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.