A TAYLOR-MADE LIFE: Watching an old show with brand-new life

There’s no time I can remember where reruns of “Who’s the Boss?” haven’t been part of my life.

Whether it was watching reruns on TV Land before school or tapes of recordings from Nick @ Nite, the sitcom that ran from 1984 to 1992 has always been like an ancillary family member to me.

However, it recently occurred to me that I probably haven’t seen every episode of the eight-season series, and I opted for a from-the-beginning rewatch via Hulu.

Although I started this endeavor on my own, Keegan began sitting with me more frequently. Shortly thereafter, he became a fan.

I don’t exaggerate when I say his enjoyment of the show has filled me with utter joy. He’s long been familiar with it but never really watched it.

The fact that he’s taken to something that means so much to me (without my having to pull the “it means so much to me” card) is a dream come true for the 8-year-old version of me watching TV Land, the 14-year-old watching Nick @ Nite and every iteration after.

We’re now on season five and, for anyone unfamiliar, here’s a quick rundown: Tony Danza plays a former pro baseball player who lost his wife and wants to give his daughter Samantha a better life than their rough Brooklyn neighborhood.

He moves them to Connecticut, where he becomes the housekeeper to Angela (Judith Light), an ad exec and mom to Jonathan. Angela’s mother, Mona, (Katherine Helmond) offers much of the comic relief as Tony and Angela dance their way through a will they/won’t they dynamic.

Watching this show as an adult, it has reinforced a few known truths:

• Family does not necessarily mean blood. Although Tony and Samantha are not related to Angela and Co., they’re immediately treated as family once they’re under their roof.

• It’s never too late to go back to school. The show starts with Mona, presumably in her 50s, studying psychology in college. Later in the series, Tony goes to college in his mid-30s.

• Show up for the people you love. Although a quintessential sappy sitcom of the times, the show repeatedly drives home the importance of sticking to your word and being there for those you care about.

It’s been a blast rewatching this show, especially with Keegan. There’s an episode where Angela says to Tony, “All the best moments of my life, you’ve been at my side.” And how lucky am I to know what that feels like.