The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

They still make physical media?

 

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50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 2)

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All in the Family
"Mike Comes Into Money"
Originally aired November 4, 1972

The episode opens with Edith reading to Gloria a humorous anecdote that she's submitting to Reader's Digest about taking a ride in a cousin's car as a child, which proves to be anticlimactic. Archie and Mike come in together arguing about pollution. Mike mentions having spent three hours on the phone with McGovern headquarters...

Archie: Oh, yeah...I hear it takes a while to get through to the Kremlin.​

Mike opens a letter with $275 that he inherited from an uncle, and expresses concern that the $225 that's already been taken out in taxes will be used to pay for Vietnam. The subject of what he plans to do with the money comes up, and Archie claims dibs. Mike explains that he has a deal with Archie to pay him everything he owes with interest when he's out of school, and he wants to do something special with this...buy Gloria a winter coat, and contribute the rest to McGovern. Archie blows his stack about the latter part, and Mike argues that his contribution is needed to help keep the two-party system afloat. Archie hassles Mike about eating food that he's paying for, so Gloria exclaims that she'll start paying for and making Michael's dinner.

Cut to election day, two weeks later, at which point Gloria has been sticking to her word, which results in some tension with Edith in the kitchen. Mike's now eating separately in the kitchen, where we learn that he's been secretly working nights to pay Archie the $200 that he gave to McGovern, and he and Gloria get into a fight. Archie has no interest in watching the election returns, so Michael plans to head out to watch from McGovern HQ, and a disparaging comment from Archie prompts him to hand over the $150 that he's already earned. Archie is impressed that the Meathead has actually been working, but wants the other $50.

In the coda, the Bunkers and Stivics are watching coverage of the election, but of course we don't learn the result here, as those are three days in the future.

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Emergency!
"Fuzz Lady"
Originally aired November 4, 1972

Squad 51 arrives at the scene of a nighttime call for an mugger who was injured in an exchange of fire when Sgt. McNamara (Nate Esformes doesn't strike me as the first person you'd cast as Irish) tried to arrest him. Sheila (Sharon Gless), the girlfriend tending to him, turns out to be an undercover officer who cuffs him to his stretcher, making an impression on Johnny.

Johnny: That's really far out.​

Johnny asks McNamara about her at Rampart, where Dixie mentions that several vials of morphine have come up missing and Johnny's jacket has just joined them.

After a couple of days off, Johnny discloses that he tried to call "Lady Fuzz," but she turned him down. The station is called to a home fire, where the firefighters rescue an older man, Gus "Pop" Williams (Paul Fix), from a second-story window that it turns out he accidentally set while smoking on the sofa. At Rampart, Morton cops an attitude with the paramedics regarding Williams's vitals reading better there than they did on the scene. When Brackett asks Dixie, she diagonses a clash of egos. Johnny sees Sheila at Rampart, but she tries to avoid him because she's working undercover on the thefts...on which subject, Early reports that an echoencephalograph has come up missing. Sheila deduces a klepto on the staff.

Brackett sits Morton down and accuses him of not showing enough interest in routine cases like Gus Williams, as additional follow-up conducted by Kel revealed a partial heart blockage causing periods of confusion that resemble senility. Brackett is talking to Williams's son and daughter-in-law (Eric Server and Ellen Moss) about having a pacemaker put in when a call goes out that Williams has gone code blue. Brackett, Early, and Morton all contribute to pulling him through it, and Kel informs Bill and Donna Williams that the pacemaker is a must now.

At the station, Johnny discovers that Boot's returned, but he scurries away when Johnny tries to pet him. Squad 51 is called to an explosion in a park. A young boy named Paul (Scott Garrett) informs the paramedics that his grandfather (J. Pat O'Malley) was injured while they were launching a model rocket. The man's wife (Meg Wyllie) chastises both of them for their dangerous hobby. Back at the station, Johnny's forgotten all about Sheila as he obsesses over why Boot doesn't like him.

