Line #37 Series/ThatGirl


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16	[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_marlo_thomas_that_girl.png]]
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18	->''"... that girl!"''
19	-->--The punchline to the OnceAnEpisode ColdOpening gag.
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21	The person who'll [[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere describe the show]] ''[[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere That Girl]]'' [[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere here]] will be... ''that troper!''
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23	An American sitcom that aired on Creator/AmericanBroadcastingCompany from 1966 to 1971, following the adventures of Ann Marie (Creator/MarloThomas), a budding actress who moved to UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity to make her big break into Broadway. Occasionally aided by her boyfriend Donald Hollinger (Ted Bessell), she attempted or was pulled into many different schemes in hopes of becoming a star, though later seasons focused on more formulaic sitcom situations.
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25	Aside from the comedy aspect, ''That Girl'' is often viewed as the forerunner of other successful shows starring single women such as ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'' or ''Series/MurphyBrown''. It also addressed the issues of its time, in its own unique style.
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27	Most famous for the opening of every show, the "That girl!" TitleDrop, accompanied by the title itself appearing at the bottom of the screen, with only a few variations over its five year run.
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29	----
30	!!Those Tropes:
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32	* AnimatedAdaptation: ''That Girl in Wonderland'', a 1973 Creator/RankinBass special that put Ann in various fairy-tale heroine roles.
33	* ArtisticLicenseGeography: The railroad tracks shown in the opening credits actually take you out of New York and into New Jersey. The footage is played backwards so it looks like the train is moving into New York. If you look closely, you can see traffic moving backwards.
34	* ArtisticTitle: The shots of Ann walking around New York.
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36	* BrieferThanTheyThink: The famous opening with lyrics, which has been parodied to death by pop culture, only appeared during the show's fifth (and final) season. The previous four seasons used an instrumental theme.
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38	* BabysittingEpisode: "All's Well That Ends" and "Never Change a Diaper on Opening Night". "I Am Curious Lemon", though the charge in that episode is about eight years old, she brings along a rather high-maintenance lemon tree.
39	* BigApplesauce: Outdoor scenes in later seasons that were supposed to take place in New York City, had obvious non New York features, such as Southern California Rapid Transit District buses.
40	* BlandNameProduct:
41	** Newsweek -> Newsview
42	** William Morris Agency -> Gilliam and Norris Theatrical Agency
43	** Lee Strasberg Institute -> Benedict Workshop of the Dramatic Arts
44	* BreakTheCutie: Usually, Ann, who responds to being broken with a frantic "[[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech You're a big meany]]" monologue where she's on the verge of tears.
45	* ChristmasEpisode: "Christmas and the Hard-Luck Kid" (Season 1) and "'Twas the Night Before Christmas, You're Under Arrest" (Season 2). The writer of the former, Creator/JamesLBrooks, later wrote an episode for ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'' called "Christmas and the Hard-Luck Kid II".
46	* ClipShow: Season four episodes "Fly By Night" and "Ugh, Wilderness" are actually a two-part episode about a trip Ann and Donald take in a small plane that goes wrong. "Fly By Night" is mostly a clip show, with Ann's life since she moved to New York flashing before her eyes as she thinks the plane is going to crash.
47	** The series finale is also a clip show.
48	* DaddysGirl: Ann. She's very close with her father, and it's clear that he adores her (hence his [[HelicopterParents overprotective tendencies]]).
49	* DisguisedInDrag: The subplot in "A Muggy Day in Central Park" has Donald doing this. He's intrigued by the police's undercover operations to bust muggers, so he volunteers to play a female role in order to write an article about it. Hilarity ensues, especially when Ann's father sees him in drag and on the arm of a guy (really the undercover police officer on the scene).
50	* EpisodeOnAPlane: Ann as stewardess on a flight to Florida in the episode "The Hi-Jack and the Mighty".
51	* FriendsRentControl: Ann somehow managed the rent on a [[LivingInAFurnitureStore nicely decorated]], fairly roomy Manhattan apartment while working at mostly low paying temp jobs.
52	* HelicopterParents: Ann's father, Lew Marie, who's always trying to find reasons to get Ann to leave New York and move back in with him and her mother. If he finds Donald in his daughter's apartment, he'll assume he's got some kind of degenerate behavior in mind, despite that being totally unlike Donald.
53	%%* IdenticalStranger: "If You Were Almost the Only Man in the World" features a doctor who looks just like Donald.
54	%%* InstrumentalThemeTune: The first four of the five seasons. The last one added lyrics to it.
55	* MurderousMannequin: In the intro sequence, Ann playfully waves at a mannequin in a store window that looks just like her. The mannequin winks back.
56	* OnceAnEpisode: The ''"...that girl!"'' gag.
57	%%* OnlySaneMan: Donald, most of the time.
58	* PieInTheFace: Ann takes one on a ''Series/LaughIn'' type show (after some vacillating on whether or not to accept the potentially humiliating role).
59	* RavenHairIvorySkin: Ann has black hair, fair skin, and is very pretty.
60	* RecurringExtra: The late actor [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0669653/ Ed Peck]] played five different characters in all five seasons.
61	* TheShowGoesHollywood: And Ann tries for stardom.
62	%%* {{Sitcom}}
63	* TheTeaser: Setting up the plot and the title gag.
64	** Including a cute aversion where Donald objects to one of Ann's ideas: "Oh you would think it a fine idea, and it is for that girl, but not This Man!" Cue title card and soundtrack.
65	** Another example - A Russian man does the TitleDrop in his native language, resulting in the title written out in Russian, with "(That Girl)" written underneath.
66	** Likewise, an Italian opera singer does the same, only his version of the title caption morphs into English.
67	* ThanksgivingEpisode: "Thanksgiving Comes But Once a Year, Thankfully".
68	* TitleDrop: OnceAnEpisode, as a kind of CouchGag.
69	* TrainStationGoodbye: The end of "Absence Makes the Heart Grow Nervous". Ann almost misses her train to Philadelphia because she and Donald are so caught up in their goodbye that they fail to notice she's boarding the wrong train until the last second.
70	* UnlimitedWardrobe: In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doaq5MBGgnk this interview]], Marlo Thomas acknowledges that there's no way Ann Marie could have afforded all those outfits.
71	* VaporWear: Marlo Thomas stopped wearing a bra on the show when the braless look became fashionable. When the subject was brought up in an interview, her response was, "God created women to bounce, so be it. If I bounce, I'm glad to be a girl."

Context Series / ThatGirl