MushMarch

Mike was in his last year of high school in season one (1960-61), so I'm guessing his character was 17 or 18 years old (Tim Considine was actually 19-20 years old over that time period). Robbie was in junior high during that first season, with no specific year given, so I'm estimating 14-15 (Don Grady was actually about 15-16). With Ernie, the age fluctuates. When he was first introduced in at the beginning of the fourth season in 1963 (replacing Chip's previous best bud Sudsy), he was a classmate of Chip and so roughly the same age. By the time the family adopted him at the beginning of season six in 1965, he was demoted in age to being several years younger than Chip (3-4 years younger?).

Yeah, the Andy Griffith thing turned out to be temporary, I had missed that "Month of MAYberry" theme before I posted. It's good to see Happy Days in the MeTV lineup, I enjoy the early shows with Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" as the theme song and before the Fonz became way overdone. Speaking of early shows, MeTV has been showing the first season of Mission: Impossible with Agent Briggs (played by Steven Hill) in place of Agent Phelps (Peter Graves), which has not been easy to find on television over the years (kind of like the B&W MTS episodes with Bub). Here are a few classic shows I would like MeTV to run that are rarely seen: Secret Agent (aka Danger Man) The Avengers (John Steed and Emma Peel, not the Marvel superheroes) Room 222 The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (it used to be seen a lot in re-runs, but something happened in the 90's and it became impossible to find) 50's sci-fi like Tales of Tomorrow and Lights Out (both were once shown on the now beyond useless SyFy channel)

MeTV recently yanked My Three Sons from its offerings. My usual reaction would be, "well, it's had a good long run, time to give it a rest", and I'm not overly upset about it since I've seen all the episodes at least once during their long run these past few years. However, what I don't like is what they replaced it with, and I get the bad feeling that this might be a turn for the much worse for MeTV. The replacement is . . . "The Andy Griffith Show". Now I have nothing against the Andy Griffith Show, it's a 60's sitcom classic, but it has been DONE TO DEATH. It's not like you can't watch episodes of it on 27 other cable channels, not to mention all the online streaming options. And when a network begins replacing classic programming with endless Andy Griffith (I'm calling out Nick at Nite and TV Land here), it's usually been the signal that it's gonna be all downhill from here on out (wall-to-wall "Beverly Hillbillies" is also indicative of worse things to come).

Yes, I agree that episode is definitely lacking, and the title ("Barbara Lost") makes little sense in the context of what's going on in the show (shouldn't it have been titled "Chip Lost"?). Plus, the music is terrible - why is it that purported "rock-and-roll" in 60's shows never sounds like actual rock-and-roll, but instead some kind of terrible cocktail lounge jazz mutation (the Annette/Frankie Beach Party movies were especially notorious for this)? However, to this episode's eternal credit there is one great scene, and that occurs at the very end when Steve has a heart-to-heart with Chip and there is a short clip-flashback to the first episode of MTS where Steve and a very young Chip are having a deep discussion while washing dishes. If this had been the last episode of the series, that would have been a fitting way to wrap things up. Instead, we got the episode where everyone except Ernie is afraid to say the word "pot". If the episode is a subtle dig at Don Grady, the screenwriters had more imagination than I normally would have credited them. Too bad they didn't direct that smidgen of creativity toward improving the characters of Dodie and Uncle Charley.

There was a Thanksgiving episode in Season 1, a Halloween episode in Season 3 and . . . that's it, as far as I recall, concerning seasonal episodes. A Christmas episode was a missed opportunity, and a real head-scratcher since just about every series back then did one (even The Twilight Zone, a great one with Art Carney playing a Christmas Santa). And in other news, I can't believe we finally made it to page 9 - page 8 seemed like it went on forever.

I'm in total agreement. I never have understood the logic behind pairing the Partridges with M3S. Other than both featuring families, the two series have little in common. M3S would have been better matched with a fellow 60's family sit-com such as "The Donna Reed Show". If the goal was to think outside-the-box and not have such an obvious pairing, then they should have gone with the Paul Henning rural comedies Green Acres and Petticoat Junction. In Green Acres, the Douglas name could have been the connection and with Petticoat Junction the fact that several cast members (Meredith MacRae, Mike Minor) had appeared in M3S provides a suitable link.

