There Goes the Neighborhood

 

It’s not a real street. You won’t find it indexed on Google Maps, or on any postal carrier’s route.

 

The houses too aren’t real. They look charming from the outside, with their freshly mowed lawns and white picket fences, but if you opened the front door on any of them, you’d be stepping into an empty shell – no furniture, no carpet, no appliances. Houses, not homes – no one ever really lived in any of them.

 

But for the first generations of Americans that came of age with television, this was a street as familiar as the one where they grew up. It was a place they visited regularly for years, even decades, often several times a week. It was warm, and welcoming, and special. 

 

It was the place where Bud Anderson worked on his jalopy, while his father offered advice on life that was sometimes heeded, sometimes not. 

 

 

It was where the Partridge Family rehearsed for their next club date.

 

It was where Dennis the Menace gave Mr. Wilson one headache after another.

 

It’s where Major Nelson returned home, wondering what chaos Jeannie was about to conjure when he stepped inside. 

 

 

It’s where Mary Stone’s boyfriends paused on the front porch after a date, hoping for a kiss goodnight.

 

It’s where Gidget grabbed her surfboard before heading to the beach.

 

It’s where Mrs. Kravitz spotted so many strange goings-on at the Stephens residence, across the street at Morning Glory Circle. 

 

 

All of those things happened there. Maybe the moments were no more real than the houses themselves, but they still exist in our collective memories, in a place that blended fantasy and reality. If classic television – if Comfort TV – had a dwelling place, this street was it.

 

And soon it will be gone. This week, the process of tearing down the homes began.

 

On the Warner Bros. Ranch in Burbank, it was designated as Blondie St., after a series of popular films that were filmed there. It was never part of the studio’s tours, so most of us never had the chance to have their pictures taken in front of these homes or just stroll down the sidewalk and soak in the nostalgic rush. A few lucky fans with a connection managed to get there – I know quite a few of them. I was not as fortunate. I had an invitation extended to me back in 2014, but before I could schedule a visit the WB employee who contacted me was laid off, and no one else filled her position.

 

Why is this happening? If we are to believe the few sources even bothering to report on this, it’s about money. The land where these structures sit can be repurposed for soundstages that will contribute more to the studio’s bottom line.

 

That is probably the motivation. I have no reason to think otherwise. But given so many other events that have happened around the nation over the past ten years or so, I can’t not see this as something else as well – the destruction of what these places represent.

 

What values were promoted by the shows set in these homes? What types of families lived there? What did they look like, and how did they live? What lessons did their kids learn at school? Did they understand the difference between right and wrong? Between men and women? Were they patriotic? Were they religious? Did they value work? Did they live in a place with dances, and socials, local ball leagues, community singing, and parades? 

 

 

If you grew up with these shows as I did, and if you still watch them as I do, you know the answer. And I doubt that those responsible for producing the television shows now emerging from that studio will give a second thought to eradicating any reminders of that time.

 

I wrote this back in 2014:

 

There’s a reason we bestow landmark status on exceptional places. It elevates them above mere property controlled by a corporation, and protects them against the whims of the bureaucrat, the robber baron and the unenlightened. Blondie Street is a place to walk in the footsteps of television’s most beloved characters. It has the ability to reconnect adults with the blissful days of their childhoods.

 

Perhaps that’s not sufficient for the kind of safekeeping afforded to the Ryman Auditorium or the Old North Church. But if the home of Millard Fillmore can make the cut, so can the home of Samantha Stephens. 

 

That’s what I thought then. I still think so now. But now it’s too late, or soon will be. Empty facades on a sham street, some will say – who will miss them?

 

I will. Very much.

 

 

Ten Reasons Why Shelley Fabares Is a National Treasure

 

Shelley Fabares had a birthday last week – as a gentleman I won’t specify which one. But she is someone I have always delighted in seeing on my television, and this occasion provides a perfect chance to share that sentiment. 

 

 

As I wrote years ago about Brooke Bundy, it’s not a response that I can easily explain, nor do I feel the need to dissect and analyze it. Her smile makes me smile. Her voice reaches my eardrums like music. And though I know her primarily through the characters she has portrayed on TV for more than 30 years, I am absolutely certain that the real Shelley must be a kind and wonderful person.

 

Why do I think she’s a national treasure? Let me count the ways.

