Christmas Came a Little Early

I'm a 44 male and I was never much into Family Affair as a kid, but now I am just glued to this show. What have I been missing all these decades? Family Affair is a absolute gem of a series. I am loving every minute going thru the DVDs.

This particular episode is arguably the centerpiece of the five year run. How they put together such an action packed gut wrenching subject matter into 26 minutes is a miracle. Today, they would have drawn it out over 3 maudlin episodes and it still wouldn't have had the same intense impact that this masterpiece has even 40 years later.

It should have won awards for writing, directing and especially acting; not only for Eve Plumb who is nothing short of wonderful, but especially for Anissa Jones, God rest her little soul, who really nails it here. She is really stellar!! This is HER moment to shine in the series and she just glows!

It would have been awesome to have Eve do the audio commentary on the DVD. (C'mon MPI... think about it for the re-release of Season 3.)

I must have seen every episode of "Family Affair" at least five times, both during it's original run and early syndication, when CBS used to air it as part of their weekday morning CBS lineup around '70 and '71. As the same age as the children on the show, and just as innocent, this particular episode with Eve Plumb, obviously went above my head. I thought the poor girl was simply ill; I didn't know she was "terminally ill." Some forty-five years later, and as an adult viewer, I see what this episode is truly about, and I was so incredibly moved.

I am surprised this particular episode of "Family Affair" isn't talked about more often. It is truly a classic.

The Davises throw an early Xmas party for a classmate of Buffy's who likely won't live long enough to make it to December 25.

If you're looking for an uplifting holiday episode, this is definitely one to avoid -although it wasn't really promoted as an Xmas episode back in the day, as the title indicates.

I won't write a long summary since this one already has several IMDB reviews posted. The actors all do their jobs well. It was nice to see Ann McCrea (neighbor on THE DONNA REED SHOW) appear in a serious role and of course a bonus to see a pre-BRADY BUNCH Eve Plumb as the doomed girl. I know Plumb hated discussing "Jan" decades later, so if I had ever met her I would have surely asked about this experience instead.

MVP here is Anissa Jones. From her optimistic "Uncle Bill can do ANYTHING" to her silent realization that 'something-ain't-quite-right' to the heart-wrenching final scene of her sobbing in bed, she was one of the most impressive child actresses of her era.

This may dampen your Xmas spirit, so like the title says you may want to watch it "a little early" just to be safe. 9/10.

This is probably the most poignant and sensitively handled episode of the entire show. It deals with a terminally ill child who Jody befriends. The very idea that a family program would take on the issue of sick children is astounding especially back in the repressed 60s. Bravo to the producers, writers and actors. They did a great job. As it turns out, children, though still innocent, are not as naive as we might think.

Makes you want to hug your kids everyday and appreciate all that you have, because as some of the reviewers pointed out, this type of illness can strike anybody at anytime, even during the holidays.