Gidget: A Hard Night's Night

Gidget: A Hard Night's Night
ABC
April 7, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Don Porter directed this episode, in which he appears only briefly at the beginning and end.  It's mostly forgettable, except for the shots of the airport in those scenes, Larue's sudden interest in being a writer, and the appearance of actor/composer Frank De Vol as Russ's friend Stu.  I could've done without the bickering couple next door, although I understand they're meant to add to the spookiness.

Gidget: Ask Helpful Hannah

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Gidget: Ask Helpful Hannah
ABC
March 31, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B-

The plot of this episode somewhat resembles my favorite ABC after-school special, Dear Lovey Hart, I Am Desperate, which we'll look at in '76.  Gidget reluctantly takes over the campus newspaper advice column and things backfire for her and others.  I don't think it's handled as well here as there, but there are some things I like, gimmicky though they are.  The Bewitched-sounding sound effect whenever Gidget has (or thinks she has) a realization is cute, as are the "bubbles" of her family and Larue commenting on the mess.

Barbara Hershey again plays Ellen, but this time she doesn't seem to be friends with Gidget.  Jewel Jaffe, who plays Kathy, would go on to write eight Welcome Back, Kotter episodes.  Rick Cooper again is Ted.  Bob Beach is again Toby, and pretends he's never been to the local teen hang-out before, although he was on "We Got Each Other."

Gidget: One More for the Road

Gidget: One More for the Road
ABC
March 24, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Gidget, now "sweet 16 and never been licensed," lies about being able to drive in order to get a job at a flower shop.  The episode is full of poor decision-making, mostly but not entirely on Gidget's part.  Nonetheless, it's nice to see the ever classy John McGiver as her boss.

Gidget: Independence Gidget Style

Gidget: Independence Gidget Style
ABC
March 17, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This episode has some biographical details, not necessarily consistent with the rest of the series.  Gidget, who's been 15 1/2 since at least the beginning of the school year, claims to have a May 7th birthday.  Russ's birthday takes place during the episode, whenever it's set.  He refers to Anne reading her sister's diary, as if this has happened recently.  And John and Anne have been married for three years.  The episode is also notable for its Playboy Club satire, here the Kit Kat Club.  The family, Anne in particular of course, suspect that Gidget is working there.  Along with a Lolita reference, that makes this one of the more suggestive episodes in the series.

Rick Sorensen makes his fourth appearance on the show, here as a Boy Surfer.  And Bob Beach is back as Toby.

Gidget: Take a Lesson

Gidget: Take a Lesson
ABC
March 10, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B

Beverly Washburn, who was on the "slumber party" episode, returns, this time with parents who have other Gidget credits.  Her father is played by the incomparable Paul Lynde, who'd be one of the high points in two of the TV-movies.  And her mother, Jeff Donnell, was Gidget's mother in the second and third big-screen movies (which means that she was "married" to Don Porter in another version of Gidget reality).  The fun of this episode is mostly in seeing Field and Lynde play off of each other, with the episode ending with her imitating him.  Also, for a native Californian like me, it's funny to hear the references to the Valley and Pasadena.  Note, the cast seems unsure whether Washburn's character is named Sheryl or Shirley.  And I assume that Lynde having a "Cousin Arthur" is a Bewitched in-joke, not unlike the mentions of Liz Montgomery on the Ding-bats episode.  (Besides the William Asher connection, the Stevenses' house was neighbors with Gidget's.)

Gidget: Love and the Single Gidget

Gidget: Love and the Single Gidget
ABC
March 3, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B

With Russ out of town, John and Anne give Gidget permission to go to a surfing tournament (as a viewer not competitor), but they hire college senior Scott to keep an eye on her.  Scott tricks Gidget into thinking he's interested in her romantically, and then she's very upset when she finds out.  Meanwhile, a vain guy named Richie thinks she must be a swinger if she needs a bodyguard, so he takes her parking.  I like how Gidget gets out of the risky situation on her own, even before Scott shows up.  And I like how Larue finds Gidget at the bus stop earlier and talks her out of going home, convincing her to stay despite the "slurky gleek" Scott.

This time Barbara Hershey plays Karen, Pamela McMyler plays Janet, and Tim Rooney plays Ken.  Twenty-six-year-old Ron Rifkin, in his TV debut, does his best to pass as a college student.  The episode is co-written by John McGreevey and Stephen Kandel, the last of four by the latter.

Gidget: Ring-a-Ding-Dingbat

Gidget: Ring-a-Ding-Dingbat
ABC
February 24, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
C+

After the satires of Dylan and "sickies" earlier in the season, this episode seems particularly dated, like it should've aired a year or two earlier, when the British invasion was fresher and jokes about wigs made more sense.  Not only that, unlike the more mod-looking Mosquitoes on Gilligan's Island, the Dingbats don't even sing!  So it's mostly Gidget and Larue racing around, trying to find the teen idols, with a pay-off that can't match the classic Davy Jones episode of The Brady Bunch five years later.  Note, I don't think Anne is old enough to have been part of Elvis's first wave of fans, since that would make her about a decade older than Gidget, rather than the more likely five or seven years.