 

She Almost Saved The World On The Twilight Zone (1954)

The episode “Black Leather Jackets” doesn’t rank alongside top-tier TZ episodes like “Living Doll” and “Time Enough At Last,” but it’s unintentionally goofy enough to merit at least one viewing. Three alien teenagers in masks and black leather jackets ride into an unnamed town planing to poison every being on earth by dumping deadly bacteria into the water supply. And they would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for that meddling Shelley Fabares as Ellen, who catches the eye of one of the aliens. They fall in love, and live happily….no, unfortunately the invaders complete their mission and everyone dies. But at least she tried.

 

“Annette” (1958)

I’ve celebrated my affection for this Mickey Mouse Club serial before in this blog. To me it is one of the most ideal examples of what Comfort TV should be, not just because it features Shelley alongside Annette Funicello, Tim Considine, Roberta Shore and several of the original Mousketeers, but also because it costars several other familiar and always welcome presences in Mary Wickes and Richard Deacon and Doris Packer. Fabares plays the unfortunately-named Moselle Corey (if anyone out there knows anyone actually named Moselle, please let me know), one of the in-crowd teens who come to embrace newcomer Annette. Every tine I watch it I also happily remember how Annette and Shelley first met here, and remained close friends until Annette’s passing. 

 

 

The Donna Reed Show (1958)

As Mary Stone, Shelley Fabares was the Marcia Brady of the 1950s: smart, popular, pretty, well behaved, and just a little full of herself. She and Donna Reed created one of the most supportive and likeable mother-daughter relationships on TV, and they looked so much alike some viewers probably believed they were actually related. Fabares left the series after its fifth season, and the show was never the same.  

“Johnny Angel” (1962)

Shelley Fabares never aspired to be a singer, especially as she knew she wasn’t very good at it. But every TV series wanted its own Ricky Nelson after he began performing hits on The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet. So Shelly and her sitcom brother Paul Petersen were both ordered to cut a record, and Shelley sang “Johnny Angel” on a season four episode of The Donna Reed Show called “Donna’s Prima Donna.” The song reached #1 on the Billboard chart in March of 1962. I don’t know how anyone could watch this two-minute clip and not fall a little in love.

 

“The New Look” (1963)

In this Donna Reed episode, one of Mary’s boyfriends makes the mistake of trying to compliment her with the word “wholesome.” That sends Mary into a tailspin of self-doubt and a desire to change her goody-goody image. What follows is a dream sequence set at the neighborhood malt shop; Mary enters in a dazzling, form-fitting white dress, twirling a parasol and sporting a more sophisticated hairstyle. And all the boys who fell in love with her demure smile and button nose suddenly saw, for the first time, the Shelley Fabares that would catch Elvis’s eye just two years later. No one ever put sweet and sexy together with more potency.

 

She could make an Elvis movie almost watchable (1965-1967)

With the exception of Viva Las Vegas and a few select moments in King Creole and Jailhouse Rock, the Elvis Presley filmography is hardly more distinguished than that of Pauly Shore.  But Shelly Fabares pops up as the love interest in three of the King’s standard B musicals – Girl Happy, Spinout, and Clambake – and now when I stumble across them on TCM I usually stick around for a while. 

 

 

Brian’s Song (1971)

One of the most celebrated and beloved made-for-TV movies followed the friendship of Chicago Bears players Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams) and Brian Piccolo (James Caan). Shelly Fabares plays Piccolo’s wife, Joy. It’s a smaller role but watch the scenes in which Joy listens with rapt attention to Brian while he tells stories over dinner, or how you can read her emotions as Brian tries to defy his terminal diagnosis with plans to play next season. They are small moments, but memorable ones.

 

 

One Day At a Time (1978)

As Francine Webster, Fabares engaged in an office rivalry with Ann Romano that unfolded over more than 30 episodes across five seasons. Granted, most of these happened after the series no longer resembled its “single mom raising two daughters” foundation, so they are not as well remembered as they should be. But it was fun to watch Shelley play someone nasty for a change – who knew she had that in her?

 

Highcliffe Manor (1979)

You can always separate the true Shelley Fabares fans from the average admirers by whether they actually sat through this short-lived send up of horror clichés and soap operas. If you’re in the right mood it can be fun to watch a game and talented cast try to salvage something out of substandard material. 

 

 

Coach (1989)

Future generations will debate how this series lasted nine seasons, and will conclude it has less to do with star Craig T. Nelson, engaging as he was as college football coach Hayden Fox, and more to do with the folks around him. Second banana Jerry Van Dyke deserved some good TV karma after turning down the lead role in Gilligan’s Island for My Mother the Car. As news anchor Christine Armstrong, Fabares’s relationship with Nelson’s coach personified all the clichés of a refined lady dating a lunkhead, but there was chemistry there that delivered the goods. More important, it put Shelley in a class largely by herself; how many TV stars can claim memorable roles in the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s? That’s how you become a national treasure.