An orderly handling stock in the hallway catches Dixie's interest as she's heading to the Williams operation. Gus comes to in the operating room right after they test the newly installed pacemaker with a catheter, which doesn't scan right for me. Afterward, Dix reports to Sheila that they haven't hired a new orderly in weeks and the deputy arrests him in the parking garage, having Johnny temporarily hold her gun and Roy put the cuffs on him.

Some time later Johnny relates to Dixie how Sheila asked him out, but his interest in her waned when she arrested a purse snatcher on their date. The squad and engine are called to a rescue on a drilling platform. On the scene, recurring deputy Vince Howard reports that the victim is a suspect who was spotted trying to steal a boat with an accomplice operating a crane, which now his him pinned against the tower. The paramedics climb up the crane to get to him, where he explains how it happened. Chet finds that the crane is malfunctioning, but moves the rig a few feet to free the suspect, who's lowered via a pulley and harness. On the ground, the suspect expresses his appreciation to the paramedics.

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The Mary Tyler Moore Show
"But Seriously, Folks"
Originally aired November 4, 1972

Mary is seeing Chuckles writer Wes Callison (Jerry Van Dyke), who has a novelty newspaper headline made up following a date. But he finally has enough of the indignities of his job and quits. Mary gets the idea to try employing him for a "lighter side" spot on the news and has him shoot a demo for it, but Lou doesn't think that it's right for the program, and leaves it to Mary to break the news to Wes. Wes shows up at Mary's place while just Rhoda is there and gets it out of her.

Wes subsequently lands a stand-up gig at a lounge in a bowling alley. The newsroom crew and Rhoda attend his debut, which bombs due to his increasingly timid delivery as bowlers start to walk out. Lou follows a crying Mary into the ladies' room to comfort her, with expected awkwardness as other patrons come and go, and informs her that Wes's old job with Chuckles is still open to him. They go back out and Lou keeps some bowlers in their seats via intimidation.

In the coda, Wes gives an encore performance for just Mary.

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The Bob Newhart Show
"Father Knows Worst"
Originally aired November 4, 1972

Howard returns from a flight to Japan to learn that his ex needs him to take his son, Howie. Howard is concerned with getting Howie to like him, given the relatively small amount of time that they're together. After Jerry gets turned down by Carol, Howard shows up at the office with Howie (Moosie Drier) following a trip to the circus (with a spool of cotton candy stuck to Howard's turtleneck), and the father and son go to lunch with Bob and Jerry. Jerry and Howie bond discussing a basketball game that Howard missed, and after Howie asks Jerry to take him to the bathroom, Howard frets that he's lost his son.

Howard has to arrange for the Hartleys to watch Howie because he's been called to sub on a flight to St. Louis. Lois Borden (whose name Howard repeatedly fails to recognize; Alice Borden) shows up while Howie is in the bedroom during a game of hide and seek, and then Howard returns, having not been needed after all. Howard discusses his insecurity about Howie with Lois, who informs him how much his son looks up to him, and Lois lets Howard keep Howie longer than planned.

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Mission: Impossible
"Movie"
Originally aired November 4, 1972

John Brent (William Smith) strongarms Pantheon Studios head Henry Packard (Douglas Henderson), now in the Syndicate's pocket, into formally signing over control of the studio...following which Packard is tossed from the studio rafters anyway, which is passed off as a suicide. Brent reports success to Norman Shields (John Vernon), who in turn reports to Benjamin Dane (David Brian). Dane informs Shields that he'll be sending his younger brother Theodore (Rhodes Reason) to run the studio, to Shields's chagrin.

The scheme involves Barney posing as the producer/director of Pantheon project Portrait of a Murder, with Mimi as an unknown actress starring in the film; and relies upon the convenience that Theo Dane and Shields have never met. Mimi brandishes her script on Theo's flight, catching his interest. He introduces himself and comes on strong about the perks of being her new boss. Jim and Danny Moore (Jerry Douglas), Dane's man whom he assigns to covertly keep an eye on Theo, are also on the flight. As passengers disembark, Jim knocks out Theo with his ring and he's snuck off the plane in a food truck.

