Just The Ten of Us - Synopsis

Synopsis

The series focuses on Graham Lubbock (Bill Kirchenbauer), a Catholic gym teacher at the high school that Growing Pains characters Mike and Carol Seaver (Kirk Cameron and Tracey Gold) had attended; and the father of eight children.

In the pilot episode (which aired on Growing Pains in the spring of 1988), Graham's job is in jeopardy due to district budget cutbacks. Mike leads a protest after he learns that Lubbock is trying to support a large family (including yet another baby-on-the-way). Word of this spreads, and Graham's fate is sealed; he loses his job. However, he is soon offered a job at St. Augustine's Academy, an all-boys private Catholic school in Eureka, California. Graham promptly moves his family to California.

Six of Graham's children were girls, four of them teenagers. They were:

• Marie (Heather Langenkamp) - the oldest, most responsible, and most pious.
• Cindy (Jamie Luner) - Wendy's older twin sister, and the most ditzy.
• Wendy (Brooke Theiss) - Cindy's younger twin sister, and the most flirtatious.
• Connie (JoAnn Willette) - the Bohemian, and also occasionally agnostic.

His younger daughters were eight-year-old Sherry (Heidi Zeigler) and infant Melissa. By special arrangement, the older girls were allowed to attend St. Augustine's, much to the chagrin of the school's administration (and, of course, much delight of the male students). Graham and Elizabeth's sons were 11-year-old Graham, Jr. (Matt Shakman), familiarly known as "J.R.", and toddler Harvey (Jason and Jeremy Korstjens).

The first season consisted of four episodes for a trial run in the spring of 1988. ABC was pleased with their success and ordered a second season. In the second season, Cindy and Wendy seemed to switch personalities, with Cindy becoming more ditzy, and Wendy becoming the schemer. Also, the show focused more and more on the four older girls and frequently revolved around the family's efforts to save money, dating, and other typical family sitcom issues. In later episodes, the four teenage girls formed a singing group called "The Lubbock Babes" (partly to help bring in much-needed extra income). The girls had many boyfriends and love interests that Graham took great pride in testing---and in most cases, fending off---but the most permanent fixture among them was Marie's goofy boyfriend, Gavin Doosler (Evan Arnold).

Those on the St. Augustine's staff included Father Frank Hargis (Frank Bonner), the affable headmaster; Coach Duane Johnson (Dennis Haysbert), Graham's earnest young assistant during the first two seasons; and in the third season, featured teachers Father Bud (Lou Richards) and elderly, madcap Sister Ethel (Maxine Elliott).