The twelve days of M3S, day twelve: Season twelve: Favorite episode - "Lonesome Katie". Usually, M3S stumbled badly when trying to achieve relevance and topicality, but this one is a notable exception to the rule. The drama of Katie coming to grips with the prospect of divorce is handled quite well here, not to mention with a convincing level of realism. Much credit has to be given to Tina Cole - she does an outstanding job here. The episode is evidence that with the right mix, M3S could rise to the occasion and transcend its standard fare. Fun facts: The less said about Fergus the better, but Anne Francis of television's Honey West and Forbidden Planet fame makes appearances as the soon-to-be-wife of Fergus in episodes 2, 3, and 4. Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees shows up as John Simpson, an old Bryant Park pal of Chip in "Barbara Lost". And we see Stanley Livingston as Chip for the last time in that very same episode, appearing in the final scenes having a heart-to-heart talk with Steve about his future. In an otherwise substandard episode (the fact that the title makes little sense in the context of the episode is only one of many problems), this final scene makes a very nice and touching bookend to the talk that Steve has with Chip while washing dishes in the first episode of the series, "Chip Off the Old Block". With that scene, this episode have been a good way to close out the series. Instead, we got "Whatever Happened to Ernie?". One last thing: During season twelve, an episode was shown titled "An Evening With My Three Sons", an hour-long special shown on January 6, 1972. It has never been shown since, and has never been included in any syndication package. As a young child, I watched the last several seasons of M3S when they aired, but I don't recall seeing this one.

Well, I have to admit David Lynch would've have been a much edgier director than Fred de Cordova. Visualize Ernie trapped in an Eraserhead-type universe: "Gosh, Tramp, that's one ugly baby!"

The twelve days of M3S, day eleven: Season eleven: Favorite episode - "The Liberty Bell". Robbie nearly succumbs to the siren call of a childhood friend from his Bryant Park days (played by Sal Mineo of Rebel Without A Cause fame; Mineo was also famous for being murdered at the age of 37, dying tragically young just like his Rebel castmates James Dean and Natalie Wood). His pal invites him along for an Easy Rider, "we've all gone to look for America", life-on-the-open-road motorcycle experience, and though tempted Robbie makes the right call (or does he? It's open to interpretation, given that he would eventually be leaving after the season) and stays with his family. Just as with "You Can't Go Home", this episode clicked with me on a personal level. Fun facts: Ronne Troup makes her debut as Polly Williams (soon to be Polly Williams Douglas as the wife of Chip) in "The First Anniversary". Joan Tompkins makes her final appearance as Katie's mother in "St. Louis Blues". Jodie Foster plays one of Dodie's classmates in "The Love God". The last time Robbie, Chip, and Ernie are seen together is at the beginning of "The Return of Terrible Tom" (the three of them are playing guitar and trying to fix the amplifier). The last appearance of Don Grady as Robbie is in "After The Honeymoon", which was a pilot for a series that CBS didn't pick up.

The twelve days of M3S, day ten: Season ten: Favorite episode - "You Can't Go Home". Robbie and Katie return to Bryant Park to attend the wedding of one of Robbie's old pals, and no one back there can remember them. This episode resonated well with me, having experienced something similar when I returned to my high school town a few years back after a 25-year absence (it felt somewhat like the debut Twilight Zone episode, "Where Is Everybody?"). Fun facts: The lovely and wonderful Beverly Garland, perhaps the greatest of the 50's sci-fi scream queens, debuts as Barbara Harper, Steve's soon-to-be wife, in the season opener, "The First Meeting". We all know who's got next: Dawn Lyn (Leif Garrett's sister) makes her first appearance as Barbara's daughter Dodie in the second episode, "Instant Co-Worker" (refer to earlier comments posted all over this discussion thread for the general consensus on this development. And I'm not sure which episode featured the first appearance of - ***shudder*** - Myrtle the hand puppet. Some things are better forgotten). As consolation, we do get the introduction of the elegant and graceful Eleanor Audley as Barbara's mother in the same episode (she also played the mother of Oliver Wendell Douglas in Green Acres). Famous guest stars in Season ten include Ronald Reagan's first wife Jane Wyman in "Who Is Sylvia?", Lew Ayres of All Quiet On The Western Front fame in "Mister X" (he starred in the movie Donovan's Brain with Ronald Reagan's second wife, Nancy Davis), Erin Moran (Joanie on Happy Days) in "Dodie's Dilemma", and finally Jerry Mathers (aka The Beaver) playing a next-door neighbor who rings an 11 on the creepiness scale in "Love Thy Neighbor". The exterior of the Bryant Park home is seen for the last time in "You Can't Go Home".

