Partridge Family, The [TV Show] [Season 3]

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The Cowsills started it all in 1967 with a family act that featured a mother and her four sons and daughter performing, while the musically-challenged dad managed the group. People in the industry suspected they were a fake family, but they were the real thing, blending Beach Boys' harmonies with a straight soft-rock beat. Their success inspired "The Partridge Family," which aired between 1970-74.

Singer-actress Shirley Jones was a natural to play the mother-attractive, talented, and comfortable around children. In fact, her stepson, David Cassidy, starred as Keith Partridge, the oldest, at 16, while Susan Dey (who would go on to star in "L.A. Law") was 15, and red-headed Danny Bonaduce played the precocious 10-year-old who fancied himself as the businessman of the group. In the first season, Jeremy Gelbwaks played seven-year-old Christopher Partridge, but he would be replaced a year later by Brian Forster. Young Tracy Partridge, age 5, was played by Suzanne Crough, while David Madden played the group's manager, Reuben Kinkaid. So the mix was pretty close to what the Cowsills had, and the group was marketed as a real pop act, same as The Monkees. Cassidy achieved teen-idol status with a number of hit singles, including "I Think I Love You."

Week after week, The Partridge Family sang at least one full song during the half-hour sitcom, but unlike the group that they were patterned after, the family's music was "enhanced" by studio musicians. Only Jones, and Cassidy, did their own singing, and anchored the group. What made the show interesting, though, was its blend of "real family" sitcom life with show biz. The Partridge Family lived in an ordinary neighborhood with ordinary neighbors and typical encounters, but, of course, they were also "stars."

By the time "The Partridge Family" debuted, the U.S. had already begun its slow-but-systematic withdrawal of troops from Vietnam. Still, this squeaky-clean "Come on Get Happy" themed show felt like a bit out of synch, in an "Austin Powers" sort of way. In fact, Austin Powers fans will get a kick out of some of the outfits that the family wears, which look as if they could have been inspirations for the randy one.

I was 20 when the show came out, and well past that bubble-gum sound of the 1910 Fruitgum Company and groups like The Partridge Family. But I do remember seeing episodes when they first aired, and I expected to be heartily amused when I popped these DVDs into my player. What surprised me is that these shows are actually entertaining. The campy, bust-a-gut moments come when Cassidy makes love to the cameras while he's singing, with his cloyingly sweet and trying-too-hard expressions so obviously aimed at anything in a skirt under the age of 16. And, of course, those outrageous outfits, and moments that will remind you of Elvis films (as when the group sings and suddenly the staff pours out of the kitchen and everybody starts movin' and groovin'. But the plots themselves are surprisingly diverse and inventive, while the writing is an easy combination of believable and contrived-for-the-sake-of-humor. The family kind of grows on you, with Bonaduce especially fun to watch as he spars with Madden to produce much of the show's humor.

I gave the first two seasons a 7/10, and that's where this one falls. But I should explain that while a 7 sounds pretty solid, the one thing constant about "The Partridge Family" is that like so many television shows with writing and direction by committee it's wildly uneven. Some weeks are 8s or 9s, others are 6s. The best episodes this season are the lead episode, "This Male Chauvinist Piggy Went to Market," and "I Left My Heart in Cincinnati," while the turkey of the bunch is "The Partridge Connection." Why? Well, the better episodes of the series have fairly sharp writing, and plots that create competition among the characters so that they can react to each other, and reacting is what this bunch does best. It's the plots that focus on a single problem and single family member that disappoint. Then, the shows gets almost as sullen as the wronged family member.

Here's a rundown on the 25 episodes from Season 3, which are contained on three single-sided discs and housed in two slim clear-plastic keep cases with a cardboard slipcase:

1) "This Male Chauvinist Piggy Went to Market" is a funny opener that has Keith trying to face a bully when Laurie is the feisty one who's beaten up a boy.

2) "M is for Many Things." Much weaker episode has the family scheduled to perform at a ceremony for Mother of the Year, but Shirley's honor seems jeopardized by everyone's actions.

3) "Princess and the Partridge." Shades of "Roman Holiday" (but without the charm and originality), Keith slips off with a princess and practically causes an international incident.

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