Barney, doing a vaguely English accent, has an interview with Brent about the film project. He meets Mimi at the airport, and introdues Jim to Brent as Theo Dane. Moore watches with interest and has Jim paged via phone to verify that he's posing as Dane. The IMF intercepts a call from Moore to Benjamin Dane about what he's learned, with an operative billed as Dave Waley (Walker Edmiston) imitating Dane. Moore then tries to put a hit on Jim outside the studio lot, which Mimi foils long enough for security head Heath (James Whitworth), who works for Brent, to shoot Moore dead. (I might have missed it if I hadn't read about it on IMDb, but a tightly shot studio extra is briefly glimpsed in another Star Trek red shirt.)

Shields is furious when he sees the script, as it appears to be based on a murder he was involved with back east, and he's put a lot of effort into rebuilding his reputation on the West Coast. Jim as Theo dismisses Shields's concerns, so Shields calls Benjamin, who advises that he rub out Barney, the source of the problem. The IMF swaps in their voice guy mid-call to determine that Shields plans to use a bomb. The IMFers can't find it until Jim realizes that he was ushered off the set as the film was being loaded in the camera, which he calls Barney about. Barney feigns a tantrum to have the set cleared, following which the explosive film cannister goes off.

Willy fills in for Shields's usual karate sparring partner, and stuns Shields long enough to replace his sidearm with one rigged by Barney to shoot a blank with a remote. Fake Drunk Theo confronts Shields on the set about trying to off Barney and threatens to expose him with evidence that he brandishes. Shields pulls his gun and Barney triggers it from the rafters. Shields takes the envelope and splits, and Unconscious Real Theo is swapped in for Jim and given a shot that will make him appear to be dead. Shields discovers that the envelope contains an offer to buy out his interest in the studio, so he instructs Brent to help him cover up the murder. Mimi subsequently confronts Shields about seeing him kill Theo. Film of the faked murder, with Jim shot from behind (Theo also conveniently having similar hair), is dubbed with the IMF's man doing Theo's voice.

Benjamin Dane comes to L.A. because of his brother's fake death--a major piece of the IMF's plan, as he doesn't normally travel west of Chicago. Benjamin has Mimi brought in and she testifies that Shields killed Theo. Then the film of the murder is screened, which includes an introduction by Barney. The dubbed Theo audio has him offering to buy Shields's interest in Pantheon when Shields shoots him. Benjamin orders Shields to hand over his financial records, which are contained on a microdot in his watch. Dane leaves Shields in the theater with his heavies only to be intercepted outside by Jim and Willy, who relieve him of the watch.

Emergency!'s Ron Pinkard plays Barney's set assistant.

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Are you sure you don't mean Dick? (Not that I recall that offhand either.)

 

50 Years Ago This Week

November 12

• The hijacking of Southern Airways Flight 49 ended after 29 hours as the DC-9 made an emergency landing in Havana, after several of its tires had been shot out on takeoff by FBI agents hours before. One passenger noted later that "Everyone believed they would be dead in an hour" after the airplane took off on the damaged tires. The three hijackers – Henry Jackson, Lewis Moore and Melvin Cale – were arrested by Cuban authorities. Another Southern Airways jet flew the 27 passengers and four crew back to the United States.

November 13

• In London, delegates from 79 nations signed the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, banning the dumping of oil, mercury, cadmium, and radioactive materials into the ocean.
• At 8:00 in the morning, the Michigan Lottery was inaugurated as the Michigan became the fourth U.S. state (after New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) to begin the legal sale of lottery tickets.

November 14

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 1,000 (at 1,003.16) for the first time in its history. The Dow had fluctuated above 1,000 five other times, but had never finished the day at four figures.
• One week after his re-election as Vice-President of the United States, Spiro T. Agnew, who had been described in the press as the front-runner for the Republican nomination in 1976, was being undercut by his boss, President Richard M. Nixon. In orders to H.R. Haldeman, Nixon said "We don't want him to have the appearance of heir apparent, but we also don't want to appear to push him down."

November 15

• In the first-ever aircraft hijacking in Australia, Ansett Airlines Flight 232 from Adelaide to Alice Springs, with 28 passengers and a crew of four, was taken over by a lone gunman.
• India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi responded in writing to a parliamentary question from the Lok Sabha, suggesting that the Indian Atomic Energy Commission was considering the "potential economic benefits and possible environmental hazards" of developing the country's nuclear capability.

