50th Anniversary Viewing
The Six Million Dollar Man
"The Winning Smile"
Originally aired December 21, 1975
Peacock said:
The camera focuses on a pendant as its wearer, secretary Peggy Callahan (Jennifer Darling's second appearance in the role established last season), talks to her mom on the phone about the prospective fiancé who gave it to her. Baddies listen in to Oscar briefing Steve about recently retired OSI scientist Emil Losey, who'd been working on a hydrogen fusion generator, and has offered to return to work on a breakthrough if Steve escorts him in from Maryland. The chief baddie, billed as Hector (Harry Lewis), sends an agent named Agee (Ben Andrews) to get Losey before Steve does. Agee takes a couple of operatives with him to knock on Dr. Losey's (Milton Selzer) door posing as his replacement escort to Washington. When Losey asks to see credentials, he's forced into their car at gunpoint. Steve arrives in time to block the vehicle and bionic-tosses around Agee and the Agents, to Losey's astonishment. Steve races away with Losey, who deduces that Steve must be bionic. Steve calls Peggy with the name of the safehouse he's taking Losey to.
Oscar calls in an expert named Tom Dempster (Bob Delegall) to have his team scan for listening devices...which they don't find, because Peggy's just coming in as they're wrapping up. But Steve and Oscar realize at the same time that she may be the leak. Not wanting to upset Peggy, Steve offers to check her apartment himself. He proceeds there while she's working, jumping into an open window to meet her dog Pierre (possibly a shepherd type), who's initially friendly but bites into one of Steve's legs as he looks around, which sends Pierre whimpering back to his bed. Steve's sweeping the place with a bug detector when Peggy comes home and catches him hiding behind a curtain. He explains the situation while the baddies listen. An upset Peggy objects that she wouldn't divulge secrets even to her mother, and she insists on a lie detector test to prove her loyalty. While Dempster mans the polygraph, Peggy expresses some anger at Oscar while explaining that Pierre was a gift from her beau, dentist Gene Finney. After she passes the test, she takes Steve to meet Gene (Stewart Moss) at his office and shows Steve the pendant.
Losey calls Steve about leaving the safehouse to put in an hour a day on a non-portable computer; and the baddies listen in as Steve discusses this with Oscar. Agee and an Agent are waiting for Losey at the computer facility and abduct him. Steve finally realizes that Peggy herself may be bugged, so he and Oscar nonverbally cue her in and take her to Dempster's lab, which is transmission-proof, where Dempster inspects the pendant only to find no transmitter. They proceed to inspect other belongings, and when Peggy mentions Gene having done some dental work on her, Dempster's detector hits the jackpot in her mouth, which Dempster backs up by playing what they're saying on a receiver set to the bug's frequency. While Steve's trying to find Gene, he calls Peggy--who's been crying over his betrayal--and she agrees to a restaurant rendezvous.
When Steve finds a sub at Peggy's desk, he has Oscar meet him in Dempster's lab, where they pick up his receiver and listen in on the bug while they drive around trying to find what restaurant with a bar Peggy's confronting Gene at. Agee walks in and takes Peggy to his car with a concealed gun. Gene apologetically explains in the back seat how the baddies financed his private practice. When something he says reminds Peggy of Dempster's receiver, she starts slipping in verbal clues as to their location, enabling Steve and Oscar to locate the garage that she's taken to. Steve busts in through the roof and takes down Agee and an Agent primarily via hurled objects while also nabbing Hector before Oscar brings in backup.
In a restaurant coda, Steve sets up a disenchanted Peggy, her bug now removed, with a date named Ted Harter (James Ingersoll), reassuring her that he works for OSI security.
This will be the last new episode for nearly a month, until the week after The Bionic Woman premieres.
All in the Family
"Birth of the Baby: Part 2"
Originally aired December 22, 1975
Frndly said:
MeTV's trigger warning is repeated at key points. The onscreen title of the episode (not normally displayed) is simply "The Baby: Part II".
Nurse Dorothy Winslow (Barbara Cason) is preoccupied by having to cancel a rendezvous with a married doctor because of her sister and fellow nurse Bernice, whom she lives with but despises, when Edith rushes in and is confused by Gloria having not checked in. What gets the nurse's attention is Archie's arrival in his blackface costume, which he explains he's wearing because he was in a menstrual show. When Archie spots a Miss Stipic (Sudie Bond) in the registration book, he insists on visiting the woman's room, and thinking he's a rapist, she agrees to let him have her cold cream. While the nurse is trying to get ahold of Dr. Shapiro, the Stivics arrive, late but with no immediate explanation about last episode's cliffhanger.
