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Family Affair: Season 3
R1 - America - MPI Home Video Review written by and copyright: Pat Pilon (6th March 2007). |
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The Show
 Before reviewing this set, I'd never really heard of 'Family Affair'. It doesn't take long to figure out the premise, though. Rich bachelor Uncle Bill (Brian Keith) is taking care of the three children, Cissy (Kathy Garver), 17 and 7-year-old twins, Buffy (girl) (Anissa Jones) and Jody (boy) (Johnny Whitaker) of his brother and stepsister, who died in a car crash a few years ago. (Well, two, I suppose, given this is the third season.) As the season unfolds, I was charmed by the tone and storytelling. Firstly, the tone kind of threw me off. It's very light and though there's a laugh track, it's not a sitcom with cheap jokes. They're spaced throughout the show, and I chuckled a couple of times during each episode. The thing that really impressed me about the show is that, despite the light tone, it deals with incredibly serious topics. The show touches on such topics as acceptance, loss and maturity, in a very deep sense. In Episode 65 and 67, for example, they deal, respectively with, the death of the mother, and the fate of a terminally ill child. These aren't easy topics to grapple with, but the show shows a great level of maturity. It always avoids awkward clichés that are so prevalent in sitcoms. For example, if Buffy and Joey do something bad, the show never comes down on them, pounding the point that their actions were wrong. They learn their lessons, either through wise words from their Uncle Bill or from their own conscious. Nobody hides anything and communicate, which takes away so many dumb problems in sitcoms nowadays. It makes for a very earnest and honest show, not treating its audience like idiots, which is so rare now. It talks about its subjects indirectly, though still very intelligently. One thing that I found annoying once or twice is the 'father knows best' kind of attitude the series takes a few times. (Incidentally, these are the times where the show feels like it's directly saying 'you can't do this because it's bad'.) Episode 70, and especially episode 63, for example, are shows where I believe it would have been best if the kids learned from their own mistakes. Granted, they'd be big mistakes, and Uncle Bill wants the best for his nieces and nephew, but I find it a bit condescending. For the most part, though, Uncle Bill's advice is very smart and feels very natural. I was quite taken with the show. In junior high, when there was nothing to teach, my teachers often played episodes of 'Degrassi Junior High' (and 'Degrassi High'), which I hated. I couldn't see myself or any of my friends in these shows, so I lost interest in the first five minutes. Those shows seemed to be creating drama just to create drama, but pretending to be in touch with teen life. In 'Family Affair', the situations are real and I found myself remembering my childhood many times, being in a similar situation. It's a shame no shows are like this now, because it's very classy and very engaging. Here's a breakdown of each disc, with a short description of each episode. The episodes generally last for roughly 25½ minutes each, which goes to show you how much advertising changed since 1968. Disc 1: 61. The Latch Key Kid Buffy makes a new friend, Lana, who's not as well off as she is, and is envious of Lana's freedom. Perhaps, though, freedom doesn't always equal happiness. 62. By a Whisker To get accepted into a new club, Jody accepts the challenge of cutting his butler Mr. French's beard. 63. A Waltz from Vienna This is one of the episodes where I think Bill's advice isn't the best. Cissy wants to marry a handsome, charming European, but eventually realizes this may not be the best idea. 64. Your Friend, Jody Bill sends Jody to boys camp because he's afraid that the boy may be getting a bit, well, gay. 65. The Substitute Teacher Jody gets a crush on his substitute teacher. This crush, however, is much better and deeper than anybody thought possible 66. Oliver The twins get their uncle to agree to take care of their friend Oliver, who turns out to be a dog the size of 'a small pony', 'an elephant', and various other descriptions pertaining to a corpulent size. Disc 2: 67. Christmas Came a Little Early This is probably the best show in the entire season. It's very sweet and very heartwarming. Buffy makes friends with a terminally ill girl from her class (future Jan Brady, Eve Plumb), and, as the title suggests, celebrate Christmas. 68. The Unsound of Music After seen her Uncle Bill's singer friend, Buffy wants to have a singing career and wants to join the school glee club. Unfortunately for her, her voice isn't that of an angel. 69. Albertine The twins make a new friend, Albertine, who, like Lana in the season's first episode, spends most of her time alone, because her parents are always busy, but this girl has a secret. 