CBS is showing a Reunion Show tonight. Are you watching? Remember the theme song?
What a great show that was. It was fearless in dealing with issues forthrightly without excessive romanticism. It was funny and touching and sometimes heart-breaking. An often forgotten; but powerful show. One of Norman Lear’s best. As good as Maude or All in the Family if you ask me.
So is Mackenzie Phillips going to reminisce about how much cheaper coke used to be back in the 70s?
You’re assuming she remembers the 70s, or even the 80s.
I always thought Mackenzie took the opening lines to the theme song a little too much to heart…
This is it (this is it)
This is life, the one you get,
So go and have a ball!
But, yeah, very underrated show.
I’d be curious to see reruns of the show (Are you listening, TVLand and NickAtNite?) becaause all Lear’s shows in the 70s dealt with gritty, contemporary issues like inflation, unemployment, sexuality, and drugs. But looking back, what strikes me is the tone of innocence those shows have when viewed today. I was just watching an ep of Good Times on the new black channel TVOne (the one where Thelma’s dating pre- An Officer and a Gentleman Louis Gossett, Jr.), and the show appeared positively quaint. JJ’s jokes aobut the winos on the corner, supposed to be topical back then, seem so old-fashioned in the wake of the crack epidemic that followed in the 80s.
ODAAT likewise would appear to be naive in some ways. I remember an episode dealing with the mother going to a singles bar, and her only concern was finding a decent guy–testing for HIV and other STDs was not even on the radar back then.
I wonder if Bonnie Franklin still overacts?
In fairness, she’s been pretty up front about her drug problems, and a review I read of the reunion show said she addresses the issue.
Realy a great review of teh show by Tom Shales in the Post – his take (paraphrasing) was that it was a groundbreaking and “important” show but that it wasn’t a very funny show. It was actually a nice review that doesn’t come acroos by my summation.
Julie’s run away!!!
Second only to JJ’s been shot!!!
I had such a crush on Valerie Bertinelli back in the day! I was more than a little hurt when she hooked up with that Van Halen guy!
I skipped my usual “House” on FOX to catch this. The cast really seems to be aging well and this is arguably the best MacKenzie Phillips has ever looked. Like most guys my age, I had the hots for Valerie Bertinelli. Meh, there weren’t too many cute young women on sitcoms back then like there are now. ODAAT was recently rerun locally here and I had forgotten how depressing and how many ordeals there were, bordering more on drama than sitcom. The reunion was an okay show (I woulda like more of the character’s later loves shown. If they did, I missed it) and they didn’t totally dodge Phillips drug problems.
I would like to personally thank the one in charge of showing the clips of the musical numbers. For as little as you saw Ms. Bertinelli’s legs during the show’s entire run, they sure showed 'em here.
I always found it so ironic that poor Mackenzie Phillips not only had a much cuter fake sister with Bertinelli but also had a much cuter real sister with Chyna Phillips!
No wonder it drove her to drugs… 
According to the imdb, she and Eddie are still married and have a teenage son.
And looking through more of the imdb, I had no idea that Pat Harrington was the voice of Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther cartoons.
They’ve been split for three or four years.