Which turns out to be the most remarkable coincidence of all time. Or at least this season. Or at least this episode. They're so square, they're cool. Not prepared enough, apparently. They're heckled by surly Classical music students? "Police officers, return to your domiciles!" Is this because Beecham was so hated? Maybe she watches Columbo. That's fantastic, especially since I have no idea what it means. That's a nice little blend of reality and fiction. That sort of thing lends verisimilitude to the plot. To the tune of Chopin's Funeral March, at least in my head. Accompanied by the sound of Beecham rolling over in his grave. A place I'd avoid swimming based on the name alone. Indeed. I gave up quickly and just let it flow. Or hope the audience has forgotten. Talk about remarkable coincidences: A random escaped convict that Ironside is pursuing finds his way to the Cave's new fire escape and Fran is assisted by the central character of this week's plot. I don't understand why Fran would keep this a secret from the Chief. That's very random. Speaking of Dollish Dolls. That didn't last long, making me again wonder why it happened at all. I wonder how he knew it was headed to Ornell's penthouse. "Need anybody subdued?" So Ken was involved but wanted out? Or he wasn't involved and was being used? And Ken killed Rogers in self defense and decided to switch clothes with him? Did Angela send Rogers to kill him and he was trying to throw her off? Well, they circled back to that, at least. Capped, I think. Monty Python and the Holy Grail? It's always in season for me. Aw, you had it all planned and I messed it up. Oh, yeah, you see that a lot in Perry Mason. He must have been sincere then. I wonder if any of these kid characters ever went anywhere in the main continuity. True. We need more F&SF.
It seems like they have gotten into a formula of having the Chief already involved in the case of the week before it becomes a case...which makes him seem kind of like Jessica Fletcher. Partly that, and partly that Ironside was the fuzz. Even conservatory students weren't hip with the fuzz, it seems. Maybe. I couldn't find anything about him being a lieutenant. I did read that in Season 6, Mark joined the force. Shazam is a phone app for identifying songs. You let it listen to something and it can identify what you're listening to. Probably gave some music professors conniption fits. What, it was his puzzle. Out of gratitude to the man who saved her life. It's the name of an unseen officer, which I think came up in the credits of a previous episode. That it happens to be the name of a future comedian who isn't famous yet is just a coincidence...hence Ed's comment being so unintentionally funny. (A bit of quick browsing indicates that Bill Murray was living in Chicago at the time and didn't get his first gig as a comedian until 1973.) He didn't. He did notice boxes being hauled out into it. One gets the impression that he'd just left, as the scenes of those two actors at the Cave by night were probably shot together. Whether Ken was directly involved or had just learned what Angela was involved in wasn't clear, but I get the impression that it was the latter, as he wasn't part of the acronym. Yes, Ken killed Rogers in self-defense and swapped clothes to throw off Angela. In retrospect, it became clear that it was Angela that Rogers was talking to on the phone. Ni! Not planned, it just came to me. Apparently there have been adaptations of them in later continuities. In the pre-Crisis continuity, I think they pretty much disappeared with the tie-in comic. One element of the tie-in comic that did notably continue on even post-Crisis was an international group of super-heroes called the Global Guardians.
Well, it is longhair music.... Yeah, I looked at the Wiki page later. It's not even clear that he's actually part of the police force. Amazing. Heh. I meant the use of the Scrabble tiles. Probably a bit lowbrow for Beecham. Hmm, I guess. But it seemed like he was more interested in avoiding publicity associated with the escaped convict than avoiding the Chief. Oh, that's hilarious. It didn't even occur to me that it wasn't the Bill Murray. Okay, that makes sense. Also makes sense. That's interesting. I don't think I've heard of them.
It was just a careless mistake; I've read through a few Mod Squad scripts and anytime Pete's last name was typed, it was spelled without the "e" on the end. Ah. Well, there's always the complete series on DVD; its nice to be able to jump around the run to favorite episodes.
No, I have not. I have wondered about that--if the original script took more time to explain what the Squad did after they disbanded the first time. The aired reunion movie sort of just tosses some exposition at the viewers about that, but considering how close the characters were to each other (Greer included), I would have preferred more time with the characters discussing the what and why of their time post-LAPD.
Bit of catching up to do - 14-September-1973 saw the UK release of Electric Light Orchestra's third single 'Showdown'. Couple of bits of trivia. The guitar solo is played on a 1953 Gibson Firebird owned by Marc Bolan, who was close friends with Jeff Lynne and was visiting the studio when this single was recorded. The single sees the arrival of Mik Kaminski on violin, replacing the departed Wilf Gibson and multiple cello overdubs by Mike Edwards as second cellist Colin Walker had left before sessions were to begin to start a family. In subsequent "live" appearances from September to October, the second cello part would be mimed by ELO sound engineer Rick Pannell until Hugh McDowell's return from Wizzard in November 1973. The single would peak at Number 12 on the UK charts and Number 53 on the US Billboard charts. It is the second most performed song in concerts; 'Roll Over Beethoven' being the first.
