50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 2)
The Secrets of Isis
"How to Find a Friend"
Originally aired October 25, 1975
Wiki said:
A boy tries to make a friend by giving an older boy his father's dangerous antique gun.
Looks like somebody got hair of gold in the Brady Protection Program.
Emergency!
"Pressure 165"
Originally aired October 25, 1975
IMDb/MeTV said:
John gets ribbed about his cooking. The paramedics go to Catalina to help a diver, where John and a doctor treat the patient in a hyperbaric chamber. Roy and John help a famous chef with a kitchen fire. A youth suffers a serious gunshot wound. The firemen deal with a dust explosion.
As the episode opens, Johnny's getting the ribbing for always making hamburgers and hot dogs that the station crew doesn't consider good. Rampart gets called first about a SCUBA accident at Catalina Island; in addition to Dix having them notify the Coast Guard and Fire Department, Early calls for Dr. Scott (uncredited Philip Baker Hall) to be sent from a nearby marine lab with a hyperbaric chamber. The paramedics head to an airfield for a ride in CG chopper. A diver named Walt (Del Monroe) fills the paramedics in how he and the victim were taking photos of a sunken freighter. The victim, who's suffering from air embolism, is loaded into the mobile chamber, where Johnny, stripped down to his undershirt, assists Dr. Scott inside as the pressure is increased to the titular amount in feet, which increases the temperature and makes the two of them light-headed, as if they'd had a few martinis, as well as affecting their voices so that it sounds like they've been sucking helium. Rampart and Dr. Scott determine that the victim, who had been conscious after surfacing, is also having a heart attack. The pressure is gradually reduced to 60 feet for administering oxygen and medication. The victim regains consciousness in the chamber and undergoes hours of treatment before being removed from the chamber and transported via the chopper to Rampart.
At the station, Roy informs Cap'n Stanley that the victim's going to be fine; and Chet gets the subject of Johnny's cooking going again, telling of how a firefighter from another squad made better use of his hamburger meat while the paramedics were gone. Squad 51 is then sent to inspect a pair of new fire hydrants. After finding one to have low pressure, they drive upon the scene of a nearby house fire and call it in. Chef Michel (Michael Roy), a famous TV chef, tries to turn them away, thinking he's got the kitchen fire under control, but they come in and put it out. Michel's concerned about them filing a report, so they agree to file it under his real name, Michael Fern. He gratefully gives them a couple of signed cookbooks. Johnny sees this as a stroke of luck, planning to use his gift to increase his culinary repertoire at the station...though he doesn't understand the French names of the recipes. Johnny returns to the station with grocery sack loads of ingredients for Bordure de Soles a la Normande; Johnny can't elaborate on what that means, but Chet's impressed with the name.
At Rampart, Officer Vince (been wondering about him) brings in a teenager named Freddy Winslow (uncredited Derrel Maury) who took a gunshot wound to the neck in a street fight. Brackett and Early determine that the lad's paralyzed below the neck. Freddy's father, David Winslow (Bing Russell), arrives, and insists that his son wasn't involved in gangs. Freddy, who's generally been making delirious demands, begins to cry while expressing his fear. The doctors are unable to determine the severity of the injury without having a neurosurgeon operate. A more lucid Freddy explains to Brackett that the last thing he remembers was taking LSD with a friend.
Freddy: I can't even pinch myself to see if it's just a bad dream...!
Freddy would rather end it all than face lifelong paralysis, but Brackett tells him that it's not his choice to make. Brackett assists the neurosurgeon, who removes the bullet and determines that the nerve roots weren't directly damaged. Brackett informs Mr. Winslow that it'll take a couple weeks to verify, but that Freddy's prospects look good; and encourages the father to be supportive of his son despite his acknowledged mistake.
