That Girl

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.

'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.

To many of us born in the fifties and becoming teen-age girls by the mid-late 60's, THAT GIRL was THE show to tune in to and see the hair and fashions and enjoy the comedy. My very favorite episode is when Donald tries to teach Ann to drive his manual (stick) shift car!!! The chemistry between the two actors is just great. Marlo Thomas is adorable in this series. The show was well casted and polished. My best friend in the 60's and I never missed an episode on Tuesday nights and now they are available on wonderful DVDs to enjoy again and again. Hollywood did not spoil Marlo, as she went on to author several wonderful books and of course, carry on her father's work for St.Jude Hospital for the children. She is to be admired.

I wonder how many preteen boys had a crush on Marlo Thomas like I did during the run of this program. She was soooo beautiful, and Ted Bessell seemed like an awfully lucky guy to me, except that he had to live in constant fear of Ann Marie's father, which was realistic enough as Mr. Marie was rather menacing, which by the time the series ended I realized was because he considered the Donald Hollister character a threat to his daughter's virginity. (Wonder how much different, if any, Danny Thomas was about that issue in real life?) In retrospect, this show requires suspension of disbelief even more than most sitcoms, as Ann, a supposedly struggling actress, had a better apartment and nicer clothes than many steadily-employed New Yorkers could have possibly have afforded, then or now. It's a shame that the show only went as far as Donald's bachelor party; it would seem to have been better if they had actually shown the wedding with the implication that "they all lived happily ever after" and that this show, after all really was a modern fairy tale. A fun aspect of the show was seeing how they were going to work the words "that girl" into the opening sequence.

I've been looking for a certain episode, #8, Little Auction Annie for ages. I'm probably the world's biggest That Girl fan and would love to see it on TV Land, instead of some of the so-so shows they've got on now! Any other That Girl fans out there: we should start a campaign to get TV Land to put on That Girl!

I have seen some of the DVD's out with select That Girl shows on....I'd love to see a season-by-season release of all of the shows, however. Anyone know if that is out yet? Or does anyone have episode #8 on VHS or DVD? I love trivia about the show and would play That Girl trivia with anyone interested!