50 Years Ago This Week September 16 Víctor Jara, 40, Chilean folk singer, was tortured and killed in the National Stadium in Santiago after being arrested by the nation's police force, the Carabineros. After the restoration of democracy to Chile in 1989, criminal charges would be filed against people who had participated in the killing. In 2018, eight retired Chilean military officers would be convicted and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for Jara's murder. September 17 Illinois became the first U.S. state to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a paid state holiday observed annually on January 15. Governor Dan Walker signed the bill after it passed the state house of representatives, 114 to 15, followed by the state senate. September 18 The United Nations General Assembly voted unanimously to admit both the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) as the 133rd and 134th members of the United Nations. The newly-independent nation of the Bahamas was admitted as the 135th members. Horst Grunert became East Germany's first U.N. Ambassador, while Walter Gehlhoff was Ambassador for West Germany. King Hussein of Jordan issued a general amnesty for all Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in his Hashemite Kingdom, including Abu Daoud, leader of the Black September group that had carried out the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games. Hussein's decree declared that it would cover "all convicts, detainees and wanted people within and outside the kingdom who had committed political crimes against state security, with the exception of murder and espionage." The next day, 300 prisoners were released, with a total of 754 guaranteed amnesty. Ringo Starr buys Tittenhurst Park from John Lennon and Yoko Ono. He soon moves in, renames John's home studio Startling Studios, and opens it up for commercial use. September 19 King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden was enthroned at the Hall of State of the Royal Palace of Stockholm. He chose the simple title Sveriges Konung (Sweden's King), ending a 400-year tradition of Swedish monarchs using the title med Guds Nåde Sveriges, Götes och Wendes Konung ("By the Grace of God King of the Swedes, the Goths and the Vandals"). A lieutenant in the Swedish Navy, Carl Gustaf had been promoted to the rank of Admiral by the cabinet of prime minister Olof Palme prior to the ceremony. The last coronation of a Swedish monarch had been that of King Oscar II a century earlier, on May 12, 1873. Repatriation began between Pakistan and Bangladesh of prisoners of war who had been captured in fighting during the 1971 Bangladesh war of independence, with the United Nations chartering flights between Lahore and Dacca, and between Karachi and Chittagong. Within five days, 1,468 Bengalis and 1,308 Pakistanis had returned home. Charles Horman, 31, U.S. journalist who was arrested in Chile five days after the overthrow of the Allende government, was executed as one of many people interrogated, tortured and killed at Santiago's National Stadium. His story would be dramatized in the 1982 Costa-Gavras film Missing. Gram Parsons, 26, U.S. singer-songwriter who was formerly a member of The Byrds, died from a combination of morphine and alcohol while at the Joshua Tree Inn near Yucca Valley, California. The day after his death, his manager and an assistant took the casket in a partially-successful attempt to carry out Parsons's wish to be cremated at the beach. September 20 In the most widely-watched tennis match up to that point, "The Battle of the Sexes" took place in the Houston Astrodome between 1973 women's Wimbledon champion Billie Jean King and 1939 men's champion Bobby Riggs. Riggs was favored to win by gambling oddsmakers as a 5-2 favorite. The event was televised in 36 countries and watched by an estimated at 90 million people at home, while a record 30,492 people attended in person. King won in three straight sets, 6–4, 6–4, 6–3. A Concorde supersonic jetliner landed in the United States for the first time, in conjunction for the dedication of the new Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Jim Croce, 30, American rock singer, was killed in a plane crash along with songwriter Maury Muehleisen, 24, and four other people after he performed a concert at Northwestern State University's Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Killed also were the pilot, Robert N. Elliott; Croce's manager Dennis Rast; comedian George Stevens; and theater agent Dominick Cortese. The Beechcraft plane lost power as it took of at 10:45 at night, hit a tree, and then flipped over. The group was on its way to its next engagement at Sherman, Texas. September 21 Henry Kissinger was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new Secretary of State, by a vote of 78 to 7. The Ford Motor Company introduced the Mustang II, a more fuel-efficient model of its popular sports car. The 1974 Mustang was 490 pounds (220 kg) lighter and 19 inches (480 mm) shorter than the 1973 Mustang. September 22 Egypt's President Anwar Sadat and Syria's President Hafez al-Assad met in Damascus and ordered the military commanders to prepare for a launch date of October 6, coinciding with the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur for a surprise attack on Israel. Jordan's King Hussein and Israel's Prime Minister Golda Meir met secretly at an undisclosed location in Israel, along with intelligence directors of both nations, to discuss peace negotiations. The new Dallas—Fort Worth International Airport was dedicated. Sitting primarily on land at Grapevine, Texas (in Tarrant County) and Irving, Texas (in Dallas County) and occupying 17,207 acres (6,963 ha) or almost 27 square miles, it was the largest airport in the U.S. in terms of area at the time. Henry Kissinger, the National Security Advisor to U.S. President Nixon, was sworn in as the U.S. Secretary of State. Kissinger, a native of Germany, was the first foreign-born person to hold the position and the first Jewish person to head the U.S. State Department. Frank Teruggi, 23, American college student studying in Chile, was shot 17 times and his body was dropped off at a morgue in Santiago. His death came two days after he had been arrested by the nation's Carabineros de Chile police force. Teruggi's body was identified 12 days later, from fingerprints and dental records, by an official of the U.S. consulate. Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week: Leaving the chart: "Are You Man Enough," Four Tops (13 weeks) "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," Jim Croce (22 weeks) "Monster Mash," Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers (23 weeks total; 20 weeks this run) "Uneasy Rider," The Charlie Daniels Band (12 weeks) New on the chart: "Space Race," Billy Preston (#4 US; #34 AC; #1 R&B) And new on the boob tube: Hawaii Five-O, "Draw Me a Killer" Adam-12, "Rampart Division: The Senior Citizens" Ironside, "Murder by One" The Brady Bunch, "Mail Order Hero" The Odd Couple, "Last Tango in Newark" Love, American Style, "Love and the Comedienne / Love and the Lie / Love and the Lifter / Love and the Suspicious Husband" Super Friends, "Professor Goodfellow's G.E.E.C." Star Trek, "One of Our Planets Is Missing" All in the Family, "We're Still Having a Heat Wave" M*A*S*H, "5 O'Clock Charlie" Emergency!, "Frequency" (Season 3 premiere) The Mary Tyler Moore Show, "Angels in the Snow" The Bob Newhart Show, "Motel" _______ Timeline entries are quoted from the Wiki page for the month and Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day, with minor editing as needed. _______ I guess he thought one would lead to the other, or he just got cold feet. Anyway, Fran didn't know. I was wondering if the official spelling came from the scripts. There was a point when I would have considered buying seasons as needed digitally to keep the show in my 50th anniversary lineup, but it isn't available on iTunes or Amazon.
One of the things that struck me about the summary was that their Mod Squad days seemed to have no effect on their lives whatsoever. None of them stayed with law enforcement or any type of public service-- it's was like none of it ever happened. I vaguely remember this, but I doubt if I would have pinned it as ELO. That's odd. They have many songs that are so much better. That took a while. Yeah, that was a bit much. That sounds like it was probably pretty bad. I remember that. I heard about it from my Uncle Joe. Croce produced so much great stuff in such a short time, I wonder what he would have accomplished if he could have lived out his life. Not everybody was on the same page here. I don't remember this at all. And Squiggy is shaking his head.
It must be one of those regional things, because I tend to hear this song a lot more on the classic rock station than I do their other big hits.
One wonders if the people involved in the reunion movies have actually seen the show that they're writing/directing the script for. Also, why didn't any of the actors speak up and say, 'Hey, this isn't how I would react in this situation," or "this isn't how I think my life would have been like after the show ended,"?
