MovieChat Forums > Family Affair (1966) Discussion > Favorite Episodes , Anyone ?

Favorite Episodes , Anyone ?

posted 17 years ago by revenskater
16 replies | jump to latest

I have three favorite episodes. They are...

1 ) "The Birthday Boy" from season four-The kids find out that Mr. French has
a birthday coming up in a few days. They plan a surprise party for him.
Mr. French is so appalled by the festivities, but keeps that from the children.
Later on, his dear friend, Miss Faversham, is able to show him how very lucky
he is. The Davis children care for him so much and really love him, as well.

2 ) "A Lesson For Grown-Ups" from season three-A bridge in Africa being built
by Bill's company collapses. This could mean financial ruin for Bill's family
if the collapse was the company's fault. Bill shows himself to be a man who
knows the true meanings of words like integrity & personal honor. This is one
of those rare episodes that focuses on Uncle Bill. Very well written and acted,
this episode leaves a lasting impression on the viewer.

3 ) "Love Me, Love Me Not" from season one-Jody discovers that discipline equals love. He starts doing all kinds of 'rotten stuff' so that Uncle Bill
will punish him. Nothing seems to work, however. Finally, Jody confesses that
his pal, Pepino, gets 'socked' when he does a rotten thing. This shows that
Pepino's father loves him and he wants Pepino to grow up having respect for
others. The final scene has Uncle Bill giving Jody a tiny swat on the behind
and Jody saying, "Gee, thanks Uncle Bill !" Moving, but quite a lot of fun, as well.

Does anyone else have favorite episodes that they could share ?

[–] Navaros 17 years ago

My favorite episode is where there is a man named Ho (IIRC) and Ho comes from Japan (IIRC) to be Bill's "First Boy" (IIRC). Which meant, he wanted to take Mr. French's job for himself.

Throughout the episode it is shown that Ho is a better cook than Mr.French, a better housekeeper than Mr. French, a better budgeter than Mr. French, and better at doing just about all the duties and every single thing Mr. French does.

I found this to be very interesting because Mr. French had previously been implied to be immaculate at his duties. I didn't think there could possibly be anyone better than Mr. French yet the show was brave enough to show that there was.

In the end Mr. French is about to resign because he himself admits that Ho is superior to him in all of these ways and he is no longer needed. Then everyone tells him they love him and he ends up staying on. And Ho ends up leaving because he realized that they love Mr. French and Mr. French is a member of the family.

[–] megmarch2003 17 years ago

My favorites are:

The Latch-key Kid, the one where Buffy befriends Lana, the little girl who goes home and spends the evenings alone because her mom is out flitting around on dates all of the time.

The Mother Tongue, where Mr. French, the substitute Mr. French, tries to speak Cantonese to a little Chinese girl and keeps messing it up and unwittingly insulting her.

Not sure of the name of it, but I think it's Ciao, Uncle Bill, the one where uncle Bill is going to marry the girl in Italy and French and the kids think he is abandoning them. It's unrealistic that Uncle Bill would dump them like that, but I think it is so touching that Mr. French doesn't hesitate in the slightest when he thinks that he will have to take over the care and support of the kids.

"You can't tell me nothin' if you ain't had an 8-track." -Sinbad

[–] libgirl2 17 years ago

Ciao, Uncle Bill is my favorite. I remember when I was younger seeing it an laughing my head off at the "Uncle" French line! I recently watched it again and I too was touched that Mr. French was willing to take over the kids. It really illustrates the love he had for them.

[–] loveoldmovies22 17 years ago

I haven't seen these in years (haven't seen any of the DVDs yet) but I adored this show as a child.
Some that come to mind--1st season--the one where Cissy's school is having the mother/daughter dinner and Uncle Bill has dinner w/Cissy.
The Land of do-as-you-please from the 4th season, and the one about the man and the Bonsai Tree from the same year.
The 3rd season where Jody can sing and doesn't want to and Buffy can't sing.

[–] Barney-Robel 17 years ago

Even though I watched this show regularly during its initial run and later in syndication, the only episode I recall involved Uncle Bill taking Jody on a fishing trip in the mountains. They were late leaving and then ran into additional set backs culminating in a discovery that the lake they were heading towards was closed or was no longer fishable. It ended with UB apologinzing to Jody for the disastorous outing and Jody telling him it was OK and that he didn't care if they fished or not becuase the most important thing was that he was able to spend time with his uncle.

[–] larkpraise 17 years ago

I love "The Toy Box" and "Mrs. Beasley Where Are You". I also love the one where Jody sings "Every Boy Can Be President" and the episode where Cissy falls in love with the "teen idol". I love "Fat, Fat, the Water Rat", "The Latch-Key Kid", "Marooned" and "The Land of Do as You Please" as well as the "Tahiti" and "Lost in Spain" episodes....Mr. French is particularly funny in the Tahiti episodes. But my favorite all-time episode is probably the episode "The Substitute Teacher" where Jody develops a crush on June Lockhart (the teacher) because she unconsciously reminds him of his late mother. Touching and heartbreaking.

