The Partridge Family Episode #7

Well hello there. Thank you for joining me for The Partridge Family Episode #7 review. This was one of my favorite episodes as a young child. I can remember laughing over this episode with my older sister, Lori. This episode is entitled “Danny and the Mob” and originally aired on November 6, 1970. BTW, the album “The Partridge Family Album” was released in stores the same week this episode aired. By the end of the year it had sold over one million copies and had reached number four on the LP charts. The Partridge Family Episode #7 centers (once again) around Danny. Young Daniel is being roughed up by the mob. Sounds cool, huh?

The show opens with a strobe light. Awesome. The band is rehearsing and singing one of my favorite songs, “That’ll Be the Day”. Chris is messing up the tempo and going faster than he should because the strobe light is at a different tempo than the song. Yeah, that’s the reason you suck. Just kidding! I love Chris. Reuben is saying how it’s Vegas and how you need big production items like strobe lights. Why not do some dry ice? Maybe Keith could spit fire. Maybe Danny could vomit blood. Wait. I think that came later in his life.

LaVon LaVeen LaVern

Hot chick LaVon LaVeen LaVern walks up and Reuben hits on her. She declines. Loser! Keith then walks up and tries to hit on her. She makes David Cassidy look like the little midget man that he is. Danny ends up winning the woman and leaves with LaVon. It turns out that Danny is innocently tutoring LaVon in the stock market. It’s nothing sexual at all.  That would be silly.

LaVon’s fiancé, Harry, hears about this Danny Partridge dude and wants him roughed up. Harry is actually Schneider, the building superintendent from One Day at a Time (Pat Harrington). LaVon is pissed at Harry because they’ve been engaged forever. She doesn’t think they’ll actually get married. Not knowing that Danny is only 10, Harry gets his mob like thugs to “lean on” Danny and scare him.

Duck Squeezing

One of Harry’s two thugs is Mel from the TV show Alice (Vic Tayback) which also starred Dave Madden (Reuben). Anyway, the two thugs find Danny at the pool. They realize that Danny is just a kid but always follow the rules of the boss. They grab Danny while he’s wearing his ducky life preserver. I remember laughing as a kid over Danny’s line “You’re squeezing my duck, sir”.

Danny is convinced that the mob is after him because he’s involved with the boss’ girlfriend. He’s scared, so of course he goes to see his buddy Reuben. “Mr. Kincaid, Danny Partridge here” should be a drinking game. Danny asks Reuben if they can leave Las Vegas. When Reuben says they have a contract to fill, he asks Reuben to help him write his will.

Danny is terrified and locks himself inside his hotel room. When Shirley, Reuben, and LaVon try to coax him out of his room, Danny runs out the other door and into the elevator. Look closely. That’s not Bonaduce running into the elevator. It’s a double.

Harry breaks the fourth wall (talks into the camera) and says “How come nobody ever believes you when you take the 5th amendment?” I don’t recall a fourth wall being broken on other Partridge episodes. I’ll have to look more closely as I continue my reviews.

That’ll Be the Day

I love the montage when Danny is running away from everyone. They show Danny running through the streets of Vegas which looks exactly like the Partridge neighborhood. Danny drives the riding mower he stole through town. How come he passes Janet’s dress shop from the previous episode? They’re supposed to be in Vegas. FYI, you can see the Friends fountain during this montage. The song “That’ll Be the Day” plays throughout. All of the people chasing him are doing so to tell him that everything is okay. Danny doesn’t know this and is running for his life. Funny.

Everything works out in the end. The police want to arrest Harry and his thugs but Danny has a better idea. Danny pushes Harry to marry LaVon LaVeen LaVern or else go to jail. That’s a good reason to get married.  I’ll bet that marriage lasts a long time.  BTW, Susan Dey looks beautiful in this episode.

Thank you for reading my review of The Partridge Family Episode #7. Feel free to comment. I love getting comments! Please check back in a couple days for a new post.