Excellent, inventive song, and it was so fascinating to see a group emerge from that sea of fledgling late 60s acts to become one of the most unique sounds in pop/rock history. Yes! This was not a case such as the beginning of Star Trek: The Motion Picture where the main characters (with the exception of Spock & McCoy) were still serving in Starfleet, so you did not necessarily need to wonder what they were doing after the 5-year mission. In the Squad's case, they were all "drafted" into service (or face existing criminal charges), but grew to dedicate themselves to / care about what they were doing. It was not just another job, but the nature of the reunion made it appear as if their wealth of experiences were inconsequential, other than using an old villain as the reason they became a team once more. I recall hearing the tragedy reported and it was one of those sudden shock deaths (of a public figure) that seemingly came out of nowhere. In other words, Croce's death was not generating "I could see that coming a mile away" reactions as in the case of Hendrix or Joplin.
I've given this some thought and I think the reason that it is the second most played song in their repertoire is that this is 1973. The more commercial songs/hits starting with 'Evil Woman' are still two years away; meaning this song is going to have an advantage over the other newer songs as the catalogue wasn't that deep by that point and it's going to stay in setlist as other songs cycle in and out.
Probably true. Although, come to think of it, I don't hear a lot of ELO at all anymore. I often think that about revivals. Good question. Either they weren't listened to or they just did it for a quick buck. And reasons were given for Spock and McCoy's behavior. That makes sense.
_______ 50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 1) _______ Hawaii Five-O "Hookman" Originally aired September 11, 1973 Season 6 premiere Back in the land where palm trees sway but Jack's hair doesn't budge! The episode opens with the titular figure using the prosthetic appendages for which he's nicknamed to carry a guitar case through a cemetery and up to higher ground as a funeral procession drives up the mountain. He opens the case to assemble a bipod-mounted M1 carbine, with which he shoots the motorcycle officer leading the procession, causing the hearse to swerve out of control...and while it doesn't burst into flame, the casket falls out the back, to the horror of the widow. The sniper leaves behind the weapon, which bears a plate engraved with the name of the victim, Keoki. McGarrett questions Keoki's partner, Officer Wayne Ookala (Samuel Alama), about anyone who may have had motivation. At home, the shooter eats a TV dinner while listening to a police scanner. He's got three more carbines hanging on the wall waiting for victims, and he cuts out a newspaper headline about the shooting to hang in place of the first one. Che determines that the plate was hand-stamped, and is able to raise a serial number to determine that the rifle was used in WWII, but as it was likely smuggled home as a souvenir, ownership can't be determined. Meanwhile, the killer stamps the next nameplate--"Ookala". Danno subsequently leads 5-O in joining CLE to surround the house of a mad gunman named Bill McKinney (Donald Roessler). They smoke him out, he exits shooting, and they plug him up. His weapon is found to be an M1; and Ookala, also at the scene, is found to have been shot dead. But Doc Bergman promptly informs McGarrett that the angle of fire was wrong for McKinney to have been the shooter. Steve and Danno find the killer's rooftop perch, and the nameplated weapon left behind. While the Governor asks Steve what to tell the press, the serial assassin makes his next plate--"McGarrett". Steve and Danno question a jeweler named Norm (Ben Whitehurst), whose shop they've traced the plates to...while the shooter sets up his next nest in a room across the street. But while he waits for the right target to wander into the window, a painter unlocks the room door and the killer has to improvise with his hand. As Steve and Danno are leaving, they find out that Norm wasn't the one who called them in response to a bulletin they had sent out...and duck back inside in time for the killer's shot to miss. They spot the hastily abandoned window, and the killer nearly runs down McGarrett in his green Mustang while screeching out. McGarrett pursues, but the killer loses him on a pier where construction work is being done. While Bergman's reporting on the forensics of the painter's killing, which involved severing his spinal cord, the Mustang is found abandoned in, and fished out of...say, is anyone else thirsty? When McGarrett finds one of the killer's prosthetic arms still attached to the steering wheel, he realizes who he's dealing with and tries to get out an alert to a Larry Thompson...but Danno catches up to inform Steve that Thompson was found to have been killed that morning, complete with nameplated carbine. McGarrett tells Danno to dig up anything he can about the whereabouts of a Curt Stoner. In the Governor's office, McGarrett exposits with Danno present about how twelve years earlier, he and the three victims were on the scene of a bank job being pulled by Stoner and his partner, in which Stoner, who was holding charges in each hand as a deterrent, had his hands blown off when they were triggered in an exchange of fire. He was granted parole despite having a known vendetta against the officers in question. Stoner is watching out his window pensively as McGarrett and Danno subsequently work his neighborhood, questioning residents. They hit the jackpot when they find a shabby apartment building in which one of the mailboxes has a nameplate with an alias that bears the same flawed O as the others. While Danno goes to summon backup, McGarrett makes his way up to the apartment in question, finding the gunrack with three headlines and an empty slot. As he's examining medals and clippings from Stoner's service history and bank job, he gets a call from the occupant, who points him to a drawer in which Steve finds two of the hook hands, each bearing a McGarrett nameplate. Stoner takes a shot, and McGarrett scopes out his perch in a building across the street, from which the shooer has ascended up a fire escape to the roof. Outside, backup has arrived, and while McGarrett takes cover behind his car to retrieve a rifle from the trunk, he orders Ben to come out from cover and draw Stoner's fire at the end of a count--being the new guy in 5-O sure is a plum job! When this happens, Steve tosses Danno the rifle and bolts into the car to screech off. As Stoner exposes himself to fire wildly at his fleeing quarry, Danno--now the hardened killer of the group--takes him out. In the aftermath, the McGarrett carbine is found shattered on the pavement below. _______ Adam-12 "Harbor Division" Originally aired September 12, 1973 Season 6 premiere The first half of this season features a new title scheme / story angle of the unit being assigned to different divisions. Jim learns that Pete's trying to get rid of some tickets because his current girlfriend Yvonne is sick, but Pete doesn't want to tell Jim what the tickets are for. When Jim follows up between calls to learn that they cost a whopping $18, Pete has to explain that they're to the