[–] LainieBlueEyes 16 years ago

larkpraise wrote:
>>But my favorite all-time episode is probably the episode "The Substitute Teacher" where Jody develops a crush on June Lockhart (the teacher) because she unconsciously reminds him of his late mother. Touching and heartbreaking.>>

I watched this episode tonight***, and oh how I cried at the end. I think Johnnie Whitaker did an amazing job with this story.

I also like "Latch Key Kid" (poor little Lana) and the one when Mr. French is the spokesman for the marmalade, haha!!

***I'm watching the show on DVD and have just begun Season 3.

LBE

*****
Just shove a bezoar down their throats.

[–] cmk-7 16 years ago

I liked the episode where Buffy liked this boy who didn't like her and she thought it was because she was smart so she started acting silly and stupid in school and deliberately flunking her tests. But he still didn't like her. Uncle Bill found out about it and told her that it was important to be yourself and not try to be something you're not. Then he told her that the lady he was dating was a doctor but not the kind who gives medicine to little kids but someone who went to school for a long time and had a special degree. Buffy was very impressed because you'd have to be really smart to do that.

Another favorite of mine was the one where Cissy wanted to marry a Prince but Uncle Bill thought she was too young. So she got a new more sophisticated hairdo and started acting more mature and Uncle Bill let her go to Europe to stay with the prince and his family. In the end, she decided it was all a beautiful fairy tale but that it wasn't for her so she came back home.

Another one I liked was the one where Buffy and Jody find themselves in a working-class neighborhood and start hanging out with the kids there. I remember Jackie "Uncle Fester" Coogan played the out of work father of one of the kids and he didn't like them playing with "fancy kids" like Buffy and Jody. And of course, Mr. French didn't like the idea of Buffy and Jody being in that neighborhood and eating bread and sugar sandwiches.

[–] teachnsurf 16 years ago

I remember an episode (can't remember which one) where Mr. French was learning Chinese or Japanese...and he made a mistake and told two asian women they were a couple of bowls of rubbish....that was so funny...he was so embarrased. I think he was trying to tell them they attractive nice ladies.

[–] loveoldmovies22 16 years ago

This was in the first season with John Williams as Mr. French's brother. It was something about a client I think of Uncle Bill's who moved to NY with his wife, mother-in-law and daughter. Thought it was funny because the daughter's name was Marilyn and was named after Marilyn Monroe!

Mr. French knew some Mandarin Chinese (or so he thought) and everytime he tried to talk to Marilyn or her mother and grandmother, he messed things up!

[–] btdroflet38 12 years ago

which episode was it where the doll, Mrs. Beasley, was in an accident/got broken?

"Live long and prosper"

[–] eddyroy1963 16 years ago

I've gotten this complete series on Dvd and have really enjoyed watching the show again. Last night I just saw the episode entitled "Christmas Comes Early" from season 3. This has to be one of my very favorites. It stars Eve (Jan Brady)Plumb as a terminally ill child that both Buffy and Jody befriend. Buffy tells Eve that "Uncle Bill can make you better because he can do anything!" Uncle Bill brings in the best doctor etc to see if he can help and unfortunately Eve's health continues to decline. Bill tells the kids that he has to go on a business trip that will take him away for such a time that he thought they should celebrate Christmas early that year. He thinks it would be nice to have it at Eve's place. They do, and Mr. French comes dressed as Santa Claus to hand out gifts and gives a pretty doll to Eve who thinks her tree is the prettiest ever. The final part of the show has Uncle Bill talking to Mr. French as he undresses from the Santa outfit and saying that he's glad the "kids" are too young to know (that Eve is dieing) otherwise they would have had a hard time celebrating Christmas and carrying it off. As he leaves Mr. French he walks the hallway and he hears the most mournfull sobbing coming from Buffy's room. He peeks through the door and there is Buffy with Mrs. Beasley laying in bed and crying. He walks over, sits down and she throws her arms around Uncle Bill and the show fades to black. It's then we know that Buffy put two and two together about her little friend. Anissa Jones was a wonderful and I think, underated little actress. This episode will have the hardest hearts softening and most eyes tearing.

[–] jeff-lefleur 16 years ago

I agree with eddyroy1963. The Eve Plumb is one of my two all time favorites. The other one is June Lockhart as a substitute teacher who Jody is obsessed with. In the end, it's revealed that she looks just like their dead mother. Sweet story and acted very well by all. LOVE THIS SHOW.
Jeff

[–] LainieBlueEyes 16 years ago

eddyroy1963 wrote:
>>he walks the hallway and he hears the most mournfull sobbing coming from Buffy's room. He peeks through the door and there is Buffy with Mrs. Beasley laying in bed and crying. He walks over, sits down and she throws her arms around Uncle Bill and the show fades to black.>>

I saw that episode last week, and I cried like a baby at the end. The way Anissa fell into Brian Keith's arms with those big deep sobs was just heartbreaking. She did a wonderful, wonderful job.

LBE

*****
Just shove a bezoar down their throats.

[–] PenelopeTree 11 years ago

Once in Love with Buffy, Fat fat the Water Rat.
Also the entire second season is fantastic. They snapped up the music and the writing. They found their groove in the 2nd season. 1st season is a bit flat in comparison, not unusual.

Hello Darling

[–] Surf_Hamster 10 years ago

I really like Fat,Fat, the Water Rat! I'll have to some thinking and list other gems from this series!