Season 1, Episode 1

WHAT? AND GET OUT OF SHOW BUSINESS?

The One Where a Widow and Her Children Start a Band

A Shirley episode. The only episode of the series with a cold open. An origin story, this is also practically the only episode that mentions the late Mr. Partridge. The main title theme song, "When We're Singing," is not heard. Two characters don't have names yet, and another doesn't seem to count.

Featured Songs: "Together (Havin' A Ball)" and "Let The Good Times Roll" (both unreleased until 2005).

Notable Guest Stars: Johnny Cash, Gordon Jump, and Jack Cassidy (only in an unaired, deleted scene)

September 25, 1970

Before we dive into the pilot episode, click here to take a trip in the Mondrian-painted Schoolbus Time Machine and see what the world was like when the episode aired.

Cold Open

Click here to relive the in media res opening of the first-ever Partridge Family episode. Meet the show's first special guest star, who introduces main cast to the TV audience! Find out what the first song was that the fake musical group ever played on the TV show and who wrote it!

Act One

Who created the series? Who directed the pilot? Where does it take place? Where was it filmed! And most importantly, how did the Partridge children ever convince their mother to sing in their garage band? Click here to find out all this and also what lengths Danny will go to to get their demo into the hands of a high-powered talent manager.

Act Two

The Partridge Family's record is a hit! They hit the road in a bus painted in the style of a famous Dutch artist and play their first gig at the biggest hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Click here for details.

Tag

The part where one of the youngest Partridge children has an eerie premonition that he won't be in the band for much longer. Click here to find out more.

Bonus Scenes

This week only, unaired deleted scenes change to the main location and a main character's name, and an extended tag tries to predict future episode story lines. Click here for details.