Mel Harris News

While John Hughes was defining the '80s for teenagers, Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz were doing the same thing for yuppie boomers with ''thirtysomething'' , which is finally getting the deluxe boxed-set treatment.

Twenty-two years ago this fall, just before ABC premiered "thirtysomething," the producers were keeping their expectations low.

At the distance of two decades, "thirtysomething'' is a cultural gold mine. The 1987-91 TV drama reveals the way a particular America came of age at a particular time .

Although "thirtysomething" was in many ways a pioneer of dialogue-heavy dramas with introspective characters, Peter Horton says he's not sure the show could be made the same way today.

In this image released by ABC, The cast of "thirtysomething", from left, Peter Horton, Melanie Mayron, Ken Olin, Mel Harris, Polly Draper, Patricia Wettig and Timothy Busfield, poses for a photo on ABC's "Good Morning America," Tuesday, Aug.

In this image released by ABC, The cast of "thirtysomething", from left, Peter Horton, Melanie Mayron, Ken Olin, Mel Harris, Polly Draper, Patricia Wettig and Timothy Busfield, poses for a photo on ABC's "Good Morning America," Tuesday, Aug.

In this image released by ABC, The cast of "thirtysomething", from left, Peter Horton, Melanie Mayron, Ken Olin, Mel Harris, Polly Draper, Patricia Wettig and Timothy Busfield, poses for a photo on ABC's "Good Morning America," Tuesday, Aug.

Pictured, from left: Peter Horton , Melanie Mayron , Ken Olin , Mel Harris , Brittany/Lacey Craven , Polly Draper , Luke Rossi , Patricia Wettig , Timothy Busfield and Jordana Bink Shapiro .

In 1987, the cast of 'thirtysomething" included, from left, Mel Harris, Ken Olin, Peter Horton, Polly Draper, Melanie Mayron, Patricia Wettig and Timothy Busfield.

ABC The adult cast of 'Thirtysomething' in 1987: from left on the top row, Polly Draper, Peter Horton, Ken Olin, Mel Harris and Melanie Mayron; bottom row from left, Timothy Busfield and Patricia Wettig.

The cast of 'thirtysomething' includes, from left, Timothy Busfield, Luke Rossi, Patricia Wettig, Polly Draper, Lacey/Brittany Craven, Mel Harris, Ken Olin, Melanie Mayron and Peter Horton.

Every week the show blurred the lines between television and film, drama and comedy, hard reality and twisted imagination.

Celebrity birthdays for the week of July 12-18: July 12: Pianist Van Cliburn is 75.