 

 

 

 

Comfort TV Class Reunion Episodes

 

Last week my high school class celebrated its 40-year reunion. I did not attend, as I now live about 1,700 miles from my high school.

 

Even had I lived closer, however, I probably would have felt out of place. As much as I delight in looking back at television’s past, I do not feel the same nostalgic reassurance dwelling on my own previous life and times. Plus, all of my friends now view the world and its issues differently than I do, which often results in awkward conversations and protracted silences.

 

I did go to my ten-year reunion, which was enjoyable. Most of the guys still had hair (including me) and the girl I crushed on from fourth grade through high school was still beautiful – and still indifferent to me. But ten is the easy one to attend; you don’t have to look down at the badges because the faces are now unfamiliar, and no one expects you to have your life figured out yet.

 

And because these events are so rife with the potential for happiness, sadness, humiliation, rekindled romance, and setting old scores aside, it’s not surprising they have found their way into so many Comfort TV shows. 

 

The most common recurrent theme is a male character arriving with a beautiful woman to show up the girl he once loved, and all of the classmates that viewed him as a loser. It’s amazing how long old slights dwell in our memory banks, leaping out to grab us again when triggered.

 

“I just want to appear successful to these people, that’s all,” says Kip (Tom Hanks) in “The Reunion” (Bosom Buddies). “This is the class that voted me most likely to be on the methadone program.” Kip can’t wait to flaunt stunning girlfriend Sunny (Donna Dixon) – “Can you believe who I’m with?” Meanwhile, Henry (Peter Scolari) is dealing with another emotional trauma generated by reunions – the painful memory of being cruel to a sweet girl who liked him. 

 

 

On The Bob Newhart Show, Mr. Carlin (Jack Riley) couldn’t find an actual girlfriend to escort, so he talked Emily into posing as his wife. And on The Facts of Life, George (George Clooney) convinces Blair (later replaced by Jo) to be his date to impress the one girl who would never go out with him.  Both guys overdo it, as guys tend to do; Carlin tells everyone Emily was a Playboy centerfold; George introduces his date as a duchess and a Nobel Prize winner.

 

 

Wings offered a gender-switched variant on this storyline, in “Remembrance of Flings Past.” Helen, once the fat kid picked on by the cheerleaders, can’t wait to show off her new and improved self – only to find that the clique that once shunned her are still as nasty as ever. 

 

 

Mary Richards had no such problems, of course, having been one of the most popular girls in her teenage years. But in an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show entitled “Didn’t You Used to Be…Wait Don’t Tell Me,” even the former Viking Queen of Leif Ericson High has a lousy time at her reunion, when only ten other classmates show up (one of whom is played by the always annoying Richard Schaal). 

 

 

Donna Stone, as practically perfect in every way as Mary Richards, also had her share of calamities at her college reunion, including a black eye and her husband’s persistent grilling over an old boyfriend named Duke. But this Donna Reed Show episode (“Donna Goes To a Reunion”) features by far the most elegant soiree on this list, though I’d expect nothing less from Donna’s alma mater.

 

 

Didn’t anyone in TV land enjoy themselves at these affairs? John Walton did, though at first he dreaded the thought of his high school class returning for their reunion. As the only graduate who stayed on Walton’s Mountain, he was sure he’d be looked down on as the class disappointment.  But he discovers instead that his classmates hold him in the highest esteem, and that few achievements in this life are as great as raising a happy, loving family. “The Prophecy” delivers a message that used to be more prevalent, and one that we need to hear more often now.

 

I’m sure I missed a few other examples of this trope, but surely none could be more bizarre than the one that aired early in Taxi’s first season. In “High School Reunion,” Louis (Danny DeVito) dreads the prospect of his 20-year reunion. Bobby (Jeff Conaway) attends in his place, pulling off a surprisingly accurate Louis impersonation – until Louis himself shows up and the event ends in a pile of rubble and broken bodies. 

 

 

Thankfully, from the photos I’ve seen, my 40^th reunion wrapped up with no property damage and everyone still upright. And on second thought, I’m kind of sorry I missed it now.

One Night, Two Dates: The Classic TV Teen Dilemma

 

When I was in high school, having two dates scheduled for the same night was the kind of dilemma with which I never had to contend. Just trying to get one date was challenge enough. But the kids on Comfort TV shows were better looking and more popular, so it’s not surprising that this situation occurs in more than one classic show. 

