May 4, 2013 by Amy

1967

Written by: Fred S. Fox. and Seaman Davis. Directed by: Charles Barton.

Synopsis

As in last week’s episode, we open with romance in the air at Central Park.

While on an outing with Buffy and Jody, Mr. French is shocked to run into old flame Lorna Frazier, who is accompanied by two pallid products of the British aristocracy.

French and Lorna worked together on the staff of the Duke and Duchess of Glenmore. She’s visiting New York with the Duke and Duchess and their children.

Returning home, Buffy and Jody waste no time telling Uncle Bill about French’s old friend and how pretty she is.

“You sly dog,” Uncle Bill appears to be thinking here.

Bill is less amused when the Duke tracks him down at a construction site and says he wants to hire French back. He’s offering French an executive position on the staff, and urges Bill to let French feel as if he can take it.

While reminiscing and pondering whether to leave the Davis family, French thumbs through some old photo albums.

This is a beardless French.

This is French and Lorna at Brighton–a place where, I gather, chimps are freely available for fondling.

This is the Glenmore estate, where French was born and where three previous generations of French men served.

(French says he left the estate and Lorna behind because he was eager to come to America. I’m baffled why someone as uber-British as French would want to make that move, especially since being a one-man staff to an engineer seems like a big step down. I’d love to hear my readers’ theories–especially if they’re salacious.)

Bill calls a hasty family meeting and tells the kids that they cant stand in French’s way. Oh, no, they’re not going to do that old sitcom thing where they try to make French feel like they don’t need him, are they?

Yeah, they totally are.

Soon the twins are reading their own bedtime stories.

Uncle Bill even starts dressing himself!

To French’s credit, he sees through the family’s new-found independence. But torn between wanting to stay and wanting to be near Lorna again, he decides to accept the Duke’s offer.

No sooner has he decided, however, than he’s waffling again. Bill observes that French has a hard time saying goodbye to the kids.

As a going-away gift, they give him “military brushes.” That’s a thing, apparently.

Soon Uncle Bill’s off to see the Duke, requesting that he give French a chance to change his mind. (Convincing French to leave, helping French to stay–Bill has his hands full in this episode.)

Just when the glum kids think they are about to meet French’s replacement, they get the news that he’s staying.

Though he professes to have stayed for practical reasons, the kids realize he would have missed them, and he finally admits it.

“Yay, Mr. French is giving up the chance for professional advancement and personal fulfillment to attend to our needs!”

Actually, I think French is just not that into Lorna. During their wistful farewell scene, they acknowledge that they can’t re-create the past.

French doesn’t even kiss her goodbye. As a “Fraversham” shipper, I’m okay with that.

Commentary

This episode would have bored me as a kid, and it still bores me now. French’s shifts between wanting to go and wanting to stay are too sudden to inspire any emotion.

Guest Cast

Lorna Frasier: Anna Lee. Duchess of Glenmore: Cathleen Cordell. Jonathan: Riley Mills. Elizabeth: Nicci-Ann Frank. Miss Turner: Merri Wood Taylor. Duke of Glenmore: Patric Knowles.

Anna Lee

Patric Knowles’ long motion picture career included substantive roles in such movies as The Adventures of Robin Hood, Of Human Bondage, Three Came Home and Auntie Mame. He once appeared on TV’s The Rogues, in which the other Mr. French–John Williams–was a regular cast member. Anna Lee had a similarly long and distinguished career, which included playing Bronwyn in How Green Was My Valley, in which Knowles also appeared. Other movies in which she had significant roles include King Solomon’s Mines, Flying Tigers, Bedlam, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Fort Apache, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and The Sound of Music (she was Sister Margaretta, the nun most sympathetic to Maria). She may be best known today for her long-running role as Lila Quartermaine on General Hospital.

April 26, 2013 by Amy

Family Affair Friday: Season 2, Episode 2, “First Love,” 9/18/1967

Welcome back to Family Affair Friday! In this week’s episode, Cissy tries to fix second-grader Buffy up with a boy in sixth grade, while Uncle Bill sexually harrasses a work associate.

Yeah, this is a pretty weird episode.

“First Love.” Aired: 9/18/1967. Written by: Austin and Irma Kalish. Directed by: Charles Barton.

