Silver Spoons is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for the first four seasons, until Embassy Communications moved the series to syndication after being cancelled by NBC. Silver Spoons was created by Martin Cohan, Howard Leeds and Ben Starr. The show focuses on the wealthy playboy Edward Stratton III, and his relationship with his young son Ricky Stratton. Ricky was the product of a brief marriage between Edward and Ricky's mother. Edward was unaware that he had a son until Ricky comes to live with Edward at the outset of the series. The main cast stars Joel Higgins as Edward, Ricky Schroder as Ricky, Leonard Lightfoot as Edward's attorney, Franklyn Seales as Edward's business manager, and Erin Gray as Edward's personal assistant and later love interest. Jason Bateman plays Ricky's best friend over the first two seasons of the show, replaced by Alfonso Ribeiro over the remaining seasons. John Houseman plays Edward's dour and disapproving father. Synopsis In the pilot episode, Ricky Stratton (Ricky Schroder) arrives at the mansion of the father he has never met to introduce himself, move in, and get to know him better. Edward Stratton III (Joel Higgins) epitomizes the phrase "overgrown child"; he has never taken responsibility for anything in his life, including his toy business, Eddie's Toys. Ricky recognizes that his father needs to grow up; Edward thinks his son is too uptight and needs to have more fun while he is still young. Edward's father (Edward Stratton II) is played by John Houseman as the intelligent, well-to-do patriarch and industrialist whose demeanor starkly contrasts with Edward's and seems more similar to Ricky's (at first). Throughout the series, the comic tension arises between Grandfather Stratton's belief that people with money are obligated to make more money and Edward's belief that money should be used to make people happy. Ricky is often caught between the two, wishing only for peace and harmony within the family. Ricky's mother is Evelyn Bluthorn (Christine Belford). Edward and Evelyn's romantic relationship led to a week-long marriage. Now Evelyn has remarried and placed Ricky in a military boarding school. When Ricky arrives at the Stratton residence, Edward is stunned to discover that his long-ago brief marriage produced a son (when