Thursday, June 17, 2021

A Great Addition

Shelley in a paparazzi pic, 1980

In 1979, Shelley became Charlie's Angel no. 5 during the 4th season of the popular series. Everyone was excited to see THE Charlie Girl bring her brand of beauty and glamour into the Townsend Detective Agency. The series experienced a significant drop in the ratings during its 3rd season (it dropped from #4 to #12 in the Nielsens) and Shelley, with her high-profile Supermodel image, brought just the right dose of publicity, attention and interest to get the series back within the TV's top ten shows. But then she was given little to do or say (especially in her first episodes). They said she couldn't act, but if you watch her performances on projects that aired at around that same time (Death Car on the Freeway and an episode of the Love Boat), she wasn't bad at all. They said she didn't integrate with her co-Angels, but moments of her rapport with Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd could be witnessed in the episode "Angels Go Truckin'" and some others. In some episodes, it can be noticed that her reactions and dialogue to her co-stars were either cut short or had no audio. So how was she supposed to save the show, by her mere presence alone? In the end, she was blamed for the further drop in the ratings; and she left the series. But after so many years and after re-watching that season, many fans have changed their minds about her. Many have realized that Shelley was such a great addition to the show after all.

Shelley in a paparazzi pic, 1980