Synopsis

Our episode opens in the park, where Jody is playing football with a group of boys.

Here’s a shock–Jody is actually dressed appropriately for this activity!

The Barry Williamsish lad on the right is Andy, the charismatic leader of the football crowd. Andy makes a big impression on Jody–and on someone else.

Uh-oh. Are we hearing what French will later call “the first faint yappings of puppy love”?

While retrieving an errant football from Buffy, Andy remarks that she is “cute.” That’s a strange thing for a sixth-grade boy to say about a doll-clutching second-grade girl, so I’m going to assume he meant “cute” like a kitten or a puppy or a baby.

Buffy takes the remark differently, however. That evening, with Andy in mind, she indulges in a Cissy-style primping session.

Buffy confides in Cissy about her secret crush, and they share a sweet sisterly moment.

Then things get weird: Despite knowing that her sister’s crush is in sixth grade, Cissy actively encourages Buffy to pursue this “romance.”

Meanwhile, Uncle Bill is wooing a geological consultant who just wants to discuss soil samples.

This gives him the chance to make lots of cringe-worthy remarks like “I know there’s a woman somewhere under that shell” while he attempts to turn every business meeting into a date.

Back at home, Buffy and Cissy convince Jody to invite Andy over to the apartment. Cissy then helps Buffy get ready for the big meeting.

Jody expresses shock at seeing Buffy “dressed up.” Um, she’s always dressed up, Jody. What’s shocking is that turtleneck you’re wearing.

When Andy arrives, Buffy almost chickens out of trying to impress him–until Cissy chides her.

"A woman has to be aggressive," Cissy says. What the?

“A woman has to be aggressive,” says Cissy, who apparently failed to notice that the woman in front of her is a little girl.

Luckily, Andy can tell the difference between a woman and a little girl, and he quickly takes an interest in the nearest thing to a woman in the Davis household–Cissy.

He starts showing off to entertain Cissy and ignores Buffy–and poor Jody, who’s just trying to do some male bonding.

Buffy doesn’t take this well.

The ensuing scene is quite a switch for Cissy–she’s usually the one in the Face-Down Position of Despair.

Uncle Bill soon has to deal with his own disappointment.

Roped into a romantic terrace dinner and unable to get Bill to focus on work, Miss Lowell finally tells him that she’s engaged.

Chagrined, Bill realizes that he should have listened to her earlier protests that she wasn’t interested. Ya think?

To his credit, he takes responsibility instead of asking why she didn’t tell him this several non-date “dates” ago. My theory is that in the sexist 1960s work climate, she felt she had to maintain an illusion of romantic availability to get men to hire her at all. Either that or there was no fiance and she was just desperate to get Bill off her back.

(Now, personally, I wouldn’t fight too hard to discourage Uncle Bill’s advances. But, then again, I’m not Catwoman or Miss America 1955.)

After taking Miss Lowell home, Uncle Bill returns to the darkened apartment and finds a distressed Buffy on the couch. She fills him in on her crush, and they commiserate about heartache.

This is a sweet scene, but it would work better if we actually saw Uncle Bill and Buffy talking together. Instead, it’s just a series of alternating closeups. Because of Brian Keith’s shortened shooting schedule, the two halves of this conversation were presumably filmed at different times.

Commentary

The dialogue in this episode is good. The Uncle Bill story is dated, but you have to expect such things in a show that’s almost 50 years old. The idea of Buffy having a crush is cute. The problem with this episode is the bizarre role Cissy plays. The writers could have avoided this problem so easily, too. If Cissy didn’t know Andy’s age until he showed up at the apartment, everything would make a lot more sense.

Anissa Jones gives a good performance here–being older than her character might have been an advantage to her, considering the subject matter. And I always love scenes where we get to see her hair down.

Guest Cast

Lise Lowell: Lee Meriwether. Andy: Joel Davison. Nanny: Towyna Thomas.

Lee Meriwether, Miss America 1955, is well known for parts on TV series like Batman and Barnaby Jones. She played Catwoman in the 1966 Batman movie. More recently, she played Ruth Martin on All My Children. And, hey–she’s on Twitter! I’m totally following her now.

