The Partridge Family Episode #2

Come on now and meet everybody,
And hear us singin’.
There’s nothin’ better than being together
When we’re singin’.

Five of us, and Mom workin’ all day.
We knew we could help her if our music would pay.
And Danny got Reuben to sell our song
And it really came together when Mom sang along.

Come on now and meet everybody,
And hear us singin’.
There’s nothin’ better than being together
When we’re singin.’
When we’re singin.’

Welcome to my second groovy review of The Partridge Family. This episode originally aired on October 2, 1970 and is entitled The Sound of Money. This episode is about motorist Willie Larkin, portrayed by Harry Morgan of M*A*S*H, who sues The Partridge Family after a minor fender bender. It’s actually very true of situations we encounter today almost 50 years later.

The show opens with Shirley driving the psychedelic bus and the kids playing car bingo. Shirley lightly taps Willie Larkin’s car at a stop light and he immediately jumps out of his car in anger. When talking about being rational about the situation, Willie (Morgan) angrily says “Who says you’re rational? You can’t even decide what color to paint the bus.” Shirley offers Silly Willie $5 (was that generous back in 1970?) which he agrees on. After Danny opens up his big fat mouth about how they’re The Partridge Family and what big stars they are, Milli Vanilli Willie decides to sue for half a million dollars.

OOPS: Shirley hits the bumper of Frilly Willie’s car and the two vehicles are right on each other. The car and bus are mysteriously moved a bit apart when Keith and Laurie examine to see if there’s damage.

Shirley’s insurance company tells her she probably can’t win the case and advises her to settle out of court which would give Willie $10,000. Really Willie? The kids tell mom that she should fight the system. Laurie tells Shirley that she’s taking the easy way out by settling out of court for $10,000. “That’s why this world is in such a mess.” Chris runs in after allegedly skinning his knee on the patio. He tells mom he’ll settle out of court for 25 cents. What a cute kid (played by my baby, Jeremy Gelbwaks).

Once the lawsuit gets rolling, Willie Nilly is never seen without his neck brace and claims he can’t bend over. Reuben and Danny try to trick Willie into bending over. Hey, that sounds nasty. Danny shows off his groovy camera as they try to get a pic of chilly Willie bending over. One scene involves a very young and very dumb Farrah Fawcett. She is wearing an extremely short miniskirt and no bra. Turkey’s done. Danny ends up getting a nice shot of Farrah’s ass.

When Reuben and Danny can’t catch Willie in the act of bending over, the family moves in with him pretending they want to take care of him. They end up making his life miserable with their cuteness and kindness, and Chantilly Willie agrees to drop the suit. The band sings their song, I’ll Leave Myself a Little Time, in Willie’s living room. That song was on their second album but used very early on in this series. I don’t get that. I also don’t get why Suzanne Crough is hitting all three sides of the triangle as she fake plays. Did she have the same musical training as Danny?

FYI, Chris and Tracy are just adorable in this episode. It was nice to see them have a few scenes. They’re all but written out in later episodes.

The episode ends with Willie hugging Chris and Tracy. Pervert.

I liked this episode. My awesome Jeremy Gelbwaks was adorable and had a few lines. I liked the moral of the story. Shirley decided to fight because she wanted to set an example for her kids about doing the right thing instead of just taking the easy way out.

USELESS TRIVIA: Harry Morgan’s son, Christopher, was an assistant director on The Partridge Family.

MORE USELESS TRIVIA: Music credits at the end go to the awesome jazz tenor sax player, Benny Golson. He composed some great jazz standards including I Remember Clifford, Blues March, and Killer Joe.

Please check back in a few weeks (if life goes as planned) for another review of The Partridge Family. I also review The Brady Bunch episodes if you want to check those out as well.