One Day at a Time

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One Day at a Time
Format Sitcom
Created by Whitney Blake and
Allan Manings
Starring Bonnie Franklin
Mackenzie Phillips
Valerie Bertinelli
Pat Harrington
Richard Masur
Mary Louise Wilson
Michael Lembeck
Nanette Fabray
Glenn Scarpelli
Shelley Fabares
Boyd Gaines
Howard Hesseman
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of seasons 9
No. of episodes 209
Production
Running time 30 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Original run December 16, 1975 – May 28, 1984
External links
IMDb profile

One Day at a Time was a long-running American situation comedy on the CBS network that aired from December 16, 1975 to May 28, 1984. It portrayed a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters (Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli) and their building superintendent (Pat Harrington).

The show was created by Whitney Blake and Allan Manings, a husband-and-wife writing duo who were both actors in the 1950s and 1960s. The show was based on Whitney Blake's own life as a single mother, raising her child, future actress Meredith Baxter.[1] The show was developed by Norman Lear and later Embassy Television.

Like many shows developed by Lear, One Day at a Time was more of a comedy-drama, using its half-hour to tackle serious issues in life and relationships, particularly those related to second wave feminism. The show's nine years give it the second-longest tenure of any Lear-developed sitcom under its original name, after The Jeffersons (All in the Family and its continuation series Archie Bunker's Place had a combined 12-year run, but only eight of those years were under the show's original name).

Contents

[edit] Premise

The show starred Broadway, character and former child actress Bonnie Franklin as Ann Romano, a woman who, echoing sentiments common to the 1970s, felt that she had always been either someone's daughter, wife, or mother and wanted to "find herself." She divorces her husband (who never understood why she left; played occasionally by veteran actor Joseph Campanella) and moves to Indianapolis with her two daughters, seventeen-year-old Julie (Mackenzie Phillips), the older, more rebellious/offensive one, and the more-mature fifteen-year-old Barbara (Valerie Bertinelli). The theme of the series rests on Ann's desire to prove that she can live and raise her children independently. However during the first season, Ann is courted by steady boyfriend/lawyer, David Kane (actor/director Richard Masur).

She is helped by Dwayne Schneider (Pat Harrington), often referred to only by his last name , who is the superintendent of Ann's apartment building. His "drop-in" visits are so frequent that he is effectively an unofficial member of the family. One of Schneider's running gags is his attempts to hide that his middle name is "Florenz" (pronounced "Florence," in honor of Florenz Ziegfeld). Schneider also frequently hits on Romano, employing clumsy double entendres she breezily rebuffs.

During this time period the show reflected a trend found in other shows such as Barney Miller, MASH, Good Times and All in the Family) in its mixture of a sitcom format with elements more commonly associated with drama series or made-for-TV movies of the week, including multi-week storylines dealing with social issues including:

  • Suicide: In a two-part episode, Barbara freaks out when a new girl at school begins hanging around her incessantly. When Barbara shuns the girl she attempts suicide by drug overdose. Though she survives, it is revealed her problems go much deeper, owing to, among other things, a neglectful mother.
  • Birth Control: When Ann confronts Barbara about "the pill" (Ann is informed of the situation by Julie), Barbara says that she's not on the pill, but just wanted guys to think she was. Ann replied "If they think you are, you'd better be."
  • Relationships/Pre-Marital Sex: In another two-parter, Ann is mortified when she learns that Julie is romantically involved with a man more than twice her age. When the man brings Julie home very late one night Ann berates him. But when Julie gets in Ann's face ("You lonely, Ma? You want him?"), Ann angrily slaps Julie. (the slap loudly hit full force)
  • In another episode dealing with pre-marital sex, teenager Barbara wrestles with the question of losing her virginity. After much self examination, Barbara decides not to have intercourse.
  • Sexual Harassment: Barbara decides to fight back against a teacher who makes a blatant pass at her. She later finds out the teacher made similar advances to a classmate. Initially the two decide to go against the teacher, but the classmate backs out at the last minute.
  • In another episode, Schneider has reservations when asked to become a sperm donor.

[edit] Plot

The basic setup of the show underwent many convoluted twists.

After her divorce, Ann Romano (formerly Cooper; she resumed use of her maiden name, while her children kept their father's) and her daughters move from Logansport, Indiana into an Indianapolis apartment building and Ann gets a job as an account executive at the advertising firm of Conners & Davenport (Mr. Conners was played by John Hillerman, Mr. Davenport by Charles Siebert). In the beginning of the second season, David proposes to Ann, but she turns him down; David leaves to work as a lawyer in Los Angeles. That same year, a wisecracking neighbor is added, Ginny Wrobliki (Mary Louise Wilson), as Schneider's love interest; however, she lasts only one season (it was later reported that Bonnie Franklin had Wilson fired from the show, accusing her of upstaging her).

