When their bus breaks down while passing by an old ghost town, the Partridges are given refuge by a kindly "man and his mule" where he tells them the story of the town's Xmas bell. The family are depicted as characters in the tale, set one hundred years earlier.
The episode opens with a nice performance of "Winter Wonderland" that has that groovy early '70s Mellow Rock - as it was called then - vibe to it. Too bad they only sing one chorus. The whole song would have been nicer.
This episode is well-produced and the costumes look great. It's too bad the flashback sequence is too silly for its own good. Keith is the singing sheriff, who carries a guitar instead of a gun, Shirley is the proprietress of the local saloon, Laurie is the schoolmarm, Danny is the good cowboy named Little the Kid and Reuben is the outlaw in black named Mean Sidney who learns a lesson at the end.
The best part is the finale, after the Partridges bid farewell to the man (Charlie) he is seen alone in his sparse and simple cabin until he hears them return to sing an acoustic version of "Have Your Self a Merry Little Xmas". There is no dialog but his emotional reaction is very moving and makes the whole episode better than it would have been otherwise.
Lame comedy but great sentimentality. 6/10.
The episode opens with a nice performance of "Winter Wonderland" that has that groovy early '70s Mellow Rock - as it was called then - vibe to it. Too bad they only sing one chorus. The whole song would have been nicer.
This episode is well-produced and the costumes look great. It's too bad the flashback sequence is too silly for its own good. Keith is the singing sheriff, who carries a guitar instead of a gun, Shirley is the proprietress of the local saloon, Laurie is the schoolmarm, Danny is the good cowboy named Little the Kid and Reuben is the outlaw in black named Mean Sidney who learns a lesson at the end.
The best part is the finale, after the Partridges bid farewell to the man (Charlie) he is seen alone in his sparse and simple cabin until he hears them return to sing an acoustic version of "Have Your Self a Merry Little Xmas". There is no dialog but his emotional reaction is very moving and makes the whole episode better than it would have been otherwise.
Lame comedy but great sentimentality. 6/10.