My Three Sons (TV Series) TV or Not TV (1967) User Reviews

My Three Televisions

[sambase-38773 · 10/10 · 9 July 2022]

This is a brilliant episode about America's addiction to watching TV, the nature of TV shows in general, and family life involving the television.

There is so much going on in this superb episode that it would take a very long review to do it justice. I like to keep my reviews short so I'll just give a quick impression.

It lampoons soap operas (lots of crying), shows starring animals (lots of barking), science fiction shows (lots of rockets), shows about families (it makes fun of My Three Sons!), and old silly movies that play during the wee-wee hours of the night that for some reason are incredibly addictive to Mr. Douglas.

Robbie gets involved in the college TV station. There's a gorgeous blonde female journalism student who wants TV shows to show "reality". She writes an episode about a family that yells at each other and insults each other. Robbie says he feels sorry for her if that's her "reality".

Chip and Ernie argue over which shows to watch. Uncle Charlie gets fed up with their arguing and says that nobody can watch TV for a week, not even him. Uncle Charlie finds out the hard way how hard it is to give up TV for a week. They all do.

Okay, I'll wrap it up there. This might be my favorite episode of My Three Sons. It's really a gem.

NO TV FOR YOU GUYS!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 20 December 2023]

You have to admit, this was a daring episode, all about the "downside" of watching too much tv. Hopefully, the show didn't lose many viewers! Series writer John McGreevey wrote this story, probably inspired from personal events, ya think, later writing for FAMILY AFFAIR and THE WALTONS.

Bottom line. Too much arguing and noise from Chip and Ernie... so Uncle Charley bans watching tv in the house for one week! That also includes HIM, and that's a stiff penalty to pay! The big question is how long will all of this drag on and on?

There's also a rather poignant side story, involving Robbie, who meets a fellow college classmate called Vanessa (played by Jenny Maxwell). She claims tv is a waste of time, and decides to create a reality tv show, and something she could relate to. The amazing part (although it was years away), Vanessa's ideal program is one about a family who insults each other, sort of in the tradition of ALL IN THE FAMILY! Needless to say, Robbie is not impressed.

To note, Jenny Maxwell was a popular actress at the time, and within a few years died very tragically. She was caught up in a bitter divorce case and may have been shot and killed by hitmen hired by her husband. Ironically, her husband was also killed.

This became a national story and one that loomed over Hollywood for years.

Look for popular actor John Howard as Steve's good friend, Dave. John was a star back in the day, best known as detective BULLDOG DRUMMOND in the 30s. He was also a real life WWII hero, awarded the Navy Cross and Croix de Guerre for valor. Great trivia question.

Not to be missed, and maybe with a few lessons to be learned. You be the judge.

SEASON 7 EPISODE 18 remastered dvd box set.