Step By Step Was A Cringe Show, But Also A Good Ambient Viewing Show

Ah, TGIF.

Ted Bauer
3 min readJan 5, 2023

My parents typically ordered pizza on Fridays when I was growing up, and while ABC’s TGIF had many iterations, the primary one I remember was:

  • Family Matters
  • Boy Meets World
  • Step by Step
  • Hanging with Mr. Cooper

I might throw Perfect Strangers in there too, although it’s a bit earlier. Here’s a fun/not-so-fun fact: in July 2012, my ex-wife and I moved from NYC to Minneapolis. When we crossed from PA to OH on that drive, we played the Perfect Strangers theme song in the car. Weird to recall that.

Most of the TGIF shows were developed by some combo of Miller, Boyett, Bickley, and Warren. I believe all those guys are currently in their 70s/80s, possibly deceased, and very affluent. Bickley is actually married to the lady who played Larry’s lady in Perfect Strangers.

I first heard the term “ambient viewing” as regards Emily in Paris, which that show absolutely is. You can knock…

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Ted Bauer

Mostly write about work, leadership, friendship, masculinity, male infertility, and some other stuff along the way. It's a pleasure to be here.