Sony posted the Season 1 Partridge Family episode "Star Quality" on one of its YouTube channels recently. This is the episode we talk about in our discussion of the series!
If you haven't seen it, here is a chance to check out the full saga, including the treehouse scene, Dick Clark's cameo, and a group of alleged L.A. Dodgers.
1) TV Guide and the Bicentennial: I finally ran out of "50 years ago" TV Guide, but we had a good run the last two weeks, didn't we? If you only check out this feature each Sunday, I encourage you to go back and look at some pics from the 7/3/76 issue and the one before that and relive some of the Bicentennial Fever the nation had!
2) Emmy nominations: Congrats to all the nominees announced this week. Among BOTNS-era names who were recognized: Martin Short, Jean Smart, Jason Bateman.
3) Family Feud: Today is the 50th anniversary of the ABC debut of the long-running game show, then hosted by Richard Dawson.
4) Humphrey Bogart: Also of interest, in New York City 50 years ago tonight, WPIX premiered an hourlong look at the Hollywood legend, followed by Casablanca at 8:00. It must have been a nice alternative to viewers who weren't interested in the Democratic National Convention coverage that dominated the networks that night.
5) National Paper Bag Day:
6) Sisters in the Name of Love: 40 years ago tonight, this HBO special featured Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, and Dionne Warwick. Hey, wait a minute! They aren't sisters!
7) Cheryl Ladd: Happy 75th!
8) The Alan King Show: 40 years ago tonight, this unsold pilot debuted. King stars as a business hotshot who leaves Wall Street to take a gig as a professor. Also starring: Dina Merrill, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Catherine Keener.
9) Little House on the Prairie: A new version debuts on Netflix, and we repeat, as long as there's plague, pestilence, and abject suffering, we'll give it a shot. Still, I will probably lean toward the original:
10) R.I.P. Louise Lasser, Randolph Mantooth, Joanna Pettet:
Two more local ads on this day in TV Guide (L.A. edition) 50 years ago today:
Let's supplement today's post with some news from the "Teletype" column. This week, tidbits include another story on John Amos' departure from Good Times (this was a big story at the time in the TV press) and mentions of upcoming shows Wonder Woman and What's Happening!!
We continue our look at the bicentennial issue of TV Guide, but we are several days past the big holiday, and now local TV ads continue to dominate the pages.
A reminder that this is a Los Angeles edition, and so we get some boxing from the historic arena:
