Celebrating 10 years, we look back at the light-hearted sitcom that is universally relatable and was loved by millions.
In a sea full of Disney Channel shows that captured originality with a teenage double-life (Hannah Montana) and living your life in a family of Wizards in New York City (Wizards of Waverley Place), it was excellent to see Good Luck Charlie growing up. It was normal in a very relative sense.
We watched the Duncan’s as they coped with everyday situations of family life in Denver, Colorado. I love that the show was set there because it is not same major cities seen is so many other sitcoms such as Los Angeles or Las Vegas.
It was an interesting area for Disney channel to explore through family relationships and it was interesting to see how Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen made this work.
What made this show great was love its relatability to each of the characters. As a sitcom, it managed to achieve this in a brilliant way. It is one that resonates with viewers’ own experiences, and family-centred shows like this faced the challenge of appealing to a diverse array of family dynamics.
Getting that right today would be tricky within contemporary viewership. Fortunately, though, the series content is well rounded enough that there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Re-watching this show brings constantly fun for me whenever I reminisce. I think about how great the rock influence is portrayed in the theme song “Hang in There Baby” – amazingly sung by main star Bridgit Mendler). Her character, Teddy Duncan would say “Good Luck Charlie” after narrating how her day went to her new-born sister Charlie talking about the crazy misadventures she and her family got up to.
Teddy creates these video diaries hoping that they will one day be useful to Charlie as she grows up, a sweet notion in the show. The funniest realisation I recently discovered upon my nostalgia was that her parents, Amy and Bob almost never took care of Charlie, mostly because they had to return to work (as a nurse and an exterminator respectively. Bob’s Bugs Be Gone, ring any bells?), therefore leaving Gabe, PJ and Teddy in charge of taking care of Charlie and eventually, Toby, the fifth child of the family. That in and of itself must be a difficult task.
All three siblings were still navigating various stages of adolescence themselves as well to dealing with school and society in general. For Teddy, this is hardest for her as she has been there for Charlie since day one and eventually leaves for Yale.
For PJ, this proves often hilariously funny, making him the most comedic character of the programme, whether that was accidentally leaving Charlie with a neighbour or leaving her at the park. PJ manages to be a risk-taker and do the undoable, often relying on Teddy and Gabe to help him get out of these situations.
As for Gabe, it takes a bit of time for him to get used to the arrival of Charlie. Eventually he gains a soft spot and newfound love of his two younger siblings, which is particularly highlighted when he gets to pick the name of his younger brother Toby.
The programme does a sincere job at exploring diversity too.
Both Teddy and PJs best friends (Ivy and Emmett) are people of colour. Emmett (the latter half of PJ and the vibe) has a never-ending crush on Teddy, which she constantly downplays due to her seeing Emmett as a brother as well as being in an on and off relationship with Spencer Walsh.
Ivy is obsessed with country music and animal-print clothing. Despite being a materialistic character, she nonetheless proves to be a passionate best friend to Teddy.
Additionally, the show was also the first on Disney Channel that would feature a married same-sex couple at the end of the final season. This went down very well with LGBTQ+ organisations and other celebrities such as Miley Cyrus but not so much with conservative and more religious watchers. Disney further issued a statement saying:
“It was developed to be relevant to kids and families around the world and to reflect themes of diversity and inclusiveness.”
In any case, I miss this show, and I am glad with the way it ended. It was something that made me happy and gave me something to look forward to after school.
Every member of the family will find something to relate to and get a laugh out of the show’s take on the ups and downs of family life.
By Zach Omitowuju
Feature image: Seventeen magazine