1969 NBC Television Network Promo for "The Debbie Reynolds Show"

[fromthesidelines]

When John Cleese and Graham Chapman saw a repeat of Debbie's series on the BBC one Saturday afternoon in the fall of 1970, they looked at the title sequence (and each other), and thought, "American comedies are certainly ridiculous...let's make this MORE ridiculous". They came up with the idea of grafting "Attila the Hun" onto a "typical Amercian sitcom" format, satirizing Debbie's opening title as well {frame-by-frame}, using a British recording of her theme song, "Just A Little Love".

[pandorawombat]

Does anyone know if there's a clip of the opening sequence anywhere on the internet? Just the opening sequence. The reason I ask is that the Monty Python sketch "The Attila the Hun Show" supposedly mimicked the opening sequence frame-for-frame. I think it would be great fun to be able to see what MP were mimicking, since I never saw this show.

[saskwatcher]

Yes, Debbie's anti-tobacco tirade infuriated the network and when the show was kind of limp in the ratings, well they cut their losses. I wonder if Miss R was a diva off screen as well and that would have hurt the show a lot too. Also, Jeannie was in its death throes.I think this show was beaten by both Hee Haw and also the about to become phenomenon that was Movie of the Week.

[MattTheSaiyan]

@saskwatcher Her "anti-tobacco tirade" was extra dumb as American TV stopped having tobacco commercials within a few years after this. So it was a bit a pointless thing to do in the long-run.

[1simaddict1]

@MattTheSaiyan Well, in a way I don't blame her for what she did because she had to learn how to smoke for the movie The Rat Race and it took her a few months to quit. Then she had to smoke in another movie that I can't think of the name right now, but one thing she didn't want to do was the smoking ads when she signed on to do the show because she said cigarettes were too addictive. So she left. She later said it was a dumb thing to do, but again I completely think she was in the wrong.

[1simaddict1]

@saskwatcher I thought She quit the show and she was under a two year contract and they couldnt fire her.

[jsilence418]

@saskwatcher did you watch the same promo as I just did? there is your answer, this show looked awful and these were the highlights!

[salinagrrrl69]

RIP TOM

[Frank33314]

I bet it lasted 1 season

[TimelordR]

@Frank33314 Correct, only 1 season on NBC from 1969-70.

[Livingallalone]

I guess that NO One has the theme song or it be up on the tube. I was very young but I loved it..lol

[lemurianchick]

Groovy music in the background...Like wow, man...

[Superbatfan]

Tom Bosley before he was Mr. C! How classic! And look how young he is and how much color is in his hair! He is a great actor. He was one of the reasons that Happy Days was the sucessful show that it was.

[nosleep62]

I was young, it was long ago and...THE MEMORIES ARE FADING!

sure wish this would come out on DVD

[BobbyLankford1983]

I remember watching this show every Tuesday after I Dream of Jeannie. Debbie Reynolds' show was funny. Too bad, it did not last too long, as it and Jeannie were opposite Mod Squad on ABC.

I always liked Debbie Reynolds.

[defundthewar]

In Debbie's as-told-to autobio, she called her stand against American Brands (formerly American Tobacco) "the stupidest mistake of my career." In any event, cigarette advertising would soon be banned from TV, turning out to be doing the tobacco companies a big favor... it turned out they didn't really need TV advertising, they did just fine without it. I really like Debbie, I think her sitcom was a poor imitation of Lucy, written and co-produced by Lucy's former TV mentor Jess Oppenheimer.

[tpledger]

I agree with you, that this show should be put out on DVD.....I used to watch this when I was a little kid, and would really love to be able to see it again.....

[jeprice08]

1:40 - 1:58 Debbie, you're a very cute chick! Your silky, long legs prove it, but don't you think the handlebar mustache is a little bit much!

[fromthesidelines]

This series certainly made an impression on John Cleese and Graham Chapman when repeats began airing on the BBC on Saturday afternoons in the fall of 1970; they thought the show [especially the title sequence] was SO "typicially American" (and absurd), they satirized it as "The Attilla the Hun Show" {especially parodying the title sequence!} on "MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS" in the fall of 1970.

[jsilence418]

@fromthesidelines Yeah it made an impression allright, a bad one !

[fromthesidelines]

..but when Debbie saw the first episode on the network, there was a "Pall Mall" ad, and she went ballistic, forcing them to cancel their sponsorship, with no other major advertiser offering the same kind of sponsorship. That, and the poor ratings the show got opposite ABC's "MOD SQUAD", was a major factor in NBC's decision to cancel the show after one season. Jess Oppenheimer, the creator and original producer of "I LOVE LUCY", was also behind for this series, 'joe', hence the similarity.

[fromthesidelines]

This was originally part of a 1969 "Fall Preview" ['NBC's New Ones For '69-'70"] shown exclusively to NBC station reps and executives at a special meeting, never seen on the network, hosted by Hugh Downs and Joe Garagiola (from their "TODAY SHOW" set). Debbie mentioned one reason why this series lasted one season in her autobiography: her primary sponsor was American Tobacco {aka American Brands}, and she objected to their airing cigarette ads on her show, which they promised they wouldn't...

[gli7utubeo]

The Tracy Ullman of her day.

[joebradio]

I looks like an attempt to redo Lucy ... hey a great chance to see Hugh Downs and Joe Garigiola on the late 1960s Today Show set .. I'm sure Frank Blair is probably waiting across the way for his next news update..