70. A Matter of Choice This is a pretty interesting episode, with every character getting a little bit of airtime. Cissy has to decide if a friend is really a friend, and the twins have to decide what kind of stories they listen to. 71. Ciao, Uncle Bill This is a big episode, as Uncle Bill contemplates getting married to an Italian lady, who unfortunately doesn't enjoy kids as much as he does. 72. A Nanny for All Seasons This is the first episode of the season where Mr. French is the focus. He's not so happy with his duties as the children's caregiver. Disc 3: 73. Family Plan This time, the family has to take care of Uncle Bill after he injures his leg in a skiing accident. I really enjoy this episode. It's simple but very cute. 74. To Love with Buffy Uncle Bill decides to take Buffy to Puerto Rico with him on vacation. Because of this, Cissy has to take Jody along on a date with a boy she likes. 75. A Family Group Cissy tries to impress a Paris Hilton-like friend (as in, a rich socialite), while the twins prepare for a play. I like the way this episode unfolds. 76. A Lesson for Grownups This is a bit more of a serious episode, with a bridge built by Uncle Bill's company collapses, and he has to deal with the fallout. 77. Oh, to Be in England In this episode, Uncle Bill accepts a tunnel consultation offer, but has to live in England for a year. This has a cute ending. 78. The Matter of Privacy The twins have fun with a new tape recorder, which gets Cissy angry. People then have to learn about boundaries and, well, privacy. Disc 4: 79. Holiday in Spain: Part 1 This episode is the first in a three-part run, and has Uncle Bill accepting a job in Spain, and decides to take his family to Barcelona for three months. 80. Holiday in Spain: Part 2 The sojourn to Sitges continues, as the twins walk around the city. Meanwhile, the tutor and Uncle Bill have fun walking around together. 81. Holiday in Spain: Part 3 A nice conclusion to the arc. Given this is a sitcom, you can probably guess how it will finish, but it was a very nice story to explore. 82. A Diller, A Dollar Because she wants to impress a boy she likes, Buffy purposely gets bad grades in school. Uncle Bill, then, tries to figure out why his niece is getting bad grades. 83. The Young Man from Bolivia Jody's pen pal comes to visit the family, but Jody gets jealous when people spend more time with the pen pal than him. 84. Speak for Yourself, Mr. French Mr. French falls for a young secretary, though the young girl may not have the same ideas. Disc 5: 85. The Flip Side Cissy gets a date with a pop-star-du-jour, Charlie, and thinks he forgot her after he leaves to go on tour. 86. The Matter of Dignity Mysterious letters pertaining to Mr. French's past arrive at the home, troubling the whole family. 87. Flower Power Cissy falls in with a group of hippies, with all the attached clichés. I like how the moral is given out. 88. My Man, the Star Mr. French gets hired to play Henry VIII in a movie. Things don't go as planned, obviously, making for a nice conclusion for the season.
Video
1.33:1 full frame. The quality of the video doesn't change throughout the seasons, and unfortunately I can't compare between seasons. Unfortunately, the picture looks quite old. On a tube TV it looks decent, but on an HDTV set, it looks kind of bad. There are still a few specs but no big scratches. The colours are stable, and the contrast is okay. The biggest problem is that the picture comes from 1968, so is pretty fuzzy throughout the season. The fine lines and patterns aren't very well defined. It's not very bad, but you can definitely tell it's an old show.
Audio
The show comes with English subtitles, and is in English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. The audio is very good, with all the dialogue is very clear and very audible. All the hiss and crackle and pop of the old soundtrack has been fixed up, and everything comes out very clear, with no screechiness. The music is high, but is clear and the track handles things very well.
Extras
The sole extra is the Family Affair Cast & Crew Reunion Show. Five members of the cast and crew (2 actresses, 2 writers, producer) come in and talk about the show (30:37). They're together so it's nice to hear them reminiscing and the time goes by very quickly. They talk about the mother Anissa (Buffy), and how she really disliked the producer (John Stephens). They also mention that they had 65 days with star Brian Keith, and he demanded the entire season's scripts at once. They shot all the scenes without him before, so they had about 13 completed episodes even before the first one aired. They also reveal why the shows feel so real. The writers talked to their children and used their lives as starting points for stories. They also talk about the director Charles Barton and give out stories about Brian Keith. It's a very nice half hour and goes by very quickly.
Overall
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