The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (TV Series) Will the Real Santa Claus...? (1977) User Reviews

The Last Nancy Drew episode

[JhnJhnsn2002 · 5 June 2006]

This was the last episode of the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries to feature Nancy and her supporting cast without the Hardy Boys. I'm pretty sure it was also the last time Pamela Sue Martin appeared as Nancy.

Thereafter, Nancy appeared only with the Hardys, and played by Janet Julian, billed as Janet Louise Johnson. Ned Nickerson was neither seen or mentioned and Rick Springfield was introduced as a new Ned, presumably a new love interest for Nancy. I thought that Springfield's Character was also Ned Nickerson, but he is given a different surname here, and that may be right.

John M. Johnson III

I may have to stop watching this show

[bensonmum2 · 3/10 · 14 August 2019]

The Quick Pitch: A series of robberies is blamed on a drifter who claims to be Santa Claus. Nancy Drew sets out to find the real criminal.

I really hope that the rest of The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries episodes are better than the last two I've watched. After back-to-back duds, I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. There are so many problems I could write about, but my single biggest issue with Will the Real Santa Claus...? is the plot. It's just so stupid. The entire series is based on either Nancy or the Hardys using real clues, logic, and science to solve their mysteries. That all gets chucked out of the window. Here, with a completely straight face, we are supposed to believe that this hobo really is Santa Claus. His disappearances in front of witnesses, the sleigh tracks in the snow, and the constant references to his life as Santa are all too much. It's horrible writing. Add to that some painfully stiff acting on the part of guest Rick Springfield, the worst ADR imaginable, and a secondary plot that never goes anywhere, Will the Real Santa Claus...? is easily one of the worst episodes I've run into so far.

Looking back on what I just watched, I really can't come up with many positives. I suppose I did enjoy the scene where Nancy is chased through the house by the real robber. It's a fairly tense moment. Equally enjoyable were Pamela Sue Martin's skin-tight jeans. They're definitely worth mentioning.

3/10