ballet, which he acts self-conscious of, deciding to post an anonymous notice on the HQ bulletin board. The officers are assigned to a dispute at a marine filling station. A boat owner, Rod Decker (Charles McGraw), accuses the new proprietor, Joe Johnson (G.D. Spradlin), of double-billing his credit card. Johnson denies it but doesn't want to show the officers the contents of his strong box. When it drops and opens in a struggle over it, they find the evidence and cuff him. Back on patrol, the officers pull over a Mr. Stewart (Al Checco) after he crosses an intersection in front of them with a large box attached to the roof of his car. With some prodding, he explains that he bought a color TV set out of the back of a car in a dockside bar parking lot, at a great price because it was supposedly unlisted cargo. The officers seem familiar with this type of arrangement, and persuade him to open the box. Inside he finds a used picture tube and some bricks. Back at HQ, Ed Wells and Jerry Woods are yukking it up with other officers about the notice on the bulletin board. Pete tries to set them straight, and eventually has to admit that he's the one selling the tickets, which he handles in a way that puts Wells on the defensive. On patrol, something causes Pete to make a U-turn to follow a green Chevy, which has no wants or warrants, but it promptly pulls over and the couple inside get out to walk toward a house. After the driver, William Grimes (Geoffrey Binney), can't identify the address, the officers hear a notice of a couple matching their description who just held up a liquor store, and the couple are arrested. On patrol again, the officers see a loudly painted hippie van make a right on red without yielding to oncoming traffic. The physically mature but colorfully dressed and flighty driver, Ida Huntington (Jayne Meadows), thinks she was within the law, citing that she's a rule-obeying Libra. She's happy when the date on the ticket indicates that her lucky day is tomorrow, and therefore her horoscope hasn't been disproven. On the waterfront, the officers hear shots being fired, and find a drunken sailor (Johnny Silver) with a rifle in the crow's nest of a boat. The officers persuade him to come down and surrender. When a couple of fellow sailors (Don Diamond and Ray Oliver) come out of hiding to mock him, it turns out that his handle's Cookie, and his grievance is their complaints about his cooking. But when the other sailors see that he's being arrested, they try to vouch for Cookie, explaining that he routinely threatens to kill them when they come into port, but this is the first time he's gotten ahold of the shark rifle. Back at HQ, Wells quietly approaches Pete about the tickets, saying that his wife is interested, but it turns out that Mac beat Wells to them. _______ Ironside "Confessions: From a Lady of the Night" Originally aired September 13, 1973 Season 7 premiere We skip ahead a year in the Chief's life to find him being awoken in the middle of the night by a call from an anonymous woman who desperately begs for his forgiveness. He hangs up on her when clarification isn't forthcoming, but ponders the call afterward. The next morning, the Chief is called into Commissioner Randall's office to be confronted with an expose in the tabloid Bare Truth, which claims that Ironside watched a friend die and did nothing to help; while also chastising the SFPD for not investigating a missing actor whom the story doesn't identify. Unlike Randall (whose sorry ass we'll now file under the category "Born Yesterday"), Mark (now sporting a mustache and large bow tie) is sensible enough to know that it's jive...and seems to be sharing driving duty with Ed these days. The Chief admits that there is some truth behind the allegation about him, flashing back to a childhood friend named Larry Yates (Tom Drake) begging Bob to attend as he's executed via electric chair, sometime before the Chief was disabled. The Chief proceeds to see publisher M. J. Smith (Lynn Carlin), who threatens him with what will be in the next issue, including the name of his childhood teddy bear. He tries to get more info about the missing actor, and takes her down a peg by pointing out the award for literature on her wall. (The Chief should also have told her that if she knew about a missing person, she should have reported it directly to the police.) Ed digs up a has-been actor named Grant Richards whose whereabouts are currently unknown. The Chief is on the scene after an office boy's hands are blown off opening a package to Smith; who's very upset at this turn and confesses that the story about the actor was just meant to be a publicity to boost his career. Wanting the Chief to find who's responsible, she hands him the name of the source of both angles of the story, with whom Ironside supposedly spent many "long, lonely nights". Ed and Fran visit the Richards home to be greeted by the caretaker, Mr. Perkins (William Schallert in old-age makeup and using an arm crutch), who reports that the Richardses took off mysteriously. After inspecting the grounds, Ed questions Perkins about a pool that's been filled in, and Perkins tells them how a dog died falling into it after it cracked. The caretaker suffers a mild attack when Fran starts to ask him about something she found curious upstairs. The Chief goes to see Agatha Mott (Dorothy Malone), who admits to being the woman who called him, and expected him to remember her. She indicates that she was close to Richards, and blames him for what she's become. The Chief becomes concerned when she receives a package, having Mrak call the bomb squad and sending her out. Something she says about his propensity for survival triggers flashes of his being shot (apparently from the series pilot), and a memory of Agatha as a nurse who watched after him while he was comatose at the hospital...with more-than-professional investment. Mark confirms that a professional service didn't make the package deliveries; and an excavation of the Richards pool finds an old car with a body in the trunk. On a follow-up visit, Agatha tells the Chief that she quit the hospital and went to work for Mrs. Richards when her caretaker suffered a stroke, and fell for Grant--revealed to be William Schallert in a flashback, which shows how the angry and mocking Sarah Richards (Jeanne Cooper) fired Agatha for getting too friendly with Grant, who wasn't willing to leave his wife for Agatha. Agatha is sure that Grant's dead and she's a suspect, but the body in the car hasn't been identified...and the audience can see what's going on here. Confusingly, we only learn after the fact that two bodies were found, and apparently burned. One has been identified as that of Mrs. Richards; and somebody posing as her is supposed to have made a withdrawal in her name after her death, whom Lt. Reese is sure was Mott. But the Chief believes in Agatha's innocence, describing to Mark how her voice bolstered his will to live. Ed talks to a truck company dispatcher (former NFL quarterback Joe Kapp), who describes someone with long hair and wearing dark glasses named Richards, whom he's sure was a woman, who rented the truck to fill in the pool. Ed and Mark pay a nighttime call on Perkins to question him. The Chief confronts Perkins about how his story of having been in the hospital for his stroke at the time