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ARTICLE
DVD Review: One Day at a Time - The Complete First Season
by R.J. Carter Published: April 23, 2007
Rating: Country: USA Release Date: April 24, 2007 Distributor: Sony Pictures Cast: · Bonnie Franklin · Mackenzie Phillips · Valerie Bertinelli · Pat Harrington · Richard Masur Related Sites: ·IMDb: One Day at a Time
Grade: B
Newly divorced Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin) moves her two teenaged daughters, Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) and Barbara (Valerie Bertinelli), to Indianapolis in this Norman Lear sitcom. A newly single woman determined to make it on her own, the series serves as a shining example of how not to raise kids (although, through the writers, the kids turn out just fine.)
In the pilot episode, sixteen-year-old Julie is determined to go on a camping trip with her new friends -- a camping trip with boys and no chaperone. Ann is adamantly against it, and Julie threatens to go home to her father -- a demand to which Ann agrees. But when regret sets in, Ann learns she doesn't know how to make the decisions in parenting, something she then proves by telling Julie that she can go on the trip after all, even though she doesn't want her to.
Little Pitchers. Julie and Barbara eavesdrop.
(L-R: Phillips, Bertinelli)
That plot works out with Julie resolving to stay home just to please her mom, but the permissive tone reappears throughout the season. In "All the Way", Julie's boyfriend Chuck is ready to take their relationship to the consummate level. Ann counsels Julie, while Ann's younger would-be boyfriend, divorce attorney David (Richard Masur) counsels Chuck -- then they sit back and wait and worry about the choice they have left in Julie's hands.
Chuck turns out not to be the guy for Julie, though, opening the door for a blind date with Ken (Robby Benson). But college-boy Ken is more attracted to Ann than he is Julie, something to which Ann is oblivious for most of the episode. Something else she was oblivious to: letting her sixteen-year-old daughter date a guy out of high school!
Ann's mind isn't the only one clouded as to adult responsibility in the series, however. When Barbara and Julie want to throw a party for the basketball team while Mom's away, they convince chaperone David to let them have drinks. David, a lawyer, doesn't see anything wrong with the kids having just one beer. Naturally, the party becomes more than he bargained for.
Male Assertion. Schneider and David want to
know all about Ann's newest suitor.
(L-R: Harrington, Masur, Franklin)
Many of the episodes focus on either Ann's struggles or Julie's coping. It would be in later seasons before the future Mrs. Eddie Van Halen would grab more of the spotlight. However, as a nosy kid sister who needs her sib just as much as she annoys her, Bertinelli exhibits the spunk that would make her one of the more remembered cast members of the series.
A bright spot in each episode, of course, is Schneider, the building super, played by Pat Harrington. A sex symbol and legend in his own mind, the fix-it man insinuated himself into every crisis that arose, and soon became like one of the family.
The season wraps up with a visit from Ann's ex, Ed Cooper (Joseph Campanella), leading the girls to believe that their parents are reuniting -- especially when dad spends the night. Watch for a cameo by up and coming actress Suzanne Somers as a diner patron in the episode, "Julie's Job".
The bonus feature on this two-disc set is the forty-minute reunion special, which brings back Franklin, Phillips, Bertinelli, and Harrington. They sit about Franklin's living room and talk about Norman Lear and creating a sitcom dealing with divorce and the children of divorce. Harrington walks on about halfway through, and there are interjected interview clips with Masur as well as guest stars Shelley Fabares, Nanette Fabray, Michael Lembeck, and Glen Scarpelli. Before the reunion is over, the cast will touch on Phillip's battles with drugs that removed her from the show, before finishing up with outtakes clips.
One Day at a Time The Complete First Season
Disc 1
Disc 2
01. Ann's Decision
02. Chicago Rendezvous
03. Jealousy
04. How to Succeed Without Trying
05. David Loves Ann
06. Julie's Best Friend
07. Super Blues
08. All the Way
09. Fighting City Hall
10. David Plus Two
11. Julie's Job
12. The College Man
13. Father David
14. Dad Comes Back - Part 1
15. Dad Comes Back - Part 2 Bonus: The One Day at a Time Reunion (38:42)
