After achieving teen idol status as the young friend of Ricky Schroeder on Silver Spoons, it was time for Jason Bateman (brother of Justine Bateman of Family Ties fame) to branch out as the star of his own series. Playing Matthew, a lovable 14 year-old con artist, Bateman matched wits each week with a more than worthy adversary in the NBC sitcom, It’s Your Move.

Debuting in 1984, the show centered around young Matthew, a crafty and conniving teen who lives with his widowed mother, Eileen, a legal secretary and sixteen year-old sister, Julia. All is well until Mom starts taking a liking to their next-door neighbor, a struggling writer named Norman. Convinced that Norman isn’t good enough for his mother, Matthew sets out to use all of his skills to sabotage the relationship. He tries to find a new love interest for her, while doing everything in his power to make Norman look bad.

What he isn’t expecting is that Norman is just as clever and conniving as his young adversary. The cat and mouse game is on as the pair tries every deception, every practical joke, to try and outsmart their opponent. Both have the ability to appear kind and caring to any outsider looking in, but when nobody is watching, the gloves come off and the devious plotting begins. Eileen generally remained in the dark about all of the covert matching of wits, while Matthew remained frustrated to no end that he couldn’t convince anyone that Norman was unsuitable for his mother’s affection.

Saturday Night Live alumni, Garrett Morris, had a supporting role as the school principal, and other recurring characters included Lou, the apartment superintendent and Eli, Matt’s dimwitted friend who is hopelessly attracted to his sister. David Garrison, who would go on to star for many seasons as Steve Rhoades, the unlucky neighbor of Al Bundy on Married…with Children, starred as Norman (both shows were created by Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt.)

Although It’s Your Move only lasted for a single season, it enjoyed a wonderful chemistry between the two main actors, whose perpetual battle of wits were always quite entertaining. The show has surfaced occasionally in syndication and has a number of loyal fans to this day.