Shark Bytes

When they replaced one Chris with another during the summer hiatus, it scared me. I thought if I made my parents mad enough, they'd replace me, too.

The show went wrong when the two little kids were giving no lines at all while bringing another little kid, extremely obnoxious, who had everybody sitting around listening to him sing. Disgusting. Anyway, the show was pretty bad before that. Of all the early 70s that we look back nostalgically (I'm 43 so I remember watching the show when it was actually on) this is one of the few that I can't watch today. Besides, as a rock'n'roller of the rockabilly/"garage band" school I find the music horrible with the exception of the theme song and I Think I Love You.

This was a stupid TV show, but I loved the bus. It's what the bus stood for according to David Cassidy that was great. There were many female runaways that wanted to join the family. The "actors" gave them bus fare back home. A few of the songs were excellent. David made the girls in my neighborhood go nuts.

The reason for the switch in actors playing the role of Chris was that,beside fighting with Danny,Jeremy Gelbwaks[Chris #1]was a biter.Not in the old-school rap sense,the kid was leaving teeth-marks in the other kid actors.Brian Forster[Chris #2]can be seen onstage with Cindy Brady in the "Fairy Princess" episode of the Brady Bunch.I remember when they pulled the Chris-switch.The first episode of the new season began and I was baffled by the presence of a blond.fat-faced kid sitting in the background,not yet understanding that this was supposed to be Chris!He looked absolutely nothing like the dark-haired,rat-faced biter he was replacing!Be sure to read Danny Bonaduce's autobio "Random Acts of Badness".It's a hoot,and would make a killer feature film,if they could find the right guy to play Danny.Also,anyone who hasn't yet seen it should go to YouTube and see Danny tossing sickening idiot Jonny Fairplay up and over his head.Fairplay face-plants gloriously,losing a shoe and a tooth or two,and looks like Beetle Bailey after Sgt. Snorkel kicks his ass.DANNY ROCKS!!!

Oh, and BTW, the first season can be found on Hulu.com - legitimately.

All I know is that when they replaced anemic looking Jeremy with plump boy Brian, my 7 year old brain went into major cognitive dissonance. It truly scared me. I thought they were a real family. It also taught me how easily it is to be replaced if you don't pull your weight. I'm serious.

I loved to hear Ricky Seagull sing. I wish they had released his songs on the Partridge Family record albums.

The Partridge Family was at it best in its first season when the family was traveling in their bus having adventures on the road. When it settled down in L.A. (or wherever) it got too bland and repetitious... Keith has a date... Laurie has a date... Shirley has a date... There were some good episodes now and then, but why did they ever add poor Ricky Seagull to the cast. Did anyone really think this child could sing?coastle

I can't really comment on when this show jumped-although I would guess day one. I only saw a few episodes when I was in middle school. Even then I was probably too old for it. I do recall 2 Jeremys and I don't recall one being better than the other. Neither him nor Tracy seemed to have any acting talent. But then they were kids, whom when the show began were below the age of 10 and it was a comedy made for children so I don't think you should expect much from them in any event.
But I must say this talk about Jeremy Gelbwalks is very interesting. Perhaps this guest is in fact him-although the way he talks about his mother seems unlikely. Clearly there was some friction between him and Danny Bonaduce in any case.
For some odd reason this reminds me of the Beatles, who shouldn't even be in the same sentence as the Partridge Family (Cassidy did not have any musical talent to speak of, whereas the Beatles were the greatest band of all time ). The original drummer Pete Best was sacked early on as well. All sorts of theories have come out about that. The truth is that the Beatles simply preferred Ringo and that Pete's alleged lack of talent had nothing to do with it. Also, the other Beatles and Brian Epstein didn't like Pete's mother, who was supposed to have been quite bossy as well! I guess this was a case of art imitating life. Just reading these comments makes me want to research more into this whole controversy! And I don't even like the Partridge Family. Go figure.

Yes, Dave Madden played Earl Hicks on "Alice" from 1978 to 1985, as he was a regular at Mel's Diner, and also was Tommy Hyatt's basketball coach later on in the series.

When did the Partridge Family jump the shark? That's a tough one. Browsing the comments, I'm finding that I kinda agree with alot of them. Maybe the PF only JTS in increments (which is probably the way with lots of shows). First jump was definitely losing the personable Jeremy Gelbwaks, with a replacement that was pretty lame. Next jump was making the series more pedestrian by centering at home instead of on the road. Story lines started getting forced and stale -- another little leap. David Cassidy looking bored with the proceedings -- the show hopped a bit more over that shark. Danny getting Keith-length hair that looked REAL bad; Reuben growing that icky mustache; the music getting more "funky" (presaging the awful disco era)...all small jumps over that wicked dorsal fin! The family getting new striped stage outfits that looked like Shirley sewed them from cast-off serapes she found in a dumpster behind Olivera Street. Then the final leap: talentless Ricky shows up to screech while the others have to stand around smiling like morons.

Oh, just gotta put my "two cents" in on this endless Jeremy controversy (and NO, I'm NOT Jeremy posting, just cause I think he was the better Chris!). Can't believe he's really on this site doing postings extolling himself (something I MIGHT believe Danny would do, cause self-promotion is his whole life) -- but if he is, then "Hello, Jeremy! Dude, you might want to seek some psychiatric help, cause it sounds like you got a real mother-hate complex!"

Three Dog Night and the Partridge Family don't sound anything alike. Someone needs to clean out their ears.

Sandra Madden... Dave Madden. Could they be... No, it has to be a Fig Newton of my imagination.
I thought the show was okay until Ricky Segall (who unbeknownst to many, changed his name to "Ted McGinley" when he got older) came on the scene. Oh look everyone, Ricky's here to sing and wave his head back and forth like a pigeon on Prozac. Everyone's ear plugs in place? Okay Ricky, are you ready to scream y... I mean SING your new song? Coolio, go for it!
Of course Tracy never smiled. Her brother changed his appearance overnight and no one said a word. Hell, that'd send most people to the funny farm. Maybe the tambourine was her therapy. Think about it: You know that song "They're Coming To Take Me Away"? What, I ask you, is playing in the background? A TAMBOURINE! Okay then! So maybe they gave her the tambourine to pound her frustrations away. I thought she was a cute little kid even if all she had to do was play the triangle, the tambourine, and go into comas the rest of the time.

very sweet show from long ago!

My goodness, that was quick! Thank you, Sandra Madden, for such a speedy response! I'll have to look round for the book which you mentioned. & I'll also have to remember to come to jumptheshark with questions re popular shows in the future. Again, thank you!