The Partridge Family
To Play or Not to Play?
TV Flash files “To Play or Not to Play?” as hour 19 of 96 in the TV Flash guide — The Partridge Family (1970–1974) on ABC, season 1, episode 19, aired 1971-02-05, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E19: listed hour 19 of 96 in the The Partridge Family guide, hour 19 of 25 in season 1. It aired 1971-02-05 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Soul Club” (S01E18). Next is “They Shoot Managers, Don't They?” (S01E20).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The band gets caught up in a nightclub's labour woes.
Viewer FAQ
Where does To Play or Not to Play? sit in the The Partridge Family guide?
S01E19 is listed hour 19 of 96 — hour 19 of 25 in season 1, season 1 episode 19.
When did The Partridge Family S01E19 air?
To Play or Not to Play? aired 1971-02-05 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do the songs actually chart?
Yes. Soundtrack singles were real hits, including I Think I Love You. The sitcom sold records, not only lunchboxes.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Shirley Jones drives a Mondrian bus while David Cassidy becomes a teen-idol industry with actual chart hits. A family-band sitcom that sold records, lunchboxes, and a kind of clean California longing. Music-machine grin up front; the fame-spiral gossip Cassidy never fully escaped rides shotgun.
The Mondrian bus arrives before the hit. ABC, 1970–1974: Shirley Jones in the driver's seat of a candy-colored coach, a widowed mom touring as pop with her kids while sitcom plots and chart singles collide. Bernard Slade's The Partridge Family made David Cassidy a teen-idol industrial complex with actual records — including I Think I Love You — and sold lunchboxes like they were look books. Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, and Dave Madden's Reuben Kincaid completed the family-and-manager math. *Primary-color panels,…
Filed against
- Shirley Jones as Shirley Partridge
Shirley Jones drove The Partridge Family as Shirley Partridge — Mondrian bus, family-band sitcom, a California grin that sold records and lunchboxes while a teen-idol industry formed in the passenger seats. Clean longing up front. TV…
- David Cassidy as Keith Partridge
David Cassidy’s Keith Partridge turned The Partridge Family into a teen-idol industry with actual chart hits — Shirley Jones driving a Mondrian bus, lunchboxes, clean California longing, a music-machine grin that fame-spiral gossip never…
- Susan Dey as Laurie Partridge
Susan Dey’s Laurie Partridge rode the Mondrian bus while David Cassidy became a teen-idol industry — family-band sitcom, lunchboxes, clean California longing — then argued L.A. Law as glossy Bochco litigation-as-lifestyle. Music-machine…
- Danny Bonaduce as Danny Partridge
Danny Bonaduce’s Danny Partridge rode the Mondrian bus as The Partridge Family’s redheaded mischief — Shirley Jones driving, David Cassidy becoming a teen-idol industry with actual chart hits. Family-band sitcom that sold records and…
- Dave Madden as Reuben Kincaid
Dave Madden’s Reuben Kincaid managed The Partridge Family like a headache in a suit — Shirley Jones driving the Mondrian bus, David Cassidy becoming a teen-idol industry, a family-band sitcom that sold records and lunchboxes. TV Flash…