November 16

• At the 17th convention of UNESCO, United Nations members signed the "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage", otherwise known as the World Heritage Convention. In the years since 1972, UNESCO has designated areas all over the planet as World Heritage Sites subject to protection.
• The infamous Tuskegee syphilis experiment came to an end as the U.S. Public Health Service ceased further operations of "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male".[43]
• A protest by 100 students at historically black Southern University, in Louisiana, was broken up with tear gas by 55 sheriff's deputies and 30 state troopers. Two students, Leonard Brown and Denver Smith, both 20, were killed by a shotgun blast, apparently by one of the deputies, but the shooter was never identified.
• The Pepsi Cola Company announced a deal with Soyuzplodimport for Pepsi to be bottled and sold in the Soviet Union, making the drink the first American cola (and consumer product) to be made in the U.S.S.R.[46] The Soviet-manufactured Pepsi would not reach consumers until May 15, 1974, when the first bottle was sold at the Black Sea resort of Sochi in the Russian SFSR.

November 17

• After 17 years in exile, Juan Perón returned to Argentina, where he had been President from 1946 to 1955, accompanied by his wife Isabel Perón. The next day, he addressed a rally of his followers, the "Peronistas".[48] Mr. and Mrs. Perón would become President and Vice-President in 1973, and Isabel would become President after Juan's death in 1974.

November 18

• The USS Sanctuary became the first U.S. Navy ship to transport women sailors assigned to sea duty, with 40 enlisted women and 30 nurses assigned to work with the 480 men. The recommissioning of the ship was carried out as "part of a pilot program to evaluate the utilization of women for shipboard duty."
• Died: Danny Whitten, 29, guitarist for the band Crazy Horse and later for Neil Young, died of an overdose of alcohol and Valium, on the same day that he was fired by Young, who had given him fifty dollars and an airplane ticket.

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

Leaving the chart:

• "The City of New Orleans," Arlo Guthrie (16 weeks)
• "Everybody Plays the Fool," The Main Ingredient (18 weeks)
• "Tight Rope," Leon Russell (12 weeks)
• "Use Me," Bill Withers (12 weeks)
• "Why" / "Lonely Boy", Donny Osmond (12 weeks)

New on the chart:

"Sitting," Cat Stevens

(#16 US; #17 AC)

"Superfly," Curtis Mayfield

(#8 US; #5 R&B; #52 UK)

"The World Is a Ghetto," War

(#7 US; #3 R&B)

"Do It Again," Steely Dan

(#6 US; #34 AC; #39 UK)

"Superstition," Stevie Wonder

(#1 US the week of Jan. 27, 1973; #38 AC; #1 R&B; #11 UK; #74 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time [2004])


And new on the boob tube:

• M*A*S*H, "Cowboy"
• Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Season 6, episode 9
• Hawaii Five-O, "V for Vashon: The Son (Part 1)"
• Adam-12, "The Surprise"
• The Brady Bunch, "Career Fever"
• The Odd Couple, "Oscar's Birthday"
• Love, American Style, "Love and the Christmas Punch / Love and the Mystic / Love and the Tycoon"
• All in the Family, "Flashback: Mike and Gloria's Wedding - Part 2"
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show, "Have I Found a Guy for You"
• The Bob Newhart Show, "P.I.L.O.T."
• Mission: Impossible, "Ultimatum"

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Timeline entries are quoted from the Wiki pages for the month.

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But did they even say the character's name in this episode? He easily could have been the same character, just billed differently.

Well, he specifically said that it could have paid for a bomb...but yeah, a bomb probably cost more than that, even in 1972 dollars.

That's hippies for ya!

Ah! I had no idea.

I'm not 100% sure what the setup there was, but he was surprised when she slapped the cuffs on him.

Yep. Popping pills under the pointed peaks.

I edited out where the Wiki summary said that he was the boat thief on the crane. The boat thief was much younger.

"I'm undercover, you're embarrassing me...!"

The return of Boot went nowhere, but I always keep in mind that a beat may have been cut for syndication. Maybe they just wanted to show him again because he proved to be popular.

