Reviews

This short lived series was very important for many of us just becoming teens in the mid-60's. Her clothing, hairdos, language and relationships with friends and boyfriends were fun to tune into once a week and see what life was like (although somewhat not believable!!) for a teenage girl growing up near the beach in California. Sally Field was a darling girl, perfectly cast here, not afraid to make faces, cry, or even do physical comedy in this series. Gidget had her own bedroom with her own Princess telephone (we all wanted one), lived in a wonderful two story home with a beautiful yard and got to drive her dad's cool car sometimes. And yes, she got into and out of a lot of trouble in the 22 minute show,but at that time in our lives, for a half hour, it was believable to many of us. Like The Donna Reed Show, Father Knows Best, and Leave It To Beaver, these were mild comedies, with gentle story lines, usually a moral to be learned, and left us feeling good about ourselves and maybe had a laugh or two during the half hour show. To many people today,this sounds corny and old-fashioned, but it felt like a safer, more comfortable world back then.

To many of us born in the fifties and becoming teen-age girls by the mid-late 60's, THAT GIRL was THE show to tune in to and see the hair and fashions and enjoy the comedy. My very favorite episode is when Donald tries to teach Ann to drive his manual (stick) shift car!!! The chemistry between the two actors is just great. Marlo Thomas is adorable in this series. The show was well casted and polished. My best friend in the 60's and I never missed an episode on Tuesday nights and now they are available on wonderful DVDs to enjoy again and again. Hollywood did not spoil Marlo, as she went on to author several wonderful books and of course, carry on her father's work for St.Jude Hospital for the children. She is to be admired.