Customer Reviews

Family Affair: Season Three

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3 star:		(1)
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Season three boasts 28 episodes (the episode not listed in jon sieruga's excellent review/episode guide to this season is the 14th episode of this season, FAMMILY PLAN, where Uncle Bill breaks his leg during a skiing accident) and one truly sensational bonus feature. The special feature is a 30 minute "Family Affair Reunion Special" featuring Kathy Garver (who played Sissy), Sherry Alberoni (who played Sissy's bets friend and upstairs neighbor, Sharon), producer John Stephens and husband and wife writers Austin "Rocky" Kalish and Irma Kalish. The five sit in a semi-circle and chat for 30 minutes, offering lots of fascinating background information about the cast members (Irma remembers Brian Keith as never speaking to her on the set and Stephens remembers his prickly personality; Kathy adored him), the show's legacy and the interesting way the show was shot.

Each season the show got Brian Keith for just 65 days to shoot all his scenes for a season's worth of episodes. (The series was shot this way to give Keith time to keep filming motion pictures.) This meant that all the episodes had to be written before the season began and in most cases the episodes were filmed ahead of time, missing only the scenes that required Brian Keith. Producer Stephens remembers that when they were filmingw ith Keith, they would often work on 4 or 5 episodes in one day! He called its "organized chaos" and credits director Charles Barton, who filmed every episode.

We learn about Anissa Jones not being happy to still be dragging around her Mrs Beasley doll by season four when she was 12 (she was 9 years old in the first season when the twins were suposed to be 6) and both Stephens and Mr Kalish don't have positive things to say about her mother. On a more humorous note, we hear about Sebastian Cabot measuring the length of Keith's trailer to make sure it wasn't larger than his. We also find out that Cabot had broken his wrist during season one (which explains the bandages on his one hand in season one) and it required surgury, which is why John Williams replaced him in a handful of episodes that season. We also find out that the 3-part episode LOST IN SPAIN was totally filmed on the network's backlot, using sets from the TV series "From Rome With Love."

This is a wonderful, chatty and informative feature. Its too bad that no one could convince Johnny Whittaker ("Jody") to participate. It would be great to get a few commentary tracks with him and Garver in the fourth or fifth season.

This show is thought of as a sitcom, but its really much more of a drama-dy. You better have some tissues near when watching "Christmas Came A Little Early" where Buffy befriends a young homebound classmate (played by BRADY BUNCH's Eve Plumb) who has leukemia. And you have to admire the restraint and power of some of the more dramatic episodes of this season, especially "The Latch Key Kid" where Buffy's new friend, Lana, seems to live a very enviable life as a latch key kid who makes her own dinner and stays up as late as she wishes or "Albertine" where the twins try to get close to a new black student who's real life may be very different than what she presents.

This is a show that has been long out of syndication. Thanks to MPI, we have uncut episodes to treasure. (One small complaint, I wish the episodes had chapter breaks.) Well worth purchasing!

Episodes for Season Three include the famous 3-parter where the twins get lost while on a trip through Spain (#19, 20, 21), Cissy falls in love with a pop star who writes a hit song for her (#25), Buffy and Jody befriend a black student--unusual for its time--with a big imagination (#9), and the incredibly sensitive episode guest-starring lovely Eve Plumb as a youngster dying of leukemia (#7). Thanks to the site "Apartment 27A" for the episode list.

1. The Latch Key Kid
2. By A Whisker
3. A Waltz From Vienna
4. Your Friend, Jody
5. The Substitute Teacher
6. Oliver
7. Christmas Came A Little Early
8. The Unsound of Music
9. Albertine
10. A Matter of Choice
11. Ciao, Uncle Bill
12. A Nanny for All Seasons
13. Family Plan
14. To Love With Buffy
15. A Family Group
16. A Lesson for Grown-Ups
17. Oh, To Be in England
18. A Matter of Privacy
19. Lost in Spain (1)
20. Lost in Spain (2)
21. Lost in Spain (3)
22. A Diller, A Dollar
23. The Young Man from Bolivia
24. Speak for Yourself Mr. French
25. The Flip Side
26. The Matter of Dignity
27. Flower Power
28. My Man, the Star
BONUS "Reunion Special"

Would that we would have series like this on today's television. Thank God that DVD is bringing back these wonderful classic television programs. Season 3 of Family Affair is charming and engaging, poignant, thought-provoking and with messages that touch the heart. I always remembered the "Lost in Spain" episode because it made me cry. So too "The Latch Key Kid" and "Christmas Came a Little Early". "By a Whisker" is hilarious!!
So what if Buffy and Jody were portrayed as goody-two-shoes? I'm sorry but Jody cutting Mr. French's whiskers while he was asleep was NOT being exactly a model child. But if they were portrayed as a goody-two-shoes it was because they were brought up with standards and strict disciplinary rules. I see nothing unrealistic about this. It would do parents well to observe these tactics and employ them with the rearing of their own children today....those who care enough to do so. Children today are crying out for discipline and rules...take the "Latch Key Kid" for example. We have a child whose mother could care less about her. She has all the freedom in the world to do everything she wants. But is she happy? No. She spends a weekend with Buffy and gets a taste of what "discipline and rules" are all about. She knows that Buffy and Jody are loved because someone cares enough to teach them good manners and discipline them. Buffy on the other hand wants to experience the freedom that Lana has and comes to realize that the grass isn't always greener and comes to appreciate the love that her family has for her. This is just one example of the morals and standards this show strived to promote. Another great example is the "Cissy" episode entitled "Flower Power Child". Same principles. Uncle Bill gives Cissy the opportunity to experience freedom and she comes to realize that the "hippie" movement (a timely topic for that time) is not all it seems to be either. The show has great messages that are still timely and we need them now more than ever.

