This little series, gee, of course it's dated, and it's got some dorky performances in it, cringe-worthy deluxe, hello Charlotte Rae, living, breathing cartoon character, hello, John Lawlor, almost as boring as Lyle Waggoner on WONDER WOMAN, and an absolutely horrible horrendously false theme song, hello tone-deaf composers! Really grates on your nerves if you hear it more than once a day.
I saw a lot of it back in the day, I don't really know where I came in, but South Africa didn't show Season 1, and judging by, er, certain events in the pilot episode I instantly realized why, but I'm not gonna go into that here. All I will say is that I was initially flabbergasted at the spectacle that is Charlotte Rae as Miss Edna Garrett, not what I remembered, for I came in when she was at least a little bit toned down. Best thing about Season 1 is that Lisa Whelchel is that much more cute, the flower of youth had already wilted a little bit by the time I first saw her, and I well remember I was a Jo fan. But finally seeing what I didn't even know about, Lisa, yeah, wow, great...
But the series has these (minor minor alert now, stop reading, but it is almost forty years later, so...) unfairly discarded actresses... No, I'm not talking about Molly Ringwald, on the evidence here, she was bland at best.... I'm talking Julie Pikarski, Felice Schachter and Julie Anne Haddock. How could they just drop 'em? WOW, the show with the greatest legs. More spunk than CHARLIE'S ANGELS, man. In this episode, Cindy (Julie Anne Haddock) does a reverse somersault. I kid you not. You have to see it for yourself. And Julie Pikarski, while I was watching that jogging-in-place scene, earned herself the perfect nickname from me... Cheryl Ladd Junior. Up to this episode, however, it is abundantly clear that Felice Schachter got pushed aside, she is almost a peripheral character.
The more these girls come down the stairs, and go up the stairs, oh wow, I'm only a guy, that's all I can say. Might be ghosts of yesteryear, but oh wow, I'd have gladly suffered through an extended Season 1 for months on end. Inane as the show is, yes, it had a lot of heart, AND, YES, IT COMES FROM A TIME WHEN THE WORLD WAS A MUCH BETTER PLACE.
Before signing off, lemme just say something inspired by the "Dieting" episode: Julie Pikarski, you are a beautiful girl.
I saw a lot of it back in the day, I don't really know where I came in, but South Africa didn't show Season 1, and judging by, er, certain events in the pilot episode I instantly realized why, but I'm not gonna go into that here. All I will say is that I was initially flabbergasted at the spectacle that is Charlotte Rae as Miss Edna Garrett, not what I remembered, for I came in when she was at least a little bit toned down. Best thing about Season 1 is that Lisa Whelchel is that much more cute, the flower of youth had already wilted a little bit by the time I first saw her, and I well remember I was a Jo fan. But finally seeing what I didn't even know about, Lisa, yeah, wow, great...
But the series has these (minor minor alert now, stop reading, but it is almost forty years later, so...) unfairly discarded actresses... No, I'm not talking about Molly Ringwald, on the evidence here, she was bland at best.... I'm talking Julie Pikarski, Felice Schachter and Julie Anne Haddock. How could they just drop 'em? WOW, the show with the greatest legs. More spunk than CHARLIE'S ANGELS, man. In this episode, Cindy (Julie Anne Haddock) does a reverse somersault. I kid you not. You have to see it for yourself. And Julie Pikarski, while I was watching that jogging-in-place scene, earned herself the perfect nickname from me... Cheryl Ladd Junior. Up to this episode, however, it is abundantly clear that Felice Schachter got pushed aside, she is almost a peripheral character.
The more these girls come down the stairs, and go up the stairs, oh wow, I'm only a guy, that's all I can say. Might be ghosts of yesteryear, but oh wow, I'd have gladly suffered through an extended Season 1 for months on end. Inane as the show is, yes, it had a lot of heart, AND, YES, IT COMES FROM A TIME WHEN THE WORLD WAS A MUCH BETTER PLACE.
Before signing off, lemme just say something inspired by the "Dieting" episode: Julie Pikarski, you are a beautiful girl.