the pool was filled in doesn't check out; and that his right arm doesn't appear to be paralyzed, going by a fork on the plate that he was eating from when they arrived. "Perkins" makes a run for the van, finds that the keys aren't inside, and un-appliances himself to reveal that he's Grant Richards (to nobody in the audience's surprise). In the coda, Smith drops by the cave with a chef to prepare a surprise dinner for the Chief, getting personal by revealing that her name is Mary Jane. The soundtrack of this episode used a catchy musical motif with non-lyrical vocal accompaniment, which seems to derive from another song featured on the show the previous season. Credits for this episode indicate that the music was written by Marty Paich, with vocals by Carol Carmichael, sax by Stan Getz. I dug up a search result showing credits for two songs used in Season 6 written by Paich and sung by Carmichael, "Now You're Gone" and "Money Girl". _______ The Odd Couple "Gloria Moves In" Originally aired September 14, 1973 Season 4 premiere Oscar comes home all excited about getting the guys together for a big poker party when Felix breaks the news that he's getting back together with Gloria. Thinking that means that Felix is moving out, Oscar looks up and thanks God. Aw, there's a new opening credits sequence; it doesn't have the narration, and the music is more subdued. Oscar's bubble bursts when Felix clarifies that Gloria's coming to stay at the apartment while her place is being painted. Felix does see it as an opportunity to win her back, decorating the place with flowers and a "Just Married" hanging from their honeymoon, but Gloria doesn't share his vibe. There's a cute bit of business when Oscar and Felix fold up the hanging like a flag to the sound of "Taps". It isn't long before Felix is quibbling with Gloria over sundry things, and he pays for Oscar to get a hotel room for the weekend, thinking that Oscar's getting in the way. At the hotel, Oscar's getting the game going with Murray, Speed, Vinnie, and Murray's new partner and neophyte poker player Roger (Archie Hahn), when Felix shows up with suitcase in hand...Gloria having thrown him out again. The guys feel like it's a rerun, as apparently Felix came to move in with Oscar during a game. Felix proves to be disruptive to the game as he frets over losing Gloria again. Oscar puts Felix in bed with a bottle of liquor and a Bible, then picks up the cards and chips in the blanket they've been using as a tablecloth so they can take the game back to the apartment. Roger's on a winning streak when Murray sends him home to get sleep, so Oscar tries to recruit Gloria to take his place, and she tells him to call Felix. Oscar does...not being able to see that Felix has emptied the bottle. The smashed Felix returns home as Gloria's leaving to stay with her sister who's watching the kids, and as he gets in the game, his inability to even read his hand ends up bringing the night to an early close. _______ Love, American Style "Love and the Footlight Fiancee / Love and the Plane Fantasy / Love and the Swinging Surgeon / Love and the Teller's Tale" Originally aired September 14, 1973 Season 5 premiere "Love and the Plane Fantasy" has Wilbur Wright (Gary Burghoff) and Marty (James Gregory) traveling together, apparently on business; Wilbur bumps into Amy Simpson (Barbara Rucker) in the aisle and is smitten. Marty encourages Wilbur to go talk to her, but he stays put and we enter a stylized dream sequence in which the stewardess, Betty (Barbara Rhoades), announces that they need someone to fly the plane, and a much more casually confident Wilbur volunteers. As the plane is rapidly losing altitude, Amy approaches Wilbur to chat him up, eventually volunteering to be his co-pilot. The cockpit looks more like a bathroom, with toilets for seats and pipes and valves for controls; and Marty, in what looks like a matador jacket, is the air traffic controller (who explains to Wilbur how radar works). After a break, Wilbur wakes up to see that Amy's sleeping in her seat across the aisle. Marty encourages Wilbur again, but he still won't make a move. Amy's dream is a continuation of the previous one, in which the subject of marriage comes up; Wilbur finds that as he's captain of the ship, he can perform his own marriage; and Amy suddenly sports a full bridal gown for the ceremony. As the newlyweds kiss, Amy is woken by the stewardess, the plane having landed. Wilbur disembarks, unaware of Amy's mutual interest; but Amy takes the sweater vest that he left behind, perhaps planning to use it to approach him. (I'm unclear if the first part of the dream sequence was supposed to be his dream or hers.) "Love and the Teller's Tale" opens with Bunny Dixon (Penny Fuller) working late in the vault when her boss, Lawrence Hill (Ken Berry), comes in to check on her and, clearly being smitten with him, "accidentally" locks them in, forcing them to spend 14 hours together. Fortunately she still has her lunch with her, and when she needs something to drink, he produces a bottle of expensive champagne that he keeps in one of the vault drawers, which he was saving for his wedding night. They drink it while playing gin with bank slips and bundles of real money, and he talks about his fiancée, admitting to her shortcomings and realizing that he finds Bunny attractive. As they become more smashed, he gets very into her, and she admits to having locked them in on purpose. As they start to undress, we cut to the vault being opened in the morning. Both are fully dressed and acting professional for the onlookers, but Lawrence recloses the vault door, announcing that they'll be coming out the next morning. _______ I'm not familiar with the details, but I could see them all eventually moving on. The series angle of them being undercover cops who could mingle among the youth wasn't sustainable in the long run; and their job exposed them to a lot of tragedy and death that they may have wanted to get away from. I had to wonder. There's an obvious song that I could have posted in tribute, but the reason it's obvious is that it'll be coming up as a posthumous single in a couple of months. It was originally a track on his 1972 album You Don't Mess Around with Jim, so it was on my playlist for a while. It's alright...and we're not even quite up to Fonzie yet, never mind Squiggy!
Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner apologizes for disparaging Black and female artists Unsurprising, as Wenner has been known as a sickening, white elitist for decades, but the one positive of this story is that his vile nature is now exposed to the masses who can no longer snort the dust of Wenner or his ass-rag with its history of undervaluing black performers who played an incalculable role in creating the music, culture and industry he profited from through said ass-rag and other ventures. Truth be told, some of the "artists" selected for his self-pleasuring pamphlet are hardly insightful or intellectually stimulated people, and have a history of uttering some jaw-dropping, moronic statements. Yes, that includes the likes of Jagger, Garcia and Lennon. That said, i'm sure the legacy media will attempt to hand wave Wenner's despicable beliefs / statements and continue to kiss his ass, because they are eye-brow deep advocates of a segregated end of "music culture".