 

 

How do they get themselves into these messes, and how did they handle it? Let’s find out. For each show, our double-date protagonist has been given a rating of 1-10 on the two-timer scale: a one means they’re relatively blameless; a 10 means they definitely need a stern talking-to from mom and dad.

 

“The Rivals”

Father Knows Best

Poor Betty Anderson has fallen into a rut in her relationship with reliable old Ralph. Her flirty friend Marge (played by Barbara Eden!) is always flitting between a half dozen steady boyfriends and telling Betty how lucky she is that no other boys are interested in her. 

 

 

She probably meant that as a compliment.

 

But when they’re doubling at a diner one Saturday night Betty runs into Doyle Hobbs, who she met last summer while briefly working as an engineer on a survey crew (in an episode aired the previous season - a rare bit on continuity for this series). 

 

So to prove to Marge she can land another guy she accepts a date to a concert in the park – even though she already agreed to go with Ralph.

 

What makes “The Rivals” such a fun episode is how Betty’s parents react to her dilemma. Jim is disappointed that his daughter would be so devious, while Margaret thinks every girl should occasionally get to enjoy that kind of adoring attention. But while Betty decides how to resolve the situation, Doyle stops for gas where Ralph works and they get to talking about Saturday. The final scene is as unexpected as it is delightful.

 

Lots of star power in this episode: In addition to Barbara Eden, Doyle is played by Roger Smith, later of 77 Sunset Strip.

 

Two-Timer Ranking: 8

 

The impulse to impress Marge is understandable, but not resolving the situation, even on the day of the date, cannot be excused.

 

“Mary’s Double Date”

The Donna Reed Show

The day before the Junior Prom, Mary Stone has a decision to make: “Whether to let Phil take me or Ernie.” She plays them off each other like a symphony conductor, while simultaneously avoiding a third suitor, Charlie, whom she affectionately describes as her “door mat.”

 

She gets asked by both her choices, as expected, and doesn’t plan to let the loser know until 5pm on the day of the dance. But her comeuppance arrives before then, swift and severe and well deserved. “You played a dangerous game, and you lost,” Donna tells her, gently, “so no tears.” 

 

 

Two-Timer Ranking: 9

 

This episode is pure magic. Wonderfully written and endlessly quotable: “It’s wonderful to be attractive and popular, but you have to learn to use that power gently, and with kindness.” Its been nearly 40 years since I was in high school, and I still recall the names and faces of a couple of queen bees who failed to heed that advice. And some of those moments still sting.

 

“The Subject Was Noses”

The Brady Bunch

Marcia gets starry-eyed when big man on campus Doug Simpson asks for a date on Saturday night – then remembers she already has a date for Saturday with “plain, sweet, ordinary” Charlie. 

 

Predictably, like Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink she decides to stick with the handsome popular boy over his undersized rival. But unlike Betty Anderson and Mary Stone she at least has the good sense to not let the situation linger until the weekend. Greg offers sage advice – break the date with Charlie by using the lame but surprisingly effective excuse of “Something suddenly came up.” And it works, until karma arrives in the shape of a football that hits her in the face.

 

“The Subject Was Noses” certainly ranks as one of the most memorable series episodes, especially in how the tables are turned against Marcia when her same date-breaking excuse is used against her.

 

Two-Timer Ranking: 4

 

Marcia not only lets Charlie down easy, she apologizes for her deception and learns her lesson.

 

“Double Trouble”

The Partridge Family

Keith tries to get a date with gorgeous Joanna Hauser, aka “Miss Everything,” but she’s already going to the big beach party with her steady, who goes by the name “Spider.” Laurie offers to set him up with bookish Sally Winkler from the Shakespeare club. Keith reluctantly agrees, and then Spider’s plans change so Joanna is available again. Now he has two dates, but only wants one of them. “So what’s the problem?” Reuben asks. “Dump the nice one and go with the knockout!” No wonder he’s still single.

 

Instead, Keith fakes a cold to let Sally down easy – but fate has other plans.

 

Two-Timer Ranking: 2

 

Technically, Joanna became available before Laurie told Sally about the party, so he never should have been stuck with two dates in the first place. And while pretending to be sick is a pretty gutless solution, Joanna Hauser is played by Cheryl Ladd, so desperate measures in this case are more admissible. 

 

 

“Who’s Crazy Here?”