At the station, an overwhelmed Johnny's having trouble with the recipe, which involves a tableful of ingredients, including oysters that have to be shucked. Later Johnny thinks he's got things under control, but one of the dishes doesn't come out as he expected. The station and other units are called to a structure fire while Johnny's got something in the oven. At the plant, a workman (possibly uncredited Steven Marlo) explains that some slag from welding dropped into a flour bin. The flour in the bin begins to erupt, causing another worker (possibly uncredited Angelo De Meo) who was trying to hose it down to fall in. Cap'n Stanley has the bin dumped to rescue the worker. Marco's tossed out of the building by a second explosion, injuring his shoulder. Engine 51 then gets the fire under control, which Cap'n Stanley reports to Battalion Chief #14 (Art Balinger).
At the station, Johnny predictably finds the dish in the oven ruined, so he and Roy dump all of the ruined dishes into one pot. Then the others come in thinking that it's finished and insist on eating it. Everyone thinks that it's great, though the paramedics are reluctant to try it for themselves.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
"Chuckles Bites the Dust"
Originally aired October 25, 1975
Frndly said:
The odd death of Chuckles the Clown provokes gallows humor around the newsroom, but Mary is not amused. Not until the funeral, that is.
IMDb said:
In 1976, David Lloyd won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for this episode.
Wiki said:
In 1997, TV Guide ranked this episode as the greatest episode of television of all time.
Mary takes home a mobile displaying the four basic food groups that Sue Ann has foisted upon her. Ted and Georgette drop in so Ted can enlist her aid in getting Lou to let him be grand marshal of a circus parade, but Mary informs him that Chuckles got the job. Later, while Ted is sulking through his newscast, Lou stumbles into the newsroom stunned, informing Mary and Murray that Chuckles was killed by an elephant in the parade while dressed as Peter Peanut. During a break, Lou goes into the studio to update Ted, telling him to improvise an announcement, as Murray will need time to write an obituary. Ted awkwardly stumbles over the details, but actually gives a pretty fitting tribute, which includes reciting Chuckles's credo, "A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants," and foreshadows the episode's resolution.
Ted: Chuckles liked to make people laugh....I'd like to think that somewhere, up there tonight, in his honor, a choir of angels is sitting on whoopee cushions.
As Lou and Murray are discussing the tribute to Chuckles, Murray can't help making corny jokes about the situation; and while Lou initially tries to keep things respectful, he finds himself uncontrollably laughing. Ted walks in on them and initially tries to shame them, but Lou explains that it's a defense mechanism, as the same thing could have happened to any of them.
Murray: Somewhere out there, there's an elephant with your name on it.
Ted realizes that it really could have been him, and credits Lou with saving his life. As the trio brings their laughter out into the newsroom, Mary--already appalled by Murray's irreverence--scolds them all and tries to keep the discussion of Chuckles's repertoire of silly characters businesslike.
At the funeral, the others try to act appropriately, while Georgette questions why we wait until people die to have funerals for them. Reverend Burns (John Harkins) commences his eulogy with a listing of Chuckles's characters and routines, which is punctuated by outbursts of laughter from Mary that she tries unsuccessfully to contain. When the reverend's recitation of Chuckles's credo evokes a particularly strong outburst, he calls attention to her.
Rev. Burns: You feel like laughing, don't you?...Don't try to hold it back! Go ahead, laugh out loud! Don't you see, nothing would have made Chuckles happier! He lived to make people laugh! Tears were offensive to him, deeply offensive. He hated to see people cry. So go ahead, my dear, laugh for Chuckles.
Mary then switches to bursting into uncontrollable tears.
In the post-funeral coda at Mary's place, everyone discusses how they'd like to be sent off. Sue Ann wants her ashes to be thrown on Robert Redford, while Ted insists that he'll be frozen and brought back in a future century. The episode ends with the food mobile getting its punchline as Mary asks Ted to take it with him.
The Bob Newhart Show
"Shrinks Across the Sea"
Originally aired October 25, 1975
Wiki said:
The Hartleys play host to a supercilious French psychologist.
