50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 2)
Shazam!
"Double Trouble"
Originally aired September 27, 1975
IMDb said:
Captain Marvel robs a gas station. Or is it an impostor in an incredibly realistic mask?
The figure of Captain Marvel (John Davey from this point on) walks into the gas station of Phil Schartoff (Jack Garner) and holds it up through pure intimidation. When he hops into a green pickup (the kind that looks like a sedan with a pickup back) driven by Pearce Young (Ben Andrews), "Cap" pulls off a lifelike mask and wig to reveal that he's just a hood named Bill Ritzi (William H. Bassett). (Clearly IMF tech has fallen into the wrong hands....)
The Elders call the van so Solomon can share cryptic wisdom about Billy setting an example by respecting unfair laws. The guys then spot a boy (Jimmy McNichol) losing control of his horse on the ranch adjacent to where they stopped the van, so Cap does the helping bit and refers the lad on to his friends in the van. The boy turns out to be Kelly Martin, the son of the local sheriff, who's trespassing on the ranch of Larry Frank (Bill Quinn) because of an attachment to the horse, Corky, whom he feels is neglected. The lad demonstrates no concern for using other people's property without their permission.
When they return Kelly to his father (Ross Elliott), they learn from the sheriff that Captain Marvel's wanted for robbery. Kelly's attitude of disrespect for the law triggers the Elder flashback, so Billy decides to practice what he preaches and set an example by turning to Cap and turning himself in. The sheriff proves to be a sympathetic jailer--acknowledging at one point that he couldn't keep Cap against his will--but Kelly questions Cap not being available to catch the actual robbers. Mentor takes Kelly with him to follow a lead about the lad having seen a couple of men at a shack on Franks's property. Mentor continues the example-setting by first seeking Franks's permission to snoop around.
This turn initially stymies the crooks, as Bill will be giving himself away as an imposter if he uses the disguise while the real Marvel's in jail. But then Bill schemes to take advantage of the situation. Snooping around the shack while they're out on a job, Mentor and Kelly find the mask, wig, and costume and proceed to the jail. The sheriff returns from a lunch outing to reveal that he was carjacked by a pair of guys in a green pickup. Robbed of his keys, the sheriff gives Cap permission to engage in one of the classic if obligatory feats of strength...Cap bending the bars back into place before taking off to find the pickup.
With local law seemingly incapacitated, the guys are basking in getting away with a mine payroll holdup. (Presumably they used a weapon this time, but we never see one.) The sheriff having anticipated their target from the timing, Cap soon finds the pickup and lands in the bed. Pearce tries unsuccessfully to shake him off while Cap ties a large rope in the back to the truck, then takes off in the opposite direction while holding the other end, bringing them to a stop and pulling the track back toward town...a journey that's cut short when the van arrives with the Sheriff riding shotgun.
Sheriff Martin: Alright, you two, into the van.
Cap: See, Kelly? I was careful not to break the law. Everything worked out just the right way.
Kelly: I understand. I hope Mr. Frank will give me another chance.
Mentor does a little additional moral delivery before the dedicated segment.
Billy: Today's story was about how Kelly learned that one must respect the law. Respecting the law is just another way of saying that we respect each other. Laws have been made for the good of everyone, and when someone breaks the law, it's really saying, "I don't care about you." So next time you see a sign that reads "Keep off the grass" or a red light that says "Stop," be sure you obey it. When you respect the law, you're respecting yourself.
Hello, force field, my old friend...
I'd like to have seen the moral segment about not playing around with radioactive materials.
Emergency!
"Election"
Originally aired September 27, 1975
IMDb/MeTV said:
Roy and John become candidates for a welfare committee. A man gets his arm stuck in an appliance drain while his brother aspirates on a can tab. A delirious child causes problems at the hospital. A sculptress’s model is stuck inside a plaster cast. A construction worker is trapped on a crane.
