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Family Affair was a sitcom that took family issues and dealt with them in a unique way – for once, the adult TV characters weren’t quite so perfect. The series starred well-known actor Brian Keith as Bill Davis. Bill is a rich bachelor who lives with his butler, Giles French, in a New York apartment. After his brother dies in an accident, Bill and Mr. French find themselves raising his three children – youngsters Jody and Buffy, who are fraternal twins, and teenage Cissy. They don’t know anything about raising children, but find themselves quickly attached to their new family members.

 

The plotlines themselves were pretty simple. One had Buffy upset when her doll Mrs. Beasley went missing, and another focused on Cissy’s problems with her candy striper job. Inevitably, Mr. French or Uncle Bill would come to the rescue with a word of wise advice. In a unique twist though, both of these wise adults didn’t always know how to property deal with their new charges. They were both unaccustomed to working with children, and it often showed, either by making obvious parental mistakes or just by losing their temper. The kids’ messiness was particularly vexing to Mr. French’s studied neatness. But ultimately, the adults loved the children, and it showed.

 

Another unique aspect was that the show dealt with the fact that kids has lost their parents, unlike many other TV orphans (like Willis and Arnold on Diff'rent Strokes). One episode called “The Substitute Teacher” told the story of when Jody becomes extremely attached to a new teacher. Initially Bill chalks it up to a childhood crush, but realizes it’s more complicated than that when he sees a picture of the new teacher – and it looks just like Jody’s deceased mother.

 

CBS broadcast the show for five successful seasons, ran it for two more years in daytime reruns, and it continues to air in syndication. The sweet storylines and affable characters continue to win fans.