MovieChat Forums > It's Your Move (1984) Discussion > This Show's Legacy

This Show's Legacy

posted 20 years ago by morphiaflow
7 replies | jump to latest

Launched with a HUGE amount of hype in the fall of 1984 and cancelled after 18 episodes with little fanfare less than a year later, this show was a vehicle for then-teen-heartthrob Jason Bateman, the one that was supposed to make him the next big name. But unlike the squeaky-clean morality plays then in vogue on COSBY, FAMILY TIES, et al, this show had BITE, and EDGE. Matthew Burton, Bateman's character, was a teenage J.R. Ewing, a con artist effortlessly dodging the video-game-villains that made up the adults in his world and equally seeing his fellow teenagers as more often shallow and facile than truly on his level (perhaps a comment on those same qualities in teens on most TV shows, then and now). Matthew often did the wrong things for the right reasons, but while both he and nemeis/neighbor Norman (an older version of Matthw played by David Garrison) had redeeming qualities, there was seldom if ever a "moral". It was just smart, mean and funny television.

The show is notable for a NUMBER of reasons. First and foremost, it's smart and FUNNY and holds up AMAZINGLY well, especially when compared to a lot of other TV fare of the era. Jason Bateman's performance is first-rate, and most of the supporting players are perfectly cast. (Disney fans should note that "The Lion King" voice actor Ernie Sabella was in this show!) Second, it was the last show created by Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt BEFORE they created Married With Children. And while the premises of the two shows are far apart, the mean-styled humour is common to both. IYM may seem soft in comparison to the sharpness of the early (first three seasons) MWC, but for prime-time, mainstream, network fare in the middle of the ultra-conservative Reagan era, IT'S YOUR MOVE was very much an outlaw show--as MWC was seen to be soon after. (It was also notable for the presence of MWC's David Garrison as Norman.) Finally, the show predated similar teen Terminators Ferris Bueller and Parker Lewis by several years.

Unfortunately, the mix was too sharp to survive the Network's care. Teenagers took Matthew Burton to heart as a hero, but parents saw him as a menace. The last 5 episodes were produced AFTER outraged parents wanted Matthew to get "caught" in one of his schemes, and the character made to "face the consequences", so that he would stop being a "bad influence" on kids. Sadly, this undercut the very premise of the show and took a great deal of the bite out of it. And those last 5 episodes, though they clearly have their moments, suffer in comparison--and sank the show for good rather than saved it.)

Even so, it thrived in reruns on cable in the early 1990s, and doubtless continued to influence lots of teenagers to aim at being smarter than the so-called adults around them. God Bless It for that! A comprehensive DVD release is certainly in order--I bet the creators and actors would LOVE the chance to expound on this forgotten gem of a show.

Matteo M. Yenkala
[email protected]
www.AZROCKY.com

[–] drumsey 19 years ago

Great summary thank you---i just posted on another thread about The Dregs of humanity part 2 and why it was that noone saw it...check it out

[–] amblin_girl 19 years ago

There's a difference between fiction and nonfiction. If the parents did their job, this should not be an issue. Parents allow their kids to watch violence on TV/film and play video games that are horrific yet they are concerned with "It's Your Move? I don't buy it. This series is classic. Ahead of its time. Brilliant!

[–] AND77 19 years ago

I was 8 yrs old when this show first aired, and my mom and I both loved it. It's a shame that more poeple didn't get it - it should have run for years. I was crushed when it was cancelled, and when USA picked it up to air in rerun a couple of years later, I remember jumping up and down.
Totally agree, WAY ahead of its time.
Also agree with the person who wrote the comment - Jason Bateman works best as a cynical smart-ass, and he really made this show great. I'm so glad he's found his niche on Arrested Development (that's assuming network heads don't cancel this cynical, hilarious, snarky show, as well).

[–] arthur_itis 18 years ago

I'm glad there are other people who remember this show and realize how pioneering it really was. Jason Bateman for me will always be the ultimate smartass, scheming kid that he was in Silver Spoons and then this show. Obviously, NBC must have had some kind of inkling that his Derek character was worthy of carrying his own show, so they gave Bateman a show with a different character name, same persona. And IYM was different than all the other shows at the time because the scheming was the focal point of the show, not moral lessons. One of my favorites is when Norm and Matt are sitting on the floor of Matt's apartment and some guys are stealing everything around them while they wait for the other to try and stop the robbery. Then they become contestants on a game show to win prizes to refurnish the apartment. This show was more clever than Married With Children, and it's dissapointing to me that MWC used more low-brow humor to get laughs, even though that's probably why it succeeded in drawing more viewers than IYM.(Don't get me wrong, I like MWC too)

[–] dell_4b 16 years ago

Good point about MWC being the low brow version of this show. I can totally see the similarities though and with the same writers it all makes sense. Wish the show ran more than it did. I was confused at age 14 when it was suddenly gone and it left off right at a supposed part 2 of the rock concert of the Dregs of Humanity, which I never got to see, or ever saw in re-runs.

[–] RobS36 16 years ago

I was 12 years old when this show was on back in 1984. I loved the show and when I just so happened to be flipping channels one day and come across it on USA Network in the 90's I was like WOW I remember this show when it was on NBC back in the day! I sat there and watched It's Your Move and loved it! This show should have lasted a lot longer than what it did but you forget though that a couple of years later Jason Bateman was in another great show called Valerie which later became The Hogans and then The Hogan Family and switched from NBC to CBS.

Now that was a great show to watch as well!

Dedicated to USA UP ALL NIGHT and the fans of the show! http://usa-uan.deefilmroll.com/

[–] susie_not_sad 15 years ago

I watched this with my 10yo son and it didn't have any effect on his behavior. 10 year olds are more interested in their bikes and ball games.

As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!