Search - The Partridge Family - The Complete Second Season on DVD

Season two gives a good encore performance

Robin Orlowski | United States | 09/20/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Being a kid is hard, and being a very successful rock group would be even harder, but the Partridge Family continued to pull an amazing balancing act throughout 24 episodes of the 1971-1972. By now the David Cassidy bubble-gum machine was in full force, but the Partridge Family remained a family show which treated all ensemble characters.



First up, Keith has to confront the truth about a girl's singing in "Dora, Dora, Dora", smitten with a guests beauty he does not want to admit that she cannot sing until ultimately hearing a tape for himself. He has another humbling experience during "In 25 words or less" because the winner of a teen magazine contest ultimately turns out to be 60-year old Gloria Neugast, (Kay Medford) not exactly the woman of his dreams. Gloria is initially nice, but she ends up driving the family nuts with her habits---and briefly continues this in a letter from her new home



And that's the other part of this sitcom's charm. These international rock stars are a suburban family also prone to many of the other emotional experiences their audiences (in `concert' and home viewing) are most likely to have. For all of the success this family still enjoys, they play intimate venues and continue living in their home.



During "Anatomy of a tonsil" Danny has to get his tonsils taken out and is scared. Because he was so convinced that he would die from the procedure, he is genuinely shocked when he wakes up. However he is convinced that he cannot sing with his family anymore because his throat is sore immediately post-op. Danny continues believing this until his family uses a little reverse psychology upon him to encourage him rejoining the group; best friend Punky Lazar himself is recruited as Danny's `replacement'.



Keith tries to replace the `father figure' after receiving Coach Dawson's advice about being the eldest male in "Dr Jekyll and Mr. Partridge". He has good intentions, but Keith does not realize that if he was not interested in attending `cultural events' at Chris, Tracy, and Danny's age (let alone now) they were not that keen either. Keith finally realizes that all of this parenting does not leave him with the time needed to complete his homework. The other Partridge kids also apologize for having gotten back at Keith.



Another mishap occurs with "A tale of two hamsters". Danny, Chris, and Tracy's hamster-raising business collides with the reality of touring. The Partridges cannot find a hotel which will accommodate lots of hamsters. Danny thinks giving a hamster away with the newest Partridge Family album will help alleviate things, but does not forecast how much work it is going to be in order to meet consumer demand.



Like many other families, the Partridge kids squabble, but they ultimately attempt to care about each other. During "Days of acne and roses", Danny realizes the grocery store delivery boy Wendell has a large crush on Laurie. Rather than discouraging the `nerd' from dating his sister, Danny and Keith help him with dating tips and gaining confidence. Their lessons work great because he ends up going on a dream date, also getting attention from other young women. Laurie then becomes concerned that Wendell will ask her to go steady, but he confides that he would like to play the field instead.



Rob Reiner guest star in "A man called Snake". Because a young biker man camps out after Keith blabs incorrect information about his sister's love life to a teen magazine, this is one of the creepier shows. Laurie ultimately goes to the dance with him after initially being weirded out by the attention. This is one of the episodes which (despite the famous guest star) does not hold up well. The family seems unaware that the `sensitive poet' could actually harm Laurie.



The family has better luck when they pick up a hitchhiker named Jenny (Merideth Baxter Birney) during "Where do mermaids go". She seems nice enough, but when she leaves a bank book containing one million after a few days at their house, Shirley becomes suspicious. She thinks that the money could have been stolen. As it turns out, the money really was Jenny's to give, but the Partridge family was ultimately happiest being a suburban family who happened to travel with a psychedelic bus.



Finally, Ray Bolger (the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz) guest stars as Grandpa Fred Renfrew in "The fourty-year itch". Wanting to live a more youthful life, Grandpa shows up at his daughter's house just as the Partridges are about to begin yet another tour. Things heat up when Grandma arrives, but everything is nicely resolved at the end of the story.



This series is a must for anybody wanting to take a super groovy return trip down memory lane.

"

Board The Bus For A Second Year of Touring!

Music Fan-atic | Hogwarts | 12/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The second year of the Partridge Family found the gears of the Partridge money making machine spinning full tilt. David Cassidy's likeness graced the walls of countless teenybopper bedrooms and the music industry was taken by storm by an imaginary family band based on the Cowsills. But by year two, the Partridges had burst beyond the Cowsill mold and had implanted themselves firmly in the book of rock and roll history, their records outselling big performers of the time even breaking the Beatles reign of "Let It Be". Their LP "Sound Magazine sold a staggering amount and hit gold status in no time and the show had been nominated for several awards. Season Two outshines possibly the rest of the four seasons and although many critics had passed off the show as silly, non-sensical fluff, the Partridges had already won the hearts of the American audience (as well as international fan clubs abroad!) The second season sees a lot of Danny's hairbrained schemes to propel the family to stardom and make money including making a whale part of the band and over breeding hamsters, Shirley going back to college, Laurie dating a biker (played to the hilt by All In The Family's own Meathead!), and the classic fan hit "Santa, Don't Bring Your Guns To Town" a funny yet touching Christmas tale starring veteran Dean Jagger.

When they are not tooling around the country in their tour bus, the Partridges still find the time to help those in need (the Papagos Indians and a down and out bakery owner), and master the causes of endangered species ("Whatever Happened To Moby Dick". The shows are funny, light and full of weekly "Moral of the Week" sensibilty that makes it highly fit for family consumption. As far as the DVD set, all 24 episodes are neatly packaged in two slim cases on 3 disks, the transfer is still remarkably clean and colorful after all of these years except for the girl scout scene in "H-E-L-L-L-L-L-P" which appears a bit fuzzy. This can be overlooked whereas the rest appears crisp and the sound fairly clear considering most of the music was produced in mono. Those of you with stereo sound will note the songs still stand out and sound fairly clear. Sadly, for those who enjoy the extras, there are none here aside from the "Jump To Musical Performances" yet there must be a fountain of extras out there available, whether it be bloopers or extra commentaries. I was so pleased to own these great shows, I can overlook the extras not being there. When all is said and done, the Partridge Family's Second Season is worth having just for the episodes and songs, no extras are necessary! A steal at these bargain prices. Do yourself a favor and buy both season one and two and c'mon.......get happy!!!"

EXCELLENT SEASON! MUSIC INTACT!

! MR. KNOW IT ALL ;-b | TRI STATE AREA | 04/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Long copy right battles have kept this show from continuing to release the remaining seasons. The first season included lost gems like "Together" and "Let the Good Times in" and the release of season two opened the door for more lost songs and the new Chris.



I'm glad they released this season, with all music intact. Now if the can get the rights to the songs in the remaining seasons, lets hope they finish the series! Come on! Make us happy!



***Review Update***



As fans probably already know, they have released the remaining seasons with all music intact!



*** End of Update***"

THANKS FOR SEASON 1 AND 2, WHERE ARE THE OTHER SEASONS?

Kelly | Florida | 07/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Partridge Family was one of my favorite shows when I was little and I was so excited to have these precious memories (not to mention David Cassidy) released on DVD. I am starting to worry about if the rest of the seasons will be released (I am hoping sales were strong enough, I know that is a big factor). It was rougly 6 months between the release of Season 1 and Season 2. It has been about 8 months (from when I wrote this) since Season 2. Please don't do this to the fans, we want all of the seasons released. It is nice to have Seasons 1 and 2, but it would be FANTASTIC to have them all (like the Brady Bunch did). All you other PF fans, voice your opinion, too. It was a GREAT show and a fun bit of nostalgia. You will make alot of people HAPPY!"