That Girl
That Girl
Category: Sitcom
Created By: Sam Denoff and Bill Persky
Stars: Marlo Thomas, Ted Bessell, Lew Parker, Bernie Kopell, Rosemary DeCamp
Number of Seasons: 5
Number of Episodes: 136
Original Channel: ABC
Original Run: September 8, 1966 to September 10, 1971
That Girl is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who had moved from her hometown of Brewster, New York to make it big in New York City. Ann had to take a number of offbeat "temp" jobs to support herself in between her various auditions and bit parts, though she nonetheless was able to afford a spacious Manhattan apartment as well as an extensive wardrobe of mod fashions. Ted Bessell played her boyfriend Donald Hollinger, a writer for Newsview Magazine; Lew Parker and Rosemary DeCamp played Lou Marie and Helen Marie, her concerned parents. Bernie Kopell and Ruth Buzzi played Ann & Donald's friends.
Each episode began with a pre-credits teaser in which an odd incident would occur or a discussion would foreshadow the episode's story. The scene would almost always end with someone exclaiming "...that girl!" just as Ann wanders into the shot or the character notices her. The words "That Girl" would appear over the freeze-frame shot of Ann. The opening credits featured Thomas, in character, ambitiously strolling the streets of New York and flying a kite that bore a resemblance to her. In the last season, lyrics were added to the theme song. The presence of Neil Simon's The Star-Spangled Girl with Sheilah Wells listed in the "Sophie Rauschmeyer" role among the Broadway titles shown indicates this version of the opening was filmed between June 5 and August 5 of 1967.
Click here to see a great That Girl video clip.
That Girl was the first show to focus on a single woman who was not a domestic or living at home. Some consider this show the forerunner of the highly successful Mary Tyler Moore Show and Murphy Brown. Thomas' goofy charm, together with Bessell's dry wit and the strong chemistry they shared, made the show a strong performer during its five-year run.
In the beginning of the fifth season, Don and Ann became engaged, although they never actually married. The decision to leave the couple engaged at the end of the run of the series was largely the idea of Thomas herself. She didn't want to send a message to young women that marriage was the ultimate goal for them.[1]
That Girl was created by writers Bill Persky and Sam Denoff, who served as head writers on The Dick Van Dyke Show earlier in the 1960s. Scriptwriter Richard Baer wrote ten episodes for the series.
Popular Culture
The show's theme song and opening visuals have been parodied in pop culture several times. They appeared as a series of T-shirts, then as a Saturday Night Live skit featuring an African American remake That Black Girl, as a sequence on episodes of Animaniacs, The Simpsons and Roseanne.
It was also parodied in the precredits teaser of an episode of The Nanny where Maxwell's guest-starring mother encounters Fran at the florist, in another episode of The Nanny where Peter Bergman, playing himself acting in The Young and the Restless casts Fran in the soap by asking for a co-star like "that girl!" while pointing to Fran.
Popular Culture continued
The series Family Guy took their digs in with the "That Guy" sequence in "Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington". In another "male" take on the show's opening, an episode from Ugly Betty had Fabia forcing Wilhelmina Slater into making an exchange: She'll give up her wedding date to Wilhelmina in exchange for the services of Wilhelmina's assistant, Marc St. James, after Fabia evoke those famous opening lines.
Marlo Thomas played Rachel's mother in the series Friends. Phoebe can sometimes be seen wearing a That Girl t-shirt.
Once on Mystery Science Theater 3000, while being forced to watch a B-movie, one of the characters in the audience says of the movie "It's Marlo Thomas in 'That Guy'!" The series would also be used as inspiration several times as riffs during MST3K's ten-year run.
*************************************************
Car Repair
For the best car repair service go to Don's Auto Clinic at
1950 Ellesmere Rd #21 Scarborough ON, M1H 2V8 Phone: 416-438-9575
Make an appointment and don't worry about what kind of service you'll get because it's the best. I've been going there for at least 3 years. (Zane Ladhani---of Zane's Comedy Warehouse www.zanes-comedy-warehouse.com)
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Chinese Food
Chinese Food is great and there are a lot of restaurants but if you want to go to one of the best chinese food restaurants in Toronto then go to Kim Kims at
Kim Kim Hakka Chinese Restaurant 1188 Kennedy Road Scarborough, ON M1P 2L1 416-757-8300 (Near Kennedy and Lawrence)
I ususally have the Curry Chicken on Rice but you'll be happy with whatever you order.
If you can't handle spicy food tell them when you order.
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Real Estate Services
The best real estate agents in Toronto are the Wright Sisters. They
are the right choice whether you're buying or selling property.
Lindsay & Melanie Wright Sales Representatives
RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd., Brokerage 2237 Queen Street East Toronto ON M4E 1G2
Office: (416) 699-9292 Toll Free: 1-866-921-9292 Fax: (416) 699-8576
*************************************************************
No comments:
Post a Comment