Gidget was a very funny show with a very talented cast. Sally Field revealed herself to be a very talented actress at such a young age. Peter Duel was hilarious with his mugging and reactions. Betty Conner as Gidget's sister was very funny as well. Don Porter, who played her dad, was like a country club cardigan-wearing Ward Cleaver. This show was great and it's too bad it lasted only one season. Can you imagine Gidget 2013? Episode 1: Gidget supports gay and lesbian prom partners. Episode 2: Gidget's friend Larue confides that her uncle molested her. Episode 3: Gidget smokes weed and Larue drops acid. Episode 4: Gidget gets a tongue piercing and a tramp stamp. Episode 5: Gidget receives a sext message on her I-phone. Episode 6: Larue gets an abortion. ...and so on.

This short lived series was very important for many of us just becoming teens in the mid-60's. Her clothing, hairdos, language and relationships with friends and boyfriends were fun to tune into once a week and see what life was like (although somewhat not believable!!) for a teenage girl growing up near the beach in California. Sally Field was a darling girl, perfectly cast here, not afraid to make faces, cry, or even do physical comedy in this series. Gidget had her own bedroom with her own Princess telephone (we all wanted one), lived in a wonderful two story home with a beautiful yard and got to drive her dad's cool car sometimes. And yes, she got into and out of a lot of trouble in the 22 minute show,but at that time in our lives, for a half hour, it was believable to many of us. Like The Donna Reed Show, Father Knows Best, and Leave It To Beaver, these were mild comedies, with gentle story lines, usually a moral to be learned, and left us feeling good about ourselves and maybe had a laugh or two during the half hour show. To many people today,this sounds corny and old-fashioned, but it felt like a safer, more comfortable world back then.

Checking out the credits on IMDb, I think I must be right, but recently, I was watching Gidget, and I saw some red thing on Gidget's dresser. It looked like maybe one of the old Bradley dresser dolls, and being a collector, I wondered if maybe it was one I had. Instead, the more I watched, the more convinced I became that the doll was in fact a little tribute to another member of the Screen Gems family -- a "Bewitched" Samantha doll. If it is... how's that for product placement! Please let me know if you can confirm my suspicions.

I have to say, in the summertime, it is easy to get latched onto a television show, think about it, American Idol would've never caught on otherwise. I religiously watched Gidget everyday on TV Land at 11:00 pm during the summer. I was spellbound. First of all, Sally Field is so freakishly young, she looks like some wacky apparition or something, like the ghost of careers past. Not to mention its so wonderfully cast (with the exception of Gidget's sister Anne, who just makes me REALLY tired.) And so begins my love affair with Pete Duel (R.I.P.). Overall, Gidget is really a delightful television program. ONE SEASON? ONE SEASON? What was that network thinking?!