Greetings,
I was a child of the eighties. so most things nostalgic for me fall into that era. When it comes to TV, I remember the cartoons, the commercials, and the family shows that inundated that time. One of my best memories was sitting down every Thursday night to watch a little show called Family Ties.
For those of you who don't know about this legendary sitcom, let me give you the lowdown. Family Ties was a comedy centered around the Keatons. They included the parents, Steven and Elyse, sons Alex and eventually, Andy, and daughters, Mallory and Jennifer. Though they were all part of the same family, each member had a very unique personality and set of values and interests. I think it was this show that did that best. Plus, all those differences caused a lot of good conflict. It was a source of humor throughout the whole seven year run, and it was done well.
But today, I am here to talk about only one of the fine characters on this show - Steven Keaton played by Michael Gross. Steven Keaton was your average father from Ohio, taking care of his family by way of his job at a local public broadcasting station. That spawned many jokes about the documentaries he worked on and the titles he gave them. Politically speaking, he was a liberal man, quite vocally and through his actions, who just refused to let any ounce of what was left of his hippie past go. During the run of the show, both he and his wife were involved in anti-war protests and even went through some soul searching debates about whether or not to buy a gun after they were robbed. Steven Keaton was a gentle man who had a lot of love for his family, and all of this led him to be considered one of the greatest TV dads of all time. He is truly one of the faces of that era, and it's hard to imagine anything else when you think of Michael Gross.
Hard, but not impossible.
Then came the nineties, and with the nineties came one of the greatest events in cinematic history, Tremors. I don't know who had the genius idea to cast Michael Gross in this part so soon after the end of Family Ties, but it was a good move. After seven years of us seeing him as that meek, family man, it was a bit of a shock to then see him as the gun hoarding, paranoid Burt Gummer. And yet, we learned to adapt. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
And now for those of you who don't know about Tremors, it is a classic monster movie that many people put into the "so bad it's good" category. It takes place in a town called Perfection that is invaded by giant, underground worm monsters that came to be known as the Graboids, and all the good people come together to try and defeat them. The movie has crazy moments, gross moments, silly moments, scary moments, but most of all it's just fun. It does not take itself too seriously, and that's fine. Some movies are meant to be that way, and people love this movie. As well as all three sequels and televisions series. I know I do.
But back to Burt. He was the only character to appear in all four movies and the series. Well, actually, in the fourth, which was a Wild West prequel, Michael Gross played Hiram Gummer, Burt's great-grandfather. Still a Gummer, though, so it counts. Anyway, in the first movie, Burt was secondary in the cast, but due to the popularity, his character's presence grew. Everyone just loved his paranoid attitude toward the government, and the massive arsenal of weapons in his basement, which proved to come in handy in this movie for Burt and his wife, Heather, played by Reba McEntire. Yes, THAT Reba McEntire. I know we're discussing Michael Gross, but I had to mention this. Anyway, while he was an extremist who, in real life, one may want to keep their distance from, here we just love everything about him and would be thrilled to fight the Graboids and all the subsequent monsters right by his side.
And so there is a burning question that arises in my mind and heart. Who do I love more? - Burt Gummer or Steven Keaton. Well, I do love the sweet, father figure persona of Steven Keaton. Many of my own family memories are tied to the show from whence he came, so he does hold a special place in my heart. But Burt had guns! Just like Dirty Harry! And I love Dirty Harry, so there you go. And it was this character that really showed the range that Michael Gross had and no doubt led to him getting cast as one of the bad guys du jour on all three Law and Order shows. ALL THREE! Yeah, and I can't believe Detective Goren called him a geek. What, is he nuts? Anyway, I'm torn.
I'm torn between the sentimental and the ammunition. I think I'm going to have to call this a tie. I love them equally but differently, and I can't get beyond that. They're like two parts of the same man, and if you kill one, they both die. So, like I have been doing for years, I am opting to continue to give them equal parts of my heart. As for you, watch the show, watch the movies, and make the choice for yourselves.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
