Gidget (TV series)
| Gidget | |
|---|---|
 Original title screen | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Frederick Kohner (novel) |
| Starring | Sally Field Don Porter Betty Conner Pete Duel Lynette Winter |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 32 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 minutes (per episode) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | September 1, 1965 – April 21, 1966 |
Gidget is a 1965 Screen Gems sitcom about a surfing, boy-crazy teenager called "Gidget" and her widowed father Russ Lawrence, a UCLA professor. Sally Field stars as Gidget with Don Porter as her father. The series was first broadcast on ABC from September 15, 1965 through April 21, 1966. New to the Gidget mythos with the sitcom was the introduction of a sister and brother-in-law for Gidget. Gidget was among the first regularly-scheduled color programs on ABC, but did poorly in the Neilsen ratings and was cancelled at the end of its first season. The show gained some popularity in reruns and was released to DVD in 2006.
Characters
The two principal characters on the show are Frances "Gidget" Lawrence (Sally Field), the prototypical southern California teen beach bunny and her widowed father Russell Lawrence (Don Porter), an English professor at UCLA. Gidget's older married sister Anne Cooper (Betty Connor) and her psychology student husband John (Pete Duel) hang out at the Lawrence house offering child-rearing tips and advice. Gidget regards both as clueless squares. Larue Wilson (Lynette Winter) is Gidget's awkward best friend who accompanies her on various escapades.
Recurring characters are Gidget's friends and include her college boyfriend Jeff "Moondoggie" Matthews (Stephen Mines), Siddo (Michael Nader}, Randy (Rickie Sorensen), Toby (Bob Beach), and two girlfriends (Bonnie Franklin and Barbara Hershey).
Plot
Gidget is about the father-daughter relationship between Frances "Gidget" Lawrence and her father Russell Lawrence. Episodes follow Gidget's adventures in school, at home, and on the nearby beaches. Russell Lawrence has much ado guiding his daughter through her fifteenth year while his married daughter Anne and her husband John offer child-rearing advice. Gidget's friend Larue sometimes takes part in her escapades. Episodes typically end with Gidget receiving moral instruction from her father and gaining wisdom from her zany experiences.
Episodes
Production details
The television series was based on Frederick Kohner's 1957 novel Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas.[1] The novel was inspired by the adventures of the author's teenage surfer daughter Kathy, and was adapted into a 1959 movie starring Sandra Dee, James Darren, and Cliff Robertson. In 1965, Columbia Pictures' television wing Screen Gems produced a weekly, half-hour television series intended as something of a sequel to the 1959 film. Kohner served as a script consultant on the show.
Gidget was filmed at the Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch in Burbank, California. The edifice used for the Lawrence house is on the back lot known as the "Columbia Ranch". The structure and the kitchen set also served as the Baxter house and kitchen on Hazel . Gidget's house is situated next door to the principal residence on Bewitched, which was in production at the same time.
Though 18-year-old Sally Field defeated 75 other teenage girls for the title role, she exaggerated her surfing experience. The young actress had none and took lessons just to be able to pretend to surf for the cameras.
The Gidget theme song lyrics were written by Howard Greenfield, with music by Jack Keller. The song was sung in the pilot by The Four Freshmen and in the series by Johnny Tillotson.
Reception
The series faced stiff competition from The Beverly Hillbillies on CBS and The Virginian on NBC, two established shows with strong followings. Due to low ratings, ABC canceled Gidget in the spring of 1966. The series gained an audience during the summer of 1966 through reruns, but ABC executives decided to star Field in 1967's The Flying Nun rather than revive Gidget. Field later stated that while she loved working on Gidget, she despised The Flying Nun.[2]
Subsequent history
Gidget remained in syndication for several years, boosting the series' popularity and spawning a cult following. Two telemovie sequels were produced: Gidget Grows Up and Gidget Gets Married. Gidget received airtime again in the early 1980s, furthering the show's popularity. Another telemovie was produced, Gidget's Summer Reunion, followed in 1986 by the syndicated sitcom, The New Gidget.
Merchandise
The complete original series was released to Region 1 DVD in 2006 and included a brief documentary with Sally Field discussing her involvement in the series.[2]
See also
- Surf culture
- Psycho Beach Party, a film by Charles Busch parodying the teen beach party movies of the sixties
References
External links
- The Real Gidget, essay by Deanne Stillman about Kathy Kohner Zuckerman
- In Malibu, Gidget's Up Interview with Zuckerman, Washington Post, September 16, 2005