Emily's brushing up on her French in preparation for the Hartleys' guests, who are coming as part of an exchange program. She and Bob disagree when she wants to take them to an American restaurant, whereas Bob criticizes the cleanliness of the apartment and expects her to cook duck after school. At the office, while Jerry's pitching a Frenchified generic opening joke for Bob's speech, Carol goes in to talk to Bob.
Carol: I'm in trouble, Bob. I'm having a problem with Larry.
Bob: Who?
Carol: My husband?
[...]
Carol: All we do lately is argue!
Bob: Oh, that reminds me, I have to call Emily.
A phone gag ensues in which Bob calls the school and gets a kid who's been sent to the principal's office. When he gets Emily on the phone, Bob digs in deeper on the subject of dusting.
At home, Bob's colleague Alan Durocher (Rene Auberjonois) arrives late with his companion, Louise (Francoise Ruggieri), who doesn't speak English and whom Alan treats as a servant. Alan doesn't want to drink the water, citing Montezuma's revenge.
Bob: That would be Mexico. Here it would be...um...Warren G. Harding's revenge.
Bob ends up paying for Alan's scenic taxi ride, as the cabbie (Richard Foronjy) won't take traveler's checks. When Alan orders Louise to do something, they get into an argument and she runs into the den crying.
The next day, Louise still isn't talking to Alan; while Bob continues to bug Emily about her cleaning before the two psychologists leave for the seminar. They proceed to Bob's office first, where Carol still wants to talk about her problems with Larry. Alan's happy to oblige, using it as an opportunity to flirt with her while encouraging her to make Larry jealous by having an affair, bringing up along the way that his wife once shot him for having an affair. Bob sends Carol out to voice his disagreement with Alan.
At the apartment, the Hartleys have to pick up the cab fare again, and Louise is packed and ready to go back to France alone. When the shooting incident comes up, Alan clarifies that Louise is his mistress, not his wife. The pair leave together, Alan still making her carry the suitcases. Bob teases Emily a bit about having a mistress himself, and she makes a sarcastic comment about the apartment being too dusty to have her over.
I had kind of a knee-jerk prejudice against superhero adaptations because they were so mainstreamed. But, looking back, it was great that they set it during WWII and they did make an effort to give it a larger-than-life comic-book feel. And Lynda Carter was perfect for the role-- she was very athletic and had a stunning smile.
It did become much more mainstream in its subsequent seasons on CBS.
Hmm. I think I see what they're thinking. I suppose you could describe it as either "paradoxical" or "redundant," depending on how you look at it.
I see it as paradoxical, describing it as both new and original. Though each shoe actually fit in context with the Cathy Lee Crosby TV movie.
The unedited Wiki entry for
The New Original Wonder Woman's premiere broadcast was:
Wiki said:
The television series, Wonder Woman, produced by Douglas S. Cramer and starring Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman, debuted as a mid-season replacement on the ABC and CBS networks in the United States.
Technically this wasn't a series premiere, it was a pilot movie; it didn't debut on both ABC and CBS; and the first comma isn't needed.
The series proper does actually start mid-season, with two episodes in the spring, followed by a half-season of episodes the following fall. For home video and streaming packaging purposes, the pilot movie and first two episodes are generally considered part of Season 1 along with the episodes that aired starting the following fall...though technically those first three installments could be considered their own mini-season.
I don't think I was either, but it's hard to tell.
I forgot to mention that "Part Time Love" will also be Gladys Knight & the Pips' last Top 40 single until an odd one in '87.
I meant to say that I was surprised it only got to #20.
Interesting that they chose a McVie song as the album's first single. It makes sense in that she was an established singer/songwriter in the group; but a Stevie single could've attracted more attention from the general radio audience who weren't familiar with the band's previous work.
Funny to think that there were probably instructions in the series bible about exactly when he makes those noises.
Not unless the instructions were added in after the fact, as it took them some time to establish the bionic noise at all.
Which makes me think of Uncle Al on
Laugh-In.
I actually had to refresh my memory regarding that character.