Eight is Enough

 

Tommy likes both Gretchen and Sherry, so he dates them both at the same time. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” cautions older brother David.

 

This is the B-story of the episode, so it doesn’t get as much screen time as Tom’s bout with insomnia and the misunderstandings it triggers.

 

Two-Timer Ranking: 6

 

Tommy avoids direct conflict by scheduling one date for 8pm and the other for 10pm, so here we have a case of breaking the spirit of the law more than the letter. But to expect two girls that attend the same high school to never figure out what’s happening explains why Tommy was never considered Honor Society material.

 

“Double Date”

Family Ties

 

Like Keith Partridge, Alex Keaton is turned down when he asks his dream girl to the senior prom, and then asks another girl instead. But then the first girl becomes available, and he decides to keep both dates. He devises a plan with the help of his friend Skippy:

 

Alex: “Okay, let's go over the plan once more. Now, the north end of the gym is now called...”

 

Skippy:  “Area "A".”

 

Alex: “Okay. At no point is Rachel to enter area "A" - prior to 8:57. Now - areas "B" and "D" are free zones which means... Either girl may enter provided the band is not on a break at the time. Now remember, when I'm with Rachel, I'm gonna be wearing the blue boutonniere. When I'm with Jocelyn - the red one. There are emergency exits at either end of the gymnasium. The master switch box is behind the blue wrestling mat. This will allow you to switch off the lights, lower the backboards, and in case of an emergency, open the floor over the swimming pool. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. 

 

 

Two-Timer Ranking: 10

 

“We’re going to make history,” Alex tells Skippy, but of course his arrogance proves his undoing. The dates in question were played by Jami Gertz and Daphne Zuniga, making this episode about as classic 1980s as you can get.

 

Comfort TV Goes Grocery Shopping

A few years ago I scribbled a note to myself to write a piece about grocery stores in classic TV episodes. It never seemed the right time, and it felt like a pretty strange idea anyway.

But if there was ever a moment to delve into this topic, it’s when we now realize how long we’ve taken these establishments for granted. Unless you are well into your senior years, this is likely the first time you went into the neighborhood supermarket wondering if they’ll have everything you need.

Me, I’ve always liked grocery stores, and I’m always amazed by all the options they provide us. So when one of my favorite shows visits a supermarket, my attention naturally perks up.

There are two kinds of supermarket TV episodes; those that shoot on location in an actual store, and those that build a scaled-down version on a soundstage, and fill it with fake products.

Real Stores

These moments are more fun, because I love freeze-framing on the shelves to see which brands from 30-50 years ago are still available, and which have disappeared.

Some are easy to spot right away, because the packaging has barely changed from then to now – the brown and yellow Bayer Aspirin box; green 7-Up bottles (do they still make it in glass bottles?); Heinz Ketchup.

There’s a supermarket scene in the Partridge Family episode “Why Did the Music Stop?” that I love, because on the shelf behind Shirley are displayed large tin cans of Hi-C fruit juice. I used to get those all the time, especially the Citrus Cooler.

Those are long gone, along with a lot of other products that used to be packaged in heavy glass and metal containers. In an episode of The Donna Reed Show called “Just a Housewife,” Donna is surrounded by shelf after shelf of large metal cans – imagine having to lug paper sacks full of those from the car to the kitchen.

And if you know something of the history of that series, it won’t surprise you that the two most prominent brands in that supermarket scene are Campbell’s Soup and Franco American Spaghetti – both sponsors of The Donna Reed Show. Product placement works, even back in 1960.

Overall, however, it’s surprising how little these places have changed over the decades. The debut episode of Police Story, “Slow Boy,” aired in 1973, and features a stakeout and shoot-out between cops and crooks inside a supermarket. Almost 50 years later that store wouldn’t look out of place now, except for the much lower prices and a few products lost to the ages, like Dixie Riddle Cups.  

An episode of Honey West called “Pop Goes the Easel” opens with an overhead shot of a massive supermarket, shelves stacked to the point of near overflowing. I’d have enjoyed a longer look around, but after thieves steal a can of chicken gumbo soup purchased by Honey’s aunt, the plot heads elsewhere. Turns out that can had a hand-painted label by a pop artist patterned after Andy Warhol.

And in the Eight is Enough episode “Quarantine” I referenced a few weeks ago, David Bradford walks the aisles of a large store where the directory signs are identified by a very ‘70s font of lower-case letters.

Fake Stores

The most familiar fake store from the Comfort TV era is the one owned by Herbert T. Gillis on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. But that’s more of a small neighborhood market. 

