The Partridge Family - Season 3, Episode 12 (61)
Title: Nag, Nag, Nag
First aired: December 8, 1972
Synopsis:
Shirley and Laurie arrive back from shopping, Shirley asks Laurie to open the garage, but Danny comes out of the house and doesn’t want her to do that. Keith comes out to see what’s going on. Danny won second prize in a raffle. He opens the garage door and inside stands a thoroughbred racehorse, Danny introduces F Scott Fitzgerald.
Shirley, Danny, Laurie and Keith, discuss whether they can keep the horse. Danny obviously wants to keep F Scott Fitzgerald and he mentions that he could be ready for several major races and with F Scott’s earnings they could buy more horses and Partridge Farms would be worth a fortune. Shirley tries to bring Danny’s enthusiasm down and mentions about how much it would cost to keep the horse. Shirley decides that it wouldn’t do any harm to look into it.
At the stables, they meet F Scott Fitzgerald’s trainer, Will Fowler, who tells them about the horse and shows the family some newspaper clippings and then goes to get some pictures when he was a colt. Meanwhile, Rueben arrives and asks what is going on. Will returns with F Scott Fitzgerald’s scrapbook with all his colt photos and recognises Rueben standing there, it seems that Rueben used to go to the racetrack and knew Will from that time. Will mentions that he would like to run F Scott Fitzgerald in the races at the San Pueblo County Fair, that is if Mrs Partridge agrees to it, Shirley agrees because it will be the only way they will know if he is a winner or not. .
The next day we see Shirley going through all the bills that have to be paid, they are all for F Scott Fitzgerald, Danny rushes in with the colours he has chosen for the jockey’s silks, they are his favourites, 24 Carat Gold and Dollar Green. Will rings and tells Laurie that there is a problem with F Scott Fitzgerald but doesn’t want to talk about it on the phone. At the stables, they find Will by the training track, Will tells them to watch and he sets them off to race around the track, but F Scott doesn’t move, he just stands there. Will tells them it is insomnia as the horse has not had a wink of sleep in four nights and that’s why he won’t run. The vet has checked F Scott Fitzgerald twice in the last couple of days, he said it was nothing physical, that it is all psychological.
Danny suggests hypnosis to try and help F Scott Fitzgerald sleep. That night Danny, Keith and Laurie go to see F Scott Fitzgerald. Danny tries to hypnotise F Scott Fitzgerald, but all that happens is that the horse blinks, then Keith sings a lullaby to the horse, but Danny falls asleep instead of the horse. Keith and Laurie watch late night tv programmes until the channel shuts down on a portable tv in the stable to see if F Scott Falls asleep, but this doesn’t work either, the horse is still wide awake, Keith then suggests there is only one thing to do is give up. .
As they arrive at F Scot Fitzgerald’s stable the next day, Will introduces Shirley and the family to the groom, Homer Peck and tells Homer that the Partridge Family are singers. He asks what band they are with as he doesn’t think there was any music written after 1942, Homer said he would have like to play some of it for them, but his tape machine is broken. Will tells the family that Homer sleeps at the stables most of the time however, Homer hasn’t been there for the last three nights as he has been at the races watching the horse racing. The tape machine starts playing Glenn Miller’s “Moonlight Serenade” after Keith fixed it. Shirley calls Will over to F Scott Fitzgerald’s stable, they both look in and find F Scott Fitzgerald laying down asleep. Will realises that the insomnia started when Homer’s tape machine broke down and F Scott Fitzgerald was missing the music.
The Partridge Family are waiting to perform at the County Fair, but there is no sign of Danny. We see Danny giving F Scott Fitzgerald a pep talk, until Pete, F Scott’s jockey arrives. The Partridge Family are then announced over the sound system, Danny just arrives in time, the family sing “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”. Shirley, all the family and Rueben just make it in time for the race. Once the race starts everyone is on their feet, Danny cannot watch as F Scott Fitzgerald is at the back, then he starts to move through the other horses. F Scott Fitzgerald catches up with the front runner and he wins by 2 lengths. When the family return home Danny is very proud of the trophy he was presented with. Keith and Laurie tease him as it’s not very big, but Danny tells them wait until they see the trophy F Scott would get if he wins the Kentucky Derby, but Rueben tells Danny the F Scott Fitzgerald is too old for the Derby as he is 4 years old and a horse has to be 3 to run in the Kentucky Derby.
Synopsis written by Doreen Walker
Songs:
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Cast:
Shirley Partridge - Shirley Jones
Keith Partridge - David Cassidy
Laurie Partridge - Susan Dey
Danny Partridge - Danny Bonaduce
Chris Partridge - Brian Forster
Tracy Partridge - Suzanne Crough
Reuben Kincaid - Dave Madden
Directed by: E. W. Swackhamer
Written by: Steve Pritzker
Guest stars: Slim Pickens as Will Fowler, Lazaro Perez as Pete Navarro, Dick Balduzzi as Homer Peck
Screen Shots:
