That GirlBy Jenny Brown
"Diamonds, daisies, snowflakes... sable, popcorn, white wine... is
that girl," describes the opening theme music of TV's That Girl,
about the independent Ann Marie, a young actress trying to make it on her
own in New York City in the late 1960s. Years before Mary
Richards "made it after all" in Minneapolis, Marlo Thomas
portrayed the feisty Ann, a seemingly feminist woman (by modern standards,
her desire to please her father and her devotion to being the perfect girl
for her boyfriend, Donald, seem less than liberated) who gets herself into
scrapes and mishaps--of the variety familiar to those who grew up on I
Love Lucy--as she attempts to become a Broadway star.
A
first volume of That Girl on DVD in what we hope will be many has
been released!
Fans of That Girl have grown to love kicky,
quirky actress Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas) and her reporter boyfriend, Donald
(Ted Bessell), two young urbanites living the freewheeling modern life of
the mid-1960s. Today, the show still holds its own as a showcase for the
fashions and mores of the mod years. Contemporary viewers might find some
of the jokes puzzling, but are bound to fall for Ann's optimism, her
independence, and her sense of style.
The Oh,
Donald!
collection features three episodes focusing on--not
surprisingly--Ann's relationship with Don Hollinger (Ted Bessell). In the
first show, "Don't Just Do Something, Stand There," the preview
episode for the series (as Marlo Thomas explains after the show), Ann is
working behind a candy counter when she lands a big break: a part in a TV
commercial. Yet the handsome reporter from upstairs--with whom she's
already had some tense run-ins--thinks she's being abducted by hoods and
attempts to rescue her, leading, of course, to Donald and Ann's first
date.
In "Anatomy of a Blunder," Donald is nervous about meeting
Ann's parents, which of course leads to one disaster after another so that
by the time they arrive, after a botched picnic in the park, Donald looks
quite the fright. In the final episode of this volume,
"Counter-Proposal," Donald, after four years of dating Ann,
finally pops the question. Misadventure ensues over the engagement ring,
but a delighted Ann is thrilled at the prospect of becoming Mrs.
Hollinger. This set is a fun introduction to That Girl, and the
little inconsistencies (in the "Proposal" episode, Ann declares
that Orange Citrus is where she and Donald had their first date, although
clearly in the preview episode they are at a fancy, Italian-looking
restaurant) actually make this more fun. A real treat.
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