"Eight is Enough: A Family Reunion" Quiz

Answer: Abby

Abby was played by Betty Buckley in the series and Mary Frann in the made-for-tv movie. All the rest of the actors who appeared in the show also appeared in the movie.

For me, Mary Frann just wasn't Abby. She didn't seem to have the 'nervous energy' that Betty Buckley had. For example, in the series, Abby was a bit more reserved and held back a bit, but then could be full of energy. When she talked there were always pauses such as 'um' and such. But in the movie, Mary Frann was too... well, scripted. The lines were delivered perfectly and there wasn't the depth of the character that Betty had. The closest Mary Frann got to the series version of Abby was when she was on the phone with Tom and burned her finger on the tea kettle.

Answer: 50

Tom was turning 50 in this movie and the action centered around the family getting together to throw a surprise party for him. However, someone should inform the family that Tom turned 50 seven years earlier in the episode "Semi-Centennial Bradford..."

Answer: decorator

When we first meet Abby in the series, she's a traveling tutor who has come to the house to tutor Tommy while his leg was broken. In the series, she later becomes a high school guidance counselor.

In this movie, apparently she has her own business doing interior decorating. What were the writers thinking of...?

Answer: shoulder

Merle had had surgery on his shoulder in the hopes that it would be healed in time for him to make it to spring training to be a professional baseball player again. Susan, Merle and Sandy apparently lived in lived in Cleveland in this movie, although Merle said he'd consider playing for the Oakland A's as Susan missed California.

In one scene, Merle is challenged to throw a curve ball. Susan sees this and decides to catch for him. He threw the ball, but finally admitted that his shoulder was too hurt.

And again, we have an inconsistency... In "Goals," Merle had a shoulder injury that threatened his career. In that episode, Merle ended up coaching a school team instead of playing. It makes me wonder if the writers actually had seen an episode of the show before writing this movie...

Answer: $1 million

The lawyer for the owners had a 'cellular phone.' This early model was carried around in a suitcase. (I guess to show how 'rich' the people were...) Tom knew he couldn't get $1 million together, but decides to put the family house up for sale in an effort to raise money for the down payment.

In the episode "Mortgage Burnin' Blues," Tom makes the final payment on the house's mortgage. But then he ends up needing to re-mortgage the house to get all the kids (except Nicholas) out of jail.

Answer: Montana

Nancy married a guy named Jeb who was a sheep farmer in Montana. (He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Wyoming.) Nancy had confessed to her sisters that when she lived in New York as a big model, she hated the city. Now that she lived on the sheep farm, she loved the sunsets, the views... and Jeb.

Answer: Nicholas

Nicholas followed the home inspector around and talked about how the electricity wasn't great, the sink overflowed and about 'the fire.' (It's unknown if Nicholas was referring to when he set his bedroom on fire or if he was making something up.)

Answer: watch

At dinner, Jeb showed a family heirloom watch that was over a hundred years old. As he saw the entire family scraping together money for the paper, he went out, sold his watch for $7,000 and came back with the cashier's check.

Answer: Tommy quit his band

Tom was upset that Tommy had quit school, but the real reason was that Tommy had quit his band (on the advice of his manager). Tommy ended up as a lounge act in Tahoe, singing other people's songs instead of writing them, like he had done when he was part of the band.

Tommy thought that Tom was upset about him quitting school - David told Tommy that he had quit school as well, but Tom just wanted his children to do what they loved. And from the look on Tommy's face, he wasn't doing what he loved.

Answer: She had had a miscarriage

Abby had asked Elizabeth how she was doing, but was then interrupted. When all the sisters got together and were telling each other their secrets, Elizabeth confided in them that she had had a miscarriage and asked Abby not to tell anyone. Although the miscarriage happened a year prior, she and her husband were still working on getting through it.

Elizabeth and her husband apparently restored cars. Half the time, they were paid using the barter system.

Answer: Donna

Donna had been Tom's secretary since the beginning of the series. In the movie, she saw all the Bradfords come into the paper to announce their intention on buying the paper, but Elliot (who owned the paper) had already left to sell it to someone else. So Donna found Elliot and convinced him to sell to the Bradfords instead.

To me, the Bradfords just taking 'oh, he already flew to San Francisco to sell the paper' was a bit out of character. It seems that in the series, the Bradfords would have gone on up to San Francisco to make Elliot change his mind...

But no matter, the Bradfords get together for Tom's birthday and in walk Elliot and Donna to announce that Elliot has accepted the Bradfords' offer.

Answer: Francois

Joanie's married a French director and they have a son named Francois. It's not revealed if this is her biological son because Francois would have to be, at a minimum, two years younger than Sandy (Susan and Merle's daughter) and she's 6 in this movie. That would make Francois four years old. However, in the movie, he's taller than Sandy...

Oh, about Francois. He doesn't really speak English. At the airport, he claims never to have had American candy before, but Tom acts as though he's met Francois before. Did the Bradfords travel outside the US to meet Joanie nd her family...? In the movie, there is a silly scene where Francois is making a midnight snack (a sandwich) and Tom comes home from work and starts talking to Francois (who doesn't seem to understand what Tom is saying).

Answer: $250

Nicholas even put in money for half a share. (After David gave him $10.) The Bradfords didn't have enough money in the end, but Janet (David's ex-wife) wanted to put in the remainder.

Answer: 2

Susan and Merle had a daughter, Sandy. Joanie and her husband had a son, Francois. None of the other children had children of their own yet, although Elizabeth had had a miscarriage.

Sandy and Francois aren't used much in the movie, except for Francois's scene with Tom.

Answer: card

Abby made a huge card for Tom that was almost as tall as Nicholas. Nicholas even had a friend blow up a huge picture of Tom for the front. Abby put photos of the family from all the years into the card - and added a photo of Joan as well. At one point, the card was hidden behind the piano in the living room.

In another scene, Abby sent Tom upstairs to take a shower and the family tried to bring the card upstairs. Abby also got David to not go into the house (because the realtor was showing it and Tom hadn't told anyone about their intentions to sell) by asking him to find a skateboard in the garage that she could use to wheel the card around on because the card was heavy.