[OH Nuts!]

Originally Posted by broadmoor

I always wondered why the original pilot episode (later reconfigured into "The Cousins") wasn't utilized as the first episode. It served up the basic premise, gave ample time to the two girls, showed off the family to nice advantage, as well as Martin's job environment. An absolutely perfect introductory presentation, which is immediately endearing.

Instead, they went with "The French Teacher" for the series debut. A rather mediocre episode in many ways, and not really a good example to start off with. One of its primary stumbling-blocks (for me) is in the casting of Jean-Pierre Aumont. Admittedly, Aumont was a pretty big-name romantic idol of the 40s, and on paper, he undoubtedly sounded like an ideal fit for the role of the teacher. I remember seeing some of his films on the late-show, like "Heartbeat" (with Ginger Rogers) and "Wicked City." It probably seemed like quite a coup at the time, getting him to appear in a little American sitcom. However, by 1963 and this TPDS episode, Aumont's age had started catching up with him, and he's frankly looking a bit craggy... which makes it difficult to buy into Patty's head-over-heels falling for him. Much more believable was when a similar situation arose in 2nd-season's "Don't Monkey with Mendel," with guest-star Robert Goulet also as a teacher garnering Patty's affections. That did work, that time. But altogether, "The French Teacher" seemed to make for a less than satisfying launch, especially when compared to the so many fine episodes that were soon to follow right on its heels. Shoulda gone with "The Cousins."

I agree with you, The Cousins would have been a much more awesome launch. Re the crushes, since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, thought the two gents reasonable choices.