Well, according to the amazing 60's board game Mystery Date, it's dreamboat or dud. No early reveals, it'll just have to be a big surprise. But if you've read my earlier comments, you'll probably figure out what side of the Dodie debate I'm down with.

The twelve days of M3S, day nine: Season nine: Favorite episode - "My Three Grandsons" Fun facts: Butch Patrick (aka Eddie Munster on "The Munsters") makes his first of seven appearances as Ernie's friend Gordon. Rose Marie from "The Dick Van Dyke" show guest stars as a babysitter for the Douglas triplets in "First Night Out". And, of course, the triplets were introduced to Planet Douglas in "My Three Grandsons" . . . and that's about it. Outside of that one big event, this was a fairly low-key season (at least by my reckoning).

The twelve days of M3S, day eight: Season eight: Favorite episode - "Countdown to Marriage" Fun facts: "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" The one and only Maureen McCormick from The Brady Bunch guest stars in "Ernie, The Bluebeard". Jeremy Clyde from the 60's English pop duo Chad and Jeremy (big hits: "A Summer Song" and "Yesterday's Gone") appears in "Liverpool Saga" (the only song he seems to be able to strum on guitar in the episode is "Greensleeves". Chad and Jeremy together made an appearance on the 60's TV series Batman, playing the song "Teenage Failure"). And Ed Begley, Jr., later of St. Elsewhere and an ill-fated drummer in the film This Is Spinal Tap, makes his first TV appearance ever in the episode "The Computer Picnic". His father, Ed Begley, appears in the next season of M3S.

The twelve days of M3S, day seven: Season seven: Favorite episodes - "Robbie's Underground Movie". This season had a surplus of good episodes to pick from, but this one ended up being my favorite. Fun facts: The last mention of Mike by name in the series occurs in the second episode of the season, "Fly Away Home". The last time the interior of the Bryant Park house is seen is in the opening scenes of the last episode of the season, "Weekend in Paradise", right before the family packs up for a Hawaiian vacation. Yvonne Craig (Batgirl) shows up as a parking enforcement officer in "If At First", and Jaye P. Morgan (later of the Gong Show) guest stars in "A Falling Star".

The twelve days of M3S, day six: Season six: Favorite episode - "The Hong Kong Story". I'm biased on this one, since being married to a wonderful lady from Hong Kong and having lived there at one point gives me a stronger connection to this episode compared to the average. All told, it's well-done, and even Uncle Charley's long-lost love story is better than usual, as these things go. Plus, the Cantonese spoken in several scenes is spot on, as is the stock footage of Hong Kong street scenes (some of which are still vaguely recognizable). Fun facts: As Shakespeare once wrote, "parting is such sweet sorrow . . . ", but the loss of Tim Considine as Mike and Meredith MacRae as Sally after they last appear in the episode "The First Marriage" is bittersweet at best. A big, colossal "what if?" regarding M3S is how the series would have developed with Mike and Sally remaining as characters. Tina Cole makes another pre-Katie appearance as Robbie's girlfriend Joanne in the episode "Robbie and the Little Stranger". A pre-Star Trek George Takei (Sulu) shows up in "The Hong Kong Story". And none other than Jay North of Dennis the Menace fame guest stars in "Whatever Happened to Baby Chip?" - with long hair, no less, making the most impossibly chipper and eager-to-please countercultural type you're ever likely to see on an old 60's TV show.