Together We Stand


Together We Stand, also known as Nothing Is Easy, is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS network from 1986 to 1987. It was written by Stephen Sustarsic and directed by Andrew D. Weyman.
Together We Stand is about a married couple, David and Lori Randall, and their array of adopted children from all walks of life. According to producer Sherwood Schwartz, the plot for this show was originally written as a spin-off from The Brady Bunch called Kelly's Kids. In the January 4, 1974 episode of The Brady Bunch, also titled "Kelly's Kids", which served as a backdoor pilot, the Bradys' neighbors plan to adopt one child but end up adopting three boys of different ethnicities.

Summary

David Randall and his wife Lori, had two kids, adopted daughter Amy and biological son Jack. After seeing how well the Randall family did with an adopted child and a biological child, a pushy social worker gives them two more children: an Asian-American boy named Sam and a little African-American girl named Sally. The story lines consisted of the cultural differences and adjustments that had to be made by all — Sam and Sally having parents for the first time, and Jack and Amy having to compete with the new arrivals for their parents' time and affection. In the second season, Gould's character is killed off with the series now being focused on Lori and the struggles of being a single mother.

Cast

As ''Together We Stand'' (1986)

As ''Nothing Is Easy'' (1987)

Network run

Premiering on Monday, September 22, 1986 at 8:30 PM ET after Kate and Allie where its ratings were initially strong, Together We Stand moved to Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET beginning on October 1 to make room for My Sister Sam, putting it up against ABC's Perfect Strangers and NBC's Highway to Heaven instead. When the show's ratings plunged, CBS pulled the series after six episodes had aired.
The show returned three months later with a new title – Nothing Is Easy – new opening credits, a new time slot, a new theme song, and a new cast member – Julia Migenes as bitter divorced neighbor Marion Simmons. Elliott Gould did not appear in the revamped series – his character was killed off in an automobile accident, and Dee Wallace-Stone continued on as a single mother. After two weeks in that time slot, it went on hiatus again for a month only to resurface on Fridays at 8:00 PM beginning on March 27, competing with ABC's The Charmings and NBC's Roomies. The revamp lasted only for a total of seven episodes before CBS cancelled it for good. The remaining six unaired episodes are not known to have aired anywhere.