I vaguely recall his brush with fame back in the late 70s. Made of crinkly aluminum? Those were the days. Another sniper? Presumably they're acting on a tip called in by Stoner, but it's all pretty convenient. Whew! Drink! Nice. Without waiting for said backup. You have to prove your survival skills! They have the paperwork pre-printed at this point. Not a bad episode. I wonder how Jaye J Armes came to be involved. Was the episode written specifically for him or just adapted to his unique situation? He's still guilty of receiving stolen goods. Cuff him, Reed. The ol' Petey Sense strikes again. Steve Allen's wife, not Ralph Kramden's wife. He obviously wasn't serious if he was just using the shark rifle. I think the term "expose" is kind of overstating it. Cross referenced under "Just Fell Off The Turnip Truck." Okay, that's mighty random and irrelevant to the plot, such as it is. "Della." I think there are a few thousand of those. This must be Hands-Blown-Off Week. Beloved character actor, superintendent of space station K-7. Did she ever mention what that actually was? A prostitute, or a squealer squealer monkey on a wheeler? How'd they manage to get a warrant for that? Or did they? Maybe it took them a while to sort out the bones. That's uncharacteristically sentimental, Chief. Okay. So. Despite claiming to not want to leave his wife, Richards killed her and his valet willy nilly, burned their bodies, and buried them ostentatiously in the pool, while posing as his late wife. Then he assumed the identity of his valet, who apparently has no friends or family to question this, and continued to live in Richards' mansion, because Richards estate doesn't need Richards to run it. Then Agatha sold vague, meaningless tidbits about Ironside, including his Teddy bear's name, to a tabloid, because she needed money, maybe, and the tabloid publisher published them because she hasn't won an award for literature recently. The tabloid publisher also picked a has-been actor to give publicity to without naming his name, who happened to be the aforementioned killer, who then sent her a mail bomb to discourage her without telling her what he was trying to discourage. And prior to the murders, Agatha worked for Richards and was fired by his wife for having an unrequited crush on him, which ultimately doesn't have anything to do with anything. And we also learn that the Chief had a childhood friend who was a murderer or something and got the chair. Quite an episode! Actually, it seems like they might be trying to re-establish the series premise for the season premiere or something-- which they wouldn't have to do if they just kept the opening narration. This is all pretty sad for a season premiere. Walter. Inspector Luger. Random, and kind of weird. That had to be deliberate. Both. They've got a thing that's called Radar Lo-o-ove.... Wilton. When the vault opens the next morning, they discover that the world has been devastated by nuclear war.... Kind of lackluster, since we didn't even get to meet the fiancee. That's a valid point, if it came up in the plot. But from a dramatic point of view, it's unsatisfying since it seems to have thrown away all of their character development from the series. Even if they didn't remain with the police force, they still could have been involved in public service somehow (as with my example of Julie becoming a social worker). Squiggy exists in all times simultaneously.
I didn't realize that he was an actual amputee. Interestingly, I found this on his Wiki page... There's a space there begging for a Jack Lord Corn Flakes box... I assume that McKinney was set up as a decoy by Stoner somehow, hence using an M1, but I don't think they got into any details about it. I imagine that it must have been written with him in mind. Now I'm picturing Spidey in full costume with a symbolic half-Peter Parker face. I don't know anything about shark rifles, but it was firing bullets. It was kind of a big thing to pull out of nowhere, but it served a purpose in the story as a piece of alleged dirt. Zolar. Yeah, I wasn't clear on how Ed dug the exact guy up so fast. Not that I caught. The latter...selling her juicy gossip to a tabloid. I think they did. Maybe, but it was confusing because what they found in the trunk was initially only implied by the reaction. Then we learn well after the fact that there were burned remains of two bodies. There was hostility between him and his wife, but apparently she controlled the money, or he was afraid of being taken to the cleaners. And I hadn't realized that the second body was the actual valet's--also something that they didn't clarify, unless I missed it. The original valet was actually having strokes, so it's possible that he died naturally and Richards took advantage of it. They were both portrayed as women who'd fallen on ignoble times, working for the tabloid. The Richards affair had probably ruined Agatha's nursing career. The Richards angle was provided by Agatha, as she was involved with both him and Ironside. I got the impression that it wasn't exactly unrequited...that they had an actual affair, which Mrs. Richards caught. True! It was all comedic in execution, of course. Nobody calls him that...I had to look it up. Also a bad guy on a planet...the evil shrink, I think. There's a Gregory James Gallery in my area. Whenever I drive by it, I think of the actor. In a dream sequence? Inconceivable! Glad it's not just me. More recently Sam. And they were too busy to notice the shockwave... Irrelevant...she was just a plot point. One could argue that Linc was carrying the flame in becoming a teacher...the type of role that he played undercover, and a way to continue to help young people. Pete may have given back to the community, turned the company away from war manufacturing, or whatever (I have no idea offhand what the Cochran family business was); Julie may have been philanthropic with Quincy's dough.
Maybe he meant in crowd scenes or something. I'll see if I still have those files. Yeah, they're regular guns. I was just being facetious. Really? Sounds like a strange visitor from another planet. It didn't seem like they enough to warrant a warrant at that point, but I could be wrong. Ah, so he wasn't sticking with his wife out of love-- that changes a lot. Right, that follows. Ohhh.... They do on rare occasions-- at least I recall Hawkeye saying it once or twice in serious moments-- but then there's also this. Damn, I always seem to forget that. Is that the Mayberry guy? I never really watched that. Makin' shockwaves of their own, baby! That's all true. It's hard to say, actually, since we know so little about the story.
