The Debbie Reynolds Show

The Debbie Reynolds Show is an American sitcom which aired on the NBC television network during the 1969–70 television season. The series was produced by Filmways.

The Debbie Reynolds Show
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Jess Oppenheimer
Directed by	Ezra Stone
Starring	Debbie Reynolds Don Chastain Tom Bosley Patricia Smith
Opening theme	"With a Little Love (Just a Little Love)"
Composers	Jack Marshall Tony Romeo
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	26
Production
Producer	Jess Oppenheimer
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company	Filmways Television
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 16, 1969 (1969-09-16) – April 14, 1970 (1970-04-14)

Synopsis

Debbie Reynolds portrayed Debbie Thompson, a housewife married to Jim, a successful sportswriter for the Los Angeles Sun. Jim was portrayed by actor Don Chastain; his boss and brother-in-law was played by longtime television actor Tom Bosley. Reynolds' attempts to amuse herself were regarded as being reminiscent of those of Lucille Ball on Here's Lucy.

Creator/producer Jess Oppenheimer was the original producer and co-creator of I Love Lucy. The show also employed Bob Carroll Jr., and Madelyn Davis, two longtime Lucy writers.

NBC was selling advertising time for cigarette commercials against Reynolds' wishes (even though she was assured no cigarette ads would be seen during the program). After Reynolds threatened to quit the show, American Brands (formerly known as American Tobacco) withdrew sponsorship. To make up for NBC's lost ad revenue, Reynolds agreed to give back to the network their guarantee of a second year of airing the program, as well as an NBC-backed film, What's the Matter with Helen?, in which she starred, and her ownership in a subsequent NBC-produced series.

Cast

• Debbie Reynolds as Debbie Thompson
• Don Chastain as Jim Thompson
• Patricia Smith as Charlotte Landers
• Tom Bosley as Bob Landers
• Bobby Riha as Bruce Landers, Bob and Charlotte's son.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"That's Debbie"	Ezra Stone	Jess Oppenheimer	September 16, 1969 (1969-09-16)
2	"It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Debbie"	Ezra Stone	Gene Thompson and Stanley Ralph Ross	September 23, 1969 (1969-09-23)
3	"In the Soup"	Ezra Stone	Unknown	September 30, 1969 (1969-09-30)
4	"Married Men Can Always Get"	Unknown	Unknown	October 7, 1969 (1969-10-07)
5	"A Present for Jim"	Ezra Stone	Unknown	October 14, 1969 (1969-10-14)
6	"The Bodyguard"	Unknown	Unknown	October 21, 1969 (1969-10-21)
7	"The Paper Butterfly"	Unknown	Unknown	October 28, 1969 (1969-10-28)
8	"To and From Russia with Love: Part 1"	Unknown	Joseph Bonaduce & Ann Marcus	November 4, 1969 (1969-11-04)
9	"To and From Russia with Love: Part 2"	Unknown	Joseph Bonaduce & Ann Marcus	November 11, 1969 (1969-11-11)
10	"You Bet Your Wife"	Ezra Stone	Joseph Bonaduce & Ann Marcus	November 25, 1969 (1969-11-25)
11	"The Swinging Singles"	Unknown	Unknown	December 2, 1969 (1969-12-02)
12	"Diamonds Are a Girl's Worst Friend"	Unknown	Unknown	December 9, 1969 (1969-12-09)
13	"Casanova's Kitten"	Unknown	Unknown	December 16, 1969 (1969-12-16)
14	"Guru-vy"	Ezra Stone	Joseph Bonaduce & Ann Marcus	December 23, 1969 (1969-12-23)
15	"You Shouldn't Be in Pictures"	Unknown	Joseph Bonaduce & Ann Marcus	December 30, 1969 (1969-12-30)
16	"The Games (Married) People Play"	Unknown	Unknown	January 6, 1970 (1970-01-06)
17	"Hurry for Our Side"	Unknown	Unknown	January 13, 1970 (1970-01-13)
18	"Advice and Dissent"	Unknown	Unknown	January 20, 1970 (1970-01-20)
19	"Nothing but the Truth"	Unknown	Unknown	February 3, 1970 (1970-02-03)
20	"Mission Improbable"	Unknown	Unknown	February 10, 1970 (1970-02-10)
21	"How to Succeed in the Stock Market Without Really Trying"	Unknown	Unknown	February 24, 1970 (1970-02-24)
22	"Those Dangerous Years"	Unknown	Unknown	March 3, 1970 (1970-03-03)
23	"Debbie Gets Jim Fired"	Unknown	Unknown	March 10, 1970 (1970-03-10)
24	"Debbie's Return"	Unknown	Unknown	March 17, 1970 (1970-03-17)
25	"The Producer"	Unknown	Unknown	March 24, 1970 (1970-03-24)
26	"Where There's a Will, There's No Way"	Unknown	Unknown	April 14, 1970 (1970-04-14)

In popular culture

Monty Python's Flying Circus spoofed the series in a sketch primarily written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman entitled "The Attila the Hun Show". It pokes fun at The Debbie Reynolds Show (the opening title sequence in particular, which the Pythons closely parodied), as well as American comedy in general.

References

• Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows

External links

• The Debbie Reynolds Show at IMDb