To Rome with Love (TV series)

To Rome with Love
GenreSitcom
Created byJoan O'Brien
Directed byEarl Bellamy
Frederick de Cordova
James Sheldon
StarringJohn Forsythe
Kay Medford
Peggy Mondo
Vito Scotti
Walter Brennan
ComposerFrank De Vol
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes48
Production
Executive producerDon Fedderson
ProducerEdmund L. Hartmann
Running time25 minutes
Production companyDon Fedderson Productions
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 28, 1969 (1969-09-28) –
February 24, 1971 (1971-02-24)

To Rome with Love is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 28, 1969, to February 24, 1971.

Synopsis

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To Rome with Love is the story of widowed college professor Michael Endicott, who decided to leave his native Iowa following the death of his wife and accept a new position as an instructor at the American Overseas School of Rome. The culture shock of his children in reacting to their new environment, and to an extent, his own, provided the main humor in the series. Family situations provided most of the rest. Early on, much of this came from Endicott's single sister, Harriet, who followed them to Rome, apparently for the sole purpose of dissuading them from living there and cajoling them into returning to Iowa. Harriet soon departed, but her place was taken shortly afterward by Andy Pruitt, Endicott's father-in-law and the children's grandfather. He came to Rome for a brief visit, but wound up staying indefinitely.

Broadcast history

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Season Time slot (ET)
1969–70 Sunday at 7:30 pm
1970–71 Tuesday at 9:30 pm (Episodes 1–15)
Wednesday at 8:30 pm (Episodes 16–22)

Episode list

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Season 1: 1969–70

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Pilot"Fred de CordovaEdmund HartmannSeptember 28, 1969 (1969-09-28)
22"Hello, Aunt Harriet"UnknownUnknownOctober 5, 1969 (1969-10-05)
33"The Roman from Iowa"UnknownUnknownOctober 12, 1969 (1969-10-12)
44"Goodbye Aunt Harriet"UnknownUnknownOctober 19, 1969 (1969-10-19)
55"The Telephone"UnknownUnknownNovember 2, 1969 (1969-11-02)
66"We Want to Go Home"UnknownUnknownNovember 9, 1969 (1969-11-09)
77"A Palazzo Is Not a Home"UnknownUnknownNovember 16, 1969 (1969-11-16)
88"The Long Road Home"UnknownUnknownNovember 23, 1969 (1969-11-23)
99"A Secret Day"UnknownUnknownNovember 30, 1969 (1969-11-30)
1010"An Affair of Honor"UnknownUnknownDecember 14, 1969 (1969-12-14)
1111"And One More Spring"UnknownUnknownDecember 28, 1969 (1969-12-28)
1212"Anything Can Happen in Rome"UnknownUnknownJanuary 4, 1970 (1970-01-04)
1313"A Gown for Alison"James SheldonElick MollJanuary 11, 1970 (1970-01-11)
1414"One Coin in the Fountain"James SheldonPhilip RappJanuary 18, 1970 (1970-01-18)
1515"To Go Home Again"UnknownUnknownJanuary 25, 1970 (1970-01-25)
1616"The Pied Piper of Rome"Charles BartonBlanche HanalisFebruary 1, 1970 (1970-02-01)
1717"My Daughter Penny"Charles BartonBlanche HanalisFebruary 8, 1970 (1970-02-08)
1818"Beautiful People"Charles BartonJohn McGreeveyMarch 1, 1970 (1970-03-01)
1919"Birds, Bees and Romans"UnknownUnknownMarch 8, 1970 (1970-03-08)
2020"The Pretty Little Girl"UnknownUnknownMarch 15, 1970 (1970-03-15)
2121"Father's Choice"UnknownUnknownMarch 29, 1970 (1970-03-29)
2222"A Friend for Penny"UnknownUnknownApril 5, 1970 (1970-04-05)
2323"Spring Vacation"UnknownUnknownApril 26, 1970 (1970-04-26)
2424"West of Rome"UnknownUnknownMay 3, 1970 (1970-05-03)
2525"Our Friend Gino"UnknownUnknownMay 10, 1970 (1970-05-10)
2626"We Remember Mama"UnknownUnknownMay 17, 1970 (1970-05-17)

Season 2: 1970–71

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
271"Here Comes Andy"Earl BellamyRobert PiroshSeptember 15, 1970 (1970-09-15)
282"A Day in the Country"UnknownUnknownSeptember 22, 1970 (1970-09-22)
293"Baby of the Family"UnknownUnknownSeptember 29, 1970 (1970-09-29)
304"Roman Affair"UnknownUnknownOctober 6, 1970 (1970-10-06)
315"A Boy to Remember"UnknownUnknownOctober 13, 1970 (1970-10-13)
326"Rome Is Where You Find It"UnknownUnknownOctober 20, 1970 (1970-10-20)
337"Lire from Heaven"UnknownUnknownOctober 27, 1970 (1970-10-27)
348"Grandpa in Charge"UnknownUnknownNovember 10, 1970 (1970-11-10)
359"The Catnip Club"UnknownUnknownNovember 17, 1970 (1970-11-17)
3610"The Rose Garden"Earl BellamyUnknownNovember 24, 1970 (1970-11-24)
3711"The Boy Next Door"UnknownUnknownDecember 1, 1970 (1970-12-01)
3812"The Runaways"UnknownUnknownDecember 8, 1970 (1970-12-08)
3913"Fly Away Home"UnknownUnknownDecember 15, 1970 (1970-12-15)
4014"Doctor Andy"UnknownUnknownDecember 29, 1970 (1970-12-29)
4115"Making the Scene"UnknownUnknownJanuary 5, 1971 (1971-01-05)
4216"Bonzai or Bonsai"UnknownUnknownJanuary 13, 1971 (1971-01-13)
4317"Beauty and the Judge"UnknownUnknownJanuary 20, 1971 (1971-01-20)
4418"Age of Life"UnknownUnknownJanuary 27, 1971 (1971-01-27)
4519"Mike and the Countess"UnknownUnknownFebruary 3, 1971 (1971-02-03)
4620"The Stray Cat"UnknownUnknownFebruary 10, 1971 (1971-02-10)
4721"Yankee Trader"Earl BellamyUnknownFebruary 17, 1971 (1971-02-17)
4822"Boy Meets Penny"Earl BellamyUnknownFebruary 24, 1971 (1971-02-24)

Reception

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Originally airing on Sunday nights, the show went up against ABC's Land of the Giants and NBC's The Wonderful World of Disney and never garnered the ratings CBS had hoped for. Also, Kay Medford as Aunt Harriet did not catch on with viewers and, as a result, was phased out of the series shortly after its premiere. Nevertheless, the network agreed to renew the show for a second season. To Rome With Love was switched to Tuesdays at 9:30 in September, 1970.

In order to give Forsythe a strong co-star, Walter Brennan joined the cast as Michael Endicott's father-in-law, Andy Pruitt. However, the second season did even worse than the first. In January, 1971, in an attempt to salvage the series, CBS shifted the show to Wednesdays to make room for a new CBS sitcom: All In The Family. The move did not help, and the series was canceled in the spring of 1971.

Crossover episodes

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"Roman Affair" (Season 2, Episode 4) features Anissa Jones and Johnnie Whitaker as their Family Affair characters Buffy and Jody, respectively. "Rome Is Where You Find It" (Season 2, Episode 6) features William Demarest, Don Grady and Tina Cole as Uncle Charley, Robbie Douglas and Katie Douglas respectively from My Three Sons. All 3 series were produced by Edmund Hartmann and Don Fedderson,

Cast

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References

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