Please Stand By

This show was generally well-written, and sometimes quite clever. The original cast -- perhaps especially Marcie Barkin -- were talented and otherwise appealing.

Unfortunately, the show was syndicated rather than provided by way of a network, limiting the exposure of the show.

Then Elinor Donahue left (I can only speculate as to why), and this show centered about a family of five had to choose between removing the character of the mother or replacing the actress. They chose to do the latter -- with an actress of markedly different physical type and mannerisms, and not of a great deal of presence.

Jointly, the handicap and the loss were too much, and the show failed in the television marketplace of the late '70s.