I meant that it was unlikely that he'd just wake up right there in the operating room seconds after they'd been poking a wire around in his innards.

She deputized them...or something.

Malloy seems more laid back to me than that.

Apparently Chuckles was an abusive boss.

That was the idea.

Ah...didn't realize, but I never quite caught his name as announced by Gary Owens.

Now whose mind's in the gutter?

Must...resist...urge...to...post...Airplane!...clip...again...!

Yeah, the M:I episode titles are worse than TNG...

He's a navigator...could Oveur be his captain? Nah, he's still in the IMF at this point...

No, it's the ring with the needle on the inside that they drug people with...a recurring IMF gadget.

Or it's just some IMF-verse production where somebody wore a Trek shirt.

There was no audible gunshot in this case, but it's like Pavlovian conditioning at this point, you hear it anyway.

Maybe...? No evidence of it in here, tho...

Laugh-In Looks At The News COMPILATION | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | George Schlatter - YouTube

I hope I said something three years ago when they predicted that the Berlin Wall would come down in 1989...!

 

They used to, anyway.

It was somewhat familiar to me, though I couldn't have told you how it goes by title. Man, is this guy morbid. I assume Carly's dumped him by this point, as "You're So Vain" is due to chart in a couple of weeks.

But if "Freddie's Dead" is the "(Theme from Superfly)," then what's this...?

I had this one, but it wasn't at all familiar to me.

From this point down, 1972 is bringing its A-game.

A bit late for 1972's season, but this is another one on my Halloween playlist.

That's really pretty much how it was played.

Howard's relationship with his son is threatened again when Howie meets the pilot and co-pilot...

I'm sure I must have, but probably didn't make a big deal of it...it would have been like the time of day that the broken clock was right.

I'm sure I must have caught this first-run, but I couldn't honestly say for sure.

Who ya gonna call? FLASHDANCERS!

 

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50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 1)

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M*A*S*H
"Bananas, Crackers and Nuts"
Originally aired November 5, 1972

After a long surgery session, Hawkeye's so stressed out that he gets in a fight with Trapper. They go to Blake for R&R in Tokyo, but he's on his way out for a golf trip and blows them off. Knowing Burns won't cooperate under normal circumstances, Hawkeye acts unhinged, which culminates in showing up in the mess tent in full surgical garb using instruments to eat a liver that he claims was from a deceased patient. Burns is about to give the duo what they want when Houlihan suggests summoning one of her many smitten acquaintances, psychiatrist Captain Phillip G. Sherman, whom she thinks will be able to prove Hawkeye is faking.

When Sherman talks to him, Hawkeye puts on a straight-faced act of being in love with Frank Burns. When Blake returns, Sherman wants to take Hawkeye away for weeks of observation. Blake tries to convince Sherman that Pierce is just a practical joker, but Burns and Houlihan won't back him up. Hawkeye decides to call Sherman's sanity into question, for which he enlists the help of Radar, who puts him in Hot Lips' tent with the lights disconnected, so that when she comes in and starts to undress and he gets the wrong idea, it looks like he's trying to assault her.

In the coda, Hawkeye and Trapper are about to leave for their R&R when incoming casualties put the kibosh on it.

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Adam-12
"Harry Nobody"
Originally aired November 8, 1972

The officers are called to the scene of a shooting at a fleabag hotel. While taking them to the room, the clerk, Gene Ellis (Lewis Charles), is dismissive of the janitor, Harry Craig (Henry Jones). After investigating the room, Reed asks Craig what he saw, though Ellis tries to shoot down his credibility as a witness, noting that he's a drunk. Harry claims to have seen nothing, but later Mac sends the officers to Harry's home, as he's come forward but will only speak to Reed. Harry seems more together, and introduces the officers to his son, Steve (Greg Mullavey), daughter-in-law, Ellen (Anne Whitfield), and grandson, Tommy (Scott Garrett). Ellen also tries to discourage the officers from believing anything Harry has to say, and even Tommy, who once admired Harry for his Silver Star, makes apologies for his grandfather rather than expressing any faith in him. But Harry's story about having seen a man with a gun climbing the fire escape to get to another window and putting his gun in a pillow are backed with the credibility of Harry having seen the murderer rip his clothing on the window, which matches what the officers saw at the scene.

