Bosom Buddies: Cablevision

Bosom Buddies: Cablevision
ABC
January 22, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
C

Jeff Franklin's first of two Buddies stories is probably the worst in the series, when it potentially could've been one of the best.  After all, a lot of the series is about pop culture, so the agency putting on a cable show should've been a golden opportunity.  Unfortunately, it has to be a cable show that sucks, and there doesn't seem to be a way to make that entertaining, or if there is, they didn't figure out how, and so we get moments like Amy trying to be in the show a la Lucy, and Sonny pointlessly spinning the camera, with characterization going out the window.  At least Isabelle's rendition of James Ingram's "Just Once" (left intact, as is the other music on the DVD) is worth watching.

As for Penny Marshall's cameo as herself, you can savor the irony that she would direct Hanks's hits Big and A League of Their Own.  Note that Kip asks Penny if she and "Shirley" hate each other, as the tension on the Laverne & Shirley set was infamous at the time.  (Marshall and Williams have long since made peace.)  If only there hadn't been the lame plot twist of Amy tying Penny up and there had been just the interview, I might've gone with a C+ here.  As it is, get ready to hit the fast-forward button if you watch the episode.

There's probably meant to be some irony to the casting and naming of the character of Mr. Silverman (as in Fred), since Dick Yarmy is not only Don Adams's brother, but he guested on a lot of shows, including That Girl and Mork & Mindy.

Laverne & Shirley: Clip from "Lenny's Crush"

Laverne & Shirley: Clip from "Lenny's Crush"
ABC
February 13, 1979
Sitcom
VHS
B

Whether you want to take this as Lavenny shipping fodder or simply as a demonstration of Michael McKean's pre-Spinal-Tap singing chops, this minute and a half is a little gem, with Lenny serenading "Laverne who?", as L & S react.  Director Carl Gottlieb had written a Bob Newhart Show episode and guest-starred on another, but this is the only TV direction of his I own.  (He did direct Caveman.)

Mork & Mindy: Pilot

Mork & Mindy: Pilot
ABC
September 14, 1978
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This hour-long pilot is the first of thirteen episodes written by the show's co-creator Dale McRaven and the first of fifty-nine directed by Howard Storm, who'd written the Henry Winkler episode of The Bob Newhart Show.  And Winkler shows up in a flashback that takes up about a quarter of the screen time.  You see, Mork had been introduced on Happy Days the previous spring and was a big hit.  So here Mork tells Mindy about a later visit he made to '50s Milwaukee, where the Fonz fixed him up with Laverne De Fazio.  Yes, heavy crossover city.  As I've mentioned before, Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley were at the top of the ratings (till Three's Company nudged its way in), so the guest shots would've been a way to draw even more viewers in.  Unfortunately, it adds to the uneven tone of the script.

As for the main show, the characters are established, as are some of their relationships:

• Mork from Ork, with Robin Williams not as wacky as he'd get but still showing a range of comedic styles;
• Mindy McConnell, 21-year-old mostly sensible (except when she lets her thwarted date-rapist drive off with her car!) college student, played by Pam Dawber with warmth and sincerity;
• Frederick McConnell, Mindy's old-fashioned father, given a sense of humor by Conrad Janis;
• Cora Hudson, Mindy's maternal grandmother, with Elizabeth Kerr using some of the insult humor she showed in her Bob Newhart Show cameo;
• Orson, Mork's superior on Ork, voiced by Ralph James but never seen except in shadow;
• Eugene, an African-American kid who quickly befriends Mork, played by eleven-year-old Jeffrey Jacquet in his first of ten appearances.

There are some definite plot holes, putting aside the whole space alien thing.  How does Mork, without any money, manage to get an Earth outfit?  Was it in his luggage?  Did he pick up the rainbow suspenders thing from watching broadcasts of What's Happening!! and emulating Rerun?  How does Mindy get her Jeep back?  Why does Fred agree to help defend Mork when he doesn't like the guy?  How does Mork's hearing come up so quickly?  And so on.  Still, the show is certainly likable and this time I really appreciated all the shots of late '70s Boulder and surrounding scenery.  I'm not sure if I'd have tuned in again if I were an adult in '78, but as a ten-year-old, especially with M & M taking Welcome Back, Kotter's Thursday at 8 p.m. on ABC slot, I happily watched the next week, and indeed the next four years.

Jeff Harlan, who plays Bill, would show up the next year as a Customer.  Dick Yarmy, who had a couple roles on That Girl, makes his first of three Mork appearances, here as Dr. Litney.

The Bob Newhart Show: Fly the Unfriendly Skies

The Bob Newhart Show: Fly the Unfriendly Skies
CBS
September 16, 1972
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Creators David Davis and Lorenzo Music co-wrote this pilot, which establishes the basic show for the next six years.  Not that there wouldn't be changes of course, if less dramatic ones than on the five years of The Brady Bunch, but the core settings and characters are here.  We even see three of Bob's regular patients at the Fear of Flying workshop:  Florida Friebus as Mrs. Lillian Bakerman, Noam Pitlik as Mr. Victor Gianelli, and of course Jack Riley as Elliot Carlin.  Since this is one of my favorite shows, it's tempting to give the first episode a higher grade, but things haven't jelled yet.  For one thing, Emily's toughness and humor have yet to emerge, to say nothing of the full daffiness of Howard.  Also, it's hard to forgive Bob for laughing at her when she cries.  But it's a good place to start.  And notice that this was still the era when you could smoke on planes.

Penny Marshall, still a few years away from sitcom fame of her own, plays the Stewardess.  Patricia Smith plays forgettable neighbor Margaret Hoover.  (I guess they figured Emily needed a sounding board friend, like Ann had on That Girl.)  To keep the tags simple, this show will be referred to as "BNS."

That Girl: Fix My Screen & Bug Out

That Girl: Fix My Screen & Bug Out
ABC
November 20, 1969
Sitcom
DVD
B-

In this Orenstein-Turteltaub script, which is also the first that Turteltaub directed, Ann's ex-boyfriend (played by Gidget Goes Hawaiian's Michael Callan) is her new landlord, still "in love" with her.  They dated four years ago, which definitely fits the timeline of the show better than Donald having known her for four years.  The fashions aren't too bad this time, and I like that Ruthie is rockin' the paisley.

Andre Philippe plays pretty much the same role as before, except this time named Gino instead of Dino.  Penny Marshall plays the secretary Joan.

That Girl: Secret Ballot

That Girl: Secret Ballot
ABC
October 31, 1968
Sitcom
DVD
B

Richard Baer wrote this script about Ann being excited about voting in her first presidential election.  (Which would make her between 21 and 24, likely on the higher end of that since she finished college by '66, and taught school in '63.  Donald's first presidential election was presumably in '64.)  As the title suggests, Ann doesn't want to say who she's voting for, although her father insists on knowing.  (I can't see her voting for Nixon, but I could be wrong.)  Like other episodes focusing on the older and younger couples, it's good to see the group dynamic here, with Ann and Lew the emotional ones and Donald and Helen the sensible ones.  Most of the episode is set on Halloween, appropriately given the air date.  (Halloween was actually on a Thursday that year, but maybe they were visiting for a long weekend.)

This time Florence Halop is the librarian, and her assistant is 25-year-old Penny Marshall.  Richard Steele plays the Trick-or-Treater who has lines, his first TG role.