The Redcoats Are Coming 

Rob agrees to have a popular British singing duo spend the night at his home when they appear on Alan's show. There's one catch: he's sworn to secrecy and cannot tell anyone about it for fear of touching off a Beatlemania-like fan frenzy.

Director:

Jerry Paris

Writers:

Bill Persky, Sam Denoff

Stars:

Dick Van Dyke, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Dick Van Dyke	...	Rob Petrie
Rose Marie	...	Sally Rogers
Morey Amsterdam	...	Buddy Sorrell
Larry Mathews	...	Ritchie Petrie (credit only)
Mary Tyler Moore	...	Laura Petrie
Richard Deacon	...	Mel Cooley
Ann Morgan Guilbert	...	Millie Helper
Chad Stuart	...	Ernie
Jeremy Clyde	...	Freddie
William Beckley	...	Richard Karp
Trudi Ames	...	Marge
Eleanor Sommers	...	Estelle (as Ellie Sommers)
Mollie Howerton	...	Phoebe
Wendy Wilson	...	Janie
Shelley Cochran	...	Girl #1

Storyline

Ernie and Fred, better known as the Redcoats (a British rock duo that's all the craze among the teen set), are performing on Alan's show, which causes issues for the show's staff if only in keeping their screaming female fans at bay. It becomes an even bigger issue for Rob when Mel asks if the Redcoats can stay at his house for one night. Adoring fans always find out their top secret hotel whereabouts, preventing the boys from getting any rest whatsoever, and one night ensconced at the Petrie's would provide them much needed sleep. Rob, who isn't allowed to tell anyone except Laura, reluctantly agrees. Although knowing the worst would happen, Rob and Laura are both dying to tell someone - anyone - that the Redcoats are staying at their house.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to chad and jeremy | british invasion | hair wrapped in a towel | crying | movie camera | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-G

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title is a variation on the cry that Paul Revere made to warn the Colonial Minuteman of the approach of the enemy (the British army or the Redcoats) just prior to the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775: "The British are coming! The British are coming!"

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Rob, Sally, and Buddy escape into a rehearsal room, while being pursued by a mob of screaming teenaged girls]
Rob Petrie: [successfully diverting the throng by yelling] The Redcoats have gone backstage!
[the girls run off]
Buddy Sorrell: Oh boy!
Rob Petrie: Do you think the Redcoat craze is just a publicity stunt?
Buddy Sorrell: I haven't heard screaming like this since I told my wife my mother was comin' for a visit.

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Soundtracks

No Other Baby
(uncredited)
Written by Bob Watson & Dickie Bishop
Performed by Chad and Jeremy

User Reviews

Beatlemania meets the Alan Brady Show

Beatlemania was addressed by several sitcoms in the early 1960s. quite often with Chad & Jeremy standing in for the Fabs. This is one of the best such episodes, with Chad & Jeremy offering a very good facsimile of the Beatles' wit & charm as seen in period interviews.

What's especially likable about the episode is that they don't make fun of the musicians themselves, but draw a lot of comedy from the mania around them. And for younger viewers who might think that the sheer hysteria of the teenaged girls depicted is an exaggeration, I can assure them as someone who was a boy then, it is NOT exaggerated in the least.

It's also fun to see Rob & Laura worried about fans storming their home if it's discovered that the Redcoats are staying there ... but also just dying to tell their big secret to someone, anyone! A period piece that really doesn't seem dated because it gets everything right, capturing that moment perfectly.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 1965 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Desilu Cahuenga Studios, 846 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Calvada Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1