This show just keeps getting better with each season. This is the season that has one of my favorite and saddest episodes, "Christmas Came A Little Early". I couldn't wait for my children to see that episode. It is so touching. This whole season is full of great wholesome episodes. A real winner for the whole family!

Every season of Family Affair has memorable episodes, but for me the ones in Season 3 really stand out. Maybe I just remember these episodes better, from when they were on in the sixties. One of the best is "Christmas Came a Little Early". Anybody that can watch it without getting a lump in their throat is made of stone! My 7 and 10 year-old sons watched "Oliver" with me and thought it was hilarious. I think MPI has turned out another wonderful product. The sound and picture quality is great. I also thought that the "Reunion" fature on disc 5 was very enjoyable and interesting. I highly recommend watching this show with your family, especially if you are tired of trying to find decent shows to watch on T.V. now.

The third season is one of the most memorable ones because who could ever forget the looks on the faces of Buffy and Jody in the back of the bus in Spain looking out at Mr. French, who gets separated from them. They get lost for what seemed forever having to wait three weeks (when it originally aired)for them to be reunited with their Uncle Bill.

MPI has done an absolutely superb job of remastering these episodes for DVD. As for people thinking Johnny Whitaker is purposely banning any participation in the extras, let me assure you that is not the case. I have contacted him directly. He told me around Christmas 2006, he had no idea why he wasn't being asked to participate. MPI at the time had not been responding to any of his attempts to contact them regarding why he wasn't being asked to participate in the extras. He told me the only thing I could do was e-mail MPI directly, which I did, to ask that they include him in future extras. Two seasons are left, so go to MPI Home Video's web site and e-mail them.

Anissa Jones died on my thirteenth birthday. My niece, who rather resembled Jones, died when she herself was thirteen.

So, I had to get Season Three for the sake of "Christmas Came a Little Early" to watch a young Eve Plumb fight her own battle, presumably with leukemia. This episode was rarely shown in reruns, probably because it was too heartbreaking.

"Family Affair" was one of the last of the really sweet shows. The obnoxious "All in the Family" era came in its wake, and television was never the same.

Watching "Family Affair" in reruns as an adult I am struck by what a deeply loving person and outstanding "parent" Uncle Bill was. This show offered far more than sitcom fluff, and many times it gave adults and children alike positive examples of how people should treat one another.

Strictly speaking, the three children were orphans, yet they lived privileged lives in a New York City penthouse with a full-time man-servant. Yet the kids were not at all arrogant, and they proved every time to be empathatic toward other children facing their own challenges in life.

Brian Keith had his own combination of biological and adoptive children. He was fatherly toward Anissa Jones, whose own home life was an unfortunate disaster.

Keith's role in the "Parent Trap" would prove to be a forerunner of his role in "Family Affair". Take a man that was attractive to women, add a pair of twins, and you have one of filmdom's most charismatic and lovable father figures.

I love watching Keith in both of these roles. Once in a while you will see a glimpse of the tattoo on his bicep. I am guessing this was a memento of his tour of duty in the Marines.

Thanks for the memories, Mr. Keith. You sure were a charming and beloved "Dad".

My husband and I enjoyed this series as children when it originally aired. I am so grateful for my teenage kids to get a chance to have an appreciation for this series also. It is good, clean, wholesome entertainment that will make you laugh and cry! In a different setting, it can be compared to "Little House on the Prairie". Be sure to give it a chance--my kids love Spiderman, X-Men, Lord of the Rings, Signs, Etc. movies but they still are hooked on this series too! We're glad to have Seasons 1, 2 and 3 and look forward to Season 4!

born in 1960 . . . i was on the tail end of the 'golden age of television' . . . we all know tv isn't what it was . . . or is . . . or will be . . . it's like everything . . . there's good and there's bad . . . that's just life . . . but what i like about this show . . . and what i truly miss about the 50's & 60's tv . . . is showing people in a good light . . . showing good sportsmanship . . . good citizenship . . . mannerly behaviour . . . values . . . morals . . . kindness . . . gentleness . . . and the choice for goodness . . . verily i say to thee it buggers of the henry ford quote: "whether you think you can or whether you think you can't . . . you're right" . . . which of course updated w/the invent of computers and their subsequent programming: "g.i.g.o." (garbage in garbage out) . . .

i love that family affair has been released . . . i like spending what tv time i have watching something uplifting and positive with strong undertones of the daily.ness of making decisions to be good people . . . wihtOUT the fakey saccharin sweetness of shows TRYING to bring it home . . . that positive lifestyles . . . positive people . . . . goodness . . . and all its endeavours are a choice . . . and i love how 'family affair' brought this into the home every week . . . and in a delightfully entertaining fashion . . . i'm still going to watch my re-runs of 'that 70's show' and 'wings' and my beloved 'married with children' . . . as well as the current now showing 'big bang theory' . . . but there's more than enough room on my shelves . . . and in my tv time . . . for this gentle wonderful show . . . thank you

Please everyone do yourself a big favour and buy the whole series from amazon!This is TV at its very best!The acting is amazing the stories are heart-found and this is probably the best series ever created.