Some have referred to Mac and Sally as another Nick and Nora Charles . That's accurate although it came some forty years later. It worked they lived and loved and solved mysteries. Mac was the police commissioner in San Francisco and Sally was his his high spirited wife. She and their witty housekeeper Mildred got into the act along with Sargent Enright . This was part of the Sunday mystery movie rotation. It's the lightest in tone if not technically the best. I liked it because it had two prominent female characters. I don't think it would work today not as written it's a time capsule but at the time it worked.
What didn't work? For one writing the pregnancies of Susan St James in they should have written around them especially when one kid basically dropped from the canvas. There is never any focus on them as parents it was a show that seemed to want to pretend it never happened.
Then Susan St James wanted to leave they simply could have divorced but they had built up the love story and instead had Sally and the one kid they still acknowledged die in a plane crash .
The show that was just McMillian was odd because he really never seemed broken up about it and started dating quickly. Martha Raye replaced Nancy Walker which was more or less fine but still Walker was missed. They could have just given Hudson a different series but reality wasn't the show's strongest quality and probably thought handling Susan's departure and Mac quickly moving on was reasonable. The tone was such the didn't want to dwell on it .
I think though the show had already run it's course even before St James departed .
What didn't work? For one writing the pregnancies of Susan St James in they should have written around them especially when one kid basically dropped from the canvas. There is never any focus on them as parents it was a show that seemed to want to pretend it never happened.
Then Susan St James wanted to leave they simply could have divorced but they had built up the love story and instead had Sally and the one kid they still acknowledged die in a plane crash .
The show that was just McMillian was odd because he really never seemed broken up about it and started dating quickly. Martha Raye replaced Nancy Walker which was more or less fine but still Walker was missed. They could have just given Hudson a different series but reality wasn't the show's strongest quality and probably thought handling Susan's departure and Mac quickly moving on was reasonable. The tone was such the didn't want to dwell on it .
I think though the show had already run it's course even before St James departed .