Today's offering is an episode of Love on a Rooftop, a one-season sitcom on ABC that debuted in September of '66 and was gone by the following April. In 1971, when its star Peter Deuel was having something of a hit with a series called Alias Smith and Jones, someone at ABC had the bright idea of rerunning Love on a Rooftop for a while…and audiences didn't watch it then, either.
Deuel played an architect who was way too serious for his own good, and a pre-Laugh-In Judy Carne played his new wife, who was more passionate, and they lived in a cheap, tiny apartment. In many ways, it reminded one of the Neil Simon play, Barefoot in the Park, which was about a lawyer who was way too serious for his own good, and his new wife, who was more passionate…and they also lived in a cheap, tiny apartment.
Pete and Judy's characters had a lot of trouble with her parents, who for some reason didn't have British accents even though their daughter did. I guess there was some line in the first episode about how she'd picked one up when she went away to school in London but it sure didn't make them seem like much of a family. The newlyweds' best friends and neighbors were played by Rich Little and Barbara Bostock and I also never understood why anyone selected Rich Little for a role that didn't involve impressions. He threw one in once in a while but it was still kinda like…well, like hiring Rich Little for a role that didn't involve impressions.
I watched this show for a while because at that age, I had an enormous crush on Judy Carne. Eventually, even that wasn't enough to keep me tuning in. But it's interesting to watch it now because it really screams S*I*X*T*I*E*S in a big way. And this particular episode was wholly stolen by guest Dick Gautier, who was concurrently playing Hymie the Robot on Get Smart. It's a bit out of sync (with the voices and with the era) but you may find it of interest…
