The Ghost and Mrs. Muir continues in the tradition of supernatural and sci-fi situation comedies, such as My Favorite Martian, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. However this isn’t an original story, but an adaptation from earlier sources.
Carolyn Muir leases an old New England house and moves into it with her two children,Candace(Candy) and Jonathan, along with their housekeeper, Martha. Their landlord is Claymore Gregg, who inherited the house. The original owner was Captain Daniel Gregg.
Unfortunately even though the captain is dead he still resides there, in the form or a cranky ghost. He tries to scare them out but Carolyn resists. She is a widow and a writer and she has moved her family there for a fresh start. Captain Gregg quickly grows to like her and allows her to stay, but he often complains about other people. He especially dislikes his descendant, Claymore.
This comedy is an adaptation of the book by RA Dick and the popular movie, that starred Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. That move was set around the turn of the century, the sitcom updates it to the 1960's. The captain can appear and disappear at will, appear to whoever he wants, throw objects and make storms. At first, he only talks to Carolyn's son, Jonathan, but quickly starts interacting with Carolyn, who he seems to like quite a bit.
The series was on NBC for the 1968-69 TV season and then on ABC for it's second and last season. Unfortunately the series is not yet available on DVD.
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis aired from 1959 to 1963 on CBS. The show starred Dwayne Hickman and Bob Denver and was about the adventures of a girl-crazy American teenage boy.
Max Shulman was a successful writer when he created Dobie Gillis, who was the star of a series of short stories. These stories were published in an anthology called The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. In 1953, the stories were turned into a film called The Affairs of Dobie Gillis. Then in 1959 the TV series came along. Shulman was somewhat involved with the series, writing the theme song.
CAST
Dwayne Hickman as Dobie Gillis
Bob Denver as Maynard G. Krebs
Sheila James as Zelda Gilroy
Frank Faylen as Herbert T. Gillis
Florida Friebus as Winnie Gillis
Tuesday Weld as Thalia Menninger
Warren Beatty as Milton Armitage
Steve Franken as Chatsworth Osborne , Jr
Doris Packer as Mrs. Chatsworth Osborne, Sr
Maynard was Dobie’s beatnik best friend, his voice rose 2 octaves when he said the word “work?” Thalia was a beautiful girl, she was really out of Dobie’s league. She was very greedy and Dobie was always broke. Milton Armitage was more her speed, rich and handsome. Both characters only lasted for a year. In 1960, Chatsworth was Dobie’s rival for girls. He was rich and rather less handsome than Warren Beatty. His mother called him a “nasty boy.”
Dobie was always chasing one girl or another, but one girl was always chasing him. Zelda was realistic about Dobie’s shortcomings, but she wanted him anyway. She tolerated his chasing other girls, Zelda knew she would get him in the end. She liked to crinkle her nose at Dobie and invariably he crinkled his nose right back.
Dobie regularly talked to the audience, often while he was next to a statue of Rodin’s Thinker in the local park. Dobie lived with his parents above the family grocery store. His mother was sweet, his father less so; he regularly said “one of these days, I’m gonna kill that boy.”
When the series started Dobie was in High School, but during the course of the story, he and Maynard enlisted in the Army and then Dobie started at the local junior college. Dobie continued to chase girls, Maynard continued to be a slacker and avoid work whenever he could.
There was a reunion movie that established that Dobie was now a partner in the family grocery store and was married to Zelda. Maynard was still a slacker. The movie aired in the 1980’s. There was a pilot made for a new series in 1977. But “Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis?” didn’t last, only a pilot was aired. Dobie as a responsible adult was much less interesting than as a goofy teenager.
