Ranking the four seasons

[TMC]

How would you rank all of the four seasons of The Partridge Family from best to worst:

• Season 1 (1970-71)
  
• Season 2 (1971-72)
  
• Season 3 (1972-73)
  
• Season 4 (1973-74)

[icecream]

Season 4 was easily the worst with that neighbor kid's awful singing in several episodes. Other than that I don't have a preference.

[Dude111]

I would say it peaked with season 2 and then started going downhill....

[stevea]

That mop-headed kid who couldn't sing, Ricki, really screwed up season 4. Even the producers eventually noticed, and dumped him.

It's between season 2 and 3. It's pretty even and I just picked 3.

[Dude111]

Ya Stevie maybe your right,season 2 and 3 might be equal.......

[TMC]

SEVENTIES SITCOMS: 1970-1971: A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM

#25. The Partridge Family (ABC). The premiere of this musical family sitcom would prove that there was still room for lighthearted family fare. As long as there was rock-n-roll and the kids were really hip and good looking and could have fan clubs and billboard hits. And, of course, Mom was a widow. And right off the bat, there was an episode dealing with women’s lib.

SEVENTIES SITCOMS 1971-1972: TIMBER! RURAL PURGE COMPLETE.

#16. The Partridge Family. (ABC). Shirley and her brood became the anchor to the Friday night lineup thanks to teen heartthrob David Cassidy. In this second season, her youngest son changed into a different actor a la Roseanne eons later. Well, Laurie dated a biker (played by Meathead himself!) and posed nude for a painting. There was an episode regarding Native Americans. But other than rock n roll, the most controversial thing happening on that tour bus were multiplying hamsters.

Producer Screen Gems tried to launch another teen-mag idol factory with a sort-of spin off: Getting Together (ABC) featured Bobby Sherman one half of a musician/songwriter/singer team loosely based on real-life Boyce and Hart, who wrote music for The Monkees. As with the Partridges, lots of music intermingling with the mild comedy antics were the order of the day. Although there were some stirrings from fan mags and comic book adaptations, the ratings did not prove as like able.

SEVENTIES SITCOMS 1972-1973: PROGRESSIVE INCORRECTNESS AND THE BIRTH OF THE NEW CLASSICS

#19. The Partridge Family (ABC). This series still brought in more ratings than it’s network allies due to the popularity of the band and Mr. David Cassidy. The dark side of rock n roll still eluded this family as many episodes dealt with the high school politics (literally and figuratively) of Keith and Laurie. Well, there was a show dealing with shoplifting and one dealing with sex education (Keith failed!) but mostly it was Brady-esque story lines interspersed with a song which most likely would soon be featured on a Partridge LP at your local record store. Oh, and Jodie Foster appeared in a show.

SEVENTIES SITCOMS: 1973-1974: THE TIFFANY SCHEDULE AND END OF THE ERA

Partridge Family (ABC). Another family flies the coop after this season. Taking the singing Partridges off the Friday night lineup couldn’t have helped their ratings. As the David Cassidy sensation was wearing down, the series tackled issues such as home schooling, anti-Semitism, and energy conservation. And singing 14 year old twins.

[TMC]

After the first season, the show for better or worse, became just another domestic family sitcom with maybe a song or two thrown in. But when the series started, it really dealt more with the family adjusting to their new found fame and life on the road. The touring aspect however, was really toned down as the show went on.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by stevea

That mop-headed kid who couldn't sing, Ricki, really screwed up season 4. Even the producers eventually noticed, and dumped him.

It's between season 2 and 3. It's pretty even and I just picked 3.

https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/36125

Perhaps Ricky's inclusion was the result of The Partridge Family singing group's inevitable chart decline: since David Cassidy and his studio sessionmen hadn't delivered a sizeable hit in some time, maybe little kids were all that were left of The Partridge Family's TV audience.

The last part that's in bold perfectly reflects how out of touch or delusional TV producers and/or network executives if this was truly the case concerning Ricky on The Partridge Family. It just like Scrappy Doo on the 1980s era episodes of Scooby Doo. Producers seemed to simply think that kids need to see kids on screen to relate to. When in reality, kids more than often, prefer to see teens or young adults (such as Keith and Laurie on The Partridge Family) that they want to emulate just as much if not more than wanting to see themselves on screen.