Que Garota

Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas, Danny Thomas' daughter in case you've never heard) is a single lady living in Manhattan. Her ambition is to make it as an actress on Broadway but between small gigs on children's television, commercials and experimental theater, she must work other jobs. These include news stand salesclerk (where she meets someone special), waitress, door-to-door shoe hawker, and more. On one of her first days in NYC, she meets Don Hollinger (Ted Bessell) and its an auspicious beginning. They both want to buy the same rolltop desk for sale in the same building and Don interrupts a commercial Ann is shooting after hours. But, in short order, they go to dinner. Pretty soon, they are stepping out steadily and, after a disastrous picnic, meet Ann's folks. While Ann's mother (Rosemary DeCamp) is loving and kind, Ann's father, Lew (Lew Parker, hilarious) is a prickly restaurateur. He, Ann, and Don often clash on many topics. Also, Ann is on very friendly terms with the couple across the hall, Judy and Leon, and Don's co-workers include Bernie (Bernie Kopell) before he went to the Love Boat. By the fifth season, will Ann and Don finally tie the knot? This will always be one of my favorite shows from childhood. First, it was and is very funny, with Thomas exhibiting very comedic talents as zany Ann. Bessell is a perfect foil and Parker is a delight, too. Secondly, Ann was a single lady decorating her own apartment, pursuing her own dreams, choosing her own friends and more. Yes, most gals like me wanted to get married AT SOME POINT but, first, we wanted to live the good life by our own merits! Naturally, Ann's costumes are terrific, her hairstyle was one we tried to copy, and her tastes became our tastes. Dear Marlo Thomas, as Ann's alter ego, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE A HEROINE TO ME. After all, you were one of the first to show women everywhere that women's goals and ambitions MATTERED!

"That Girl" is one of those shows that I enjoyed during it's first run on ABC and in it's reruns over the years, but it's been many years since i saw this as it has not been on TV in a while. The re-discovery of this on DVD reveals that it is even better than I remember it. The cast in all instances is first-rate, and the scripts are crisp, funny, full of heart and do not date one bit. Marlo Thomas supposedly had a hand in most of the aspects of this classic series, and I say a great job well done. Like John Forsythe in "Bachelor Father", this show was her baby and no show could have had a better mother. ME-TV has just begun re-running this as of this writing, and my partner and I were laughing out loud at many of the antics on the marathon which launched the series on New Year's Day. The film quality of the show has been so beautifully preserved that it looks brand-new. The 1960s background makes the series a kind of time capsule back to those fashions and some of the early episodes especially feature some great location footage shot in N.Y.C. which add to the "theatrical" look of this series. Each episode has the look of a mini-movie, being shot with one camera. The laugh-track is present but not overdone or intrusive. The format of the single girl trying to make it on her own would be echoed a few years later in the super-classic "Mary Tyler Moore" show. "That Girl" had great writing throughout it's five seasons, and Ms. Thomas wisely opted out of the show before it became stale as so many other long-running shows of the period did. She also avoided knuckling under to the network by not having Ann and Donald marry. This was her personal decision and in retrospect, a wise one. Marlo Thomas herself, being the daughter of the great Danny Thomas, had to prove herself with this series and boy, did she ever. Having "Make Room For Daddy", one of the great shows of it's own era, and "That Girl", one of the greats of the 60s, one hopes that there will be another generation of the Thomas family to give us yet another great series to enjoy. If this review sounds like a love letter to Marlo Thomas, so be it. It is.

Four years before the debut of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, this was the first show to feature an independent woman who wanted to make it on her own without having to rely on her parents or her boyfriend. This was a great show with a great cast that really worked well together. The other thing that I really loved about this show was the fact that the humor was very broad and that Ann, even though she was independent, often found herself in some very awkward situations. I especially loved the last season in which we really saw Ann's relationship with Donald really blossom as they finally became engaged. Too bad it ended before they walked down the aisle.

One TV Encyclopedia I consulted claims that since THAT GIRL was canceled in mid-season in 1971, there are "lost episodes" which were never aired, having to do with Ann and Don's wedding plans. IS ABC/TVLAND holding out on us? Can any one confirm or debunk this? As I recall-being 10 years old at the time---the couple spend that entire season looking at furniture, dreaming of a new house, pricing the wedding dress, etc. Also, I find it strange, given that the two are engaged during the last season, that Marlo Thomas supposedly demanded the marriage never take place? What was she going to do; have Ann leave Don at the altar?

'That Girl' is a 60s sitcom that holds up much better than most when viewed almost 40 years later.

Altho Marlo Thomas provides most of the zaniness that sitcoms often seek to provide, my favorite role was actually Ted Bessel's Don Hollinger. The character of Don was, for the most part, a very calm, composed influence on the show. He seldom got flustered in the face of Ann's occasional hysterics or her father's often stern disapproval. Despite the 'character of his character', he was no straight man. Each episode has several intelligent witticisms or truly amusing wry comments from Don.

The series stayed remarkably consistent through the entire run, in my opinion never 'jumping the shark', as so many long running sitcoms are prone to.

Don and Ann set a good example for a mature and caring relationship, even in the face of comedy script episodes and antics.

Highly recommended.