Garry Marshall's sitcom factory at Paramount churned out what should've been another winner for ABC in the winter of 1979.
Angie was placed on Thursdays, airing in back of Mork & Mindy, and was an immediate hit. The story of a Philadelphia waitress (Donna Pescow) finding love with a pediatrician (Robert Hays) should've lasted a little longer than it did. However, it can be argued that the producers jumped the gun a wee bit by marrying Angie off too soon. With Mork moving to Sundays for its sophomore season to avoid NBC's Buck Rogers, Angie was moved to Tuesdays, hammocked in between Happy Days & Three's Company, with Laverne & Shirley moved to another night. Bad idea. Angie ended after two seasons, and deserved a better fate.
To refresh your memory, here's the intro. The theme song, "Different Worlds", sung by Maureen McGovern, peaked at #18.
Angie drew comparisons to CBS' Rhoda due largely to similar themes, though when Angie, in all fairness, debuted, Rhoda had ended its run. The supporting cast included Debralee Scott (ex-Welcome Back, Kotter, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman), Doris Roberts (later of Remington Steele & Everybody Loves Raymond), and, during the 1st season, Tammy Lauren, who was "reassigned", shall we say, by the studio, turning up on Who's Watching The Kids? the following fall. Donna Pescow most recently guest-starred on The Flash, and, well, who knows? With the way Hollywood is recycling old series these days, maybe Angie's story will be retold with a 21st century spin (with Pescow filling Roberts' old role as the mother figure)?
Rating: A-.
The same basic idea ran for 5 seasons a generation later as DHARMA AND GREG, though the wedding happened in the pilot in that instance.
ReplyDeleteI liked the show then, Donna Pescow was always appealing. ABC's formula was getting a little long in the tooth by 1979-80, and too much tinkering with the schedule really affected the three biggest returning new hits from the season before. The constant changes not only helped kill ANGIE and THE ROPERS but even damaged MORK & MINDY, which never returned to the top 20.
ABC's needless shuffling saw Laverne & Shirley move into Mork & Mindy's old slot on Thursdays, only for both series to return to their original slots the very next season, if not sooner. Angie, as noted, deserved a better fate than it got, but ABC gave up on it too soon out of panic.
ReplyDeleteThis was a likeable show but there wasn't enough to really set it apart from other sitcom fare at the time.
ReplyDeleteIIRC, not only was Angie's husband a doctor, but from a wealthy, old family from Philly's Main Line. His sister naturally disapproved of Angie and her working class family.
Which explains the theme song, "Different Worlds", in a nutshell.
ReplyDeleteHi, I found your blog recently. I remember this show, but mostly remember watching the reruns on ABC daytime in the summer of 1985. I also seem to remember seeing a rerun or two on TV Land around 1997. And I certainly remember the theme song. It was a top 40 hit, as I recall.
ReplyDeleteIn April, I will be doing a Forgotten TV Shows them on my blog as a participant in the Blogging A to Z challenge. This is the show I picked for my first entry under A. It was from Googling "Forgotten TV" that I came across your blog. I saw you also included "The New Gidget," another show I plan to include.
Click here to see more: https://jannghi.blogspot.com/2022/03/blogging-to-z-2022.html