Gidget: Operation Shaggy Dog

Gidget: Operation Shaggy Dog
ABC
February 17, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This is Dorothy Cooper Foote's second of two Gidget episodes and it doesn't really work.  While it is nice to see Lew Parker, shortly to be Lew Marie on That Girl, as Socrates the crusty owner of the local teen hang-out, the battle between Russ and Gidget over what will happen to Sock's business feels out of character for Russ.  Usually when he disagrees with Gidget, he'll at least try and listen to her viewpoint.  Here there has to be a heavy-handed scene where Russ meets a young doctor that Sock encouraged.  Still, the episode is interesting for the generation gap aspect.  It's Hal Cooper's first of three Gidget gigs, although he had already directed a Gilligan.

Yet another member of the cast of Village of the Giants appears, this time Tim Rooney (Mickey's son) as Tommy.  Bob Beach is back as Toby.  And Don Edmonds, who plays Buzz, was in Gidget Goes Hawaiian.

Gidget: We Got Each Other

Gidget: We Got Each Other
ABC
February 10, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Earlier episodes hinted that Gidget might have an Electra Complex, but this one, written by John McGreevey, addresses the issue relatively directly.  The phrase isn't used ("father image" is), but it's pretty clear that Gidget is worried she has such a complex.  So she decides to first encourage one of his relationships, and then to distance herself from Russ.  Of course it all backfires on her and Russ, till they clear the air at the end.

Bob Beach had earlier appeared as Pete on "Chivalry Isn't Dead," but this is his first of five appearances as Toby.  Penny Kunard, who plays Katie would be on That Girl.  (No, that's not the Michael York as Perry.)

Below, the contrast between mid '60s TV farce and early '80s TV farce.

Gidget: Ego-a-Go-Go

Gidget: Ego-a-Go-Go
ABC
January 27, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B-

While it's fun to see 18-year-old Richard Dreyfuss play a nerd, I think the script could've used another rewrite.  A rivalry is built up between Gidget and a transfer student, but there's no pay-off.  And it looks like Gidget is going to try to go to the "Spinster Hop" with another boy, but that fizzles out.  Kudos though to getting a plausible calendar date for the dance this time: Saturday the 14th, which would place this in either February or March of that year.

Gidget: Gidget's Career

Gidget and the Goreys

Gidget: Gidget's Career
ABC
January 20, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B

This is both a sweet look at Gidget's friendship with Larue and a gentle satire of then-current rock trends.  (The Rolling Stones and Sonny & Cher among others get shout-outs.)  The thing of Gidget being the untalented girl playing the tambourine is funny in light of how often this would be a motif in rock & roll cartoons later in the decade and on into the '70s, e.g. The Archies.

Jimmy Hawkins, who plays Paul, was Tommy Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life, and he was making Elvis movies around this time.  Sandy Kenyon, who plays Rick Farmer, would be on a few That Girl episodes.  And, yes, Joanna Lee proves she can write as well for Gidget as for Gilligan.

Gidget: Like Voodoo

Gidget: Like Voodoo
ABC
January 13, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
C

This was the night that Gidget switched to Thursdays, opposite Gilligan's Island.  I'm not sure which show I'd have chosen at the time, but I think a few minutes of this episode would've made me defect to CBS for the evening.  It's bad enough watching the castaways be superstitious, but it's too much for Gidget.  That there's no clear distinction between witches, Gypsies, and voodoo-practioners doesn't help.  This is easily my least favorite episode so far, and even the orange cat can't save it.

Gidget: I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Think

Gidget: I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Think
ABC
January 5, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B

This episode addresses a question you may be wondering by now: if Gidget is so crazy about Moondoggie, how is that she's dating and/or crushing on all these other guys?  Her father points out that she's "been in love" five times in the past three months.  So she recalls falling for a "surf bum" who turned out to be her Algebra teacher.  In a non-judgmental way, Russ and the episode itself make the point that it's perfectly normal to be attracted to other people, even when you're in a loving, committed relationship.  The script is also funny, as Gidget makes a mess of things before it's all straightened out.  (Fields's physical comedy is not something that people often mention.)  Irony note, when Gidget soon after Moondoggie's departure decides she needs to be alone, she says she'll become a nun.


Not only Mike Nader but Sue Hamilton and some other unidentified Beach Party series cast appear for the first time in awhile.  (Given the writer and director, as well as the mostly flashback action, I suspect this was made earlier in the season.)  Lennie Bremen, who plays the Janitor, would be on a couple episodes of That Girl.  Maida Severn, who plays Miss Stoddard (the principal I think) would also guest on That G.

Gidget: Too Many Cooks

Gidget: Too Many Cooks
ABC
December 29, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B-

While there's some cute farce with Gidget juggling three dates for the same dance, including Moondoggie, the situation is so obviously set up for disaster that it's a wonder that Russ doesn't step in and prevent it.  This time Bonnie Franklin plays Jean, the host of a party where the parents appear to be entirely absent.  (Or maybe discreetly upstairs.)  Note that the 14th is on a Saturday, which doesn't really work for the '65-66 school year, as it would have to be August '65 or May '66.  And Jeff has been gone "a couple months."

