Ozzie's Girls

Though I was particularly young when this show aired I have fond memories of it. In fact this show represents the first time I was introduced to Ozzie and Harriet of whom I was later to become a big fan. I can remember sitting with my mother and watching the show and laughing and laughing. A true testament to it's appeal, at least to me.

Though probably not a television masterpiece, it represents a simpler time in America. A quieter, happier, simpler time. A time that is conspicuously and sorely missed in today's media, in my opinion. I for one would love to see this show be released to DVD, along with the many seasons of the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet of course.

I suppose that Ozzie Nelson woke up one day and decided maybe there's more we can squeeze out of the Ozzie&Harriet wholesomeness formula. So Ozzie's Girls was born with Ozzie and Harriet becoming surrogate parents to a pair of female college student boarders. After a quarter of a century these two were to become parents of daughters so to speak with that entails.

As a concession to the times one of the girl college students that was boarding in David and Ricky's old room was a hippie chick Susan Sennett. Another concession was that her roommate was Brenda Sykes who was black. No one was going to criticize Ozzie for not being with it. But the two girls were the last word in wholesomeness as each episode showed.

The formula that Ozzie&Harriet a success on radio and television from the 40s to the early 60s was just too old fashioned. A country that was dealing with Vietnam for about a decade at this point and starting to deal with Watergate just was not interested in buying this particular product.

It was a nice show, but way too old fashioned.

Ten years after their long running family situation comedy went off the air, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson made this ill-advised attempt at a comeback. Still playing themselves, the hook was that in their retirement, they suddenly decide to take in two female college students as boarders. The two girls were played by two minor actresses whose main claim to fame was having played nude scenes in such exploitation films as "Mandingo" and "Big Bad Mama." The attempts at humor were heavy-handed riffs on the generation gap (like Ozzie mentioning to Harriet that one of the girls "needed a bath.") What fun! Or another laugh riot in which Ozzie decides to go on an all ice cream diet. This was only broadcast in syndication and that for only about ten seconds. Good riddance.

The big downfall of this program is that Ozzie and Harriet had been long typecast as the wholesome all American family. Everybody remembered them in the 1950s as "America's Favorite Family".

As the 1950s became the 1960s, tastes changed, the sons grew up and the the show's popularity slipped down lower and lower. By its last season, not every ABC affiliate was airing the show.

Fast forward to the 1970s, tastes really changed! The new strategy was to push the envelope and be the first to do something really radical. The "toilet heard around the world" was flushed on "All in the Family" in 1971. Next, hot issues were brought out in a comical manner on shows like MASH. Next, we have "Ozzie's Girls"! In other words, we have Ozzie and Harriet back on prime time! Good wholesome humor in a time when good wholesome humor is not in demand? Ozzie Nelson knew what he was doing. He was no fool! Had the networks gave the show a chance, it might had succeeded. Remember "The Waltons"? Here was a series that CBS saw as a sure fire flop so CBS aired it against NBC's number one on the Nielson Ratings all time hit series, "The Flip Wilson Show". "The Waltons" staggered and floundered like the networks expected. Then, almost suddenly, it shot up in the ratings and became a hit and it was "The Flip Wilson Show" got the ax.

Ozzie did push the envelope as well, tackling a controversial issue. Remember that he was renting to two female college students, one was black and the other was white female. The two females went on dates, which were of course inter-racial. This could've provided a ton of comedy potential.

Too bad nobody gave it a chance.

Ozzie's Girls comes at a time when TV was changing dramatically. All in the Family and the likes had become the new bar to shoot for and shows like Ozzie's Girls, well, they didn't stand a chance. And maybe this show should have been given a chance. My understanding is that Ozzie wanted to start the second season, and was devastated to here the show would not be picked up. Harriet on the other hand seemed ready to step out of the limelight. Anyway, the existing episodes are warm, mildly funny and contain an interesting array of young folks who would become stars. And if you're an "Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" fan, naturally you'll enjoy seeing these two (along with many other old cast members) perform for us once more. Same house, occasional references to Rick and Dave and directed by Dave, these shows have a lot to offer fans and enough for the casual viewer. Try it.