_______ 50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 2) _______ Super Friends "The Baffles Puzzle" Originally aired September 15, 1973 On a quiet day at the Hall of Justice League (as it's identified both in the narration and in-story this time), Wendy and Marvin are studying at the library when they make the acquaintance of a man named Mr. Mergen (Wiki identifies his voice actor as Casey Kasem, but it sounds like Olan Soule to me), who informs Marvin that "photosynthesis" beings with a P, not an F. Wonder Dog, apparently smelling almonds, which he's allergic to, has a sneezing fit, following which the kids find that an entire shelf's worth of encyclopedias has vanished. Specifically, they get an SDQ from the SDI; and Baffles takes credit for the missing encyclopedias. Aquaman relegated to asking fish in an adjacent river if they've seen any suspicious boat activity... This might be the first episode that I saw, as I vaguely recall a scene with Clark Kent. Superman once again doing stakeout as Clark, before changing identities at the sign of crooks. In addition to Superman carrying the crooks' car to the police, Batman and Robin tow a bulldozer that's blocking a tunnel with the Batmobile. Follow him off the ship, specifically. Superman also uses his X-ray Vision (not identified by name) on a couple of occasions, including to check on the shipment and find it gone. As the Super Friends on the ship (Wonder Woman staking out its destination), we get shots of Batman without his chest symbol. They work out that the solution that's been making things dissolve creates the almond odor. The Wonder Gang stow away in the back of his van, which takes them to Mergen Chemicals, where they eavesdrop on a couple of heavies, Mr. Dabney and Mr. Darby (Norman Alden and Frank Welker), who address Mergen as Prof. Baffles and seem to be influencing his activities. Mergen/Baffles expresses that human history has been a bad influence on humans. Try to figure that one out. Wendy and Marvin expose that D&D have been profiting from his crusade with the ransoms. We learn along the way that glass is the one substance immune to Baffles's solution...conveniently for his ability to keep it in beakers and test tubes. Through charades, natch. "Galloping goslings, Batman!" The World's Finest team of Superman, Batman, and Robin converge on Mergen Chemicals, to find a rhyming clue written on a blackboard that cryptically directs the Super Friends on four wild goose chases designed to defeat them. Apparently this is all Dabney and Darby's work, which seems way too smart for the crude-acting thugs. Aquaman investigates a submarine where none should be (How would he know that?), finds himself ensnared by steel cables, and calls on whales and moray eels for help. Superman checks out an abandoned balloon in a thunderstorm. But instead of Wendy and Marvin, Superman finds Kryptonite...that material from the planet of his origin which robs him of his powers and weakens him dangerously. I distinctly remember seeing this scene on a different occasion, and it being my first exposure to Kryptonite. This was quite the installment for picking up some basic Superman lore! Wonder Woman is drawn to a beacon in the Andes, where a stairway leading underground turns into a slide, trapping her in a pit. Batman and Robin are investigating a cave when the Boy Wonder (or Teen Wonder as they were calling him in the comics by this point) trips over a wire with his little green bootie, triggering an avalanche. Meanwhile, Dabney and Darby are holding Wendy, Marvin, and Baffles at an abandoned amusement park, but while the hoods are collecting a $1 million ransom from Col. Wilcox in the woods, they escape from the ticket booth where they're being held with the help of a vial of Baffles's solution. When the hoods return, the prisoners are trapped in a monkey cage. While Aquaman directs his marine friends in freeing him, the Kryptonite is rocked out of the balloon and Superman frees both Wonder Woman and the Dynamic Duo. On to this week's climactic clip: In the coda, Baffles is made to see that he was blinded by his crusade and that no one man has the right to change the world. Interesting thing about Wonder Woman's involvement in the cartoon, which I dug up with a bit of searching last week, is that in the preceding year, she'd just come out of her years-long phase as Emma Peel-inspired non-powered agent Diana Prince, Wonder Woman; and wouldn't rejoin the League until 1976, after a two-year arc in her own bimonthly book of proving herself by performing twelve labors under the supervision of various JLAers. I'm not sure why a founding member would have to go through all that trouble for taking a sabbatical, but one of my earlier comics was the issue of Justice League of America in which she was formally reinstated. _______ Star Trek "Yesteryear" Originally aired September 15, 1973 This of course is the episode of the animated series that tends to be held in higher regard than the rest for its insight into Spock's backstory and the return of Sarek and Amanda...the former played again by Mark Lenard, though the latter is voiced by Majel Barrett. Captain's log, stardate 5373.4: We are in orbit around the planet of the time vortex, the focus of all the timelines of our galaxy. Our mission is to assist a team of historians in the investigation of Federation history. When Kirk and Spock return from Orion's ancient past via the Guardian, they find that nobody remembers Spock, who's been replaced in the timeline by an Andorian named Thelin (Doohan). They find that Spock was killed at the age of seven during his kahs-wan maturity test, and that Amanda also died later. The historians on the Guardian's planet were observing Vulcan history while Spock was in the past, and they work out that Selek, a cousin who saved young Spock during the test, was himself Spock, who was out of the timeline and therefore didn't exist when the historians were studying Vulcan. Holy observer effect! Or maybe I should say Schrödinger's Spock! Spock goes back into the Guardian to fulfill his role as Selek. (Doohan's reprisal of the Guardian's voice is very disappointing...it sounds nothing like his original performance, and more like a generic cartoon ghost.) The first thing Spock comes upon is his younger self (uncredited Billy Simpson) being picked on by the other Vulcan boys for being an "Earther" who doesn't know the neck pinch yet. Spock is getting it at home, too, from Sarek, who sternly lectures him about his behavior, including fighting with the other kids. Spock introduces himself to Sarek as Selek, a traveling relative, and has a good talk with Amanda while Spock is being chastised by Sarek. We also meet Spock's sehlat, I-Chaya, who was mentioned in "Journey to Babel". Spock finds that something's already wrong with the timeline, as the planned timing of the ritual doesn't match his memory of when it happened. Personal log, stardate 5373.9, subjective time: The timeline seems to have changed again. Yet I do not believe I have done anything to disrupt it. My memory is quite clear regrading the date my cousin saved my life, and it is tomorrow. The kahs-wan ordeal is an ancient rite of warrior days. When Vulcans turned to logic, they reasoned they must maintain the tests of courage and strength to keep pure logic from making them weak and helpless. When young Spock slips out at night to take the test ahead of schedule, followed by I-Chaya, elder Spock's memory is jogged regarding the circumstances. Personal log: The boy Spock should be moving toward the Llangon Mountains. He...I...had much to prove to myself. The personal ordeal upon which I embarked was meant to determine the course my life would take. Young Spock must survive in the wilderness for ten days with no food...no water...but more clothes than he wears around town. He's soon pounced upon by a dragon-like le-matya, which I-Chaya attempts to fight off. Animated Spock, who's his own stunt double, leaps onto the attacking creature and puts it out with a double nerve pinch. But the dual Spocks find that their victory is not without cost. Personal log: Something unexpected has happened again. The sehlat, I-Chaya, was struck by the poisonous claws of the le-matya he fought. He is dying, unless we can find a healer, and soon. Young Spock runs off alone to the house of a healer (Doohan), while elder Spock touchingly apologizes to his old friend. Upon examining I-Chaya, the healer gives young Spock a choice of painfully prolonging the sehlat's life, or putting him out of his misery. Heeding some wisdom from elder Spock