ONE TO GROW ON

 

ONE TO GROW ON
(NBC, September 17, 1983-September 2, 1989)
 
NBC

  

MAIN CAST:
Various

 

By the late 1960s, small grassroot movements began to take hold regarding the violent content featured in children’s programming and deceptive advertising practices. This inspired Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to begin investigating content made for kids and determine their suitability. To head this off, the networks pivoted towards more comically-oriented shows as well as took other steps of self-regulation to keep the government and advocacy groups off their cases. NBC’s initiative included establishing a Social Research Department that would study the relationship between kids’ viewing habits and aggression.

In 1975, NBC’s head of social research, Dr. J. Ronald Milavsky, convened a panel of scholars with theoretical and research expertise on the effects of television on children in order to consult on improving their Saturday morning programming and make it more beneficial for their viewing audience. The first members of this Social Science Advisory Panel were social scientist, communications scholar and author George Comstock from the S.I. Newhouse School for Public Communications at Syracuse University; professor of psychology and William McGuire from Yale University, who also chaired their psychology department from 1971-73; professor of psychology Paul Mussen from the University of California, Berkeley; and social psychologist and professor of public policy also from UC Berkeley, Percy Tannenbaum, who served as Director of the Survey Research Center. Each of these members had conducted studies and authored texts related to the effect of media on children and their development. The hope was that this panel would enhance their existing and upcoming programming and help alleviate any criticisms that might be directed at them. The panel would meet three or four times a year within the nine-month work cycle of production with the goal of helping to produce prosocial children’s programming that was also entertaining.

Around 1980, the Children’s Programming Department wanted to expand their use of the panel and diversify its focus to include issues such as ethnic and gender stereotypes. Aimée Dorr, a professor of education at University of California, Los Angeles and a psychologist that specialized in research on children and television, was added to the panel. Karen Hill-Scott, an adjunct associate professor of urban planning at UCLA, and the founder of California’s largest private nonprofit child development agency, Crystal Stairs, was added in 1983. Meetings were increased to five times a year and the panel gradually took a more active role in the development of the shows; encouraging the inclusion of prosocial elements within them.

One idea that came from the panel was to use short-form interstitial programming (also known as “drop-ins”) to add more prosocial messages during the network’s promotional time during commercial breaks. This time, unlike the programs they aired, would be under the complete control of the network and wouldn’t require much in the way of bargaining and compromise with studios. Research conducted by Dorr in 1981 found that children paid attention to those types of messages, alleviating any doubt of their effectiveness. The programming executives decided to develop a series of these drop-ins that focused on topics of interest to children utilizing talent from their prime-time line-up. That series was One to Grow On.

The name was derived from the custom of adding an extra candle on a birthday cake as “one to grow on”. Running between 60-90 seconds, the interstitials presented a series of ethical and life dilemmas—bullying, honesty, responsibility, manners, safety, etc.—and attempted to teach the young viewers how to navigate them. An animated opening sequence would end on two kids watching a television set where one of NBC’s stars would appear, introduce themselves (followed by a cut to a commercial for the first three years), and then show a quick skit that presented a situation that the star would then comment on and offer advice. The segment ended with the featured actor saying “And that’s One to Grow On.” Writers for the series included Barry Bender, Geoff Calnan, Jim Ritter, Peter Hammond, Noelle Martini and John McDonough.

One to Grow On debuted on NBC on September 17, 1983, usually following the end credits of a cartoon broadcast. Some of the stars featured in the series included Marla Gibbs and Jackée Harry from 227; Valerie Harper and Jason Bateman from Valerie; Michal J. Fox, Michael Gross, Justine Bateman and Tina Yothers from Family Ties; David Hasselhoff from Knight Rider; Estelle Getty and Betty White from The Golden Girls; Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Tempestt Bledsoe from The Cosby Show; Mr. T and Dwight Schultz from The A-Team; Soleil Moon Frye and Cherie Johnson from Punky Brewster and the animated spin-off It’s Punky Brewster; Richard Moll from Night Court; Kadeem Hardison from A Different World; Todd Bridges from Diff’rent Strokes; Michael Landon from Highway to Heaven; Ricky Schroder, Alfonso Ribiero and Joel Higgins from Silver Spoons; Kim Fields, Nancy McKeon, Lisa Welchel and Charlotte Rae from The Facts of Life; Byron Allen and Sarah Purcell from Real People; and Perry King and Thom Bray from Riptide, among others. A pre-Family Matters Jaleel White appeared as one of the young actors in several of the skits. While most of the stars were from programs that families could view together, Rene Enriquez from Hill Street Blues was used to explain how his show was on too late and not meant for children. Additionally, other notable people made appearances; such as baseball player Ozzie Smith talking about the issue of snuff, and then-First Lady Nancy Reagan pushing her “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign.

NBC’s efforts proved a success. They were rewarded with a massive amount of letters from kids, parents and public officials commending the series and saying how lessons were utilized; particularly ones involving first aid and fire safety. The series also won an Emmy in 1987 for “Outstanding Special Class Writing”. Despite that, the series would find itself replaced by a new similar series called The More You Know at the start of the 1989 television season; which remains airing at various intervals as of this writing.