The Partridge Family Episode #30
Welcome to my review of The Partridge Family Episode #30! This episode, once again, focuses on young Danny Bonaduce. Danny is scared because he has to have his tonsils out. He thinks he’s going to die and when he doesn’t, he assumes his singing career is over. His buddy, Punky Lazaar, makes his first of many appearances with this episode. The Partridge Family Episode #30 is entitled Anatomy of a Tonsil and originally aired on October 15, 1971.
The doctor is looking at Danny’s tonsils as this episode opens. The doc tells them it’s not just a simple sore throat (as Danny had assumed). He tells them Danny’s tonsils have to come out. Cue the scary music.
Shirley, Reuben, Keith, and Laurie are in the kitchen discussing Danny’s procedure. Shirley is wearing a blouse that resembles the family bus. It’s crazy. She tells everyone that Danny is taking the news very well. Keith said he was terrified when he had his tonsils out. Shirley tells the kids not to scare Danny and to be nice to him. Reuben says how it will be nice that Danny won’t be able to talk for a couple days.
Drama Queen Danny
The next scene is Danny exaggerating his tonsils with Chris and Tracy. He’s acting like quite the big dick. Danny is quoting lines from a movie but Chris catches on. Smart boy.
Punky makes his very first appearance as Danny’s friend. He’s a total Eddie Haskell butt kisser. He goes to Danny’s room where Danny is continuing to be a drama queen. Punky isn’t buying it. Punky lets Danny know how it’s really going to be and now Danny is freaking out.
Sad News: According to Wikipedia, the actor who portrayed Punky (Gary Dubin) passed away in 2016 from bone cancer.
The next scene has Danny in the garage auditioning 11-year old red-haired boys with an impish grin. Danny assumes he will die during the operation so he’s getting his replacement ready. I’ve read when Shaun Cassidy (Shirley Jones’ son) is in this group of boys auditioning but I don’t recognize him. He would have been 12 at the time of the filming.
Final Day
On the day of the operation, Danny comes down the stairs acting as if it’s the last time he’ll see everyone. He’s sure he’s going to die. He tells Laurie he’s leaving his book collection to her. Tracy is getting his one share of AT&T. Chris is getting his catcher’s mitt. Keith doesn’t have to pay him the $2 he owes him. He says goodbye to the house and the garage.
Danny wakes up in the hospital with Shirley right there. He’s surprised he survived the operation. Shirley tells him not to talk but he says it’s important. He whispers to her to tell Keith that he still owes him the $2. Funny. Always thinking about money.
Danny stays in his bedroom after the surgery and doesn’t want to do anything. He plays a recording for Shirley of him singing which sounds horrible. He recorded it two days after the operation. His voice is all raspy and he sounds bad. He assumes the operation has ruined his singing voice. (That’s assuming he had a singing voice before the operation.)
Replacement
The entire family along with Reuben go up to Danny’s room to freak him out. They tell Danny they found a great guy to replace him. They all talk about how wonderful this new guy is and Tracy adds, “Yeah, and he’s handsome and you’re ugly.” Good line, Tracy!
Danny comes down to watch the rehearsal and this new awesome kid. It turns out to be Punky in a red wig. Danny tells him to get the hell out and to give him back his costume. Segue to the performance of Love Is All That I Ever Needed (from their Sound Magazine album).
The tag is the family in the living room talking about Punky. The kids all mimic Punky’s charm to get Shirley to go to the kitchen and make sandwiches. A room full of suck ups. Ha!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my review of The Partridge Family Episode #30. Come back soon for more and be sure to check out my Partridge Family pinup and posters available in my eBay store.