The Partridge Family (TV Series) What? and Get Out of Show Business? (1970) User Reviews

How it all began

[kevinolzak · 8/10 · 18 February 2014]

"What? And Get Out of Show Business?" was the pilot for THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY, a family sitcom with a difference - they sing and play music together (introduced by none other than Johnny Cash). Inspired by "The Sound of Music," as well as the real-life family pop group The Cowsills, the story behind this singing group is total fiction (nothing like THE MONKEES, despite the involvement of Screen Gems). Casting veteran Shirley Jones as the widowed mother Shirley Renfrew Partridge instantly earned the show a measure of respect, while David Cassidy's Keith Douglas Partridge supplied the musical chops as lead singer, an unexpected bonus never considered while casting (as the first born son of Shirley's current husband Jack Cassidy. David was working alongside his real life stepmother). As sister Laurie, teenage icon and early feminist, newcomer Susan Dey was already a legend on the modeling scene, always credible and charming. The cute and adorable youngest members were Chris, played during the first season by Jeremy Gelbwaks (replaced thereafter by Brian Forster), and Tracy, played by Suzanne Crough. Then there's the 10 year old Danny, played by the ever mischievous Danny Bonaduce, whose natural comedic talent shone throughout the series, effectively making Keith look like his straight man. Even better was casting LAUGH-IN's Dave Madden as long suffering manager Reuben Kincaid, usually working in tandem with the precocious Danny; their first meeting leaves him wondering if he's dealing with 'a 40 year old midget!' With her late husband dead six months, Shirley is working full time at a bank, trying to keep up with the mounting bills, while her five children practice music in the family garage, Keith on lead guitar, Laurie on keyboards, Danny on bass guitar, Chris on drums, Tracy on tambourine or triangle (their roles remained unchanged, except when Shirley herself occasionally took to keyboards). Living in the fictitious town of San Pueblo, California, trying to break into show business, with young Danny serving as manager at this point, hiring a pretty singer who's not very good but 'has a body that won't quit!' (never seen). Renting some recording equipment for one day, Shirley is convinced to fill in when the singer falls ill, and after their sound earns them a signing from Reuben Kincaid, she remains reluctant to join full time. Once her children remind her that this would be the perfect way to earn the money to put them through college, she gives in and buys an ordinary school bus they soon paint in easily identified psychedelic colors, going on the road for their first professional gig in Las Vegas. Among the cast members is drummer Debra Pearce, part of a family group herself, who never went on to do any further TV appearances. The first season found them constantly on the road in many different locales, only by the second did they settle down into an (almost) normal sitcom, with the kinds of problems that usually creep in for a large family of six. With Colgems (label for The Monkees) recently consolidated into Bell Records, the first single had just been issued in Sept 1970 - "I Think I Love You"/"Somebody Wants to Love You," both of which appeared on the series, as well as the debut LP, THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY ALBUM, not released until November. The two songs featured in this pilot were both catchy and infectious, but remained unreleased on record for decades: "Let the Good Times In" was composed by Neil Sedaka and Carole Bayer, while "Together" was composed by Shorty Rogers and Kelly Gordon (this song appears in three further episodes). Wes Farrell was the regular producer for all the studio recordings, having composed hits for The McCoys ("Hang On Sloopy"), Every Mothers' Son ("Come on Down to My Boat"), and Jay and the Americans ("Come a Little Bit Closer"). The first season's opening theme was called "When We're Singin'" ('and it really came together when Mom sang along'), composed by Farrell and Diane Hilderbrand, while the more famous "Come On Get Happy" (beginning the second season) was by Farrell and Danny Janssen. The earliest recordings did not feature David Cassidy (including both from the pilot), and while Shirley Jones mainly did harmonies, she did sing lead occasionally on the show. Like The Monkees with "Last Train to Clarksville," the initial single found favor with the public, climbing all the way to the top of the charts, and THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY was off and running.

Not the Pilot that YouTube claims it to be.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 4 February 2021]

I love finding odd and unusual things on YouTube...such as strange old movies and unaired pilot episodes of TV shows. So, when I saw 'the unaired pilot for the Partridge Family' listed today, I had to see it! Imagine my surprise when I later did a bit of research and found it was NOT the pilot but the first episode. Apparently in the pilot, Shirly Jones was billed as 'Connie' and her boyfriend was played by her real life husband Jack Cassidy...neither one of which are in "What? and Get Out of Show Business?".

The episode is a good one for setting the stage for later shows. Shirley is deep in debt and has no idea how to make ends meet with her family. But Keith has an idea...that he and his sibs can become recording stars. That, combined with Danny's savvy in procuring Ruben as their manager, and you essentially have the first episode.

The show is different than later ones, as the opening and closing credits are very different from the usual "Get Happy" animated sequence. Otherwise, it's a lot like a typical episode of the show...though the post on YouTube also comes with commercials from the 1970 debut and the print is pretty badly faded and fuzzy.