April 12, 2013 by Amy

Family Affair Friday: Season 2, Episode 1, “Birds, Bees and Buffy,” 9/11/1967

Written by: Phil Davis. Directed by: Charles Barton.

We’ve reached Season 2 of Family Affair! Let’s take a quick look around and see if anything has changed.

Well, after 30 episodes with William D. Russell, we have a new director. Don’t expect any art-house innovations, though.

Cissy’s looking prettier, I think. Her hair is fluffier.

Buffy’s front teeth have finally come in. I think Uncle Bill had better set aside some money for future orthodontia.

Jody’s gotten taller, sprouting past his sister’s height. It’s hard to believe that Anissa Jones was 9 at this time, while Johnnie Whitaker was not yet 8.

One thing hasn’t changed since Season 1: Buffy and Jody are still 6. They are old enough, though, to start asking some questions after they see French and his nanny friends admiring a baby in the park.

Meet Anthony Bartlow III.

When Buffy and Jody ask French where babies come from, he gives them a quick brush-off. Then he and the nannies marinate silently in their embarrassment.

No sex education, please. We’re British.

Meanwhile, the twins’ friend Wendy tells them that she knows where babies come from, but she’s not allowed to repeat it. It doesn’t take her long to overcome her scruples.

The stork brings babies, Wendy announces with authority.

Upon arriving at home with the twins, French informs Uncle Bill about the twins’ curiosity.

French has a very reasonable plan for handling the situation–he proposes that Bill refuse to discuss the subject with the kids, ever. Or at least until the twins are leaving for college.

Uncle Bill is no more comfortable with the subject than French. So when Buffy and Jody float Wendy’s stork theory at the dinner table, both men latch onto it.

Seriously, Uncle Bill?

Now, let’s face it: Buffy and Jody are not the sharpest knives in the drawer, if Season 1 is anything to go by.

But even these Einsteins can look at an encyclopedia entry about storks and doubt the story they’ve been told.

Their persistent questioning drives French to consult Miss Faversham, who has more experience than he does–experience with children, I mean.

She recommends the cabbage patch story as a delightful fantasy that is “not nearly as vulnerable to logic.”

The twins accept the cabbage patch story, more or less.

Unfortunately, they are also eager to share their newfound knowledge with their friend Richie.

Unfortunately, they are eager to share their newfound knowledge with their friend Richard

Eavesdropping on their conversation, Uncle Bill cringes at the twins’ avowals that the story must be true–Uncle Bill would never lie to them, they say.

Later, he gets an earful from Riche's mother, who has made the radical decision to raise her

Later, he gets an earful from Richard’s mother, who believes in giving her son–gasp!–actual facts about reproduction.

Cissy is exasperated with what she calls “plain cowardice” on Uncle Bill’s part. She gets some advice and literature from her biology teacher, and tries to persuade her uncle to have a straightforward talk with the twins.

She’s fighting a losing battle. Bill can’t even handle a straightforward conversation with her on this topic.

That evening at bedtime, Bill announces that he will tell the kids the truth.

Babies come from love, he says, reminding the twins about the love their parents had for them and for each other.

Cissy and the twins are moved by his comments.

Even French approves.

Later, though, French has a question: Is “love” also the proper explanation to give the children about a friend’s rapidly increasing pet rabbit population?

Commentary

A sweet and funny treatment of an always awkward situation. I like the rabbit question at the end–it hints that Uncle Bill’s oblique explanation will only satisfy the kids for so long. He needs to get himself a copy of Dr. Spock, fast.

Guest Cast

Miss Pringle: Viola Harris. Miss Livingstone: Athena Lorde. Miss Graham: Pauline Drake. Richard: Randy Whipple. Wendy: Pamelyn Ferdin. Miss Faversham: Heather Angel. Drake, Whipple, Ferdin, and Angel all appear in multiple Family Affair episodes.

Continuity Notes

The kids’ mother and father are mentioned.

Inconsistency Alert

A visual one:

This is supposed to be Cissy’s mid-town Manhattan high school!

Fun Facts

Infants terrify Mr. French.

