A well-written family drama, 'Life Goes On' was one of the first American series (along with L.A. Law) to feature a disabled person in the regular cast. In this case, young actor Chris Burke portrayed Charles “Corky” Thatcher, a teenager with Down syndrome (Burke himself was born with Downs in real life). ABC programmers first noticed Burke in a 1986 television film called “Desperate;” network executives urged producer Michael Braverman to create a series centered around Burke and the challenges a family faces with a disabled child.

“Life” centered on the Thatcher family in the fictional Chicago suburb of Glen Brook, Illinois. Award-winning Broadway actress Patti LuPone played Corky’s mom Libby; Bill Smitrovich was her husband Drew. 14-year-old Kellie Martin played teenage daughter Rebecca (also known as “Becca”); older daughter Page was played by Monique Lanier for the first season; she was replaced by Tracey Needham for the remainder of the series.

The first few years mostly centered on the problems of Corky and the family’s efforts to “mainstream” him into a regular high school setting. In the third season, Becca became interested in a young man named Jesse McKenna (Chad Lowe), which led her to break off with her then-sweetheart Tyler Benchfield (Tommy Puett). But in a twist for a family drama, it turned out Jesse was HIV positive (he contracted the disease during a one-night stand) and episodes showed the couple trying to have a romantic relationship. The characters’ storylines eventually wrapped up in the fourth and final season; Corky started dating a young woman who also had Down syndrome and the two eventually married; flaky Page went into the construction business; and in the final episode, Becca and Jesse married. Unfortunately, he died a short time later (new drugs that allowed AIDS patients to live long lives were just in their infancy when 'Life Goes On' ended its run). Becca eventually remarried, and as viewers learned, had a son with her new husband–and named him Jesse.

TRIVIA: 'Life Goes On' lived on Sunday nights at 7:00 PM, opposite CBS’ formidable '60 Minutes;' though always a marginal hit, the show’s loyal audience helped it survive a four-year run....The name of the town the Thatcher family lived in, “Glen Brook,” was the name of the high school attended by one of executive producer Michael Braverman’s children....Star Patti LuPone and the cast sang the show’s John Lennon-Paul McCartney theme 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' during the show’s original run. When the first season went on DVD in 2006, the song was replaced with an original theme titled 'Life Goes On,' because of the high royalties for the Beatles tune....The family’s pet, billed in the credits as “Arnold the semi-wonder dog,” was seen during the opening montage as holding an empty bowl of food between his teeth. In the final episode, a nearby cabinet door opened, and a bag of dog food spilled onto the floor–much to the relief of viewers who thought the original credits were cruel to Arnold.