David Cassidy on the Web
The TV Column
July 21, 2009
By Michael Storey
Arkansas Democrat Gazette
www.nwanews.com
C'mon get happy. Can an aging '80s pop star find happiness on basic cable? We're about to find out.
David Cassidy, erstwhile teen heartthrob of The Partridge Family, is one of the stars of the new ABC Family comedy Ruby and the Rockits.
The half-hour series also stars David's half-brother Patrick Cassidy and is produced by one of David's other half-brothers, Shaun Cassidy. Fourth Cassidy son Ryan is the show's production designer.
David is 59. Can he pull off the role of an aging former pop star now playing lounges and casinos? The role seems perfect for him and Cassidy was appropriately self-indulgent in the pilot. Here's the premise.
Patrick Cassidy plays Patrick Gallagher, half of a once-hot 1980s pop duo that included his brother David (David Cassidy). Patrick and David. I suppose ABC Family didn't want to take any chances that the guys would forget their names.
On the show, Patrick is leading the quiet suburban life selling cars and living with his wife Audie (Katie Amanda Keane) and two sons - Jordan (Austin Butler) and Ben (Kurt Doss). But surprise. David shows up with a teenage daughter, Ruby, he never knew he had. David asks if Ruby can live with them.
Hilarity ensues as David struggles with balancing his singing career (what's left of it) with helping raise Ruby.
Ruby is played by Alexa Vega. Fans will remember her first as Burt Reynolds' daughter in Evening Shade, then as young Carmen Cortez in the Spy Kids trilogy. Time passes - Vega turns 21 next month.
There you have it - something for everyone. Baby boomers have David Cassidy; the kids have cute Alexa Vega; comedy lovers have goofy family situations.