April 6, 2013 by Amy

Family Affair Friday: Season 1, Episode 30, “The Butler Method,” May 15, 1967

With this episode, we reach the end of Family Affair‘s first season! Thanks to all of you who have followed along so far. The second season includes some of my favorite episodes, so I’m excited to get it under way next week.

Written by: George Tibbles. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

Two threads run through this episode and come together by the end–almost.

First, a well known actor friend of Uncle Bill’s is observing French to prepare for a theatrical role.

Guess who’s coming to dinner?

Second, Cissy is indecisive about her choice for a Sadie Hawkins-type dance.

Luckily for Cissy, she has a friend to help her through this crisis. Unluckily for Cissy, it's Wanda, who is even more annoying than Cissy's other friends.

Luckily for Cissy, she has a friend to help her through this crisis. Unluckily for Cissy, it’s Wanda, who is an even bigger nuisance than Cissy’s other friends.

Cissy hesitates too long in finding a date and misses out on the desirable boys. Wanda, who acts more quickly, lands a good catch.

Yes, this is definitely a work of fiction.

Yep, this is definitely a work of fiction.

Uncle Bill reminisces to his house guest about his own Sadie Hawkins experiences. Even back then, it seams, he had to fight the girls off with a stick. Sometimes he would go as far as claiming a broken leg to avoid “dancing with a giraffe.” Real nice, Bill!

In the featurette included with the Season 1 DVDs, Kathy Garver says that Brian Keith would avoid making eye contact with guest stars he didn’t like. I get the feeling throughout this episode that Christopher Dark isn’t a personal favorite of his.

When Cissy finally stoops so low as calling her last-resort boy, Virgil, he has to decline: It seems he has a broken leg.

Cissy takes this news about as well as a careful viewer of Season 1 would expect.

Believing that Virgil is lying, Cissy takes to moping around the apartment.

Wanda helps Cissy’s funk along by showing off her own dress for the dance and offering to tell Cissy all about the fun she’ll be missing.

French thinks that Uncle Bill should offer to escort Cissy to the dance, and Bill does so.

Cissy has the good sense to realize that showing up at a dance with your uncle is worse than not showing up at all.

Cissy declines. She has the good sense to realize that showing up at a dance with your uncle is worse than not showing up at all.

Eventually, another answer to the problem dawns on Uncle Bill–he asks his celebrity friend to escort her.

Cissy surprises everyone by turning the actor down. He’s way too old–or, she puts it, she’s way too young.

Uncle Bill finds his friend’s discomfort rather amusing.

Just then, Virgil appears at the Davis door with a very real broken leg and a doctor’s permission to attend the dance anyway.

That night, Cissy and Virgil are all smiles as they head off for the dance. Apparently, Cissy has forgotten that she didn’t want to ask Virgil in the first place.

As you can see, the twins don’t figure much in this episode’s plot. They do have a cute running gag, however.

At the beginning of the episode, they leave their school books on the hall table.

In response, they receive an intense French glare.

“He’s yelling at us with his eyes,” Buffy whispers to Jody, just before the kids scoop the books up.

Later, Cissy and Wanda leave their books on the table, and French fails to react.

Buffy and Jody are quick to point out the injustice.

Near the end of the episode, they let themselves in after school and observe that French is nowhere to be seen.

For a few seconds, they glory in their freedom.

Then their own sense of responsibility kicks in, and they pick the books up.

French is amusing when he describes his efforts to keep the twins happy while Wanda sleeps over with Cissy for two nights. He manages to convince an exiled Buffy to play “hotel” in Jody’s room the first night, but by the second night his game of “castle” fails to keep the peace.

Commentary

This episode seems to head in a very predictable direction.The “date-with-a-middle-aged celebrity” idea is the kind of thing that usually makes sense to everyone in old sitcoms, even though it would be make for a very strange occurrence in real life. Cissy’s refusal to go out with the movie star saves this episode.

Also, it’s always nice to see Cissy prettied up for a big date.

Guest Cast

Orson: Christopher Dark. Virgil: Patrick Moore. Wanda: Lynette Winter. Patrick Moore would appear one more time on Family Affair, and then vanish from the world of screen acting forever. Christopher Dark’s TV appearances include many westerns and two episodes of The Rogues, in which John Williams–the other Mr. French–had a regular role. Winter is familiar from her role as best friend LaRue in the series Gidget and as Henrietta Plout on Petticoat Junction. She also had a small part in The Parent Trap, but she didn’t share any screen time with Brian Keith.

