Three's Company: Old Folks at Home

Three's Company: Old Folks at Home
ABC
October 30, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
C

I'm not fond of the episodes where strangers impose on the trio, although this story by Baser & Weiskopf isn't as bad as some.  Seventy-five-year-old Leo Moran (O'Malley, who was in fact 75 at that point) stays in the apartment and does incredibly thoughtless things, like dig up Mr. Furley's roses and smoke in the cupboard and in Jack's bed.  I like the "why are you divorcing your roses" routine that Mr. Furley imagines Janet and Chrissy doing, Jack kicking out his girlfriend after she kicks out Leo (there'd be similar scenes where Jack would reject women who weren't as beautiful on the inside as out), and the girls confusing Jack in the tag by kissing him when he expects them to resist him like usual.

Soap: Episode 29

Soap: Episode 29
ABC
October 5, 1978
Dramedy
DVD
B

Harris again co-wrote with Jordan Crittenden, but this is an improvement.  For one thing, there's a sweet but funny scene where Jessica wants to prepare Corinne for her wedding night, having forgotten that Corinne has already lived with a man.  (And wasn't exactly a virgin before then.)  And for another, the Major is given something good to work with for a change, a stuffed doberman he gives to Chester as a pet.  Meanwhile, Mary wants to study English in college and has to reassure Burt that she won't get too smart for him.  Danny seems to have gotten over his fear of heights from last year, when he tried to kill Burt, maybe because he's been through so much and he's getting used to working in construction.  Also, he's distracted by his unhappy marriage.  Corinne does have a rough wedding night, but it's because Tim is nervous and his mother makes a hostile phone call, so Corinne and Tim don't get beyond kissing.  Chester has dizzy spells, so Jessica calls the hospital and Dutch goes on the run, promising to come back for Eunice.

J. Pat O'Malley plays the bellhop, who turns out to be Tim's former parishioner Orville.  Jodie, Elaine, Chuck, and Bob are absent.

The Brady Bunch: The Honeymoon

The Brady Bunch: The Honeymoon
ABC
September 26, 1969
Sitcom
DVD
B

"The Brady Bunch IN COLOR."  It's impossible for me to be objective about this show, perhaps the one that is most ingrained in my brain.  I watched the last season or two as they aired when I was a little kid, but more importantly this was in heavy syndication throughout the '70s.  And it was a show for kids and about kids.  I remember (way before the Internet) at about the age of 15 (ca. 1983) sitting down and listing every episode I could remember.  I don't know that I would describe it as my "favorite show" in the sense of the one I most enjoy or the one that holds up the best.  But it sure as heck is "my show."  Well, mine and many other people's.  (And when we get to Day by Day in '89, assuming my VCR still works, I'll talk about the impact on post-Gen-Xers.)

But let's talk about the Pilot.  And not how Bobby's hair is still its natural red and all the background stuff that you probably know as well as I do.  I think as an episode it works well.  It sets up the situation and the characters, although not really the setting.  (Both houses would be replaced by the now legendary Brady house.)  It's entertaining in its own right, with a mix of humor, drama, and even romance.  It's both an anomaly-- J. Pat O'Malley plays Carol's father Henry Tyler with a certain mischief that would've been fun to have around during the series-- and a very Brady episode, with the "voices in the head" device used to good effect.  It is definitely a product of its time, if a stodgier version of '60s TV than That Girl.  The word "groovy" is used, as it would be increasingly anachronistically throughout the series.  There's some mild Mike & Carol innuendo, including about the impact of tranqs and champagne.  The kids are cute but not obnoxiously so.  And Alice is all-knowing as always.  A fine start to the series, even if I've never been as fond of Season One as the later seasons.

James Milhollin had played a Desk Clerk twice on That Girl before showing up here as Mr. Pringle.  He's no Franklin Pangborn, but he gets the job done.  Dabbs Greer, who plays the Minister, would also be typecast, as he went on to be Reverend Alden on Little House on the Prairie, and he'd be a Minister on The Bradys.  John Rich had directed some Gilligan and was directing That Girl around this time, but my tags are limited with such a big regular cast.  And, yes, this is Sherwood Schwartz's 100th program in my collection.

That Girl: Rain, Snow and Rice

That Girl: Rain, Snow and Rice

ABC

February 2, 1967

Sitcom

DVD

B

While so far Ann and Donald's courtship has been loving and affectionate but far from hot and heavy, here they find themselves in a situation fraught with ABC Censor-Induced Sexual Tension (hereafter referred to as ABCCIST).  This is not limited to ABC of course, and there are exceptions at ABC (notably with Bernie Kopell's The Love Boat), and I'm aware that some of this tension comes from the societal shift, with even "nice girls" like Ann facing the sexual revolution.  But the way it plays out is visible, for instance, a decade later on Three's Company and even more so two decades later on Who's the Boss?  Because this is early on, and That Girl is a genteel show, it doesn't get too farcical, or steamy here, but when Donald and Ann share a bedroom so that their friends (Kopell as Jerry, with Arlene Golonka now in the role of Margie) can be alone on their wedding night, there is definitely more tension than usual for our leading couple.  They resolve it while staying in character, playing gin rummy and then having Donald sleep on the tiny couch.  There is humor, too, of course, whether J. Pat O'Malley as Judge Hardy calmly talking about his divorce, or Lew jumping to conclusions, not to mention Don in the "whoopie pajamas" he borrows from Jerry.  I almost went with a B+, but I didn't think the episode quite crossed over into near-classic.  And much of my interest in it is meta.  Definitely an improvement over James L. Brooks's Christmas script in any case.

James O'Rear was a Bailiff on an earlier TG and is the Clerk here.