There may have been some similarities between Silver Spoons and Little Lord Fauntleroy but you wouldn't confuse one for the other when you saw all the arcade video games arrayed in the Silver Spoons living room.

Ricky Stratton, played by a youthful Ricky Schroder, comes to the Stratton mansion to live with his very rich, estranged father Edward. Ricky's mother has remarried and shipped the boy off to a military boarding school but he decides to visit Edward, who doesn't even know he has a son. Edward is just a kid at heart who doesn't want the responsibility of a child at first, but he changes his mind and welcomes Ricky into his home. And what a home it is: video games, model trains, toys of every sort fill the mansion for Edward's entertainment. Ricky is more adult in many ways than his father and he always tries to rein in Edward's child-like wonder. Edward does his part to instill Ricky's life with fun and excitement and the two manage to get along.

Other characters include Edward's father--played by John Houseman-- a dignified patrician who seems to have more in common with dour and serious Ricky than with the fun-loving Edward; Kate Summers, Edward's down-to-earth assistant played by Buck Rogers alum Erin Gray; Jason Bateman as Derek, Ricky's friend; and Alfonso--played by Alfonso Ribeiro who went on to star in Fresh Prince of Bel Air--the son of Edward's uptight accountant.

The series featured many famous guest stars, such as Whitney Houston, Mr. T, Menudo and, in one episode, Tommy Lasorda, legendary manager of the L.A. Dodgers. Silver Spoons focused on the comedic interactions between the mismatched father and son team, with a liberal sprinkling of 'very special episodes' in which Ricky and his friends confronted tough social issues.