Back on patrol, the officers see an exotic dancer in a leotard, Fatima Goldring, a.k.a. Dawn Patrol (Liz Renay), about a peeping tom who was at her window while she was exercising. She accuses the now-absent perp of trying to get a freebie instead of paying for a drink at her club.

During a code seven in the car, the officers are dismayed to see in the paper that Harry talked to a reporter, making him a potential target. They quickly get a call about shots fired at Harry's place. Harry's hitting the bottle, saying that he wanted to get in the paper so his family would respect him. But the bullets supposedly fired at him are from a .45, not a .38 as at the murder scene, causing the officers to suspect that Harry faked the attempt using his service sidearm.

Harry admits to this when the officers respond to his being hit by a car, which he describes as having come after him. Harry recognized the driver as Carl Keegan, whose illegal crap game was robbed; the officers deduce that it was the murder victim, Fox, who was responsible for that. Harry explains that he heard everything from an adjacent broom closet while hitting the sauce. The officers assemble backup and converge on Keegan's place, where they're shot at by his .38, but Keegan ultimately surrenders when he sees how surrounded he is.

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The Brady Bunch
"Jan, the Only Child"
Originally aired November 10, 1972

Jan's situation is provoked by various incidents of the siblings using her things without asking, taking over the TV, etc. During an altercation over one of these incidents, she proclaims that she wishes she were an only child. During an ensuing talk with the parents, she expresses envy for the privacy enjoyed by her friend Donna, who doesn't have any siblings; and she bows out of participating in the charity hoedown with the family to stay at Donna's. The parents encourage the other kids, via Greg and Marcia, to be extra-considerate of Jan until she gets through her phase, but after a few incidents in this department, and with some help from Cindy's loose lips, she figures out what's going on and confronts the other kids about it angrily, expressing her wish that they didn't exist. They decide to fulfill her wish, making a show of pretending not to exist when she's present, and the parents decide to let things play out.

Meanwhile, the rest of the family prep for the hoedown, investing in costumes, practicing their dancing and potato sack racing; and Carol and Alice engage in a rivalry over their respective family recipes for strawberry preserves while working alongside each other in the kitchen.

Jan starts to experience the drawbacks of effectively not having her siblings around, and Mike encourages her to set things right. She asks the siblings to be her brothers and sisters again and agrees to come to the hoedown, offering to bring Donna with her.

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The Odd Couple
"The First Baby"
Originally aired November 10, 1972

Myrna's on crutches from a skiing accident, and Oscar tells her that Felix didn't visit her at the hospital because he's banned from it. The ensuing flashback takes place thirteen years ago, when Oscar was exposing a college basketball bribery scandal, and they're already contradicting the detail from two weeks ago that Oscar supposedly divorced Blanche three years ago, as the state of his apartment clearly attests that he's living alone...unless he's not supposed to have married her yet, which I'm sure must contradict something else.... Oscar's talking with a contact, Pat Rydell (Tracy Bogart), when Felix brings a very pregnant Gloria over to take Oscar up on an offer he doesn't remember making to let them stay in the spare room while she's close to dropping, as the Ungers live in New Rochelle. Felix starts taking the place over ahead of schedule, but Oscar sends him to the movies so he can interview the basketball player, Steve O'Connor (Ric Carrott), at the apartment. But he has to send Steve and Pat away when Murray shows up (at this point a friend of Felix's, whom Oscar just met when the Ungers arrived) because Gloria called him, as she's ready to deliver.

Felix gets a note that Oscar left in the mouth of a stuffed gorilla and proceeds to the hospital. Felix, who's been more wound up about the pregnancy than Gloria, tries to put on a front of being calm, but loses control when he learns that he's getting a substitute, Dr. James (Paul Gale, whose character is billed as Doctor Arnold), and grills the youthful physician. Felix harasses the janitor and is taken away by security. Felix returns from the security office in time to learn he has a daughter and see her, but he becomes paranoid that the baby might not be his, takes over the PA system for not the first time, and is carried out.