about all things needing to pass, young Spock stoically chooses the latter. Back in town, young Spock goes to neck-pinch rumble with his schoolmates, and Selek says his goodbyes while requesting that Sarek try to understand his son; then returns to his present, where he beams up with Kirk to find McCoy bickering with him as usual. The thing that strikes me about this episode in immersive retro context is that it reminds me a lot of Kung Fu...like an extended Caine flashback episode. I wonder if there was any influence, acknowledged or not. _______ All in the Family "We're Having a Heat Wave" Originally aired September 15, 1973 Season 4 premiere Gloria and Mike are in cutoffs, and Mike is hotly on Archie's case about Watergate, being outspoken that Nixon is fully involved. The Bunkers have an air conditioner in the window, but Gloria tries to stop Archie from using it to conserve energy and prevent brownouts. When he switches it on anyway, it blows out. Mike: Arch, I got a great idea--why don't you hire one of Nixon's plumbers? Later Mike: Your main trouble is your brain is so closed, a new idea couldn't break in, even if it had the help of Hunt and Liddy! The subject changes when Mike catches Archie looking at a petition to keep a non-white family from moving into the house next door. When Mike and Gloria point out that they get along fine with the Jeffersons... Archie: Because one c****** family is a novelty, two is a ghetto! When Henry comes over to confront Archie about the petition, Archie argues that it's in his interest to sign the petition, too, in order to keep property values from going down. Then Alfredo and Maria Estrada (Victor Argo and uncredited Edith Diaz) come to the door asking about the key to the house, as they're planning to buy it. Henry is at least as put off by Archie at the idea of a Puerto Rican family moving in, and takes Archie aside to sign the petition. While Mike and Gloria chastise Archie for scheming with Jefferson to keep the Estradas from moving in by discouraging them from buying the house, Archie and Henry act like best buddies. Mike: Look at this, it's like Nixon and Brezhnev all over again. Archie and Henry are toasting their success when they realize that they don't know if the new new neighbors will be white or black. A woman (Garrett) comes to the door asking to use the phone, which Archie had just accidentally pulled the cord out of, and offers to help him fix it, whipping out a tool kit. She introduces herself as the new neighbor, Irene Lorenzo, and calls in her husband, Frank (Gardenia). Archie's a bit put off when he learns that Frank is the one who does the cooking. Mike brings to the Lorenzos' attention that the Estradas already had a deposit on the house, so the house may legally be theirs; but Henry arrives to report that the Estradas got a good deal on a house on the next block. Archie's making a comment about the Irish ethnicity of the real estate agent when Irene protests that she's Irish; and Frank offers that he's Italian. (I was married to that combo!) The Lorenzos leave on bad terms and the phone is working again. In the coda, Archie and Edith are playing cards in the kitchen with the door open, and Archie loudly complains that he can hear Frank singing. This episode is making me second-guess my choice to favor Emergency!, as it's loaded with the sort of in-the-moment topicality that I was afraid of missing. Still, I could get caught up in hiatus season by the time we get to Nixon's resignation... _______ M*A*S*H "Divided We Stand" Originally aired September 15, 1973 Season 2 premiere As General Clayton assigns Captain Hildebrand (Anthony Holland) to secretly assess the 4077th for the effects of stress on the unit, he gives new viewers a good intro to the show, going over each of the regular characters, played over sometimes-contrasting scenes of them--including Hawkeye and Trapper losing at strip poker to one of the nurses. When Hildebrand reports to Blake, the captain's first impression of the unit is made by Klinger dropping into the office. Only Blake is supposed to know Hildebrand's assignment, but as a bad assessment would mean breaking the unit up and reassigning the personnel, Blake sneaks around at night to warn Hawkeye, Trapper, Burns, and Houlihan...but Hildebrand overhears Radar reporting to Blake about his own effort to spread the word. Hildebrand sits with Blake, the surgeons, and Houlihan at mess, where they all make a show of being complimentary of one another. But the captain later observes as Burns and Houlihan are making rendezvouses, and Hawkeye and Trapper are pulling pranks on them. He assembles them all in Blake's office to chastise their immature behavior, at which point the guys and the couple freely air their grievances with each other. Then--rather predictably, as we saw this story resolution used twice in Season 1, including the pilot--casualties are brought in and Hildebrand gets to observe the surgeons in no-nonsense mode, working like a fine-oiled machine. When Clayton drops in for Hilebrand's report, he finds the captain in the Swamp, drunk on home-brewed gin, and with a new perspective on the situation. Capt. Hildebrand: In my short stay here, I have seen textbook examples of neuroses, psychoses. I have seen voyeurism, fetishism, and a few "isms" I've never even heard of. And let me tell you this, General: These impossible people are in an impossible place, doing totally impossible work. They're mad, quite mad, all of them...and the only act I can think of that would be madder still would be breaking them up! Hawkeye and Trapper belatedly realize that they've blown another chance to get out. In another déjà vu bit of business, the coda is a cast roll call played as a PA announcement. _______ The Mary Tyler Moore Show "The Lars Affair" Originally aired September 15, 1973 Season 4 premiere And as previously noted, for some reason Catchy just skipped this historic episode while airing Season 4 (recordings of which are still in progress). _______ The Bob Newhart Show "The Last TV Show" Originally aired September 15, 1973 Season 2 premiere The season opens with a therapy session assembling several of the usual suspects--Mr. Gianelli, Mrs. Bakerman, Michelle Nardo, Elliot Carlin, and Mr. Peterson. Bob's getting calls at the office and at home from Mr. Conover, the producer of a public television program called Psychology in Action, but he's not interested. Jerry tries to encourage him to do it for the publicity; and while Bob doesn't want to compromise the privacy of his patients, Emily asks if he's asked them about it. Having found out from Carol, they're all sore at him at the next session, thinking that he's ashamed of them. Learning that they all want to do it, he relents. Bob also relents on wearing a plaid sport jacket after some varied comments about it. Howard, Jerry, and Carol assemble at the Hartleys' to watch the show, though Jerry brings a portable because the show is on against a football game...in addition to Gunsmoke, which Mrs. Bakerman belatedly realizes she's also missing. On camera, things start off bad with the announcer getting Bob's surname wrong; and the patients all clam up from not wanting to discuss their personal issues while people they know are watching...including some of the people they have issues with, like Michelle's father and Mrs. Bakerman's boss. The only one who does speak up is Mr. Peterson, who makes a spectacle of himself when he loses his voice describing how he stood up to his wife. Ultimately, Bob tries to fill time as the patients are unwilling to contribute anything that they would at a normal session. When Bob gets home, everyone tries to spare Bob's feelings. Bob: You don't have to be polite about it, it was horrible. It was probably the worst program ever on television! Howard: No it wasn't, the fourth episode of My Mother the Car was! We learn that Bob filled the hour by talking all about himself. At the next session, the group apologizes for letting Bob down, Michelle having found out after the fact that her father was watching Gunsmoke. _______ If I can trust the closed captioning's spelling, but it sounded right. A quick search couldn't turn up any literary/cultural relevance, unless it was a mispronunciation of Zola. Again, the Chief makes these things happen! Shudders. Sounds like another case of a spinoff that was basically trading in on the concept of it being a continuation of a familiar character, but was effectively a new vehicle for the actor. Yeah, I had to look the character name up, but that was the role I was thinking of when seeing him here.