ONE SEASON WONDERS: Bridget Loves Bernie

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. This week, I am looking at Bridget Loves Bernie!

BRIDGET LOVES BERNIE

September 16, 1972 - March 3, 1973
24 episodes
CBS

Starring: David Birney, Meredith Baxter, Harold J. Stone, Bibi Osterwald, David Doyle, Audra Lindley, Ned Glass, Robert Sampson, Bill Elliott
Created by: Bernard Slade

Plot: Bridget Fitzgerald (Baxter) is an Irish Catholic teacher who falls in love with Jewish cab driver and aspiring playwright, Bernie Steinberg (Birney). The interfaith relationship irks both Bridget's parents (Lindley & Doyle) as well as Bernie's parents (Osterwald & Stone). Rounding out the main cast is Bridget's brother, Michael (Sampson), who happens to be a priest as well as Bernie's uncle (Glass) and best friend (Elliott).

Brief Pilot Review:

This was a really interesting pilot to watch because it some ways it felt like it was probably ahead of its time and in other ways, it felt incredibly dated now. This show felt a little like what would have happened if MTM decided to do a more pointedly All in the Family-type political show. There was an element of class and sophistication to the production level that was so often missing from the Norman Lear shows. But the content was definitely in response to the Lear shows because they definitely wanted to address the "mixed marriage" concept head-on. As I mentioned before though, this was clearly a show in 1972. The mixed marriage topic was of course the main reason but Bridget's mother's response when she thought Bernie was black was an even more glaring example.

And while I do think this show wanted to be an issues show, it also was a romantic sitcom and that made for an interesting vibe to the show. The cast was solid with some genuine chemistry between the future real-life married couple David Birney and Meredith Baxter. There was also a hint of the humor that would follow with the two different families. The pilot definitely played more for heart and topicality in the pilot than humor as there weren't a ton of laughs. My only criticism of the plotting of the episode was I think we needed to see a little more one on one time between Bridget and Bernie than we got. Although they had chemistry, the relationship did not get developed much in the pilot.

What Went Wrong:

Bridget Loves Bernie has the distinction of being one of the highest rated shows in TV history to be one and done. The series was nestled in on CBS Saturday nights between two all time classics, All in the Family (the #1 show on TV that year) and The Mary Tyler Moore Show (the #7 show on TV that year). Later in the night were more classics: The Bob Newhart Show at 9:30pm and The Carol Burnett Show at 10pm. It wasn't like Bridget Loves Bernie cratered the way so many sitcoms between Friends and Seinfeld or Seinfeld and ER did in the 1990s. In fact, it was the #5 TV show that year, ahead of its lead-out, Mary Tyler Moore. So what actually did go wrong here? Can't you not ask for much better than that? As you might have guessed, the reason did not really have to do with ratings.

The series was cancelled primarily because of the controversy it courted and CBS's research department telling them that audiences didn't really like the marriage at the center of the show. While I would like to point out that people were still watching the show even if they didn't like the marriage, that apparently didn't factor into the decision. The series garnered some controversy from the most conservative wings of both Catholicism and Judaism. David Birney and Meredith Baxter married shortly after the series ended and they were married for 15 years while both having success, most notably for Baxter on Family Ties. Meanwhile, the 8:30pm timeslot on Saturday nights soon went to M*A*S*H and then CBS really had their perfect lineup.

Tomorrow: A look at Season 2 (Part 2) of Happy Days!

Next Wednesday: A One Season Wonder look at Something Wilder!