What is it? One Day at a Time, complete series, 208 episodes on 27 discs from Shout! Factory
When? Tuesday
How much? $129.99
Great, now I've got the theme song stuck in my head. "This is it!" You're welcome. Yes, the theme song to this 1970s-era comedy from Norman Lear has one of the catchiest and most enduring theme songs of all time. But what about the show itself?
It's the 1970s and Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin), recently divorced former housewife, makes the move from the suburbs to the city of Indianapolis. She's determined that her teenage daughters, rebellious Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) and sarcastic tomboy Barbara (Valerie Bertinelli), will have more freedom than she had.
Of course, finding that balance between giving her daughters breathing room and also keeping them safe and on track to be responsible adults isn't easy and Ann often makes mistakes.
Always there to give his two cents' worth is the building supervisor, Schneider (Pat Harrington Jr.), who tends to let himself in unannounced and becomes a part of the women's lives in a platonic sort of way.
As the series goes on, the girls grow up and mother and daughters all fall in and out of love and try to find their own career paths.
How is it? It's pretty dated, one of those "socially conscious" sitcoms developed by Norman Lear during the 1970s -- think All in the Family and Maude. That wouldn't be much of a problem except it frequently comes across as preachy.
It doesn't help that the acting can be pretty bad at times. Franklin, who spent a considerable amount of time on the stage, tends to overdo it on the screen and Phillips' screaming, while in character, gets very old very fast.
Are there extras? There's a retrospective with Franklin, Phillips and Lear; an extended interview with Phillips and Glenn Scarpelli, who played Alex in Seasons 6-8; and the One Day at a Time reunion with the four main cast members.
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Style on 12/03/2017