Gidget: Now There's a Face

Gidget: Now There's a Face
ABC
December 22, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B

Gidget, still 15 1/2, falls for a 24-year-old photographer played by Daniel J. Travanti.  Obviously, Anne and John (making their first appearances in awhile) are concerned, as is Russ.  As with the episode where Larue and Russ became friends, the subject is handled tastefully and sweetly, here in a script by Dorothy Cooper Foote.  Note, Gidget's middle name is Elizabeth.  Lillian Adams, who plays Mrs. Daley, would be a Pushcart Woman on That Girl.

Gidget: Gidget's Foreign Policy

Gidget: Gidget's Foreign Policy
ABC
December 15, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
C+

I don't like how the character of Inge is punished in this episode (including spanking by her boyfriend!), and for once I don't at all sympathize with Gidget's schemes.  That said, even with the line "I just set women's rights back 100 years, where they belong," I don't think the episode, the first directed by Jerrold Bernstein, is entirely anti-feminist.  Like other recent episodes, it's more ambiguous and conflicted.  This time Jan Crawford plays Ben rather than Roger.

Gidget: The War Between Men, Women and Gidget

Gidget: The War Between Men, Women and Gidget
ABC
December 8, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B

Gidget again unites the girls against the guys to make a point, here a rather Lysistrata one, about how they won't go out with the guys if they keep quarreling with a rival group.  Gidget befriends the girls in the rival group, and interestingly one couple is Japanese-American.  (Caroline Kido would have a part on That Girl.)  The girls stick together more here than in "Chivalry," even when they're replaced by girls from Pacific High.  Gidget tricks her replacement, and then gets tricked by her boyfriend.  A couple years later and the hypodermic needle would've had more connotations of illicit drug use.

This is Stephen Kandel's second Gidget episode, while Leo Townsend (here co-writing with wife Pauline) co-wrote three Beach Party movies, so, yes, the second reference to Beach Party Vampire is a definite in-joke.

Gidget: Chivalry Isn't Dead

Gidget: Chivalry Isn't Dead
ABC
December 1, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B

This is notable both for its plot and its cast.  Gidget takes a stand, wanting the boys to show the girls more consideration, especially in regards to not asking them out at the last minute.  Her friends go along but then give in, while Gidget mostly holds her ground, winning the respect of her boyfriend, Mark.  I like Bob Random's performance here.  The actor has an edge to him (he was one of the bad teens in Village of the Giants around that time), but Mark also comes across as the brightest and most considerate of the guys.  I remember as a teen being more intrigued by him than Moondoggie, although both characters only got two episodes each.

On the distaff side, it's impossible to watch this and not exclaim over young Bonnie Franklin (Jean) and Barbara Hershey (Ellen).  If you're wondering how Franklin could play a mother of two teens a decade later on One Day at a Time, she was actually 21 here and not much older than her TV-daughters in the '70s.  She and Hershey definitely have star power and so their later success isn't at all surprising.  Both actresses would return to this show, but as different characters.

Rick Cooper (Ted), Pamela McMyler (Betty), Beverly Washburn (Marcia), and the aptly named Bob Beach (Pete) would also all return.  Martin Ragaway, who came up with the story, would write a few Brady Bunch episodes, among other things, while the author of the teleplay, John McGreevey, had done "A Hearse" and would write three more.

Gidget: My Ever Faithful Friend

Gidget: My Ever Faithful Friend
ABC
November 24, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B

This episode manages to work both as a touching look at the friendship between Russ and Larue and as flat-out farce, with Gidget and then others, including Larue, being convinced that Russ is in love with Larue.  It never becomes tasteless, but remains alternately funny and sweet.  I could've done without all the put-downs of Larue's looks, but I like that she is mostly comfortable with herself and her interests, including horses.

Gidget: All the Best Diseases Are Taken

Gidget: All the Best Diseases Are Taken
ABC
November 17, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B

A very '60s episode, with Gidget trying to recruit a protest-singer (sort of Dylanesque) to perform at the protest she's organizing at the local movie theater.  (Yes, that's Mr. Whipple, Dick Wilson, as Mr. Lefferts.)  Much of the episode is from Russ's perspective, as he wants to support her idealism but is concerned, especially when it may lead to trouble at his college (UCLA, we know from earlier episodes).  I like that there's no clear right or wrong here, and in fact that lack of clarity is addressed in the episode itself.  Amusingly, John (who appears without Anne for a change) organized a mild protest at his college.  (I think he's supposed to be a grad student now.)  Larue is loyal to Gidget like always, and doesn't walk out on the initial protest, unlike their male friend.  We find out that Larue has a brother at Berkeley.  And, yes, this is more than a dozen years before Fields did Norma Rae.  The title I believe refers to the fact that Gidget, because of her tender age, has to address smaller issues.  And the title of one of the movies, Beach Party Vampire, may be a gentle dig at William Asher.