Rags to Riches

This was an attempt to produce a musical comedy-drama series every week. A lonely millionaire adopts in several orphaned girls of different backgrounds. The storylines revolved around various problems of the pre-teen and teenaged girls. The show was set in the early 1960's, and the girls sang pop and rock tunes that were popular during that time. Rags To Riches was a candy cane confection of a show that might have worked if it had premiered back in the early 1960s. All of the girls problems were innocent and neatly tied up at the end.

I used to watch this show when I was a little girl, and I thought that all the songs they sang were written for the show. Therefore I regarded it as some musical miracle. Only later I found out that those cute teen girls were singing 60s songs - but by then I also found out that this show has made my knowledge for 60s and 70s songs as deep as my parents'!

Anyway, this TV show is very well done, well acted and I couldn't help but find myself totally hooked with it. Watch it if you happen to find it on reruns - you'll enjoy it!

This show was a clever mix of comedy, drama, and music. It featured a cutthroat food mogul who adopted five orphaned girls in an attempt to seal a deal and improve his image. Of course, the girls changed his life, and he changed theirs. The girls would frequently engage in song to reflect the story of the episode. I loved the one where a guy tried to scam a girl who had just gotten her drivers' liscence, or where a Russian guy was over, or where the girl had her "Sweet 16" at the same time the Cuban Missile Crisis Hit. (the show was set in the early 60s.) This was a thoroughly enjoyable show with cute girls, good episodes, and an ensemble that clicked! Joeseph Bologna was good in the lead.

*** out of ****

This was a very entertaining show, and it stood out from pretty much every show at the time. Not only was it a musical show, it was set in the early 60's.

The plot is simple; Business man Nick Foley adopts six orphans to help his public relations image, but ends up caring for the girls more than he thought possible. The girls were unique. You had Rose, who was the most level-headed of the bunch. Marva was business-savvy and looked to Nick as a role model. Nina was the defensive, abrasive one. Diane was frivolous and bubbly, yet kind-hearted. Patty was somewhat tomboyish, yet overall the most relatable. Mickey was basically the comic relief child, whose every utterance oozed cuteness. Last but not least is Clapper, the British butler, who served as the moral center of the "family".

Everyone in the cast did a great job, and they were all very likable.

I watched this show with my mom religiously back when it aired. Looking back, it is sort of a bizarre 60's/80's hybrid show. The songs they recreated for the series were brilliant.

No one can ever deny that this was such an engaging show. The elements are all fabulous. It looked like a creative mix of (Annie, The Sound of Music, and maybe My Fair Lady). It got all the 1980s' innocent feel and brilliant appeal all over it.

(Joseph Bologna) made one of his most amusing, most memorable roles ever. He was simply great as (Nick Foley) the ever sarcastic self-made millionaire who to develop a 'family man' image finds himself overnight as unmarried father for 5, mostly teenager, orphaned girls who he adopted. He was part plebeian businessman, and part magnanimous man, looking kindly on his daughters learning them and learning from them. After more than 15 years of watching, I still remember his witty lines, like "she seemed like someone who turns into bat at night" (about a bossy schoolmaster!). The funny characters, and the live performance, captured my heart colorfully. True that the songs weren't favorite since I'm not a fan of all the 60s rock, but the idea of a musical series in this format with this era as background is just perfect. So, what did go wrong?

As I read, that was too expensive to be made. So after 20 episodes, they canceled it. It's devastating, as I wanted to see this family through the 1960s variables, suffering controversial issues, facing the revolutionary 60s' end and musically, but the marvelous chance had gone away.

After just 3 years, there would be another bold experience, and I mean (Cop Rock - 1990), which was another musical TV show that would be canceled brutally after 11 episodes only. It was a sign that the musical genre couldn't survive on the American TV screen anymore. And I think it's natural after the MTV boom years earlier, with unstoppable flood of music videos 24 hours a day. Still the 1980s is the last days for gems like these to be made.

It's really provoking when you know that at the same year of (Rags to Riches) another show was made but to outlive more than 20 years after, and its name is (The Bold and the Beautiful).. No Comment!