrittenBy =
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1987|4|3}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 11
| EpisodeNumber2 = 5
| Title = Mother, Can You Spare a Dime?
| DirectedBy = Andrew D. Weyman
| WrittenBy =
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1987|4|10}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 12
| EpisodeNumber2 = 6
| Title = That's What Friends Are For?
| DirectedBy = John Bowab
| WrittenBy =
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1987|4|17}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 13
| EpisodeNumber2 = 7
| Title = Sunday, Monday and Always
| DirectedBy = Peter Bonerz
| WrittenBy =
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1987|4|24}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 14
| EpisodeNumber2 = 8
| Title = Girls Night In
| DirectedBy = Will Mckenzie
| WrittenBy = Dennis Rinsler & Marc Warren
| OriginalAirDate = N/A
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 15
| EpisodeNumber2 = 9
| Title = Little Miracle
| DirectedBy = Alan Bergmann
| WrittenBy =
| OriginalAirDate = N/A
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 16
| EpisodeNumber2 = 10
| Title = Jack's Alter Ego
| DirectedBy = Dolores Farraro
| WrittenBy =
| OriginalAirDate = N/A
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 17
| EpisodeNumber2 = 11
| Title = Against All Odds
| DirectedBy = Lee Miller
| WrittenBy = Cindy Begel & Lesa Kite
| OriginalAirDate = N/A
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 18
| EpisodeNumber2 = 12
| Title = Love Is in the Air
| DirectedBy = Herbert Kenwith
| WrittenBy = Michael Jacobs
| OriginalAirDate = N/A
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 19
| EpisodeNumber2 = 13
| Title = My Mentor
| DirectedBy = Lee Miller
| WrittenBy = Dennis Rinsler & Marc Warren
| OriginalAirDate = N/A
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 2F4F4F
}}
}}
Network run
Premiering on Monday, September 22, 1986, at 8:30 PM ET after Kate & Allie where its ratings were initially strong, Together We Stand moved to Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET beginning on October 1 to make room for My Sister Sam, putting it up against ABC's Perfect Strangers and NBC's Highway to Heaven instead. When the show's ratings plunged, CBS pulled the series after six episodes had aired.{{Cite web|url=http://tvtango.com/series/together_we_stand/episodes|title=Together We Stand - Series - Episode List - TV Tango|website=tvtango.com|accessdate=August 4, 2021}}
The show returned three months later with a new title – Nothing Is Easy – new opening credits, a new time slot (Sundays at 9:30 PM ET, after Designing Women and up against movies on the other two networks), a new theme song, and a new cast member – Julia Migenes as bitter divorced neighbor Marion Simmons. Elliott Gould did not appear in the revamped series – his character was killed off in an automobile accident, and Dee Wallace-Stone continued on as a single mother. After two weeks in that time slot, it went on hiatus again for a month only to resurface on Fridays at 8:00 PM beginning on March 27, competing with ABC's The Charmings and NBC's Roomies. The revamp lasted only for a total of seven episodes before CBS cancelled it for good. The remaining six unaired episodes are not known to have aired anywhere.
References
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0090534|title=Together We Stand}}
- [http://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/togetherwestand.php Television Obscurities]
- [http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/stand/205071 TVGuide.com - Together We Stand]
- [http://www.tv.com/together-we-stand/show/3227/summary.html TV.com - Together We Stand]
{{Sherwood Schwartz shows}}
Category:1986 American television series debuts
Category:1987 American television series endings
Category:1980s American sitcoms
Category:Television series about families
Category:Television series by Universal Television
Category:Television series created by Michael Jacobs (producer)