SnoopyStyle Kate McArdle (Susan Saint James) is a single New York mom with Emma (Ari Meyers). She is divorced from the well-meaning but unreliable actor Max and working as a travel agent after a bohemian life. Her childhood friend Allie (Jane Curtin) gets divorced after 14 years from surgeon Charles Lowell who has moved on with girlfriend Claire. She was the submissive conservative housewife who had never worked outside the home and is going back to college. She moves in with Kate taking her kids Chip (Frederick Koehler) and Jennie (Allison Smith).The first season is a six episode mid-season replacement. Jane Curtin is doing her comedic turns. It is a terrific start to a good sitcom. The show is bolstered by the compelling female friendship of Kate and Allie. Their daughters form a cute parallel friendship. It uses the new landscape of divorce. It has a sweet humor without going too silly. I also like the cold opening sequences of Kate and Allie talking on the streets of New York. They're like little nuggets of 80's New York street life. The kids started doing those openings when Susan Saint James got pregnant during the filming of the fourth season. The show does flatten out over the years. Ari Meyers leaves the show during season 5 for college and Allie marries Bob Barsky in season 6. The lost of Emma leaves a hole in the chemistry. There is always a threat of a guy breaking up the show and its original intent of life as divorced women together. Eventually, TV writing is pulling the show apart and it becomes more constructed. Anyways, six seasons is a pretty good run. Maybe it could have transitioned into a spin off of Emma and Jennie going off to college. If the show has to have a marriage, it should have been one of the girls. The show eventually runs its course. Binging this some thirty years later, it's amazing how much of it comes back to my memory.

Catherine_Grace_Zeh I used to watch this show when I was growing up. Although I don't remember much about it, I must say that it was a pretty good show. Also, I don't think I've seen every episode. However, if you ask me, it was still a good show. I vaguely remember the theme song. Everyone was ideally cast, the costume design was great. The performances were top-grade, too. I just hope some network brings this series back one day so that I'll be able to see every episode. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that I'll always remember this show in my memory forever, even though I don't think I've seen every episode. Now, in conclusion, when and if this show is ever brought back on the air, I hope that you catch it one day before it goes off the air for good.

happipuppi13 I watched the premiere of Kate & Allie in March of 1984 (along w/ Martin Mull's less spectacular "Domestic Life") and in just the first episode I found a funny intelligent sitcom that was not "cute kids and confused adults".It wasn't preachy (Cosby Show),nor was it silly. The kids had brains but still acted like normal everyday kids/teens. Jane Curtain and Susan Saint James are perfectly cast to play two single,intelligent women who,while they do date,are not preoccupied by "finding a man".I would say this has to be one of the greatest shows that CBS had to offer after the end of it's 1970's triumphs. Newhart was great too but it was too easy to compare it to his original. Designing Women was 2 seasons away so,in between is Kate & Allie.The most unforgettable episode is when Allie gets stuck across town somehow with no money and no way home. She ends up walking home nearly 100 block,looking a mess which makes people think she's a homeless woman. That show was partially filmed in the actual city of New York,which made it all the more amazing. That's an Emmy winning idea if I ever heard one.You could have knocked me over with a breath when it was canceled in 1989! Yes,6 seasons but in real time only 5 years and 2 months? It seemed they had so much more to say about these characters. Especially with Chip growing up.One of my favorites is when Allie has to talk to Chip about sex and Chip becomes horrified & embarrassed that his mother not only knows these things but can say them out loud and has engaged in it. I love his line at the end of that scene after she leaves. "My mother said "condom"! " That's a classic! ...and so is this show and just like someone else mentioned,why is this not in reruns? ..or on DVD? This was and is quality television! A 10 star rating all the way!5/18/2006: Kate and Allie,Season 1,is now out on DVD! (Fall 2006:Can now be seen on the " I. " Network.

Jarle I first stumbled across KATE & ALLIE back in 1988, when the series was being transmitted by our national broadcasting service. At first I didn´t find the premise all that promising - two divorced mothers and their respective offspring sharing an apartment and their lives in New York.I must have watched the initial episode at least 12 times before I decided to keep the recording.What made me change my mind? First of all, there were the sterling performances by most of the actors, Jane Curtin and Susan St. James in particular. Slowly I began to appreciate that this series was not only funny, it dealt with real, everyday issues in a non-preachy way.And finally - what REALLY convinced of me of the show´s high quality was the Queen of Deadpan herself, Jane Curtin. (So called by John Lithgow, her co-star in the current hit series "3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN, no less!) She can make even duff lines shine with her spot-on delivery.