To Rome with Love (TV series)

To Rome with Love is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 28, 1969, to February 24, 1971.

Synopsis
To Rome with Love is the story of widowed college professor Michael Endicott, who decided to leave his native Iowa following the death of his wife and accept a new position as an instructor at the American Overseas School of Rome. The culture shock of his children in reacting to their new environment, and to an extent, his own, provided the main humor in the series. Family situations provided most of the rest. Early on, much of this came from Endicott's single sister, Harriet, who followed them to Rome, apparently for the sole purpose of dissuading them from living there and cajoling them into returning to Iowa. Harriet soon departed, but her place was taken shortly afterward by Andy Pruitt, Endicott's father-in-law and the children's grandfather. He came to Rome for a brief visit, but wound up staying indefinitely.

Reception
Originally airing on Sunday nights, the show went up against ABC's Land of the Giants and NBC's The Wonderful World of Disney and never garnered the ratings CBS had hoped for. Also, Kay Medford as Aunt Harriet did not catch on with viewers and, as a result, was phased out of the series shortly after its premiere. Nevertheless, the network agreed to renew the show for a second season. To Rome With Love was switched to Tuesdays at 9:30 in September, 1970.

In order to give Forsythe a strong co-star, Walter Brennan joined the cast as Michael Endicott's father-in-law, Andy Pruitt. However, the second season did even worse than the first. In January, 1971, in an attempt to salvage the series, CBS shifted the show to Wednesdays to make room for a new CBS sitcom: All In The Family. The move did not help, and the series was canceled in the spring of 1971.

Crossover episodes
"Roman Affair" (Season 2, Episode 4) features Anissa Jones and Johnnie Whitaker as their Family Affair characters Buffy and Jody, respectively. "Rome Is Where You Find It" (Season 2, Episode 6) features William Demarest, Don Grady and Tina Cole as Uncle Charley, Robbie Douglas and Katie Douglas respectively from My Three Sons. All 3 series were produced by Edmund Hartmann and Don Fedderson,

Cast

 * John Forsythe as Michael Endicott
 * Kay Medford as Harriet Endicott (first season only)
 * Walter Brennan as Andy Pruitt (second season only)
 * Peggy Mondo as Mama Vitale
 * Vito Scotti as Nico
 * Joyce Menges as Alison Endicott
 * Susan Neher as Penny Endicott
 * Melanie Fullerton as Mary Jane "Pokey" Endicott