Winter’s character in this episode is supposed to be annoying–and, boy, does she nail it.

Fun Facts

French isn’t a movie buff. He only likes to watch Sir Laurence Olivier in Hamlet and color footage of the coronation. Oh, French.

Burning Question

Isn’t a fake broken leg a particularly lame excuse? You would have to keep the ruse up at school for a fairly long time.
Also, if Bill was so popular, why did he once have to take his aunt as his date to a track meet?

March 30, 2013 by Amy

Family Affair Friday(ish): Season 1, Episode 29, “The Award,” 5/2/1969

Welcome to this Easter weekend edition of Family Affair Friday! Best wishes to everyone who is celebrating the holiday.

Written by: Edmund Beloin and Henry Garson. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

This week’s Davis family adventure opens upon a gushing Cissy.

Her facial expression in this capture just cracks me up.

She’s telling a friend about a brilliant and successful male of her acquaintance. Uncle Bill assumes she’s talking about a boyfriend, but when she hangs up, she tells him that he was the subject of her conversation. She’s impressed by the huge, gaudy trophy he’s received for “best achievement in construction engineering.”

Bill is irritated to learn that Buffy and Jody are attending a Punch and Judy show with Mr. French. It’s Thursday, Mr. French’s day off.

When they return, Bill gives French a talking to about letting the twins cajole him into giving up his day off.

French shows an unusually soft side here. “They’re nice kids,” he says.

Bill agrees, but he adds that the kids shouldn’t run everyone’s lives. To make his point, he informs the twins that he will be too busy to read to them after dinner.

“You kids have got to stop thinking about yourselves all the time,” he tells them. Making himself unavailable on a day when French has already assumed extra child-care duties seems like a strange way of getting this point across. (After this conversation, French heads off to make dinner. Maybe “day off” meant something different in the ’60s than it does now.)

The twins take Uncle Bill’s comments in stride and head to the den to watch Captain Hippopotamus. Cissy is already in there, trying to find a home for Uncle Bill’s trophy. (The den is a good idea. The trophy won’t make the room look any worse.)

After Cissy leaves, the twins decide they will make Uncle Bill an award for being the world’s best uncle. Jody borrows some modeling clay from his friend Peter, and they get to work on the award that night.

Buffy's job is making the card, while Jody is sculpting a model of the earth. Since this is basically a big ball, it takes them a surprisingly long time to complete this project.

Buffy’s job is making the card, while Jody is sculpting a model of the earth. Since this is basically a big ball, it’s surprisingly how long it takes them to complete this project.

Of course, they have to deal with many interruptions. For example, Uncle Bill comes in to continue his lesson on consideration for others. He informs the twins that he will not be taking them to the zoo over the weekend.

Buffy and Jody are not impressed.

Actually, they don’t really care. They’re just eager for him to leave so they can get back to working on their project.

The next morning, Jody is doing a lot of scratching at the breakfast table. A concerned French mentions the issue to Uncle Bill, who agrees that a trip to the pediatrician is in order. Bill’s not worried enough to take Jody himself, of course–that’s French’s job.

Their doctor’s lobby is cute, but surprisingly empty. They don’t even have to sit down and wait–they walk right in.

The doctor says he will have to run allergy tests on Jody. Unfortunately, he also causes a lot of trouble by suggesting that itching is frequently caused by trauma or frustration.(I can see now why his office is so empty.)

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a doctor’s office lined with old, musty books. I’m surprised that his walls aren’t Family Affair green. They’re Jody’s room blue.

French passes along the doctor’s suggestion to Uncle Bill, who immediately decides that his refusal to take the kids to the zoo caused the rash. He reverses his decision about the outing, which dismays the twins–they want more time to work on their project.

At the zoo, Bill is perplexed–Jody is still scratching, and Buffy starts doing it, too. (I know thing were formal in 1960s, especially in big cities, but isn’t Jody’s suit a little much for the zoo? Even Uncle Bill ditches his tie for the occasion.)

