Love at First Slight

Although the Partridge Family has only just started on the road to fame (having released one album), Keith has become a heartthrob to the teeny-bopper girls at school and around town. He's being stalked, hounded, and chased and doesn't much like it.

On the flip side, he's developed a crush on Janet, played by Lane Bradbury ... a career guest-role actress who, surprisingly, was cast as a high school girl in this episode despite being thirty-three years old! You can see it around her neck, but no question she could play younger than her age.

Also in the episode is Claire Wilcox, who pursues a crush on Keith in a much more quite manner. This child star had many credits, but disappeared from the business at age eighteen ... with her last role a second appearance in this series, two seasons later!

"Love at First Slight" was the first episode to focus on David Cassidy's Keith Partridge, specifically designed as a response to his growing fan base. Keith has grown weary of having girls chase him everywhere he goes, from school to the library, Reuben logically concluding that the time to worry is when they stop chasing him. Meanwhile, Keith discovers one pretty girl named Janet (Lane Bradbury) not impressed by show business, ducking out on his persistence at every turn. Shirley herself has grown attached to one particular Keith Partridge fan, the teenaged Cathy (Claire Wilcox), who gets so nervous in his presence she can hardly speak; eventually he finds that, as The Rolling Stones recently sang, "You Can't Always Get What You Want," unable to deny the genuine adoration of Cathy, as opposed to the frank honesty of Janet, who only tried to let him down easy. The final role for child actress Claire Wilcox would come in the later episode "Whatever Happened to Keith Partridge?" The featured song, "Somebody Wants to Love You," composed by Wes Farrell, Mike Appel, and Jim Cretecos, was currently the B-side of their first single, "I Think I Love You," both included on THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY ALBUM (this song reappears briefly in "Did You Hear the One About Danny Partridge?").

Now that he has a best-selling record, teenage girls keep running after Keith (David Cassidy). He wants Kincaid (Dave Madden) to get rid of the groupies. The jealous manager asks Keith, "You do like girls, don't you?" Mother Shirley (Shirley Jones) believes the girls will thin out when the novelty wears off. She invites groupie Claire Wilcox (as Cathy) in, to dreamily stare at Keith. While running away from frenzied fans, Keith takes refuge in a women's underwear shop. "I think I'm in love," he proclaims after meeting pretty Lane Bradley (as Janet). Keith is turned on because she doesn't know he is a pop star. Ten-year-old little brother Danny (Danny Bonaduce) tries to help Keith work out his romantic problems. The smug, self-centered script is nicely acted by Mr. Cassidy, at least. The song "Somebody Wants to Love You" is filler.

*** Love at First Slight (10/30/70) Bob Claver ~ David Cassidy, Lane Bradley, Claire Wilcox, Shirley Jones