Line #26 Series/LifeGoesOn


1	[[quoteright:334:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/life_goes_on-show_527.jpg]]
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3	1989-1993 teen/family drama notable for having a major character with Down's syndrome (Corky), and one with AIDS (Jesse). The whole show was kind of one big VerySpecialEpisode. The main character, Becca, was Corky's sister and Jesse's girlfriend.
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5	Not [[SimilarlyNamedWorks to be confused]] with ''Series/{{Empty Nest}}'', which aired around the same time, with a ''theme song'' entitled "Life Goes On". Nor should it be confused with the 2014 PuzzlePlatformer game [[VideoGame/LifeGoesOn of the same name]].
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7	!!Tropes used:
8	* TheAlcoholic: Rhona's mother.
9	* AlphaBitch: Rhona. Not all the time, but mostly.
10	* AttemptedRape: Libby interrupts a date of Becca's getting too frisky with her. In another episode, one of Becca's teachers tries to force himself on Paige during a date.
11	* BeautyIsBad: Rhona is an airheaded bitch--and a gorgeous blonde.
12	* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Corky expresses in the third season, how he'll never forget how Tyler was the only person who didn't make fun of him when he first started high school.
13	* BigBrotherInstinct: In "Corky Rebels", Corky falls under the influence of some questionable new "friends" and develops an attitude towards his family. However, after one of the punks gets physical with Becca, Corky immediately jumps in to defend his sister (which ultimately leads to him mending his ways).
14	* BrainyBrunette: Becca.
15	* ConvenientMiscarriage: Paige discovers that she's pregnant just as her husband resurfaces and wants another chance. She's considering it when he tells her that he doesn't want the baby. This and the miscarriage put the nail in the coffin of their marriage.
16	* CoolBigSis: Paige to Corky.
17	* DeadGuyJunior: The finale reveals in a FlashForward that following [[spoiler:Jesse's]] death from AIDS, [[spoiler: Becca eventually marries a man named David and their son is named Jesse.]]
18	* DeadpanSnarker: Becca. Corky had a few moments himself.
19	--> '''Becca''': Why don't you take a look in the mirror, dogface?\
20	'''Corky''': I would, but you [[MirrorCrackingUgly cracked it]]!
21	* DerailingLoveInterests: Inverted. After years of pining away for Tyler, Becca finally gets him. . . and it's ''she'' who suddenly turns into a bitch who treats him horribly because she's falling for Jesse.
22	* DidTheyOrDidntThey: A HookerWithAHeartOfGold who befriends Corky when he's lost in the city takes him back to her apartment and kisses him passionately. Cue a possible SexyDiscretionShot, because it's left ambiguous if they did anything more.
23	* DistantFinale: The first episode of the finale season has 40-something Becca wandering through her childhood home, and the final episode shows her married with a son, named [[DeadGuyJunior Jesse]].
24	* DumbBlonde: Rhona
25	* FantasySequence: Occasionally.
26	%%* DownerEnding
27	* FlashForward: Done in the first ("[[IncrediblyLamePun Bec to the Future]]") and last episodes of the final season, with Becca serving as narrator.
28	* GoodParents: Drew and Libby.
29	* HiddenDepths: Supposed JerkJock Tyler has a brother with Down's Syndrome, thus explaining why he's nice to Corky. Meanwhile, Rhona's mother is an alcoholic, thus explaining a lot of her bitchy behavior.
30	* [[KickTheDog Forget To Feed The Dog]]: The opening titles feature the family all getting ready for the day, with no one remembering to feed the dog, who sits forlornly with his bowl in his mouth as everyone runs by. Viewers actually wrote letters to complain, and in the series finale, [[ThrowTheDogABone a bag of dog food falls out of a nearby cabinet and Arnold finally has breakfast]].
31	* InspirationallyDisadvantaged: Corky at the start of the series. This changes in the later seasons when along with the shows tone shift and his reaching adulthood he develops his interests and makes his decisions despite the initial dismay of his parents. To the surprise of characters who first get to know Corky, they realize he is as flawed and human as everybody else.
32	* LawOfInverseFertility: Libby assumes she's beginning menopause, but she's pregnant.
33	%%* LovableJock: Tyler, Corky's friend, and Becca's first boyfriend.
34	* MistakenForGay: A rather harsh version in "Incident on Main," when Jesse is beaten up after leaving the AIDS hospice center.
35	%%* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: Maybe.
36	* TheMovieBuff: Corky to the point where he can reenact scenes from films like Film/{{Casablanca}}. In the third season, he pursues and successfully lands an ushering job at a movie theater that shows classic films.
37	* ParentalMarriageVeto: Corky and Amanda's parents try to interfere in their marriage plans, with her parents outright taking them to court to get the marriage annulled after the two elope.
38	* PostRobberyTrauma: The whole family is on edge after they're robbed, with Drew buying a gun and Corky almost shooting a friend of Paige's with it--he didn't know him and thought he was the burglar.
39	* RunawayBride: At the altar, Paige asks her fiance if he really loves her. He swears that he does, but admits that they're not right for each other. With his blessing, she goes dashing down the aisle to reunite with her true love. Then, in the next season, it's revealed that she also ran out on the other guy when they had no plan for anything, leading them to fight constantly and eventually split.
40	* ShipSinking: After years of buildup, Tyler and Becca break up about five minutes after getting together because she's fallen for Jesse.
41	* SurvivorGuilt: Becca has this after [[spoiler: Tyler dies]], feeling that if [[ForWantOfANail she hadn't kicked him out of her party, he'd wouldn't have been in the accident]]. Jesse gently but firmly tries to snap her out of it, reminding her that he was drunk and being belligerent and that she had every right to ask him to leave.
42	%%* TheTalk
43	* TrashTheSet: Corky accidentally causes the destruction of his father's recently opened diner, and it remains that way for several episodes until it is rebuilt.
44	* ToneShift:
45	** Over the course of the four seasons, the show shifted from being a reasonably light-hearted family drama focusing on Corky to a rather angsty romantic drama between Jesse and Becca. The [[SoundtrackDissonance peppy opening song remains the same, however]], which is jarring particularly in the episodes with a dark or upsetting opening scene.
46	** A season 3 episode called "Armageddon" has Drew and Libby fighting a lot over stupid, minor things. At one point they get into a heated argument that leads to Libby hitting Drew, which was a shock after seeing them happy for so long and having just had a baby boy.
47	* UnexpectedVirgin: Becca prepares for a romantic evening with Tyler. . .and he confesses, "I've never done this before." She's shocked, as she and apparently everyone in their school had assumed that he and his previous girlfriend were having sex, especially given their JerkJock[=/=]AlphaBitch personalities.
48	* VacationEpisode: In the second season premiere, "Honeymoon From Hell," the family takes a trip to Hawaii.
49	* WhatTheHellHero: Corky gives Becca the cold shoulder after she dumps Tyler for Jesse.
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Context Series / LifeGoesOn