Later, at the apartment, the pediatrician drops by with a likely explanation for the problem–an allergy to modeling clay. It seems he’s been treating the Davises’ neighbor Peter for the same problem. (What the heck was in that clay?)

When Uncle Bill asks the twins if they’ve been playing with Peter’s modeling clay, they make an earnest denial. The doctor, however, notices something.

They’re caught clay-handed.

Uncle Bill is angry and sad that the twins have lied to him for the first time. Soon, however, the twins present him with their finished award.

Uncle Bill grows misty reading the card: “To the bestest, nicest, terrificest uncle in the world.”

They didn’t lie to him; they were working with the clay, not playing with it, the twins explain innocently.

Awww.

Commentary

I always enjoy shows in which parents punish kids for something that turns out to be selfless behavior–this is just like the “Father of the Year” episode of The Brady Bunch. I guess it’s my inner child that still likes to see authority figures have to eat their words.

Guest Cast

Dr. Felsom: Oliver McGowan. Miss Dana: Templeton Fox. Here’s a coincidence: McGowan was in the “Father of the Year” episode of The Brady Bunch. He’ll appear again as a doctor on Family Affair. Templeton Fox was the mother of Fleetwood Mac guitarist Bob Welch.

Notable Quotes

“Young ladies of breeding do not say ‘bopped.'”–French

This Week’s Bonus Feature

Photoplay, August 1969 (Normally, I crop out the ads, but the one atop the fourth page intrigues me so. “Delayed menstruation”? Hmm.)

March 24, 2013 by Amy

Family Affair Friday(ish): Season 1, Episode 28, “What Did You Do in the West, Uncle?,” 4/25/1967

Welcome to Family Affair Friday–or, as I should probably call it, Family Affair at Whatever Point During the Weekend That I Have Time to Complete It. That’s a little unwieldy, though. I do promise that I will try to avoid being so late with future installments.

Written by: Joseph Hoffman. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Our episode opens at the Davis breakfast table, as Bill tells French about his plans for the upcoming week–he’s taking a vacation from work to spend time doing fun stuff with the kids. They’re on vacation from school, apparently. Didn’t they just have spring break a few episodes ago?

Reading the paper, Bill notices that the rodeo is in town and decides that will be the first of the week's activities. (That's some cute mid-century dinnerware on the table.)

Reading the paper, Bill notices that the rodeo is in town and decides that will be the first of the week’s activities. (Isn’t that some cute mid-century dinnerware on the table?)

Cissy quickly bails on Bill’s Week o’ Fun–she’s going to spend the week with a friend on Long Island. The twins, though, are excited about attending the rodeo.

French declines to join them; watching someone ride a bull gives him “a touch of vertigo and a wave of sympathy.” I always enjoy a great French line.

They have fun watching the show, and Bill becomes excited when he realizes that his old friend Gabe Nelson is among the performers. (I found myself wondering about the three guys behind them. Did they all come together? They seem rather subdued.)

Bill takes the kids backstage after the show to introduce them to his friend.

The kids are thrilled to meet a “real, live cowboy,” and Uncle Bill invites his friend to stay at the Davis apartment.

French is less thrilled to welcome this house guest, especially when Gabe calls him “Jeeves.”

He doesn’t care for Gabe’s culinary ventures either.

Steak isn’t French’s idea of a breakfast food.

I find myself sharing French’s reaction to Gabe.

The kids love him, though, especially when he gives them a “bucking bronc” experience in the living room.

This scene is fun…

…so fun that I can’t choose just one image to share.

Unfortunately, Gabe begins to monopolize the kids’ time. They spend the entire next day at the rodeo with him, and Gabe asks Bill if they can stay for the evening show, as well. Neither Gabe nor the kids know that Bill had planned to take the twins to a performance of Hansel and Gretel.

(Another Good Frenchism: “The twins will enjoy Hansel and Gretel. There’s a great deal of violence in it.”)

Bill is so bummed that he returns to the office the next day, which provides our first Ted Gaynor sighting in quite a while.

As usual, Ted’s role is to make Bill feel even worse about whatever problem he’s enduring.

Bill is determined that he and the kids will follow through with the next day’s activity–a helicopter ride over Manhattan.

