Rob Lowe's Brother Chad Lowe in TV Sitcom Spencer

With all of the excitement centered around Rob Lowe and his new Stories I Only Tell My Friends biography, I am reminded of the somewhat forgotten Lowe brother, Chad Lowe. Yes, we've heard about Chad and his addictions, split from Hillary Swank, marriage to Kim Painter, new baby Mabel, etc. but wait, what about Spencer, his awesome short-lived sitcom of 1984?

Watch the opening credits of Spencer with Chad Lowe!

Chad Lowe appeared as Spencer in the 1980s sitcom Spencer long before his Life Goes On days. I remember so little about this show, but know I loved it so very much. My buddy, Serena had a huge crush on him and we never missed an episode, um all five?! I did some research on this forgotten show and thanks to the good folks at SkoolDays.com I learned that Spencer barely survived one season with Chad Lowe.

Who knew Chad Lowe was such a weenie even back then! Rumor has it he was arguing over creative control, money and more! It was his first sitcom -- he should have been basking in the glory. I know I woulda! I now remember the show randomly becoming Under One Roof staring Ross Harris as Spencer.

HUB TV Channel Airs 1980s Classics

We've Moved!

If we're tight on Facebook, you know we've recently relocated from North Jersey to the Clearwater / St. Petersburg, Florida area. My hubs found a new job and I found hub. If you're unfamiliar with this amazing cable network, let me explain...

What No ID?

When I signed up for Brighthouse Networks, the cable TV carrier in our new lo-caysh, the first question I asked was, "What channel is Discovery ID?" Over the past few years, I seem to have developed an obsession for forensics and true crime.  Hot damn! It turns out Discovery ID channel is unavailable in Florida. My personal theory is it would be a bad influence on viewers. Let's face it, Florida is the "Number Six State for Crime in America." Scary, right? 

i love hub!

Last night, we stumbled upon hub. Where the hell have I been that I've never noticed this awesome 80s channel back home? We had the same cable plan in Jerz. Anyway, hub, a joint venture between Discovery and Hasbro, focuses on kids and family television programming. Hub replaced the Discovery Kids TV channel almost a year ago. Hello? I was too busy watching Discovery ID!

The hub channel was launched in October, 2010 and has an incredible line-up of evening programming for us 1980s freaks. Check out the evening schedule featuring Happy Days, Wonder Years, Doogie Howser, M.D., Family Ties and Laverne & Shirley. How awesome is that? Hoping they add Silver Spoons and Growing Pains at some point. You know how much I love my Jason Bateman and Kirk Cameron.

Retro TV Sitcoms Starring Twins

Growing up watching shows about twins, made me wonder what life would be like as a twin. I'm not talking TV shows skirting child labor laws, which featured child actor twins whom are never actually taped together (Olsen twins on Full House or the Greenbush twins on Little House).

I'm referring to sitcoms which spotlight on the banter between young twin siblings. Stereotypically created as total opposites, (remember Patty Duke as Patty Lane and her it's-not-physically-possible twin cousin Cathy?) these twins made us chuckle with delight. Check it. Do you remember the following '80s twin TV shows? Please add shows I missed in the comment section!

DOUBLE TROUBLE

The 1984 show Double Trouble starred Liz and Jean Sagal as super cute and trendy twins with perfect comedic timing. These chicks were so cool, I wanted to grow up and be just like their characters on Double Trouble. Their big sister Katey was Peg Bundy on Married With Children.

VALERIE & THE HOGAN FAMILY

First airing in 1986, Valerie, later known as The Hogan Family after Valerie Harper jumped ship, starred Jason Bateman (my childhood fave!) and Danny Ponce and Jeremy Licht as fraternal twins Willie and Mark. Yes, the Miller/Boyett team paired a nice Jewish boy and cute Latino together as brothers, ah Hollywood. As an adult watching this clip, I now realize the theme song is sung by "Killing Me Softly" singer, Roberta Flack! Cool!

SISTER, SISTER

Not until the mid 1990s did we get to watch Sister, Sister starring Tia & Tamera Mowry as twin sisters separated and adopted at birth then reunited 14 years later. By this time, I was already working as a teen reporter. Thus I was actually writing about these actresses, so they don't count as retro twins. I'm, however, including them for my younger blog readers.

Rock on!

Between the ages of 4 through 6, I was seriously obsessed with this child-size rocking chair I think my father actually made for me. I'd suck my thumb and rock while losing myself in episodes of Mr. Rogers, Electric Company and Sesame Street.

My folks never had one of those super huge furniture-style televisions that looked like a hulking wooden block with a TV inserted in the center. Their TVs were more average sized, so I would sit literally a foot away from it. Daily, my mom and dad would take turns warning me that by sitting close to the TV, I'd eventually lose my vision. Not sure if that's why I began wearing glasses by the first grade... Coincidence I think.

Upon moving to Valley Stream, my dad upgraded me to an ugly orange, totally '70s style upholstered chair. By that time I was seven years old and had graduated from Sesame Street to The Partridge Family, Gidget and Father Knows Best. I loved the old retro shows and still do, only today's retro shows are Roseanne and The Cosby Show. I watch them every late night on TV LAND while my husband snores.

If I had a kid, that kid would surely have a rocking chair too. Not the new fancy Disney type soft, cushy ones either. I'm talking an old-school, hard-as-hell on your butt cheeks, cherry wood rocking chair.