Scripted Television in the 1960s was, for the most part, designed to make people forget the news reports of the day. Either it was about some *previous* war, the Old West, or some sort of fantasy with a witch, a genie, a martian, a family of monsters, a horse that talked, a nun that flew, or some other oddity that clearly could never happen in real life.
Enter, "That Girl."
While the other shows of the era were trying to take people away from the standards of modern city living, Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas) was facing it head-on, as an aspiring actress from Brewster, a commuter town that was just a train ride away from Grand Central on the Harlem line.
Ann was looking for her big break in New York and took all sorts of odd jobs to survive while she looked. She also had the help of her boyfriend Donald Hollinger (Ted Bessell) a writer for a weekly news based periodical, and her ever present father Lew (Lew Parker) who supposedly was running a restaurant back at the home town, yet somehow managed to be in Ann's apartment in nearly every episode.
What made the show unique was that a single woman was at the center of it. Ann Marie wasn't anyone's wife or housekeeper and wasn't responsible for anyone besides herself. That may not seem like much, but during this era of television, it was a breakthrough! And despite the two male supporters in her orbit, she was the astronaut exploring her world in her way.
The chemistry between Ms. Thomas and Mr. Bessell was undeniable and the two of them made it feel like a real romance was happening. Add in Ann's odd neighbor Ruthie, married to Don's co-worker, Jerry and you had a workable set of characters. And let's give credit to Bernie Kopell, who always did quality work, no matter the situation.
New York City itself was another character in the series, as Ann would sometimes audition for theatrical parts, shoot commercials and work in various places around town. And even when she didn't get the job, she never let it get her down. It's that kind of determination that made the show seem so positive.
Despite never using any special effects or gimmicks, like most of the rest of the sitcoms of that era were doing, there was a certain kind of magic that happened here. And there were laughs, as Ms. Thomas was helped by such comedy icons as Jesse White who played her agent, Dabney Coleman, another of her neighbors, and Ruth Buzzi, who played another of Ann's pals, when she wasn't cutting it up on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In."
"That Girl" is a sweet and charming look at NYC through the eyes of someone who loved it more that it did her. And even though it may not have been the funniest comedy, it had something to say to women about going for what you want at a time when society either said the opposite or nothing at all. That's why it's an important show in the History of Women on Television.
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