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Love, American Style
"Love and the Hairy Excuse / Love and Lady Luck / Love and the Pick-Up Fantasy"
Originally aired November 10, 1972

in "Love and the Hairy Excuse," Clara (Ann Prentiss) is awoken by her drunk husband, Howard (Dick Shawn), trying to sneak in after a night of carousing. He tries a number of excuses that she doesn't buy, and ends up claiming that he's secretly a werewolf. He starts acting like a dog to sell his story, which includes fetching the paper in his mouth on all fours, and his story seems to gain credibility after he feigns a bestial attack on her. The next night, when there's a full moon, he locks her up in the basement for her own protection and has a girlfriend, Toni (Ronda Copland), over...making wolf noises for Clara's sake while they're fooling around. When Clara sees the place wrecked, she threatens to shoot Howard with a silver bullet, and he admits the truth. The segment ends with the audience seeing that Clara is actually a werewolf.

"Love and Lady Luck" has newlyweds Tom and Cynthia O'Brien (Todd Susman and Catherine Burns) checking into their Vegas hotel when the latter puts a silver dollar from their wedding cake on the craps table and doubles her money. The bellhop (Pat Morita) encourages Cynthia to play out her beginner's luck, so while Tom's preparing himself for his wedding night, Cynthia sneaks back down to the craps table and is in the middle of a winning streak when Tom, now in a robe and pajamas, comes down to get her. Back in their room, they find they have visitors: the bodyguard (Allen Jaffe) of a gangster type named Mr. Smith (Jack La Rue)--who'd been riding with Cynthia at the table--along with another heavy, who insist that Cynthia return to the table to finish what she started. Her streak abruptly ends, she's disillusioned, and Tom learns that she lost her wedding ring at the table. Back in their room, the couple are starting to pick up where they left off when the other gamblers from the table pop in with champagne, flowers, and Cynthia's ring, to apologize for interrupting things. But Cynthia learns that they're getting a private poker game going, and she falls back off the wagon.

"Love and the Pick-Up Fantasy" involves Phil (Herb Edelman) becoming concerned when his wife of seventeen years, Doris (Loretta Swit), is repeatedly more interested in sleeping than his attempts at advances; so when she finally attempts to reciprocate, he's buried in a book about how to spice up your marriage. He shares with her the titular scenario in the book, and she's reluctantly persuaded to participate. They go to a restaurant where they're so supposed to pretend to be strangers so he can pick her up at the bar, and she has second thoughts, mortified at having to dress and make up like she's out to hook up with someone. Another man, Mark (Robert Hogan), approaches her at the bar, and she's starting to take interest when she notices a blonde who's been stood up (Erica Campbell) striking up a conversation with Phil, so she intervenes by buying her husband a drink. He comes over and tries to play his role, but she's busy with Mark again. Phil decides to end things and gives her the money to pay their tab. While he's in the restroom, Mark reveals that he's vice squad, and having gotten the wrong idea about the exchange of money, takes Doris in. When she comes home and tells Phil what happened to her, it proves to be the stimulation that he needed, but she falls asleep in his arms.

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I had a new thought about this scene: Clarence's questions aren't what they seem. He's trying to initiate a code-phrase exchange because he thinks Joey has the self-destructing tape.

 

I wasn't clear if Hawkeye's claim about the source of the liver was supposed to be true...

Not that I recall.

Beg pardon?

Dispatch can't turn it down if it's already in progress at the start of the scene.

Not according to Jan.

Sick.

Not having anyone to talk to, or enjoy things with, or help her with things, or borrow things from.

If I ever find the time, I'm going to have to dig up my reviews of other flashback episodes and put together a Totally Inconsistent Pre-Odd Couple Chronology.

I think it was about using that specific doctor/hospital.

I found him pretty annoying.

Got me.

And Ralph Macchio's sensei.

He was in the bathroom. He assumed she left with the guy.

Nah, that's really Kareem...he was an agent of opportunity, and the kid was blowing his cover. Barney? My guess would be the baggage compartment, or maybe the wheel well.