Three For The Road was one of three freshman series from Mary Tyler Moore's production company for CBS in 1975, and the first drama to come from the studio. The other newbies were, of course, sitcoms--Phyllis (a spinoff from Moore's series) and Doc, with Barnard Hughes as a neighborhood doctor.
Phyllis, because it was a pre-sold product, was the only one renewed.
Three For The Road was placed on Sundays, a gentle family drama about a single dad (Alex Rocco) and his two sons traveling across the country. Future pop star Leif Garrett and second generation actor Vincent Van Patten (papa Dick was on ABC's When Things Were Rotten) were the sons. Unfortunately, CBS was no longer leading the ratings on Sundays by this point, and the Road was closed around Christmas.
I never saw the show, so there isn't going to be a rating. Here's the intro:
Vincent Van Patten actually played tennis in his spare time, so this was art imitating life. He & Garrett attracted the attention of the teen magazines of the period, hoping young girls would watch. Not enough did.
Three For The Road should've ran till 1976 & at least crank out 22 episodes! What was Grant Tinker & Mary Tyler Moore thinking of knocking Jerry McNeely creation? Mike Bond 007!
ReplyDeleteWould've, should've, could've. Ratings told the tale.
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