I get a kick every time Reed tries to talk Malloy into settling down and Malloy responds that he enjoys being single. I was curious if he makes it to the end of the series a bachelor.
The thing is, Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.
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God, I hope not!! She was awful as a girlfriend for Malloy. Bleah! (Maybe it's the actress... she wasn't even my favorites of Andy Taylor's girlfriends.)
shareI can't remember which episode it was, but one time when Reed was trying to convince Malloy he should get married, you should hear his reasons: you could have a hot dinner waiting for you.... the house won't be empty.... you'd have companionship.... someone to look after you.... No mention of love or finding the right person, just the practical points of someone 'keeping house.'
In other words, the heck with a wife, all Pete really needs is a dog and maid.
Even mentioning companionship was pretty progressive for the 1970s, sadly.
Sadly, you're right. Although to be honest, I don't recall if Reed actually used the word companionship. But I do remember him mentioning the food and not going home to an empty house. So like I said, a maid and a dog.
shareHe does, but in the last season he had a steady girlfriend with a son from her first marriage (can't recall if she was divorced or widowed). I know some here didn't like that development but the relationship gave Pete something new to talk about with Jim in the car between calls and allowed the Malloy character to develop a bit.
shareI don't really mind the fact that Pete was dating a woman with a kid-- that's perfectly understandable. But for one thing, I don't feel it's required that every TV character necessarily experience 'character development.' Being a happy bachelor was part of who Pete Malloy is, so while him steadily dating a single mom isn't a big deal, I honestly don't feel it was necessary for the writers to imply a long-term relationship; there's nothing wrong with a guy who remains single. (Altho for a show that, based on the times, felt that all men and certainly all women should eventually be married, I guess it's not surprising that it went that way.)
Didn't Pete mention to Reed that she was hinting that he should quit the force and join her uncle's company, or something along those lines? That's a big red flag in her character, as far as I'm concerned. That's one thing that turned me off to her, and I don't think we'd even seen her at that point. Plus, I just don't care for who they got to play this girlfriend. I have nothing against Aneta Corsaut, but I do not believe she was the best choice to play this character. There are plenty of actresses who would have been better in that role.
So while I admit I'm one of those who "didn't like that development" in the last half of that final season, I wouldn't mind it nearly as much (if at all) if A) the writers had done a better job creating her character, and B) she'd been played by a different actor.
I've been watching some of these episodes and the ones I'm watching Pete was married.
sharePete was never married; in the last season he had a steady girlfriend, a widow with a son. The relationship was serious and Pete was trying to forge a bond with the son (going by what he was telling Jim) but they didn't get married.
shareWas it ever expressly stated that she was a widow? She could have been divorced. (But maybe not; that might have sent the wrong message. It wasn't that many decades ago when divorced women were treated--and looked upon--as if they wore a big red "A" on their chest.)
shareMy mother would not let us watch One Day At A Time because they main character was divorced. We used to sneak a few episodes, and thirty years later, my brother got divorced, so draw your own conclusion.
shareSounds ironic. Adultery galore is just fine, but heaven forbid someone be divorced...
Another possibility is the girlfriend was progressive and smart. The son most likely was born during the Vietnam conflict. For the birth certificate, a single mother (at least as bad as a divorced woman at that time) could just pick a name of a fallen soldier who had lived in the appropriate area, list him as the father and claim she was a widow. Not sure how that would work if she were really to get married, but it would certainly make life in society easier.