Accidental Family
Jerry Van Dyke as Jerry Webster.
GenreSitcom
Created byMelville Shavelson
Starring
ComposerEarle Hagen
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes16
Production
Executive producerSheldon Leonard
ProducerSy Gomberg
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time22–24 minutes
Production companiesSheldon Leonard Productions, in association with NBC
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 15, 1967 (1967-09-15) –
January 5, 1968 (1968-01-05)

Accidental Family is an American sitcom broadcast on NBC during the first part of the 1967-68 U.S. television season. The show ran for sixteen episodes, from September 15, 1967, to January 5, 1968.

The show aired on Fridays at 9:30pm, sandwiched between the non-sitcoms Star Trek before it, and documentaries after, which was not considered an auspicious timeslot.[1] The program consistently lost in the Nielsen ratings to both the CBS Friday Night Movies and the ABC Western The Guns of Will Sonnett and was cancelled, midseason as a result. It was initially replaced by the first prime time run of the game show Hollywood Squares.

Van Dyke publicly groused about the show's timeslot, complaining that nobody watched the show because of its competition. By October 13 — the airdate of the fourth episode — Van Dyke was already declaring defeat in the Arizona Daily Star. "In this business you've got to have such confidence," he said, "and I never did, so I'm beginning to wonder about myself. I'll tell you; I could use a success about now, and I believe this is a good show, but we've got to get out of that Friday night."[2]

Synopsis

The series starred Jerry Van Dyke as a widowed comedian, Jerry Webster, who bought a farm in the San Fernando Valley to serve as a place for him to raise his son, Sandy, when he was not touring or working in Las Vegas. When he was on the road, Sandy was under the care of the farm's manager, divorcee Sue Kramer (Lois Nettleton), who had a daughter the same age as Webster's son.

Reception

The Pasadena Star-News published a post-mortem about the show in November 1967, "Accidental Family: Cancellation Was No Accident", which praised the show and its potential, and laid the blame for cancellation on television networks' lack of interest in producing high-quality programs. "Critics were quite favorable to the show in their first reviews," the piece claimed. "And the series deserved the praise. It had a low-key, slapstick humor; a touching but non-cloying evolvement of the father-son relationship; some clever, knowing conversations between the two adults, both in the same marital and parental boat; it had an almost hip quality." The piece also said, "It was different in several ways from the current crop of comedies — it didn't hang itself on a gimmick — no witches with twitches, no defrosted ancestors, no broadly slapstick broads-in-law. Just two kids, two parents, farm life contrasted with a touch of Las Vegas life, and the human, humorous situations thereof."[1]

In April 1968, Jerry Van Dyke was a guest on Dick Van Dyke, a comedy/variety special hosted by his more famous brother. The special joked about the recent demise of Accidental Family; when Jerry asked Dick if he saw the show, Dick said, "No, I was out of town that week."[3]

Cast

ActorRole
Jerry Van DykeJerry Webster
Lois NettletonSue Kramer
Teddy QuinnSandy Webster
Susan BenjaminTracy Kramer
Larry D. MannMarty Warren
Ben BlueBen McGrath

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Everywhere a Chick Chick"Sheldon LeonardMelville ShavelsonSeptember 15, 1967 (1967-09-15)
2"Hot Kid in a Cold Town"Bob SweeneyStory by : Richard Sale & Mary Loos
Teleplay by : James L. Brooks & Richard Sale & Mary Loos		September 22, 1967 (1967-09-22)
3"If You Knew Martha"Bob SweeneySaul Turtletaub & Bernie OrensteinOctober 6, 1967 (1967-10-06)
4"Minnesota Tracey"UnknownUnknownOctober 13, 1967 (1967-10-13)
5"It Hurts Me More Than It Hurts You"Bob SweeneySaul Turteltaub & Bernie OrensteinOctober 20, 1967 (1967-10-20)
6"Halloween's on Us"Earl BellamyStory by : Barry E. Blitzer & Ray Brenner
Teleplay by : Joseph Bonaduce		October 27, 1967 (1967-10-27)
7"The Making of a Vegetarian"Bob SweeneyJim BrooksNovember 3, 1967 (1967-11-03)
8"The Secret Life of Jerry Webster"Earl BellamyJack SherNovember 10, 1967 (1967-11-10)
9"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Playground"Bob SweeneyTreva Silverman & Peter MeyersonNovember 17, 1967 (1967-11-17)
10"What Is This - Thanksgiving or a Nightmare?"Gary NelsonPeggy Elliott & Ed ScharlachNovember 24, 1967 (1967-11-24)
11"The Woodsman"Bob SweeneySam Bobrick & Bill IdelsonDecember 1, 1967 (1967-12-01)
12"The Return of Mr. Ex"Robert DayStory by : Dale McRaven & Carl Kleinschmitt
Teleplay by : Joseph Bonaduce		December 8, 1967 (1967-12-08)
13"The Lush Life"UnknownUnknownDecember 15, 1967 (1967-12-15)
14"The Treasure of San Fernando Valley"Gary NelsonSydney ZelinkaDecember 22, 1967 (1967-12-22)
15"Sandy Gets Tough"George TyneDick Bensfield & Perry GrantDecember 29, 1967 (1967-12-29)
16"Who's Been Sleeping in Daddy's Bed?"Don AppellBill Idelson & Harvey MillerJanuary 5, 1968 (1968-01-05)

References

  1. 1 2 Dern, Marian (November 19, 1967). "Accidental Family: Cancellation Was No Accident". Pasadena Star-News. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  2. ↑ Humphrey, Hal (October 13, 1967). "Lady Luck Snubs Jerry Van Dyke: Hardly Anybody Sees His Shows". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  3. ↑ Harris, Harry (April 7, 1968). "Van Dyke Brothers Collaborate in a Special". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
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