Week of March 5: One Day at a Time: TV Comedy's Secret Success

By Sylvia Gurinsky

It was the nature of the quality of television comedy during the 1970s and 1980s that "One Day at a Time" could manage to be controversial, successful - and overlooked.

Controversial because of the storyline - divorced mother Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin, who died last week) of teenage daughters Julie and Barbara Cooper (Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli) tackling such issues as dating, sex, job discrimination and drug use.

Successful because it ran nine seasons.

And overlooked because it was on the air during a time when CBS was at its comedy peak, with shows such as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "M*A*S*H."

"One Day at a Time" was the last in a string of successful comedies Norman Lear developed during the 1970s - and the only success that was original, not from a British comedy (All in the Family, Sanford and Son) or a spinoff (Maude, The Jeffersons, Good Times).

It was recognized just three times by the Emmys, with a 1982 nomination for Franklin for lead actress and top awards in 1984 for Pat Harrington, Jr.'s hilarious portrayal of landlord Schneider and in 1982 for Alan Rafkin's direction of an episode in which Barbara discovers she might not be able to have children.

Inexplicably, none of the writing team, which included Lear, co-creators Whitney Blake and Alan Manings and some of TV's best from that era, ever received a nomination for even one Emmy. The writers took major chances, creating story arcs of three or four episodes unheard of for a comedy series.

Here's a look at "Pressure," in which Barbara debated whether to have sex with her boyfriend:

One Day at a Time - Pressure

Just as inexplicable, only the first season is available on DVD. The reminisences of Franklin may trigger a call for the release of more.

Sadly, the show seems to be best remembered today for its catchy theme song and Phillips' repeated departures from the show due to her own battle with drugs.



The rest of the cast and crew deserve much more. And "One Day" deserves a full series DVD release.

See you next week.