Since Hollywood likes to dig up shows, cartoons, comic books, and movies from the past to produce new feature films, I am offering up my favorites from the 90's.

..Like "Step-By-Step"

Filmed in Burbank, Ca (Lorimar Television), "Step By Step" was a show about a step-family.  Frank Lambert (Patrick Duffy) is a construction worker and a single father of 3 kids: J.T. (Brandon Call), Alicia "Al" (Christine Lakin) and Brendan (Josh Byrne). Carol Foster (Suzanne Somers), a beautician, also has 3 children: Dana (Staci Keanan), Karen (Angela Watson) and Mark (Christopher Castille). After Frank and Carol run into each other on vacation and spontaneously get married, they and their children (who appeared to have known and hated each other) have to learn to live together and love each other. It's not easy, but they are trying to do this... step by step. It’s the Brady Bunch set in the 90’s, meaning, more sex! Even Alice, the caretaker of the Brady-Bunch family, was updated as the van-dwelling, catchphrase spewing, nephew of Frank, Cody (Sasha Mitchell).

The show ran from 1991-1997 on ABC, part of their TGIF lineup, before moving to CBS from 1997-1998. When Patrick Duffy agreed to return to the show, Dallas, in 1986, he had it put in his contract that he would get to be on another television show after "Dallas" ended. Honoring that agreement, this show was created specifically for Duffy, and it premiered the season after "Dallas" ended. Many sets used in scenes inside the house were also used in “The Hogan Family" (1986) and “Family Matters”. This show was set in the same television universe as Family Matters. Steve Urkel (Jaleel White) made an appearance in one episode. In fact, Family Matters left ABC the same season Step-By-Step did to join CBS’s “Block Party” Friday night lineup.

I used to like the show because there were always feuds between either the children of rival families, or an all-out battle of the sexes within the household (Frank, the father, was a bit of a chauvinist). The kids, though, feuded so much, it seemed a bit manufactured to me when they would reluctantly, yet conveniently claim each other as family around the closing five-ten minutes of the 30 minute program.

My favorite character was “Al,” Frank’s daughter. She was cast as the tomboy of the family and always wore what looked like her brothers’ hand-me-downs. I don’t know if it was because SHE was getting older or I was getting older, but I saw right through all those boy clothes and found myself a little TV crush. I remember watching one night with my family in the room and I got a view of “Al” in some heels, which prompted me to holler “Got Daaaamn,” and my father to holler, “Go upstairs!”

Christine Lakin, who played Alicia Foster, shared this with me about her time on Step by Step:

"Step by Step was my big 'break' as a kid, even though I'd been acting professionally in theater and TV for four years before I got it. I grew up on the show, literally, and couldn't ask for better memories of my time with the cast and crew. We were like a family. I still keep up with Staci, Suzanne and Patrick, and I think it's really cool when people tell me they watched the show or remember it, or how it was a part of their childhood. It was a great experience for me and only furthered my passion and comedic experience to continue performing as an adult... which is a sentiment other former child actors probably don't share."

It's likely that Angela Watson (Karen Lambert) is one who doesn't exactly share that sentiment at all. After the show, she decided to take time off for college, and to clear up some serious business after finding out her parents cheated her out of over $2.8 million of her child actor earnings. After winning reimbursement of her money and property, Angela has been working to enact laws to protect child actors. She also established the CAST (Child Actors Supporting Themselves) Foundation that provides free accountants, investigators and attorneys to help young performers who have been victimized.

Christine Lakin stars in Disney’s recently released, “Race to Witch Mountain.”