The kids return from their latest trip to the rodeo in adorable costumes–and they’re excited about their plans to visit the railroad yard with “Uncle Gabe” the next day to watch more animals arrive.

Uncle Bill swallows disappointment about yet another change in plans. Fortunately, French takes the bull by the horns, so to speak–he simply explains the situation to Gabe. Straightforward communication? What a rarity on a sit com!

Gabe and French have this conversation while French rubs Gabe's aching muscles with linament. Is this really in French's job description?!

Gabe and French have this conversation while French rubs Gabe’s aching muscles with liniment. Is this really in French’s job description?!

Gabe tries to help by telling the twins an outlandish story about Uncle Bill fighting a grizzly bear.

When they later repeat the story to Bill, he’s bemused, to say the least.

After talking to Gabe, Bill explains to the kids that Gabe exaggerated the story in order to make Bill seem like more a hero in the kids’ eyes.

The twins are amazed that Uncle Bill felt that Gabe was replacing him in their affections. “We like Uncle Gabe. We love you,” Buffy explains in a matter-of-fact way.

At episode’s end, Uncle Bill tells French to order three tickets for a rescheduled ride over Manhattan–and four tickets for Hansel and Gretel.

The fourth ticket is for French, who had already expressed a lack of interest in attending the play. This seems a little mean on Bill’s part. At the very least, he should’ve included French in the helicopter ride, too.

Commentary

Although Gabe gets on my nerves, this is a nice episode. We’ve seen the kids deal with their insecurities about their new family situation–it’s interesting to see that Bill has insecurities, too.

Buffy and Jody are just too cute in their Western garb.

Random fashion note: I like this cute Buffy suit--I don't think we've seen it before.

Random fashion note: I like this Buffy suit–I don’t think we’ve seen it before.

Guest Cast

Gabe Nelson: John Agar. Ted Gaynor: John Hubbard.

John Agar

John Agar jumped into the spotlight when he married Shirley Temple in 1945. His first film was Fort Apache (1948), which starred John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Temple. His marriage to Temple was short-lived, but he went on to appear in many movies, particularly Western and sci-fi films.

Fun Facts

When he was young and broke, before he started college, Uncle Bill worked in Montana. He has ridden a buckin’ bronc.

Continuity Notes

Uncle Bill mentions his brother.

Notable Quotes

“Well, I can fight a girl bear.”–Buffy, responding to Jody’s assertion that she can’t fight a bear because she’s a girl

March 17, 2013 by Amy

Family Affair Friday(ish): Season 1, Episode 27, “The Prize,” 4/10/1967

Welcome to this delayed edition of Family Affair Friday. The delivery of my new laptop has been delayed indefinitely, so I’m writing this post under difficult conditions. I hope I don’t do a ba-a-a-a-a-a-d job.

Season 1, Episode 27, “The Prize,” 4/10/1967

Written by: Henry Garson and Edmund Beloin. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

The real Mr. French is back!

At first glance, he seems to have gotten a little sloppy, leaving the Crispy Flakes box on the table like that. Don’t worry–the box is actually there to inspire Buffy and Jody.

The twins are entering a Crispy Flakes contest because they want to win a houseboat (nice prize!) They have to describe why they like the cereal in 10 worlds.

Jody’s idea: “I like Crispy Flakes because they’re good, good, good, good.”

Uncle Bill leaves to spend a couple of days working in Tampa, and that Crispy Flakes is must be one efficient outlet because they name their winners before he gets back!

The hairiest man alive calls the Davis household to announce that Buffy and Jody won a prize. (Seriously, check out that arm. Ewwww.)

Unfortunately, they didn’t win the houseboat. Actually, they have the choice of two prizes–an encyclopedia set or a baby lamb. Now, no adult would choose the baby lamb, and no child would choose the encyclopedia set. I’m sure the Crispy Flakes people will insist on talking to a parent about this choice.

Or not.

Next thing you know, there’s a delivery man at the door.

Oh, how I missed those Cabotian reactions.

Jody and Buffy fall in love with the lamb, of course. I don’t blame them–it’s adorable!

Poor French is left to consider practical matters, like where and how to keep the lamb.

Uncle Bill, reached by phone, doesn’t offer French much guidance. It’s easy to take things like lambs in stride when you’re hundreds of miles away.

