Donny & Marie: episode # 6 (third season) originally aired Friday, October 28th 1977.

In a seemingly endless line of musical/comedy variety shows to come from the era Donny and Marie Osmond's hour long program probably has the distinction of being the cleanest and most wholesome to ever appear on television. ABC's popular Friday night show featured the Osmond's own unique take on a wide range of pop music, dancing and skating numbers, comedy skits (with plenty of movie and pop culture references thrown in) and a multitude of guest star appearances and cameos all to produce a thoroughly inoffensive and yet still entirely delightful and entertaining program. An altogether friendly and charming bit of television that the entire family could sit down and enjoy together without a single worry of something objectionable yet to come.

This program originally aired Halloween week 1977 so many of the musical numbers and skits have a "spooky" theme. This episode also features numerous guest star appearances and cameos including: brothers Merrill and Jimmy Osmond, Kristy McNichol, Ben Vereen, Billy Crystal, Sesame Street's Big Bird and Oscar the grouch and comedienne Shirley Hemphill from the hit ABC comedy What's Happening!!

Kristy appears in several comic skits and musical numbers throughout the show. In one cute skit Kristy and Donny go trick or treating thru the studio meeting several of that week's guests while in another she and Marie parody director Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. In yet another the entire cast does a takeoff on the tale of Aladdin. Like many teenage girls in the 1970s Kristy had a big crush on Donny and to have a chance to work with him must have been a big thrill for her, it certainly appears that way as you watch this nostalgic look back at television from a much more innocent era.

Buying note: This show has never been available on commercial home video. There are however other sources for this as well as many other Kristy McNichol appearances that you might be looking for.

10-31-2006