The Helen Reddy Show

This wasn't a flop, as the previous poster suggested. It was a "summer replacement series"--back when the Big Three networks had no competition and needed to give their star series/stars an off-season to relax in. So there were numerous short-lived summer series like this one (and others starring pop acts, like Jim Stafford) that were never intended to last more than a few weeks.

I was a big adolescent fan of Ms. Reddy at the time, so I ate it up. All I remember now is that it pretty much recycled the songs from her albums up to that point (lip-synched for the camera), and not much else. I liked her straightforward singing and personality...I don't remember much of the filigree, like comedy sketches or guest stars. I was mostly struck at the time by the fact that the songs she sang were all ones I already knew. I was kind of surprised that they didn't come up with any new musical material. But I guess part of its being a "summer replacement series" was that it was cheap--they could just milk a currently-popular chart artist like Reddy or Tony Orlando & Dawn without actually funding any new recordings.

The usual 1970's attempt to turn a singer into a showman. Ms. Reddy had a string of pop AM radio hits in the first half of that decade, and some one at the networks had the idea of making a variety show host out of her. She was(is) a very easy host to LOOK at, but she really wasn't cut out for the role. There were the standard comedy bits, and musical guests. Sure she CAN sing, but as was the case with The Starland Vocal Band about four years later, a good singer does NOT a good show host, make! Their show also was gone a few weeks into that season...

This was a show my parents liked, and as I didn't care too much for it, I'd leave the room about halfway thru. I'd guess most of the viewing audience did the same as it lasted one season.