During the fifth (1979-80) season, Julie gets married and later moves away to Houston with her flight attendant husband Max Horvath (director Michael Lembeck); this plot device was written in so that Mackenzie Phillips could undergo drug rehabilitation.[2] This season also sees the introduction of Ann's mother, Grandma Katherine Romano (Nanette Fabray).

In the sixth (1980-81) season, Ann leaves her advertising job, rather than relocate to another city, and starts a freelance business with Nick Handris (Ron Rifkin). They become romantically involved, but Nick dies in a car wreck caused by a drunk driver, at which point Ann starts raising Nick's teenage son, Alex (Glenn Scarpelli).

During the seventh (1981-82) season, after hitting some bumps in her business, Ann goes into business with her ex-nemesis from Conners & Davenport, Francine Webster (Shelley Fabares - the real life niece of co-star Nanette Fabray). Actress Mackenzie Phillips returns when Julie and Max move back to Indianapolis. Barbara marries her new dental student boyfriend Mark Royer (Boyd Gaines).

During the eighth (1982-83) season, Ann marries Mark's divorced father, Sam (Howard Hesseman), Julie gives birth to a daughter named Annie, and the two daughters and their husbands move into a house together.

The show ends in its ninth (1983-84) season, with the 'family' moving off for different reasons. With continued health problems for actress Mackenzie Phillips she was written out of the show when her character of Julie deserts her family and disappears. Ann and Sam move to London after she accepts a job offer. Schneider moves to Florida to take care of his orphaned nephew and niece.

[edit] Real-life drama

Mackenzie Phillips became addicted to cocaine, and was fired in 1980 after many highly publicized absences from the set. She returned in 1981, but she had continued 'health' problems and left the show a second time early in its final (1983-84) season.[2]

[edit] Theme song

The popular bouncy theme song for One Day at a Time, "This is It", was composed by legendary Brill Building songwriter Jeff Barry, and performed by RCA recording artist Polly Cutter.

[edit] Ratings

The highest the show ever got in the Nielsen ratings was #8 during the 1976-77 season, when it tied with the ABC Sunday Night Movie and Baretta, but it consistently placed in the top 10 or 20. However, the network moved the show around on the prime time schedule no less than 11 times.

It was best known in the 1980s as a staple of the CBS Sunday night lineup, one of the most successful in TV history, along with Archie Bunker's Place, Alice, and The Jeffersons. Available annual ratings are listed below:

  • 1975-1976: #12
  • 1976-1977: #8
  • 1977-1978: #10
  • 1978-1979: #18
  • 1979-1980: #10
  • 1980-1981: #11
  • 1981-1982: #10
  • 1982-1983: #16

[edit] Syndication

CBS aired daytime reruns of the show for three years. From September 17, 1979 to May 30, 1980, it aired at 3:30pm (EST) on the daytime schedule; in February 1980 it was moved; the time depended on the TV market. Most affiliates aired the show at noon or 4pm. It was replaced in September 1982 by The $25,000 Pyramid.

One Day at a Time was aired on E! Entertainment Television in the early and mid-1990s, at first in the afternoons and then, as time went on, earlier and earlier in the morning. Eventually, the show left the network entirely and hasn't been aired nationally since.

In 2006, the show was available to some Comcast digital cable customers in America as part of Comcast's retro-themed "Tube Time" on-demand network.

[edit] Cast reunions

The One Day at a Time Reunion was a 60-minute CBS retrospective special which aired on Tuesday February 22, 2005 at 9:00pm ET, reuniting Bonnie Franklin, Mackenzie Phillips, Valerie Bertinelli and Pat Harrington to reminisce about the series and their characters. Recurring cast members Richard Masur, Shelley Fabares, Nanette Fabray, Michael Lembeck and Glenn Scarpelli shared their feelings about their time on the show in separate interviews. The special was included as a bonus on One Day at a Time: The Complete First Season DVD set.

On February 26, 2008, Franklin, Phillips, Bertinelli and Harrington reunited once again to talk about life on the set, Phillips' drug problems and the show's theme song on NBC's Today Show as part of a week-long segment titled "Together Again: TV's Greatest Casts Reunited".

[edit] DVD release

On April 24, 2007, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first season on DVD.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
One Day at a Time: The Complete First Season 15 April 24, 2007

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mike Celizic (February 26, 2008). Cast of ‘One Day at a Time’ reunites on TODAY. msnbc.msn.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-27.
  2. ^ a b Mackenzie Phillips. www.nndb.com.

[edit] External links

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Shows produced or created by Norman Lear