The store set built for “Supermarket Sweep” on Laverne & Shirley has shorter aisles, to accommodate the frenzied action as contest-winners Laverne and Shirley have three minutes to grab as much stuff as they can for free.  They load up a cart and stuff more goodies down their clothes, yet somehow only wind up with a box of fish sticks and scooter pies.

Next time you catch this one notice how the items on the shelves were not as vintage as they should have been. There are boxes of Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes that reflect when the episode was shot, and not the era in which it was set.

Over on Bewitched, in “Samantha’s Lost Weekend” Esmerelda accidentally casts a spell on Sam that puts her in a permanent state of hunger, so it’s off to the market where she starts eating everything right of the shelves, and stealing apples from little old ladies. There’s a mix of real and fake items on display, and because they wanted to condense an entire market into a smaller space you’ll see product arrangements you’d never see in a real store. In one scene there are two shelves of alcoholic beverages stocked directly over the bottles of ketchup. 

It's rare when nearly an entire episode is set in a supermarket, but that’s what happens on Here’s Lucy in “Lucy, the Shopping Expert.” Lucy’s son Craig gets a job at a grocery store, where he is told to help keep the store looking neat and organized…and then Lucy shows up. You can guess the rest. 

This is one of those topics for which there are dozens, if not hundreds more examples. But I think a second grocery store piece might be pushing it. Let’s just hope that the era of grocery shopping that requires masks, social distancing and Soviet-style waiting lists for cleaning supplies and paper products will soon be the kind of memory we’d all rather forget.

Celebrating Two Christmas “Charlie”s

December is the month classic TV fans devote to their favorite Christmas episodes. This year, my list surpassed the 50-show mark.

Admittedly there are a few I watch more out of tradition than any genuine desire to see them again. But most of these Yuletide stories remain sources of great comfort and joy, and some resonate more deeply with each passing year.

Two of my favorites share a unique common denominator – both introduce new characters named Charlie, played by Academy Award-winning actors.

“A Very Merry Christmas,” from the first season of The Donna Reed Show, aired on Christmas Eve of 1958. 

It opens with Donna wondering what happened to Christmas, after watching daughter Mary fret over whether she should buy a gift for one of her friends, and hearing son Jeff complain that he’s probably going to lose money on Christmas because he spent more on presents than he’s received.

“Was Christmas always like this?” she asks Alex. “Christmas should be warm, and friendly, and peaceful.”

Later, she becomes concerned that nothing seems to be planned for the children’s ward of the hospital where Alex works. There’s a party every year, but no one knows who puts it together. Eventually she discovers that the hospital’s janitor, Charlie (played by legendary silent film comedian Buster Keaton) makes sure the kids always have a happy Christmas. He buys a tree, supplies the gifts, and finds someone to play Santa Claus. 

Donna is so moved by his selflessness that she joins in the preparations, and even convinces Charlie to play Santa this year, since he’s really been doing it for decades. 

At a time when so many people think everything they say and do is worthy of being preserved for posterity with a selfie, this episode features a man content to toil in obscurity, helping others without any recognition or fanfare.

The final scene in the children’s ward is one of those perfect warm and moving classic TV Christmas moments. And hearing Donna lament that Christmas isn’t what it used to be (in 1958!) is reassuring in a way, as it tells us that such complaints did not originate in our more cynical and secular times. She had to go searching for a sign of true Christmas, and she found it – we can too.

Our other Christmas Charlie appears in “Don’t Bring Your Guns to Town, Santa,” a season two episode of The Partridge Family from 1971. 

Returning from a holiday concert in Vegas, the family bus breaks down in a ghost town, where they are greeted by its only resident. This Charlie (played by Dean Jagger) welcomes them into his sparse lodgings. 

 When the kids worry about missing Christmas, he tells them a story about the town back in its heyday, which triggers a delightful western fantasy sequence with everyone in the cast playing different roles. 

There are many things to love about this show, but it’s the framing scenes with Charlie that stick with you after it’s over.

Jagger creates such an evocative character in a few moments of screen time that it’s easy to imagine the lonely life he’s lived, and wonder about how fate brought him to such a desolate place. 

When the Partridges return to serenade Charlie with “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” his wordless, tear-filled reaction packs an emotional wallop, especially after such a whimsical story. 

On that note, I wish all of you the very happiest of holidays. Whether this is your first visit to Comfort TV or you are a regular reader, thank you for stopping by. If you'd like, please share your favorite Christmas episodes in the comments.