Last night I attended a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Palace Theater in Albany, and had a fantastic time. The “shadow cast” really went above and beyond in their performances, and the audience was super-loud and super-energetic. And I’m still picking bird seed and confetti out of my hair this morning.
And on the way home, it occurred to me. Tim Curry has one of the most varied and diverse acting resumes out there, and people can make plenty of arguments about which Tim Curry performance do they swear is the definitive one. I mean, for me it’s Dr. Frank-N-Furter from Rocky Horror, while others might lean towards his appearances in Annie or Legend or Ferngully or the like.
Excuse me for a moment while I introduce you to what is essentially Tim Curry’s sitcom. And I’m still shocked that this got greenlit.
Brace yourself. This one needs a review.
From 1966 to 1971, CBS aired a wholesome family sitcom called Family Affair. The show was simple – wealthy industrialist / bachelor Bill Davis and his valet, Mr. French, have their lives turned upside down by the arrival of three relatives – a teenager and two young twins. The show was immensely popular during its run, and later survived for another decade in syndicated reruns.
So in 2002, someone had this fantastic idea to bring back Family Affair. Gary Cole stepped into Brian Keith’s role as Bill Davis, while the unflappable Mr. French was played by Tim Curry. Yes. I’m serious. Add three kids, and some network executive smelled ratings.
Well, they smelled something … because this iteration of Family Affair had a big premiere – and then ratings cratered, causing the show to die off after half a season.
And here’s where I think the show flopped. The original Family Affair was a gentle program. Probably similar in tone to My Three Sons or The Andy Griffith Show, where the conflicts were simple, easily resolved, and the characters all cared for each other.
This iteration of Family Affair kinda loses that. It goes for cheap jokes, and everybody seems like they were shoehorned into a familial unit against their will. And most of the episodes feature Tim Curry as the straight man to probably the most annoying moppets I’ve ever seen in my life.
You don’t believe me?
Okay … you asked for it.
This was the one-hour pilot episode of the new Family Affair. Brace yourself.
About the only notable other episode of the new Family Affair was a stunt-casting Christmas episode in which the two surviving cast members from the original series appeared in new roles. Yep, Johnnie Whittaker and Kathy Garver (the original Jody and Sissy) make cameos in this episode below.
Okay … enough of this. I need a mental realignment here. Excuse me while I take Tim Curry OUT of that penguin suit and put him into something more comfortable.
That’s better. 😀
Chuck The Writer 
Welp, the Family Affair reboot was on the WB, which is all you really need to know why it flopped. After all, this is the same network that tried ruining the Lone Ranger & Tarzan a year after this. BTW, Kathy Garver’s character in the original was Cissy, not Sissy.
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