In the series finale, Peter (Michael Callan) is having a heavy date with Barbara (the beautiful Jean Marie Ingels). His mother (Sara Seegar) calls to come over, however, and brings her suitcase to move in in a down state of mind. This forces Greta (Patricia Harty) to break yet another date with Bernie to play the "occasional wife" role. As his mother continues to stay on, Greta is forced to play the role of his wife much more than ever before. They conspire on how to get her to move out.
Reflecting upon the series, after watching each episode, "Occasional Wife" is a rather farcical sitcom featuring an outlandish premise. Early on, I found many episodes struggled to maintain flow with plots feeling somewhat strained. As such, I think the series would have had much more success as a feature film expanding upon the pilot with elements of other episodes. The plot of hiding the "occasional wife" routine became overplayed in my eyes. As the series progressed, I feel the best episodes are those that doesn't depend on this premise.
Michael Callan and Patricia Harty developed a very comfortable chemistry (they married months after the series ended). However, their comedy style was more of that of a straight man, forcing the comedy to come from interactions with others. I like the casting of Jack Collins as Peter's pushy, family-first boss Mr. Brahms.
The series was at its best with the comedy of talented guest stars: John Astin in "I Do, We Don't", Dick Wilson in "One Plus One Equals Too Many", Don Penny in "My Occasional Brother's Keeper", etc.). Stuart Margolin's meek Bernie could engage the viewer and provide comedy. The series would have benefited greatly if he was a regular in some capacity. It was also fun to watch Jack Riley as Peter's snake-in-the-grass office rival, years before he became a treasured deadpan scene stealer in "The Bob Newhart Show".
Among subpar offerings, there are some good episodes in the series.
Reflecting upon the series, after watching each episode, "Occasional Wife" is a rather farcical sitcom featuring an outlandish premise. Early on, I found many episodes struggled to maintain flow with plots feeling somewhat strained. As such, I think the series would have had much more success as a feature film expanding upon the pilot with elements of other episodes. The plot of hiding the "occasional wife" routine became overplayed in my eyes. As the series progressed, I feel the best episodes are those that doesn't depend on this premise.
Michael Callan and Patricia Harty developed a very comfortable chemistry (they married months after the series ended). However, their comedy style was more of that of a straight man, forcing the comedy to come from interactions with others. I like the casting of Jack Collins as Peter's pushy, family-first boss Mr. Brahms.
The series was at its best with the comedy of talented guest stars: John Astin in "I Do, We Don't", Dick Wilson in "One Plus One Equals Too Many", Don Penny in "My Occasional Brother's Keeper", etc.). Stuart Margolin's meek Bernie could engage the viewer and provide comedy. The series would have benefited greatly if he was a regular in some capacity. It was also fun to watch Jack Riley as Peter's snake-in-the-grass office rival, years before he became a treasured deadpan scene stealer in "The Bob Newhart Show".
Among subpar offerings, there are some good episodes in the series.