Appleton Post Crescent
February 13, 1975
Once upon a time there lived a couple named Sonny and Cher.
Their names went together as well as salt and pepper, bacon and eggs or spareribs and sauerkraut.
Sonny and Cher were not your average couple. They did things most couples never do, such as recording hit songs and naming their daughter Chastity. Later, they had a hit television show.
More recently upon a time, Sonny ” and Cher decided “for better or worse” did not mean “till death us do part,” and they decided to divorce.
This caused all sorts of problems with their TV series, which they quit despite high ratings. Now on their own, it appeared doubtful either could retain stardom, because their individual talents seemed less impressive than their collective efforts.
In what struck me as a surprising move, ABC gave Sonny Bono his own comedy/music/variety series which, as almost every TV critic in
the land predicted, bombed faster than a squadron of Zeroes at Pearl Harbor.
Now it’s Cher’s turn. CBS has decided the sultry (?) singer might have more appeal than “Apple’s Way,” so Chastity’s mommy is back
on the telly.
Her series, which will be seen at 6:30 p.m. Sundays, actually debuted Wednesday night, but it was billed as a special. “Cher” (9-10 p.m.) was a racy hour, with sexy costumes, numerous sexual overtones and, in short, a markedly adult approach, which makes me wonder why CBS is planning it for early Sunday evenings.
Whatever, Cher appears to have retained enough of the formula she and Sonny milked to considerable rewards to guarantee success. The impress:-? guest list helped.
Flip Wilson, Bette Midler and Elton John were lively, although Flip was used less than I had expected.
The comedy segments were hit and miss, but the music was outstanding, especially the duets with Cher and Bette and Cher and Elton and the combination of all three.
The settings were spectacular and the costumes were, well, not all that modest. I would speculate that during the hour, we were exposed to almost all of Cher’s skin, save that portion a string bikini might cover.
Perhaps the theory is that if the producers put her in pseudo-see through outfits, we won’t really notice the quality of Cher’s presentation.
It’s a needless concern for CBS, because she has talent. A subtle comedy sense could be the key to this series making it.
I would like to see some improvement in the comedy, would hope the music maintains the’level it had Wednesday and would like to have the pace continue sprightly.
Whether the same level of raunchiness can be maintained remains to be seen
