The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

That Girl TV Show…

That Girl - Season One Here is yet another TV & Movies blog on the Cozy Mystery site that has absolutely nothing to do with mysteries. The reason I chose to write about That Girl is because it is one of the shows from the late 1960s/early 1970s that I hope isn’t lost amongst the huge array of shows available now.

We moved into our house fifteen years ago— and I remember that That Girl was one of the shows my daughter and I watched together when Nickelodeon offered it (I think that they aired it during the Nick at Night time block… even before there was a TV Land channel!)

That Girl starred Marlo Thomas as Ann Marie, an aspiring, “struggling” actress. The use of quotation marks on the word “struggling” refers to the fact that Ann Marie’s apartment was absolutely phenomenal… large enough for a family of four in New York City, and her clothes were even more “absolutely phenomenal” than her apartment. BUT remember that this is a TV show, and just accept the fact that in the world of make-believe>>>Who Cares!?!

That fact is that despite a few little glitches, the show really is a good show to share with your daughters, nieces, granddaughters, or just you alone! (As I am doing now that my daughter doesn’t live with us…)

Ann’s personality is bubbly, fun, positive, in short… refreshing. Her boyfriend (Donald…played perfectly by Ted Bessell) is her anchor”’ but not her protector. Ann doesn’t need a protector,. She”s a strong, independent woman.

That Girl- Season One (1966-1967) included thirty episodes, in which we get introduced to the recurring characters. Ann’s father (Lou) was played by the wonderful Lew Parker… He is every young daughter’s father: over-protective and loving at the same time. Rosemary DeCamp exudes patience in her roll as Ann’s mother Helen Marie… She is Ann’s champion and runs interference between her leaving-the-nest Ann and her you-should-stay-at-home father.

For those of you like me who enjoyed the show when it first aired, you’ll be familiar with some of the great guest stars the show managed to get: Ethel Merman, Merle Milton, Danny Thomas, and some very young guest stars who went on to become big names: Sally Kellerman, Dabney Coleman, George Carlin.

If you’re worried about “adult situations,” let me just tell you that inn the episode “Rain, Snow and Rice,” Donald and Ann are snowed in with their friends in a hotel— the girls end up sharing one room and the boys share the other room… and the other couple is on their honeymoon!

Season Two (1967/1968) also had thirty episodes. (Unbelievable by today’s standard!) My daughter and I enjoyed watching these a year or two ago… and I am guessing that at 22, she would still enjoy Ann Marie’s antics. (I will pass on my DVDs when I am finished with them…)

Season Three (1968/1969) had 26 episodes and one of them had (almost!) the entire Thomas family. “My Sister’s Keeper” had guest appearances by Marlo’s dad (Danny), Sister (Terre), and brother Tony. What’s not to like?!?

I have yet to watch (or should I say “re-watch”?) any of Season Four (1969/1970) or Season Five (1970/1971) but I am looking forward to them. So here is the way.

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Campion… Margery Allingham’s & Peter Davison’s…

I have to “come clean” on this series>>> My husband and I tried watching it a few years ago and did not like it… at all. We watched only the first episode and then gave up. We have since seen the error of our ways! The turning point for us was seeing Peter Davison in The Last Detective. When we saw Davison’s wonderful portrayal of Dangerous Davies, we decided to give Campion another try. And, we were pleasantly surprised at how much we liked it.

Peter Davison stars as Margery Allingham‘s amateur detective Albert Campion. The setting is 1930s England – and Campion is one very elite gentleman (of noble descent, although “not quite”) with all the time in the world to solve crimes. He has the help of his “manservant” (played by Brian Glover) who is almost  a one hundred and eighty degree contrast to Campion.

Our first impression of Campion was correct… Davison actually played Campion in a playful, almost campy manner. Once we were “in on the campiness” we truly began to enjoy the shows.

The Campion series was made by the BBC during the late 1980s / early 1990s. The scenery (as expected from the BBC) is absolutely beautiful. The narrow cobblestone streets,  unpaved country roads, flowers in the window boxes, vintage cars, just about everything is such a treat to see.

Campion, Season 1, included four episodes. The first episode takes place in a beautiful estate. Campion, belonging to the English aristocracy, fits right in. He is also able to glean information from the “lower classes” since his manservant  Lugg plays an important role in the crime-solving. Lugg, who has a background in criminal behavior, is able to contact his cronies with connections on the other side of the law, thus enabling Campion to use some rather shady ways to solve the crimes.The second season of Campion also included four episodes.

My husband and I both came away from the shows thinking that Davison toned down the almost “song and dance” portrayal of Campion after the first episode. So, if you give this delightfully fun mystery series a try, remember to keep that in mind. We really did look forward to watching the shows and  were truly sorry that they only made the eight episodes.

