Growing Pains
Born Free
TV Flash files “Born Free” as hour 42 of 166 in the TV Flash guide — Growing Pains (1985–1992) on ABC, season 2, episode 20, aired 1987-03-31, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E20: listed hour 42 of 166 in the Growing Pains guide, hour 20 of 22 in season 2. It aired 1987-03-31 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “The Awful Truth” (S02E19). Next is “The Long Goodbye” (S02E21).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Jason and Maggie are frustrated that none of their lectures about the importance of an education seem to get through to Mike. Jason's words of wisdom seem to take hold when, on a flight to Boston where Jason went to college that Jason has to deliver a baby and Mike keeps the expectant father occupied.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Born Free sit in the Growing Pains guide?
S02E20 is listed hour 42 of 166 — hour 20 of 22 in season 2, season 2 episode 20.
When did Growing Pains S02E20 air?
Born Free aired 1987-03-31 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Is Kirk Cameron the whole show?
He is the teen-idol peak — Mike Seaver as Tiger Beat chaos — but Thicke and Kerns are the suburban contract. Mid-run, Cameron's born-again conversion also reshaped scripts and set tensions.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Pure mid-80s family sitcom form — Cameron's teen-idol peak and Thicke's dad-crooner warmth. Psychiatrist dad, journalist mom, Long Island as soft-focus suburb. A complete package of the era's comfort TV. Cameron's born-again conversion mid-run reshaped scripts and set tensions; the theme still does the hugging.
So about Mike Seaver: Tiger Beat lightning in a Long Island living room, and the group chat still treats the theme as a hug. (I said spoiler-free. The conversion is extra-textual weather, not a plot twist I owe you in paragraph one.) ABC's Growing Pains (1985–1992) is textbook 1980s family multi-cam: psychiatrist dad working from home, journalist mom returning to work, the kids supplying the chaos. Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold, Jeremy Miller. Neal Marlens's Seavers. As Long As We've Got…
Filed against
- Alan Thicke as Jason Seaver
Alan Thicke’s Jason Seaver dad-crooned Growing Pains into mid-80s family sitcom form — psychiatrist father, journalist mom, Long Island as soft-focus suburb, Kirk Cameron’s teen-idol peak. A complete package of the era’s comfort TV,…
- Joanna Kerns as Maggie Seaver
Joanna Kerns played Maggie Seaver on Growing Pains — journalist mom, Long Island as soft-focus suburb, and the adult counterweight to Cameron’s teen-idol peak. Psychiatrist dad, mid-80s family-sitcom form, comfort TV with a paycheck. TV…
- Kirk Cameron as Mike Seaver
Kirk Cameron's Mike Seaver was Growing Pains at mid-80s family-sitcom peak — teen-idol voltage, psychiatrist dad and journalist mom, Long Island as soft-focus suburb. A complete package of comfort TV; mid-run conversion reshaped scripts…
- Tracey Gold as Carol Seaver
Tracey Gold’s Carol Seaver was Growing Pains’ older-sister craft — Long Island as soft-focus suburb, psychiatrist dad, journalist mom, mid-80s family sitcom form with Cameron’s teen-idol peak in the next bedroom. Comfort TV with a…
- Jeremy Miller as Ben Seaver
Jeremy Miller’s Ben Seaver sat Growing Pains like the middle kid in a complete 1980s comfort package — psychiatrist dad, journalist mom, Long Island as soft-focus suburb, teen-idol weather in the next bedroom. TV Flash files him as the…