Mike (to Archie): Didn't I see you in Show Boat?
Archie's getup causes Gloria to break into uncontrollable hysterical laughter, which spreads to the others, including the nurse.
Mike and Gloria become tense after six hours of waiting in the labor room, while we meet Dr. Seymour Shapiro (Gene Blakely), whose assisting nurse turns out to be Bernice (Priscilla Morrill). Out in the waiting room, Archie has finally gotten rid of his shoe polish, though he's still in costume; while Edith frets that she's not as worried as she should be.
Archie initiates an affectionate moment about Edith becoming a grandmother, but is quickly annoyed when it makes her cry. Finally in the delivery room, Gloria encourages Dr. Shapiro to take her mind off of what's happening by sharing some soapy gossip about Dorothy and Bernice. As Gloria begins pushing, Mike goes into panicky mode, and soon the doctor is informing the Stivics that they have a baby boy. When Mike brings up having another, Gloria quickly develops a headache.
In the coda, Barney Hefner arrives at the hospital still in full minstrel costume with a gift basket and news that Archie won't be kicked out of the lodge for ducking out on the show. Mike comes out wearaing his surgical mask, leading Archie and Edith to believe he's a doctor as he announces the birth of their grandson. Edith pushes Mike and Archie into a hug, which Archie goes along with.
M*A*S*H
"Dear Ma"
Originally aired December 23, 1975
Wiki said:
Radar settles into his bunk with a Coke and pretzels to write his letter, which is sprinkled with verbal mishaps. His first story is about assisting Hawkeye with monthly foot inspections, in which Potters soles prove to be ticklish and the colonel mentions having learned about foot inspections from Harry Truman in WWI.
Hawkeye (to Radar): Come along, Robin.
An introduction to Klinger segues into an incident in which Sergeant Callan (Redmond Gleeson), a patient of B.J.'s being loaded onto the evac bus, gives B.J. a story about a wife who needs an operation and sells him what turns out to be an innardless watch for $20. Hawkeye promptly informs B.J. that he's been had.
Hawkeye looks forward to inspecting Major Houlihan--who's caught with Frank, natch--though she proves to have fungus. In the mess tent, Radar takes an interest in a food-hoarding Korean soldier's (Byron Chung) Russian rifle, and only realizes after the soldier runs that he's a North Korean...though a mishap with Major Burns thwarts Radar's attempt at pursuit. Later Burns tackles South Korean General Park (Rollin Moriyama)--who's accompanied by Colonel Kim (John Fujioka)--mistaking him for the enemy. When Burns attempts an apologetic handshake, he finds himself on the receiving end of a martial arts grip that brings him to his knees.
Klinger reads a letter he's written to President Eisenhower (placing this one in 1953) during his inspection. Mulcahy's inspection reveals a scar from when his sister the sister bit his toe as a child. After Potter leaves with Houlihan to deliver supplies to a local village, Mrs. Potter calls, having had a premonition. Houlihan later returns with a sniper-wounded but conscious colonel. Potter watches with a mirror as Hawk and B.J. operate on his posterior. Not wanting his wife to know what happened, Potter takes a call from her in the OR via a long extension. Sgt. Callan makes a return visit to the OR and B.J. gets in a little revenge by saying things to make his patient nervous.
B.J. assists Hawk in giving Frank, who's been holding out, a forceful inspection. He turns out to have nail polish on from a session with Margaret. Walter signs his letter while a guinea pig named Dopey eats on his clipboard.
50th Anniversary Midnight Special
December 26, 1975
Hosted by Helen Reddy
"Jolene," Dolly Parton
They didn't do anything with Joe that made him stand out to me from other occasionally recurring romances.
I didn't even know what psychedelia was at that age, but I lamely attempted to disguise that I was drawing the Batmobile by giving it a multicolor paint (crayon) scheme, which for some reason I associated with Jesus.You're going to Hell, Hippie.
It's the reason why it's such a schizo holiday--because it really is two different holidays mashed together.Indeed, there's very little you can point to in Christmas that is uniquely Christian. And there are actually some hardcore sects that eschew all that stuff for a very bare bones celebration-- and I use the word celebration in the very broad sense.
No brag, just Jack:
(The Guns of Will Sonnett, "A Son for a Son," Oct. 20, 1967; also guesting Virginia Gregg, among others)
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The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread Salutes the Bicentennial 
