Single Men Adopting Fatherless Boys
In the 1980s a number of television sitcoms included stories (usually single episodes) in which single men would meet a fatherless boy, get to know him, and decide to adopt, be a "Big Brother", or otherwise care for him.
This was remarkable in a time in society when single-parent adoptions
were rare, and men, especially, were considered less-than-ideal (to
say the least) as single parents anyway.
It seems unlikely that such a story line would be included in
sitcoms of the second decade of the XXIst century.
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Boy Meets World (tv series, 1993-2000) "Can I Help to Cheer You?", 12 March 1999 Eric Matthews (Will Friedle) is paired with Tommy (J.B. Gaynor) in the Big Brother program, and the two become quite close, to the point that Eric announces he wants to adopt the boy. His family and friends scoff at the idea, but Eric goes to the adoption agency anyway, determined to see it through. There he learns that there is a family in California that also wants to adopt Tommy, and Eric realises that the California family would be much better for Tommy. Tommy pleads with Eric to let him stay. In a twist to the usual sitcom story (and an almost direct quote from the 1958 Jerry Lewis film, The Geisha Boy), Eric pretends that he no longer cares about Tommy, so that he will go to California and have a real family. Tommy tearfully says that he hates Eric, though he does visit Eric at his house before leaving for California. (All has to end well in sitcoms, eh?) ------------------------------------------------------------------- Family Ties (tv series, 1982-89) "I Gotta Be Ming", 23 February 1983 Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox) decides to join the Big Brothers program, and is assigned to Ming (Eugene Akutagawa). He disappoints the boy, however, when his schedule becomes too demanding to allow him to spend much time with the boy. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Happy Days (tv series, 1974-84) "Passages", 8 May 1984 Near the end of the series (perhaps hoping for a spin-off?), Arthur Fonzarelli, better-known as Fonzie (Henry Winkler) meets Danny (Danny Ponce) in the Big Brother program and ultimately decides to adopt him. The city's social agencies at first deny his requests, but after he and Howard Cunningham (Tom Bosley) persist, The Fonz is able to adopt Danny on the same day that Joanie Cunningham (Erin Moran) and Chachi Arcola (Scott Baio) get married. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Taxi (tv series, 1978-83) "Tony and Brian", 8 January 1980 Tony Banta (Tony Danza) has befriended orphan Brian Sims (Marc Anthony Danza, Tony Danza's real-life son) and is worried that no-one seems interested in adopting him. Tony's friends suggest that he consider adopting Brian, and he takes to the idea enthusiastically. Later, a rich family expresses an interest in Brian, and, without knowing of Tony's intentions, he disappoints Tony by deciding to go with the "real" family. There's more. For the whole story, the "Tony and Brian" episode is available on YouTube. "Jim and the Kid", 11 February 1982 Tony Banta (Tony Danza) picks up Terry Booth (Tony LaTorre), a 10-year-old who can't pay his fare, and brings him into the station, where Louie De Palma (Danny DeVito) wants to call the cops and turn him in as a delinquent. Reverend Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd) decides to take the boy to his apartment and raise him as his own son (despite the fact that this is not possible unless it's officially sanctioned by city authorities). ------------------------------------------------------------------- Wind in the Wire (tv special, 1993) Randy Travis and company are making a western film out in the wilderness. As they are chasing some bad guys on their horses, someone notices that someone is firing live ammunition. Randy investigates, and finds the culprit is William B. Montgomery (Nicholas Banko), a boy who has run away from his foster care home. He explains that he was firing his rifle because he thought Randy (and others) were legitimately in trouble. Randy takes a shine to the boy -- an older man on the film set explains to the director that Randy, himself, was a renegade boy, and "it's only natural . . . for him to want to stop some kid from making the same mistakes he made." Randy and the boy become inseparable, until the boy misbehaves and Randy deals with him sternly, and sends the boy away. Later, Randy tries to make up, and at least "say his goodbyes", but can't find the boy. The film company moves to a new location, where the boy turns up again, having stowed away in a horse trailer. Randy decides that he will try to find the boy's estranged sister, but if he can't, he promises the boy can live with him. -------------------------------------------------------------------