Was Susan Dey underrated as an actress

[TMC]

At least on The Partridge Family? I have read comments elsewhere that argue that Susan was never really that great of an actress at least in terms of having a decent amount of range. Admittedly, I never watched Susan's later show, LA Law so I can't really have anything good to offer about her acting abilities on that show. But I did read that unlike on The Partridge Family, where Susan actually showed remarkably assured comedic timing, on LA Law, she was more self-conscious and self-serious.

On The Partridge Family, I guess that you can kind of sense or tell that Susan is a novice actress (if I'm not mistaken, she had never acted before The Partridge Family) as she's a bit stiff and awkward on-screen. But still, Susan was very much able to hold her own with the other leads throughout the four seasons, don't you agree? Wasn't the real problem was that her character, Laurie wasn't given much to do (especially in the first season) as they did with Keith, Danny, and Shirley (and even Reuben)? So Susan didn't get a chance to stand out as much.

[TMC]

One thing that I really didn't notice until now about Laurie as a character is her tendency to "give geeks a chance".

Like "Wrong Way" Wendell, the clumsy delivery boy in the "Days of Acne and Roses" episode. The part where Laurie tells Wendell that she would love to go on a date with him really hits me deeply because Susan Dey looks and sounds so sincere when she delivers that line. I don't think Susan intended for it be that way, but there was also something very seductive and soothing about her speaking voice. I recently said elsewhere, that her voice was really soft, yet also smooth and mature.

Maybe, Laurie Partridge always seemed like the girl that you really wished to have as your love interest because not only was she beautiful, she didn't seem too inclined to immediately judge people. She more than often tried to see the best in people in other words.