The Captain and Tennille

Finally! I can't wait! I used to record parts of the show with my cassette recorder while my Mom made fun of me. It'll be great to see those episodes again. I remember Daryl fishing for a giant letter E, and I think a steam roller in "Lonely Nights." Toni's spaghetti strap sequenced gowns, and all the different colored captain's hats. I was too young to remember much more.

I hope Neil Sedaka is on one of the episodes. That would be doubly delightful! With any luck, they'll have some behind the scenes extras and any music videos they made. I think there was one for "Do that to me one more time."

I too would like to know if these episodes are floating around! This show - along with Sonny & Cher and Carol Burnett - made being a kid growing up in the 70s very, very fun.

I do not remember much of this show other than I really liked it, never missed it, and was mad when it was canceled. Oh yes, I also remember the "Bionic Watermelon." Makes me laugh just thinking about it now....

The Captain and Tennille were a husband and wife musical duo that burst on the scene in 1975 with "Love will Keep Us Together", which was a huge hit that year. In the following months they had subsequent top 40 hits, none as popular as their first though. With the onset of the disco era, their sound was distinct and of a higher quality than the disco dreck that often permeated the airwaves.

Since visually they seemed like a bit of a gimmick and they had their on unique sound, they got their own variety show in the fall of 1976 on ABC. The guests look like a who's who of that rather unique period of time in entertainment history - mid to late 70s. The first show alone had Gabe Kaplan, Penny Marshall, Ron Palillo, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, and Jackie Gleason as guest stars. What do all of these guest stars have in common? They all were on popular TV shows that were also on ABC, with the exception of Jackie Gleason. I don't know if it was in their contracts to help out on new shows like this for the same network, but it probably boosted their own shows' ratings too.

The show was largely musical, since that is where Captain and Tennille's talents lay. Any comedy would usually involve them interacting with each other or their guests. The problem was that for them to be a top 40 group, they were just over-exposed in an era when appearances by prominent musical groups were supposed to be savored. Captain and Tennille decided to not renew for a second season, but they probably would have faded in popularity as a weekly TV show even if they had decided to go on. There are copies of entire shows on youtube. If you don't think you'll have flashbacks from all of the glittering disco balls, I'd recommend watching it for the nostalgia.

The Captain and Tennille series erupted on the scene in 1976 and 1977 and it aired every monday night at 8pm on ABC. I think this was the finest form of muscial entertainment an hour could be spent with, no offense to the Sonny and Cher show but they simply could not hold water to the talent, versatility and fine theme The Captain and Tennille had on their series. Although Cher has done well for herself, I must tell you Toni Tennille did as well. She now exercises her stage talent along with the lush sounds of the combined muscial keyboarding of her husband the Captain (Daryl Dragon). I would love to be able to view the re-runs from the original series, they were such good entertainment and their music was always appreciated, with their new CD "Twenty years of Romance" , their music will remain timeless and in closing, once again, there just is no topping their series.....

The Captain and Tennille have released a very good 3 DVD package with minimal editing. Unlike most variety show releases these shows have not been hacked to bits. The musical and dance numbers are included with the skits just as they were when first broadcast. I suspect that some musical numbers on the DVD may have been edited into shows in which they did not originally appear but have been unable to verify that suspicion. I've noticed a few inconsistencies between what is on the DVD and program information I've found on the net. I've been unable to verify whether the net information is inaccurate or if the musical performances have been edited into the shows on the DVD. Whatever the truth may be, I'm very appreciative of the efforts made by the production company. I wish every variety show released would show the same respect for the format. I would guess about half the shows broadcast are included. I believe they ran into rights problems on the shows which weren't included. Hopefully those issues can be resolved and a Volume 2 can be released sometime in the future. There are some individual music videos along with a dance rehearsal among the extras. I recommend this DVD to any C&T fan.