David Cassidy on the Web
Come on, can we get happy with a 'Partridge' remake?
October 1, 2008
By Thomas Conner
http://blogs.suntimes.com
If you loved watching VH1's "I Love the '70s," then you'll love some upcoming TV projects being dredged up directly from that disco decade -- the return of "The Partridge Family" and the return of Norman Lear.
NBC has indeed confirmed that it's picking up a "contemporary take" on ye olde "Partridge Family," the hit sitcom (originally on ABC) that gave us dreamy David Cassidy, homey Shirley Jones and that crazy redhead who's still yammering away on talk radio.
The new version will be written by Jeff Rake. A fan of the 1970s series, Rake plans to ''turn the premise on its head ... In the original, the kids actually recruited their mom to front the band, which I can't see happening in any family on this planet,'' he said. Rake further describes the project as ''a one-hour, high-octane action dramedy.''
Maybe the financial crisis could somehow impact NBC just enough to cancel this project right now ... ? Pretty please?
In other post-Watergate news, TV icon Norman Lear has teamed with HBO for a drama series project set in the world of 1970s pro wrestling. The character-driven drama, tentatively titled ''Everybody Hurts,'' revolves around a family running a pro-wrestling business in New York and peeks into the lives of the wrestlers and their fans.
''Pro wrestling is a pretty fair reflection of good and evil in our culture,'' Lear said.
As a friend of mine used to say, pro wrestling is the people's opera. Here's hoping this bizarre show hits the right note.
Contributing: The Hollywood Reporter
