Thursday, May 8, 2014

What Might've Been: Pink Lady & Jeff (1980)

Sid & Marty Krofft's 1st primetime series since the ill-fated Brady Bunch Variety Hour brought them to NBC. Unfortunately, viewers just weren't interested for some reason.

The Japanese pop duo Pink Lady shared headline space with comic Jeff Altman in a Saturday night variety hour that sought to recapture the vibe of the past, when the likes of Andy Williams filled the same space. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out. Mei & Kai, collectively Pink Lady, had first appeared in the US as part of a programming exchange known here as Japan Tonight, which aired in New York (WOR) around 1977 or '78. Attractive and irresistably cute, Pink Lady should've had the attention of the boys in the audience, especially with a running gag that closed each episode, in which the girls slip behind a partition and change into bikinis, then lure Altman into a hot tub.



Unfortunately, Pink Lady never charted on the Hot 100 here in the US. After the series ended, Altman redeemed himself with a recurring gig on Dukes of Hazzard as Hughie Hogg, nephew of "Boss" Hogg, who'd turn on his uncle if needed, which was every time he came to Hazzard. Hasn't been heard from much since then, though.

Rating: C.

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