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''The Baxters'' is a situation comedy television series, which aired from 1977 to 1981 as a syndicated series. The original American incarnation of the series aired locally from 1977 to 1979 on the Boston station WCVB; in 1979, Norman Lear took over production, and a recast version aired nationally in the 1979-80 television season. Facing cancellation, the series was then acquired by a Canadian firm who moved the production to Toronto and recast it again, and lasted one more season as a Canadian series before ending its run in 1981. The series was the first "interactive" sitcom, depicting a middle-class St. Louis family. Each 30-minute episode was split into two parts; the first half was a vignette dramatizing the events in the lives of the Baxter family, and the second was a live studio audience "talk show" segment where audiences were given the opportunity to participate and voice their opinions about the issues raised in that week's episode. ==Synopsis== The Baxters were an "average" middle-class family living in a suburb of St. Louis. Fred Baxter (Larry Keith) was an insurance salesman and Nancy (Anita Gillette) a housewife and mother. Naomi (Derin Altay), was their adopted 19-year-old daughter, Jonah (Chris Petersen) was their 14-year-old son, and their youngest, Rachel (Terri Lynn Wood) was their 10-year-old daughter. The series followed the Baxter family as they dealt with various important and, in some cases, controversial, issues of the day. In one episode they were faced with whether to commit Mother Baxter to a nursing home; in another, whether the fact that Jonah's teacher was a homosexual would harm their son; and in another, Fred faced a dilemma over whether to turn a small, money-losing apartment house he owned into condominiums, thus forcing out some of the tenants. The second season featured an all new cast as another Baxter family; Jim Baxter (Sean McCann) became a schoolteacher and his wife Susan Baxter (Terry Tweed) returned to work. Their kids were now 19-year-old Allison (Marianne McIsaac), 14-year-old Greg (Sammy Snyders) and 10-year-old Lucy (Megan Follows). The format, however, was essentially the same. Unlike most other sitcoms, each episode was open-ended, the first half of each episode being a vignette featuring the Baxter family and presenting a situation or dilemma they faced, and the second half, an "instant analysis" talk-show format, giving a live studio audience and guests a chance to talk about the topic being presented. Stations carrying the show could choose between producing their own discussion segments locally, or presenting a national version of the segment which, during its first season, was produced in Los Angeles, and in its second season, Toronto. The discussion moderator in the second segment was different in each city, and in some local markets, viewers were invited to call in and voice their reactions. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Baxters」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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