Weird retro TV: TURNABOUT

I made a one-minute gif of this animated intro to a show from 1979 (Turnabout) that may not even have aired. I'm not sure. I know it didn't last a full season. It's one of those body-switching things where people trade souls or whatever, or trade bodies (or whatever). The animation is so bizarre that I don't think it even needs a sound track. These people are in love, see, but they hate each other because each thinks the other has a better life. So presto, change-o, they wake up in the morning and they "are" each other! The comedic possibilities are endless, but I can't find out much about this show, so I doubt if it was a big hit. Perhaps this impressive one-minute gif is the best part of it, after all.

OH, HEY, WAIT. . . 

I just found an episode guide! Seven episodes were made before this thing sputtered to a halt, the series' producers blaming a bad time slot. This has me as excited as finding all that stuff about Calucci's Department!

Episodes

January 26, 1979

1. Pilot episode: A cursed Gypsy's statue causes Sam and Penny's spirits to take flight and exchange bodies after they made an idle wish, each believing that the other has the better life. Now Sam is his wife and Penny is her husband. 

2. "Penny's Old Boyfriend"

February 2, 1979

Penny's old boyfriend shows up with a job offer that Penny hopes Sam won't refuse now that he literally speaks for her. Sam suspects that the ex-boyfriend is more interested in Penny than in business, and he's in a perfect position to find out.

3. "We're a Little Late, Folks"

February 9, 1979

Penny informs Sam that her former body's "monthly visitor" is late; Sam goes to the gynecologist to find out if "he's" going to become a mother.

4. "Cry Me a Touchdown"

February 16, 1979

Sam and Penny prepare to participate in a charity touch football game, only Sam is now the cheerleader and Penny is the quarterback and neither has a clue on how to perform the other's role! 

5. "Till Dad Do Us Part"

March 9, 1979

Penny's family comes to visit on the occasion of her sister's wedding, and masculine-minded Sam has to be the daughter/sister instead of Penny, to Sam's annoyance and Penny's disappointment.

6. "Crass Reunion"

March 23, 1979

Sam is invited to a fraternity reunion, and the wives are not invited. Too bad Penny is now occupying Sam's body and is the one to get the news! So they both return to Sam's old college for a wild reunion.

7. "Statutory Theft"

March 30, 1979

The magical statue is stolen! Will Sam and Penny be cursed to stay in each other's bodies forever?

(Apparently not. The magical curse which was the premise of the show ended on March 30, 1979.)

Two bad shows in a row (or: did James Coco really look like a hippo?)

Blogger's apology. I am so sorry! I thought I had found the worst TV sitcom in human history - Calucci's Department - but I was not even close. For some reason, when James Coco starred in anything, it only lasted eleven episodes. This one was so bad, episode #11 was destroyed before it had a chance to air.

The Dumplings - 1976


One Season - 11 Episodes

TV Historian's Blurb: This show aired before (PC) political correctness was popular. The show followed an overweight married couple that owned and operated a New York deli on the first floor of an office building. This one may have survived had it not been so fat joke "heavy."

Network: NBC

I have taken YouTube by the heels and shaken it, and I cannot find anything about this show. But I found the theme song, and it is putrid. The lyrics are:

Arms and legs
Ham and eggs
The great team of pipe and slippers
And there's the daily double
Good things come in pairs
Heart and soul
Rock and roll
An old fashioned horse and buggy
A song's got words and music
Good things come in pairs
You can bet Noah knew just what he was doing
When he began all the two-by-two-ing
He and she
You and me
A sweet blend of milk and honey
Always together
We'll go through life discovering
Good things come in pairs!

The Dumplings theme song

MORE INFO:

Aired: Wednesday nights at 9:30 pm Eastern U.S.
Premiered: January 28, 1976
Ended: March 24, 1976
Theme Song: Listen here The Dumplings Theme Song
Writer(s)/Creator(s):
Fred Lucky

Don Nicholl
Michael Ross
Bernie West

Developer: Norman Lear

Cast:

James Coco as Joe Dumpling
Geraldine Brooks as Angela Dumpling
Marcia Rodd as Stephanie
George Furth as Frederic Steele
Jane Connell as Bridget McKenna
George S. Irving (1) as Charles Sweetzer
Mort Marshall as Cully

Series Premise: Fat married couple, Joe and Angela, own a deli in New York.

Season One Episodes:

1 - Pilot - Aired: January 28, 1976
2 - The Ultimatum - Aired: February 4, 1976
3 - To Drink or Not to Drink - Aired: February 11, 1976
4 - The Parting - Aired: February 18, 1976
5 - Gourmet's Delight - Aired: February 25, 1976
6 - Sweetzer's Image - Aired: March 3, 1976
7 - Cully's Sister - Aired: March 10, 1976
8 - The Other Woman - Aired: March 17, 1976
9 - The Foundling - Aired: March 24, 1976
10 - Joe Takes a Fall - Aired: March 31, 1976
11 - Joe Gets Jugged - Unaired.

Show canceled after episode 10.

And here are details about each episode. I am particularly intrigued by the suicide one. Hard to wring merriment out of someone wanting to die. The show lasted one more episode after that.

Title	Plot/Notes
Pilot	Joe and Angela try to celebrate the anniversary of their first meeting. NBC rebroadcast this episode on January 28, 1976, as the first episode of the weekly series in its regular time slot.
"The Ultimatum"	The Dumplings' landlord orders them to move their luncheonette out of the building after Joe calls Mr. Steele a thief.
"To Drink or Not to Drink"	The Dumplings inherit a $900 bottle of wine and must decide whether or not to drink it.
"The Parting"	Joe and Angela must be apart for the first time in their 15-year marriage.
"Gourmet's Delight"	A newspaper columnist praises Angela's soup.
"Sweetzer's Image"	Mr. Sweetzer seeks refuge with the Dumplings after a fight with his wife.
"Cully's Sister"	Cully's twin sister makes a surprise visit – and reveals an even bigger surprise.
"The Other Woman"	Stephanie becomes hysterical when she sees her boyfriend, Mr. Steele, with another woman.
"The Foundling"	Angela talks a woman out of committing suicide.
"Joe Takes a Fall"	Joe is injured in a fall from a broken apartment step. Vernon Weddle guest-stars.
"Joe Gets Jugged"	Joe is arrested after he accidentally knocks out a policeman.

NEWS FLASH! A discerning reader sent me a YouTube video of The Dumplings theme song, so now you can SEE what I meant, not just hear it. Thanks, Brian!

And as a glorious (inglorious?) p. s., here is the intro to a truly clenchworthy show about zany priests. Didn't age well at all.