View Full Version : Anyone remember "That's Life" (1968)?


installLSC
08-18-2013, 12:53 AM
While reading "Complete Guide to Prime Time Television", a series struck my eye. It was called "That's Life" and it was a newlywed sitcom with a twist. The couple would often break into song or dance in the middle of a standard sitcom plot, and they would often feature guest stars in these productions. Anyone remember this show? Did it work at all or did the sitcom/variety parts not really match up together?

Vahan
08-18-2013, 02:54 PM
Was it an American adaptation of the BBC Program of the same name, or are they completely different?

installLSC
08-19-2013, 01:12 PM
Was it an American adaptation of the BBC Program of the same name, or are they completely different?
Nope. The BBC show was a consumer affairs program, while the U.S. was a combo sitcom/variety show.

1960'sTVfan
08-21-2013, 09:53 PM
While reading "Complete Guide to Prime Time Television", a series struck my eye. It was called "That's Life" and it was a newlywed sitcom with a twist. The couple would often break into song or dance in the middle of a standard sitcom plot, and they would often feature guest stars in these productions. Anyone remember this show? Did it work at all or did the sitcom/variety parts not really match up together?

I've mentioned this series several times here in these forums. That's Life was a good show, a little different type of show for TV at the time, but ABC took a chance with it. The series was well done and critics liked it, but the ratings weren't good enough and the show was cancelled after one season of 26 episodes. Robert Morse and EJ Peaker were cast as the young newlywed couple. A few years ago, Morse and Peaker appeared at a retrospective discussion about the series, there was talk about putting the series out on DVD. I would love to see That's Life released on DVD, unfortunately I doubt it will happen. But we'll see, never say never I guess.

Nan8red
09-14-2019, 07:16 PM
i'd like to see the show, too. They have just a clip of it on YouTube. Robert and Gloria have friends over for Christmas and they sing, Reach Out of the Darkness and With a Little Help from My Friends. The excuse the DVD companies give for not releasing it is that the getting the rights to the songs is too expensive.

Someone who has the show on vhs/dvd from a collector should release these on youtube so people can see them. Some collectors sell them on ioffer sometimes. I'll gladly pay to see the show/

Hazel Anyday
09-15-2019, 11:02 PM
I remember the name of the show but even I didn't watch this thing. I know I didn't like Robert Morse because of his weird gap tooth look. I wonder if that was the only reason or if this show was on opposite of another show that I did watch. Another reason to ponder.

1960'sTVfan
09-16-2019, 02:17 PM
I remember the name of the show but even I didn't watch this thing. I know I didn't like Robert Morse because of his weird gap tooth look. I wonder if that was the only reason or if this show was on opposite of another show that I did watch. Another reason to ponder.

If you didn't watch That's Life then maybe you watched 60 Minutes on CBS or Tuesday Night At The Movies on NBC because that's what was on opposite of That's Life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968%E2%80%9369_United_States_network_television_schedule

That's Life was a good show, I remember Robert Morse with his gapped teeth. I had a crush on EJ Peaker, she was cute looking and in some ways resembled Barbara Eden.

1960'sTVfan
09-16-2019, 02:23 PM
i'd like to see the show, too. They have just a clip of it on YouTube. Robert and Gloria have friends over for Christmas and they sing, Reach Out of the Darkness and With a Little Help from My Friends. The excuse the DVD companies give for not releasing it is that the getting the rights to the songs is too expensive.

Music rights aside, I'm not even sure if the entire series exists anymore. If the series was videotaped instead of filmed, chances are ABC might have erased the videotapes. I think some episodes might be archived but whether the whole series still exists is open to question.

1960'sTVfan
12-10-2022, 11:17 AM
I saw on You Tube that a few complete episodes of That's Life have been posted and they also contain the original commercials. It could be that these are sourced from the original network videotapes, but I don't know for sure. Hopefully more complete episodes will become available and posted on You Tube as time goes along. Would love to have the complete series on DVD if all the episodes still exist.