I've probably given the impression in some of my earlier reviews that I am ancient. By the standards of today's teens… I am. However, at the tender age of 42 I am well aware that those in their 60's and 70's still consider me to be a young whippersnapper. (Thank god for them…) Being that as it may, I was a little young to remember watching episodes of "Family Affair" with my parents, after all it debuted in 1966 (I was only 3). But I do remember watching it later in life with them through the miracle of reruns. "Family Affair", for all intents and purposes was, as the title implies, a perfect show to watch with the whole family. Brian Keith starred as Bill Davis (no, not the Garfield the cat guy), a very successful engineering consultant living the high life in a fancy Manhatten apartment.

Helping him out with the day to day doldrums was his butler, Mr. French, played with just the right mixture of British indignation and humor by Sebastian Cabot. Davis, a happily unmarried bachelor, suddenly finds himself the guardian of three children after a tragic accident that costs him his brother and sister-in-law. He loves them dearly yes, but they certainly put a crimp in his otherwise carefree lifestyle. His new charges consisted of young twins Buffy (Anissa Jones) & Jody (Johnnie Whitaker), as well as the much older Cissy (Kathy Garver).

The series ran for a full five seasons, and despite the fact that you rarely seem to see it in syndication today, was one of the most popular shows of its day. You could find the kids faces plastered on lunch boxes and even replicas of the little doll that Buffy carried around could be found at your local retailer. What was so great about "Family Affair" was that unlike a lot of the TV shows today, it taught valuable lessons. It could sometimes be a little too sweet, but to be honest, there's really nothing wrong with that.

MPI Home Video is re-introducing "Family Affair" to audiences with the release of the 1st Season this month. The 5-disc set comes complete with 30 full-length episodes, and even goes so far as to throw in a couple of extra features to whet the appetites of fans. The lesser of the features is a simple photo gallery consisting of a little over 20 pictures. Better is a Behind the scenes featurette that includes some all-new interviews with Kathy Garver. The featurettes runs a little over 20 minutes, but in that short time it covers a lot of material. We learn how the series originally came about, how the shooting schedule was set up around Brian Keith's motion picture work, and even what it was like working with Keith and Sebastian Cabot. For the most part, it is a pretty upbeat featurette as they choose not to touch upon some of the cast's later tragedies. Considering the wholesomeness of the series, I think this was for the best.

"Family Affair" was a terrific little show, and one that I am glad is being revived on DVD.

Episodes:
Buffy
Jody & Cissy
The Gift Horse
The Matter of School
Marmalade
Room with a Viewpoint
Mrs. Beasley, Where Are You?
Who's Afraid of Nural Shpeni
A Matter for Experts
Beware, the Other Woman
Take Two Aspirins
Think Deep
Love Me, Love Me Not
The Thursday Man
Hard Hat Jody
That Was the Dinner that Wasn't
All Around the Town
One for the Little Boy
Fancy Free
A Helping Hand
Once in Love with Buffy
Ballerina Buffy
The Mother Tongue
Everybody Needs Somebody
The Way it Was
All Nephews are Created Equal
The Prize
What Did You Do in the West, Uncle?
The Award
The Butler Method

Starring: Brian Keith, Sebastian Cabot, Johnnie Whitaker, Anissa Jones, Kathy Garver
Extras: Behind the Scenes Featurette, Photo Gallery
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: MPI Home Video
Release Date: 6/27/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Family Affair: Season 1 a B.