TVSquad

(S02E06) Ugly Betty made it to Broadway this week! Half the cast went to a performance of Wicked, Betty and Henry ended up onstage, and Justin broke out his collection of Playbills. That boy snapped out of his delinquent phase just in time. Wili and Marc busied themselves with wedding arrangements, and Hilda got a surprising new job. The biggest surprise? Gio made another appearance and managed to be less abrasive.

Oh man, does this bring back memories. My fellow Gen Xers surely remember the album and television special Free to Be You and Me, featuring a ton of stars, including Marlo Thomas (who produced the special), Mel Brooks, Alan Alda, Harry Belafonte, Shel Silverstein and many others. My sister and I used to listen to that album all the time, and hearing that title song again brought back a lot of memories.

Right now you can watch the complete TV special on TVLand.com, along with full episodes of That Girl. The series, along with the Emmy-awarding winning Free To Be You and Me special, will air as part of a 48-hour marathon the weekend of December 9. I'm going to watch the special now, since I didn't even know until recently there even was a TV special, I always thought it was just the record album. I guess I was too engrossed in our little Fisher-Price record player to pay attention.

Next Tuesday, the Shout Factory will be releasing a five-disc set of the first season of That Girl, the 1960s series featuring Marlo Thomas as a struggling actress trying to make her way in New York City. In the final season, she marries Phil Donahue. Wait, that actually happened in real life. My bad. Besides the thirty first season episodes, the set will also include the original pilot, as well as promos and two documentaries about the making of the television series, each featuring Marlo Thomas.