Written by Dale McRaven
Produced by Larry Rosen
Directed by Jerry London
Original Air Date: March 30, 1973
The Partridge Family attend a lecture by Michelangelo Rezo, a famous mystery
writer. After the lecture they meet him and the discussion leads to the fact
that everyone but Rezo feels that his stories are more fantasy than
true-to-life. Rezo believes that using human nature and logic, anything is
possible. In order to prove his point, Rezo offers the Partridges a deal they
can't refuse. He will give them a two-hour head start and then begin looking
for them; if he can't locate them within 24 hours, he will donate $25,000 to
their favorite charity.
The next morning the chase begins. No matter where they go, Rezo and his
agent, Lazaar Hannibal, seem to turn up. The family pretends to leave their
house and drive around for an hour before returning to the house -- thinking
that's the last place he'd look. When they get out of the car, Rezo is
waiting. Shirley leaves the younger children, Chris and Tracy, at Mrs.
Monihan's because the chase will be too much for them.
Trying to figure out how Rezo always finds them, Keith searches the car and
finds a "bug." The Partridges use the bug to lead Rezo on a wild
goose chase out to Cronos Caverns, 100 miles away. Thinking they are home
free, the Partridges are surprised when Rezo walks in. He explains that the
farther he got from town, the weaker the signal from the bug became, and the
closer he got to the Partridge home the stronger it became. Shirley says he
has still lost the bet since he hasn't found all the Partridges --
where are Chris and Tracy?
At the show where Rezo turns the check for $25,000 over to the charity,
Shirley learns from the younger children that Rezo had visited them at Mrs.
Monihan's, right after they had arrived there. He had known all along, but
donated the money anyway.
Song:
"Storybook Love," music and lyrics by Wes Farrell and Adam
Miller (on Notebook)
Guest Cast:
Rezo ----------------------------------------------- Richard Schaal
Lazaar --------------------------------------------- Martin Speer
Delbert -------------------------------------------- Bruce Kimmel
Girl ------------------------------------------------ Susan Neher
Tube Trivia:
- Richard Schaal alaso appeared in Episode 41. He
appeared in many guest roles on television and was married to Valerie Harper.
- Bruce Kimmel also appeared in Episodes 32, 47,
55, and 81.
- Susan Neher was a regular in "To Rome With Love," with John
Forsythe and "Getting Together," with Bobby Sherman and Wes Stern.
She also appeared in Episode 62.
- Dale McRaven was the Story Editor for "The Partridge Family." He
wrote 16 episodes for The Partridge Family. He went on to produce and
co-create such shows as "Mork & Mindy," "Laverne &
Shirley," and "Perfect Strangers."
- As the third Season was winding down, "The Partridge Family"
remained a Top 20 hit, tied at #19 with "The Waltons." Albums sales,
however, were a different story.
- Starting in September, ABC-TV decides to move the series to Saturday nights
at 8PM, opposite "All In The Family" and "Emergency."
Ratings would plummet.
- "Friend And A Lover" is released as The Partridge Family's ninth
single. It entered the charts on April 14, and peaked at a disappointing #99
on April 21st.
- In July, "Daydream" is released as David Cassidy's fifth solo
single. It's the first of David's 7" singles to be pressed as a
"stereo" Bell stock copy. (Including Partridge singles as well) The
mix of "Daydream" is different than the L.P. mix with an alternate
lead vocal track, and an added acoustic guitar track.
