One of my earliest and happiest memories of television is persuading my father into letting me stay up to watch this series at around 9pm on a weekday school night in 1969/70 - what convinced him was me laughing at stuff I thought was funny - before, years later, knowing how funny it really was: the delicious family triangle (whatever happened to that cute Lisa Gerritson? Windom's monologues to the camera (borrowed from Alistair Sim in the finale of School For Scoundrels; and to be borrowed by Woody Allen in Annie Hall). It's impossible to imagine a nation such as America would allow a masterpiece of entertainment, social commentary and acting on this scale to be reconciled to what you call a garbage pail; why we celebrate and enervate derivative and overrated offerings like Monty Python's Flying Circus to the highest echelons of comedy and humorous invention. Someone - and more than one person - in your country MUST hold copies of this magnificent series on ancient videotape recordings - you must release these to the world for we need that pleasing.

Although I was six years old when this show came out. I remembered I always watched it with my family and liking it. Ever since then, whenever I see William Windom or the actress who played his daughter in something, I always think of this show. Strange how experiences from early in life echo 40 years later. I remember in the show there were times when the rest of the world became a cartoon or live action comic strip where Windom was the only real thing on the screen.I wish the show would come back.The reason why I am here is I just watched the cameo Windom did for the new (amateur produced) Star Trek episode "In Harms Way" where replays his role as Commadore Decker, although he is 40 years older than he was in Star Trek. It's good to see actors are willing to do this cameo work as a salute to their history.

For some reason certain shows never last long on television, but retain an affection on their audiences long after they disappear. "He & She" with Paula Prentice, Richard Benjamin, Jack Cassidy, Kenneth Mars, and Hamilton Camp was one of these - it lasted one season only, but it was a truly funny series. Slightly lesser but with good moments was "Good Morning World". And with those two is this show, that only lasted from 1969 to 1970.It was based on the comedy of one of our wittiest writers, James Thurber - a man who was so good at writing he has been recently republished in the "Library Of America" series of books. Thurber was an essayist mainly, but he wrote short stories ("The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and "The Greatest Man In the World" are two of his most anthologized works), a comic autobiography ("My World And Welcome To It"), and hundreds of funny cartoons, many chronicling "The War Between Men And Women". What is amazing about Thurber's achievement was the difficulties he encountered - he was a man in poor health (he eventually went totally blind in his last years, but he was still doing those difficult cartoons up to the end, using special crayons and paper). He also had a serious drinking problem.Thurber's work first appeared in "The New Yorker", and he would develop close working relations with many other leading writers. One friendship was with fellow humorist Robert Benchley. In the series, the character based on Thurber (John Monroe - William Windom), has a friendship with a Benchley clone (Philip Jensen - Henry Morgan) in several of the episodes. Although Thurber was friendly with Benchley, he was never a member of the Algonquin Set that Benchley belonged to (with Dorothy Parker, Harpo Marx, F. P. Adams, George F. Kaufman, Heywood Broun Sr., Marc Connelly, and Alexander Woolcott).The series followed the normal Thurber point of view, ably translated via the scripts by Windom's perfectly dry and sensible performance as Monroe. Like W.C.Fields, Thurber did not have anything but a jaundiced eye for patriotism, sentimentality, lovable dogs and pets, and perfect marriages. While Windom and Joan Hotchkiss (as his wife) were not at daggers drawn as some of Thurber's more extreme couples (one cartoon of his shows the bodies of a husband and wife, each holding a gun, on the floor - and a reporter only asking a witness what was the make of the bullets), their relationship mirrors his views of how men seem to be more reasonable, and women more excitable and changeable. Whether this is fair I leave to whoever reads Thurber to figure out. However, he usually makes it quite funny.Windom's character faced problems regarding putting up a flagpole on his property (while applauded by patriotic groups, some wonder why he is doing it, and question his patriotism). He tells stories of his early life from the autobiography (such as "The Night the Bedclothes Fell"). He deals with a children's book writer (played by Paul Ford) who turns out to be less than loving about kids when he's had a snoot full. Windom handled Monroe/Thurber wonderfully, and merited the Emmy award he got for his role. Unfortunately, the series was not renewed. Pity about that, as it was one of the best in terms of writing and acting in television history.

I was only 3 when I watched this according to the air date...wow! I remember it fondly and for a long time wondered if it was a product of my imagination. Mostly I remembered William Windom and the interspersed drawn segments, then the girl who played his daughter (I think....memory is funny that way, and I was only 3). Can anyone tell me if this show is available on DVD or anything? I would LOVE to see it again.I really hope it is. So rarely these days do I remember a show so fondly. From what I do remember, this is/was a definite one of a kind show. William Windom was also an excellent actor in this show too, he has to have been...since he was burned into my memory at such a young age. Thankfully it was his appearance as Woody on a rerun of Mama's Family that jogged my mind and made me rush to IMDb to see if he was listed. Thanks to this wonderful site I now know I didn't make it all up...and my memory isn't THAT bad.