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The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

The Adventures Of Brisco County, Jr.: The Complete Series Does anybody remember the 1990s series called “The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.“? Well I did, and I’m glad!

This past week my husband and I were very lucky to have both of our children with us, and there were a few times that we had a limited amount of time to watch a television show together. We have actually started to watch some old shows that we have… some from the 1990s (X-Files, Brisco County) and some from as far back as the 1950s (Alfred Hitchcock and Leave It to Beaver)… Yep, we enjoy all of those (very different) shows…

Getting back to The Adventures of Brisco County, Junior…  Bruce Alexander is terrific as the Harvard-educated bounty hunter who, each week, rights the wrongs of the west while trying to avenge the murder of his father (the great Brisco County… without the “junior”).  Along for the fun are a rival bounty hunter, Lord Bowler (Julius Carry) and a very city-fied attorney who is his liaison with the company that employs him. There, of course, are several other very memorable characters who show up from week to week…. John Astin plays an inventor (of sorts) and Kelly Rutherford plays a delightful saloon singer. Of course, Comet… Brisco’s horse is one of the best characters who I am always eager to see and who ends up saving Brisco (and the day) more than once!

I think that what has truly amazed me is how well the show has held up for us. We watched the show with our children when it first aired in the early 1990s when they were both preteens, and here we are now… watching it again… and enjoying it! Unfortunately this Fox Network show only aired for one season, so there are only 27 episodes. But, the good news is that the show doesn’t feature laugh tracks to let you know when the dialog is funny… you won’t need the canned laughter, even though you will probably find yourself smiling several times during each episode.

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The Six Wives of Henry VIII: 1970s BBC Version…

Six Wives of Henry VIII, The Wow! I just finished re-watching The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and I am left flabbergasted! I loved this miniseries, and am so glad I was able to “get past” some reviewers’ ideas. I remembered the series as being luxurious and beautiful,  and I think that I enjoyed it even more now than I did the last time I watched it. Be forewarned though… this is another series that I have written about that is not a mystery, but it is such a wonderful BBC production that I felt I would be remiss to not write about it.

BBC produced the miniseries in the early 1970s. The miniseries is about Henry VIII and his six different wives and is comprised of six different episodes. The interesting thing (to me) is that each wife’s story is written by a different playwright… but the story line is continuously fluid. I think that the reason that all six of the stories flow so well is the excellent portrayal of Henry VIII by Keith Mitchell.. He is absolutely superb. We see Henry age, expand, and eventually wizen… and it is difficult to believe that the same actor is beneath those wonderful costumes. We can almost smell Henry as his leg progressively worsens. Now, that is great acting… if you can (just about) smell the foul infection as it progresses… (While he courts beautiful, young maidens, no less!)

Catherine of Aragon (Annette Crosbie) and Anne Boleyn (Dorothy Tutin) share the first DVD… Quite a contrast in wives! The second disc covers the days (just about!) of Jane Seymour (Anne Stallybrass) and Anne of Cleeves (Elvi Hale). (I was most touched by Henry’s complete “devotion” to Jane Seymour… the only wife to produce a son, albeit not a very healthy one.) Catherine Howard (Angela Pleasence) and Catherine Parr (Rosalie Crutchley) were his two last wives- (How convenient that he had three wives named Catherine, and two named Anne… Less of a chance that he would call them the wrong name… although, it is extremely doubtful that he would have minded at all!)

As an added bonus, the 2003 BBC version of The Other Boleyn Girl (with Jodhi May as Anne Boleyn, Natascha McElhone as Mary, Anne’s sister, and Jared Harris as Henry VIII) was tucked into the set. At first I thought I was not going to like it, since it was a completely different production, with completely different actors, sets, wardrobe, etc. But, I am glad I stayed with the movie after the initial surprise/jolt… I enjoyed it immensely. (I think that it would probably be a better idea to not watch this movie right after finishing the other six shows… It’s difficult to see a different actor portray Henry VIII right after having watched Keith Mitchell become Henry VIII.)  I had no sooner finished re-watching the series than I saw an advertisement for a new version of The Other Boleyn Girl… starring Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman. I hope it’s as good as the 2003 version… but I do wonder why they are remaking a 2003 movie only five years later… I am guessing that the 2008 version spared no expen$e.

As I am only (so far) writing about TV shows and movies that I have enjoyed, I must remind people that some of these television shows were made as long ago as the 1970s, “back when” they had no idea that a close up was going to be shown on a fifty inch television screen. Also before the time when the producers thought that audio would be in “surround stereo.” All in all, I really enjoyed The Six Wives of Henry VIII, regardless of the lack of special effects and other techno-babbles. The sets, costumes, acting, and ambiance were right on the mark for me!

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