Thirtysomething

I do not consider myself a "narrow-minded ignoramus" (as Rosenberg described opponents of the episode). I am an avid fan of "thirtysomething." However, I do not accept homosexuality as a normal lifestyle and was highly insulted by the episode in question. If the producers actually believe that most Americans would do matchmaking for gay men, as the characters did, they are more out of touch with mainstream America than I ever thought possible. Bravo to the sponsors who caused ABC to lose more than $1 million in advertising.

The Verano is a new compact sedan from that near-luxury nameplate, Buick. It's an impressive, competitively priced car; a stellar cut from the quiet and comfortable motoring cloth. A great car in many respects, the Verano is also an unmitigated failure. It's more off-key than Rosanne Barr's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner. " It's a strikeout the size of "Gigli," Crystal Pepsi or Charlie Brown's place-kicking career. Yep, a single car is poised to both flourish and fail.

The 35-year-old TV producers sat opposite each other, slouched like two boys shooting the breeze, their sneakered feet propped on a coffee table in a cluttered Studio City office that resembled a large playroom. From time to time, Ed Zwick tossed a ball toward the ceiling. The game is prime time, though, and like the seven characters in their charming, inventive series, the creators of ABC's new "thirtysomething" are doing a lot of improvising--flying by the shiny seats of their ragged jeans.

Hoping to follow in the footsteps of National Lampoon, the digital-comedy company CollegeHumor Media is taking a stab at the film business. The firm has signed on to make a movie about thirtysomething underachievers called "Coffee Town," buying a script from former "Arrested Development" writer-producer Brad Copeland and hiring him to direct it. The low-budget movie, which will star a group of up-and-coming actors, is being financed by CollegeHumor and...

Long before there was an Ally McBeal waxing neurotic about love or a Carrie Bradshaw leading the glamorous life, there was Melissa Steadman, the artsy cousin of Michael (Ken Olin) that female fans of "thirtysomething" longed to be like. She was independent, creative, quirky and funny -- a single woman in her 30s who had a love affair with a younger man. (Yes, even before cougars became something other than a four-legged mammal.) As a TV series, "thirtysomething" was known for its intimate look at marriage and relationships at a time when gender roles were dramatically changing.

There's a delectable symmetry in the fact that the long-awaited DVDs of "thirtysomething," that late 1980s paean to yuppie disquietude and silver-tongued solipsism, have unleashed themselves on us just a week after the flurry of excitement surrounding season three of "Mad Men." I won't go so far as to say the latter show wouldn't have been possible without the former (it's a superior product and very much its own entity), but the programs do have a few eerie commonalities. For starters, they both traffic in the complicated emotions that arise from the relationship between human beings and advertising (we know we're being manipulated, but we reach for our wallets nonetheless)

When "thirtysomething" debuted, I was still a young twentysomething. Although I am, to my everlasting dismay, technically a tail-end baby boomer, my friends and I came of age in the midst of boomer disillusionment, when organized protest had dropped to an inescapable social whine. Love beads gave way to power shoulders, hippies morphed into yuppies and the only solace was irony. (This was a self-indulgent generational viewpoint too, of course, but that took me a few more years to understand.

Twenty-two years ago this fall, just before ABC premiered "thirtysomething," the producers were keeping their expectations low. "We wanted to make movies," Marshall Herskovitz, who created the era-defining drama about a group of yuppie pals in Philadelphia with writing partner Edward Zwick, explained in a recent interview. "We thought if we do something that is so specific to us and our friends, no one will watch it, it will be quickly canceled, and we can get back to making movies."

We thought the Lakers were the best thing on television until we discovered "thirtysomething." Poignant topics, sensitive, clever dialogue, believable acting. Those of us who are thirtysomething enjoy this realistic slice of life. Elly Beugen, Los Angeles

The Dec. 15 episode of "thirtysomething" was really something! And every one of the previous shows was also well thought out and acted. Milton F. Zimmerman, Pacific Palisades

It's long been said that there are no new ideas in Hollywood. But we have to admit that there have been some pretty good new incarnations of the old ones. Here we trace the possible genetic forebears of AMC's "Mad Men. " PREMISE "Mad Men": A poor Korean war soldier reinvents himself as a suave ad executive and family man and confronts the increasingly complicated sexual politics of the 1960s. "thirtysomething": Peace-loving hippies of the 1960s reinvent themselves as ad executives and family men and confront the increasingly complicated sexual politics of the 1980s.

Producer Marshall Herskovitz has purchased an equestrian property in Calabasas for $4.1 million. The ranch has a Mediterranean-style house with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms in 7,000 square feet, a seven-stall barn, two arenas, pastureland and a separate caretaker apartment. The remodeled home's family room opens to a wrap-around veranda overlooking the swimming pool area. An outdoor living area has a hacienda-style fireplace and barbecue. There are mature oak trees and a creek.

How does Winnie Holzman not make the roll call of "thirtysomething" writers ["Eightiessomething," Aug. 23]? She not only wrote several of their most memorable episodes but went on to create "My So-Called Life" and write the book for "Wicked." Melissa, Hope, Nancy, Ellyn, Michael, Elliot and Gary would have a lot to say about such an omission. Sylvia Green Burbank

There's a delectable symmetry in the fact that the long-awaited DVDs of "thirtysomething," that late 1980s paean to yuppie disquietude and silver-tongued solipsism, have unleashed themselves on us just a week after the flurry of excitement surrounding season three of "Mad Men." I won't go so far as to say the latter show wouldn't have been possible without the former (it's a superior product and very much its own entity), but the programs do have a few eerie commonalities. For starters, they both traffic in the complicated emotions that arise from the relationship between human beings and advertising (we know we're being manipulated, but we reach for our wallets nonetheless)

When "thirtysomething" debuted, I was still a young twentysomething. Although I am, to my everlasting dismay, technically a tail-end baby boomer, my friends and I came of age in the midst of boomer disillusionment, when organized protest had dropped to an inescapable social whine. Love beads gave way to power shoulders, hippies morphed into yuppies and the only solace was irony. (This was a self-indulgent generational viewpoint too, of course, but that took me a few more years to understand.

Long before there was an Ally McBeal waxing neurotic about love or a Carrie Bradshaw leading the glamorous life, there was Melissa Steadman, the artsy cousin of Michael (Ken Olin) that female fans of "thirtysomething" longed to be like. She was independent, creative, quirky and funny -- a single woman in her 30s who had a love affair with a younger man. (Yes, even before cougars became something other than a four-legged mammal.) As a TV series, "thirtysomething" was known for its intimate look at marriage and relationships at a time when gender roles were dramatically changing.

For Hollywood couple Ken Olin and Patricia Wettig, life began at "thirtysomething." Now at fiftysomething, they are still figuratively joined at the hip -- professionally and personally. On the groundbreaking '80s drama, Olin and Wettig, who have been married for 27 years, played characters who were spouses of other people. One of the secret pleasures for "thirtysomething" fans aware of their real relationship was trying to detect any added spark or chemistry between Olin's Michael Steadman or Wettig's Nancy Weston.

Twenty-two years ago this fall, just before ABC premiered "thirtysomething," the producers were keeping their expectations low. "We wanted to make movies," Marshall Herskovitz, who created the era-defining drama about a group of yuppie pals in Philadelphia with writing partner Edward Zwick, explained in a recent interview. "We thought if we do something that is so specific to us and our friends, no one will watch it, it will be quickly canceled, and we can get back to making movies."