This Is the Life (TV series)
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- For the similarly named but totally different series, see This Is Your Life.
This Is the Life was a long-running American Christian television dramatic series. This anthology series aired in syndication from the 1950s through 1980s. The series was originally produced by the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, and distributed by the International Lutheran Laymen's League.
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[edit] Format
This Is the Life used two formats for its nearly 40-year run. However, the main core of the series remained the same: presenting everyday and contemporary problems, and resolving them using a Christian solution. Even during the 1950s, topics often were controversial: censorship, morality, bigotry and racism, infidelity, juvenile delinquency, war (including the Vietnam War) and drug abuse. Some stories were light comedy, although most were serious.
[edit] 1952-1956: "The Fisher Family" years
Early in the series' life, the show used regular characters. The focus was on the Fishers, a typical family from Middleburg in an unnamed Midwestern state. The family included a father and mother (referred to only as Mr. and Mrs. Fisher); their children Emily (18), Pete (16) and Freddie (10); and Grandpa Fisher (presumably Mr. Fisher's father). The other main character was Pastor Martin, who presided over the Lutheran Church where the Fishers were members.
Although it was a drama, the stories - which one or more of the Fishers were always a part of - were not unlike those seen on a typical 1950s-era situation comedy (such as Father Knows Best or Leave It to Beaver).
This Is the Life premiered on the DuMont Television Network in September 1952, and aired on both DuMont and ABC until the fall of 1953. The show entered syndication shortly after its network run ended.
The Fishers remained a part of the show until the winter of 1956, when the series underwent a major change.
[edit] 1956-late 1980s: Anthology format
The format most familiar with and remembered by viewers was its anthology format - that is, a different cast of characters appearing on each episode. Examples of stories included:
- A doctor who brings faith to a non-believing accident victim.
- A businessman who must help his drug-addicted sister but only after he faces his own drug habit.
- A young girl who runs away after learning her family is moving to another town (because her father accepted a job transfer).
- A college student who struggles with grief after losing his girlfriend in a car accident.
The main characters would ultimately approach a Lutheran clergyman for assistance in resolving their problem.
Each episode ended with an inspirational message from a clergyman rostered in the Lutheran church, along with the moral and appropriate biblical verses.
The show would became a staple on many local television stations' Sunday morning lineup.
[edit] Legacy
The success of This Is the Life resulted in several other Christian denominations producing their own religious anthology series. The most successful of these entries was Insight, which was produced by the Roman Catholic-affiliated Paulist Productions, premiering in syndication in 1960 and running for nearly 25 years.
Among less-successful anthologies were:
- This Is the Answer (1958-1961), underwritten by the Southern Baptist Convention.
- The Pastor (1955), the Methodist's entry into the market.
[edit] Sources
- Erickson, Hal. "Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947-1987. McFarland & Co. Inc. Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina, 1989. ISBN 0-89950-410-8.