By the way, his Tampa work space looks a lot like every other out-of-town work site he’s visited.

Buffy and Jody name the lamb Snowball and do their best to take care of it. An old-school wooden playpen, borrowed from Miss Faversham, becomes its new home.

When Uncle Bill returns to New York, he tells French that he plans to donate the lamb to the Children’s Zoo. His first attempt at breaking the news to Buffy and Jody fails, however.

“We’re going to take care of him forever and ever,” Buffy says. “Just like you take care of us,” Jody adds.

Well, it would take a strong man to overcome such cuteness.

May I digress from the plot for a second? Would it be so difficult for Uncle Bill to carry his own suitcase to his room when he returns from Tampa? French has been up to his neck with kids and lambs, for God’s sake.

That night, it becomes apparent that the Snowball situation is unworkable. Left on the terrace, a lonely Snowball engages in some pitiful bleating.

Poor Snowball.

Uncle Bill’s neighbors are not exactly sympathetic to the lamb’s plight–or the Davises’.

The only thing that quiets Snowball is the reassuring presence of Mr. French. Guess who has to sleep on the terrace?

Here’s French, questioning his life choices. Bill couldn’t have brought him a pillow and blanket? He’s going to wake up with wicker marks on his face.

The next morning, Buffy and Jody take Snowball for a walk before anyone else gets up. I did wonder where Snowball was, um, relieving himself. But I also wonder whether two six-year-olds should be wandering the streets of Manhattan with only a lamb for protection.

They don’t even have the lamb for long. “Snowball runned away,” as Buffy says during one of her stupider moments.

Uncle Bill becomes concerned when the kids are still gone after two hours. He gets a call from the Humane Society, which picked up Snowball in the park. The dejected twins return to the apartment a few minutes later, but they are glad to hear that Snowball has been found.

Uncle Bill takes the kids to see Snowball at the very Family-Affair-green Humane Society. Now, how and why the Humane Society has that little farmyard set-up in the middle of their floor, I can’t imagine.

Uncle Bill tells the kids how lonely Snowball has been for other lambs, and he gently guides them into embracing the Children’s Zoo ideas as their own. His parenting skills are really growing!

Commentary

I love the lamb and the tender way Buffy and Jody care for it. Buffy even gives Snowball Mrs. Beasley’s blanket to sleep with. It’s also fun to see Sebastian Cabot again.

He’s barely accepted his role as a nanny–he’s far from ready to be a “lamb nanny.”

Guest Cast

George: William Kendis. Mrs. Mayfield: Jenifer Lea. Mr. Fisk: Olan Soule. Mr. Smith: Paul Kent. Messenger Boy: Robert Broyles. Secretary: Annette Cabot. Kent had a recurring role as Carter on TJ Hooker and appeared in many TV movies, including Helter Skelter. He also had a part in Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn.

In the world of television, Olan Soule appeared in everything…absolutely everything. Trust me.

He also voiced Batman in several animated series, including Superfriends; recurring Family Affair guest star Sherry Alberoni voiced Wendy in that series.

Annette Cabot is the daughter of Sebastian Cabot.

Annette Cabot, playing the Wolfman’s secretary, is the daughter of Sebastian Cabot.

Continuity Notes

Cissy refers to the Velvet Vultures. (She calls them “the epitome of folk jazz.”)

Embarrassing Treasures

Evoking bygone amusements and guilty pleasures

Tag Archives: Anissa Jones

Family Affair Friday(ish): Season 2, Episode 3, “Go Home, Mr. French,” 9/25/1967

Family Affair Friday: Season 2, Episode 2, “First Love,” 9/18/1967

Family Affair Friday: Season 2, Episode 1, “Birds, Bees and Buffy,” 9/11/1967

Family Affair Friday: Season 1, Episode 30, “The Butler Method,” May 15, 1967

Family Affair Friday(ish): Season 1, Episode 29, “The Award,” 5/2/1969

Family Affair Friday(ish): Season 1, Episode 28, “What Did You Do in the West, Uncle?,” 4/25/1967

Family Affair Friday(ish): Season 1, Episode 27, “The Prize,” 4/10/1967

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