That Girl: Two for the Money

That Girl: Two for the Money
ABC
March 5, 1971
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Somewhat predictable episode involving horse racing and modeling, although I do like how patient and understanding Donald is.  Louis De Farra was recently Pierre and is Oscarelli here.  Cashier Dick Yarmy was earlier Fred Thompson.  Roy Applegate is Bill and was Harry earlier, while Arthur Abelson is Harry here and would later appear on M*A*S*H.  Hal Williams was Donald's friend Herbie last time but this time is named John.  Joe Ross, who was Duane Cartwright on The Brady Bunch, plays Barney here.  For some reason, Dick Van Patten is the announcer at the race track, while it's Larry McCormick over the radio.  Alex Rocco is a race track employee here.  Producer Bernie Orenstein plays a Better and this time Sam Denoff is the Big Better.

That Girl: Rattle of a Single Girl

That Girl: Rattle of a Single Girl
ABC
October 23, 1970
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Bruce Howard's last TG script has Ann and Donald seeking pre-marriage counseling, and fighting about it.  Meanwhile, Donald has found a potential apartment for them, which seems a bit early, but it's nice to see Dick Van Patten as Mr. Morse the potential landlord.  Ann's wardrobe continues to be an improvement over the previous season's clothing.

Reva Rose again plays Ann's friend Marcy, while Bob Ross is again the Waiter at Nino's.  Harry Basch makes his last TG appearance, as the Man in Elevator.  Allen Oppenheimer plays another mildly unpleasant person, this time Dr. Globe.  And this time Sam Denoff's cameo is as the Man in Booth.

That Girl: Ten Percent of Nothing Is Nothing

That Girl: Ten Percent of Nothing Is Nothing
ABC
January 1, 1970
Sitcom
DVD
C

Welcome to the '70s, sort of.  (It won't feel very '70s till maybe '72.)  And Morty Gunty turns out to be no funnier as Sandy Stone than as himself in yet another unnecessary Orenstein-Turteltaub story.  As with the episode where the boxer turns out to have a "hilarious" comedy routine, I was generally not amused, although the Nichols & May like routine that Sandy and Ann do (pretending to be on the phone), is probably the best of the bunch, if five or ten years out of date in format.  I also didn't see why Donald insisted on going to every performance and then complaining about the food.  I will say that the episode improved as it went on, mostly because there was less of Sandy.

Producer Sam Denoff does another of his cameos, this time as the Big Guy who punches Donald, while associate producer Lew Gallo makes his first of three, as Man at Table.  Bob Ross (not that Bob Ross) has his first of six TG roles, as a Party Guest.  Alan Oppenheimer makes his second of four TG appearances, this time as Mr. Katz.  Secretary Diana Herbert would appear on Three's Company eight years later.

That Girl: At the Drop of a Budget

That Girl: At the Drop of a Budget
ABC
October 16, 1969
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Sigh.  At least when Ann would have Lucy-esque adventures in the first season or two, like her toe in the bowling ball, it was done with some degree of plausibility and humor.  But this time Ann is hypnotized by a dentist, played by Monty Hall, and she becomes a shopaholic.  Dig the cheesy "Donald piecing things together" montage to see how unrealistic this has all gotten.  Not sharkbait, but not exactly classic TV either.  Still, the episode is notable for a couple guest stars who went on to become minor characters on other shows:  Gino Conforti, better known as Felipe on Three's Company, makes his first appearance as Nino, while Will Mackenzie, who plays the Fiance on the soap opera, would later marry Carol on The Bob Newhart Show.

Ticket Seller Mari Oliver was Girl #1 on the "chicken" episode. TG producer Sam Denoff appears as Dudley Moss.   This is Ed Scharlach's penultimate TG script, while it's Warren Murray's first of three.

That Girl: My Sister's Keeper

That Girl: My Sister's Keeper
ABC
February 6, 1969
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This episode is mostly notable for its nepotistic cast, with Marlo's sister Terre playing a nun at "St. Thomas's," her brother Tony (who would go on to be a producer) as the sister's brother, and her father Danny as a priest.  It also has 41-year-old McLean Stevenson's very first screen role (even pre-The Doris Day Show) as Mr. McKorkle.  Terre Thomas sings well but I felt like it was two plots rather than one, with the "Pop soda" thread dropped about halfway.  Series creators Bill Persky and Sam Denoff wrote this episode, which explains a lot of the semi-in-jokes, including Denoff cast as the man in the commercial with Ann.

Judith Cassmore makes her second of three TG appearances, as the Secretary.

That Girl: What's in a Name [revised]

That Girl: What's in a Name [revised]
ABC
November 17, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This reworking of the Pilot is an improvement but I'm marking it down from a B to a B- because it's not seamless, as when they don't change Ann's apartment number in the dialogue, and more significantly when Lew is told that "strange men" aren't allowed upstairs, and we've already seen, on a previous episode, the rich borderline-stalker in Ann's place when she's not home.  (Arguably Ann and Donald's '65 vs. '66 hairdos make continuity errors as well, but these are forgivable.)  Still, the recasting is definitely justified when comparing this to the original.

Cliff Norton, who plays Charlie, would be Charley [sic] Fitch later in the series.

That Girl: Goodbye, Hello, Goodbye

"It's your father."

That Girl: Goodbye, Hello, Goodbye
ABC
September 15, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Ann leaves home for New York but soon finds herself caught in the middle of an argument between her parents, who've been well recast as Lew Parker and Rosemary DeCamp.  The episode also features Ronnie Schell as her agent Harvey Peck.  And it properly introduces Bonnie Scott as neighbor Judy.  So in some ways it's more of a "first" episode than the previous two.  I like the touches like Ann repainting her table and trying to settle into her first apartment.

J.B. Larson, who's the Studio Usher here, would play an Assistant Producer on another episode.  Byron Morrow, who's Mr. Corcoran here, would be Officer Ben Cooper later.  Ogden Talbot, who plays a customer here, would be a messenger later.

That Girl: What's in a Name? [Pilot]

That Girl: What's in a Name? [Pilot]
ABC
1965 [see below]
Sitcom
DVD
C+

As with the Gilligan's Island pilot, this did not air at the time but was later used to make an episode in the regular series, in this case with the same title.  The difference here is that I don't have an exact date on when this was shot, unlike GI, where it is well-known that filming of the pilot coincided with JFK's assassination.  This is as good a point as any to review it, since the first episode of TG to air will be next.

There are some obvious differences from the regular series, in particular casting, especially Harold Gould as Ann's father.  Even Ted Bessell isn't playing his usual character, since he's part-Indian and has the last name Blue Sky, not to mention that he's Ann's agent rather than a journalist.  More so than with GI, it's easy to see the potential here, but major restructuring needed to be done.  For one thing, there are just too many characters in the episode and it would've been better to focus on Ann, Donald, and her parents.

Of Ann's friends, Shirley Bonne would appear as a different character later in the series, while Jackie Joseph would be on The Brady Bunch.  Cliff Norton would again play a character named Charley/Charlie on TG.