Aired: 1988-91 
DAD: Michael Hogan (Josh Taylor) / Widower 
DAD’S JOB: Pilot
KIDS:David (Jason Bateman) (15-16), Willie (Danny Ponce) (10), Mark (Jeremy Licht) (10)
WHERE’S MOM?: Dead. "Accident" (see notes below).
STAND-IN "MOM": Sandy Hogan (Sandy Duncan) / aunt, and Mrs. Poole (Edie McClurg) / next door neighbor
So Valerie Harper bombs in "Rhoda," and she gets another show named "Valerie." Perfect, huh? So, she quits the show, because, hey, what’s NBC gonna do, keep going with a show named "Valerie?" — Guess what? The show goes on, as The Hogan Family
According to Pam (plmrose@gladstone.uoregon.edu), "Willie and Mark Hogan were actually fraternal twins. A lot of their storylines dealt with the conflict created by the fact that Mark was a ‘brain,’ and Willie was a ‘dumb jock.’ "
And this from Bill Weichand mwsbill@bellatlantic.net: "’The Hogan Family’ was the follow-on series to the show ‘Valerie’. In the final episode of ‘Valerie’, the kids’ mother was killed in a house fire. I still remember the episode."
Or maybe that’s not QUITE the way they dropped Valerie out of the series. Here’s a clarification on the Hogan Hand-off to Aunt Sandy, from Alert Viewer Mark Taylor: "In your entry on ‘The Hogan Family’, you mention that ‘Valerie died in a fire in the last episode…’ This is incorrect – Valerie Harper’s character written out of the series (Ms. Harper had left in a dispute with the shows producers) prior to the start of the next season. The first episode of that next season introduced Sandy Hogan (Mike’s sister and the boys’ aunt). It was established at the beginning of that episode that Sandy moved in to help take care of the boys so Mike could return to his job as an airline pilot. When Mike Hogan discusses going back to flying, He mentions that ‘its only been six months since Val’s accident.’ Later, David urges his dad that is time to go back to flying by stating, ‘its time, Dad, its been six months since Mom died.’ Further, the ‘Fire’ episode was the second episode of that same season. In that episode, David Hogan recalls driving up to see the house on fire and praying ‘Dear God, I just lost my mother, don’t take them too.’ In a later scene, the family has gone back into the house, and David goes to check on his room — it has been totally gutted. In the room he finds a picture of his mother and starts sobbing when the picture falls apart in his hands. This last scene is what your contributor remembers — it was pretty dramatic."
A bow of the Jeff Tracy Memorial Palm Trees to Katie Meddaugh (timm@jane.penn.com) for some of the additional info on the show. Thanks, Katie!
And a flap of the William Demerest Memorial Apron to Bill Weicand (mwsbill@bellatlantic.net) for his thoughts on mom’s demise. Thanks, Bill!
Plus a triple bounce of the Flipper Memorial Beach Ball to Mark Taylor (Markrtay@aol.com) for the details on the Hogan kick-off episodes. Thanks, Mark!