This might've been considered seasonal if '75 had been a national election year. Cap'n Stanley informs the crew that their delegate for the county Firemen Benefit and Welfare Association is being transferred, leaving his office open. When Roy describes the qualifications for the important position, Marco nominates him and Chet seconds. Roy's trying to inform Joanne on the phone, while Chet ribs Johnny about his unelectability, when the station is called to a man trapped in a pipe. A woman named Susan Murray (Maggie Malooly) takes them into the house where her husband Marty (Dave Morick) has his arm stuck in the wall piping that the washing machine plugs into, which he was trying to clean; while Marty's brother-in-law, Clyde (Cliff Osmond), looks on in amusement and swigs a can of beer. The crew innovates by taping some IV tubing onto coat hanger wire, sticking it in, and blowing in air to break the suction, enabling them to pull out his arm. As the crew is exiting, Clyde accidentally inhales the pull tab from his beer can, obstructing his breathing. (There's more than one reason they eventually attached those things, kids.) Early instructs the paramedics to try pulling it out with forceps, which proves unsuccessful, and the patient is transported to Rampart for a laryngoscopy, in which Early is successful, and recommends that his patient use a glass in the future.
In a crowded waiting room, Morton witnesses a young boy named Tommy Lawson having some sort of attack and rushes him to an examination room. Mrs. Lawson (Anne Whitfield), indicates that he's been throwing up from what she insists is stomach flu, but when she's questioned about his recent medical history, she gets flustered and wants to take him out. The Brackett informs her that Tommy has to be admitted for what he thinks is some form of virus, though she insists that they have a plane to catch, and silently reacts in an angry manner when he's not looking.
At the station, Johnny tells Roy that he's thinking of running for battalion delegate, and Roy's happy to drop out, which upsets Johnny because he wants to prove that he can beat Roy. The squad is called to an unspecified rescue at the home studio of a frustrated sculptress (Sharon Gless, not Tyne Daly), who takes them to a subject named Roger (Jack Kutcher) who's conscious and talkative but completely encased in plaster for a full-body mold and unable to get out of his chair. She's unable to get the mold off because she used too much glue in the plaster to keep it from breaking up on removal. The paramedics find it difficult to chip away, so they soften the glue with water, then cut around Roger's neck to pry the plaster from his head. They proceed to work on cutting and pulling off the rest, under which he's wearing only boxers. The sculptress is angry that they completely destroy her mold.
Roger (leaving with his clothes bundled under one arm): I mean, I like kinky chicks, but there's a limit!
She tries to recruit the guys for castings, but they decline.
When Mrs. Lawson won't admit Tommy into the hospital, Dix share her impression that she's running from something, which causes Brackett to have her look into the possibility that Mrs. Lawson doesn't have legal custody. Brackett subsequently receives a visit from Tommy's father (Hank Brandt), who does have custody. He signs the forms and shares that Tommy recently had chicken pox. This supports Brackett's diagnosis that Tommy may have Reye's Syndrome. Mrs. L angrily confronts her estranged husband, but Brackett informs her that her actions could have cost Tommy his life and recommends psychiatric treatment.
After Johnny insists that Roy run for the delegate's position as well, the guys find themselves pulled into a practice debate over lunch at the station, which gets heated before the paramedics call it off and the station is called to rescue a man named Louie who's trapped on the top of a tower crane, an arm stuck and his legs dangling. The foreman takes them up to the top of the building under construction, from which the paramedics proceed to climb the interior of the crane framework, then use the catwalk of the vertical arm accompanied by another worker to get to Louie. They find that the trolley that moves along the arm has to be moved by lowering the crane's load, but this accidentally results in the other worker losing his footing and sustaining an injury. A Stokes is raised to the arm, the crane is repositioned, and the second injured man is lowered down to the building to be loaded onto a stretcher by an ambulance crew. Then the lowering of the crane's load is completed so they can free Louie's arm, and he's lowered on the Stokes. By the time the paramedics have gotten down from the crane to the building, Chet is confident that both victims are going to be alright.
On a new morning at the station, Roy and Johnny have just agreed that they won't let the election come between them when Chet informs them that a third candidate from another station won by a landslide. Both paramedics try to make a show of taking the news well before physically expressing their frustration on their locker doors.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
"Mary's Father"
Originally aired September 27, 1975
Wiki said:
Mary works with a handsome Catholic priest on a documentary. He announces that he is considering leaving the priesthood and Mary is mortified when her intuition tells her that he may be in love with her.
The episode opens with Ted conducting a talk show interview with Father Terrance Brian (Ed Flanders when he's not killing people in Hawaii). After the show, Mary approaches the priest with the idea of doing a documentary about a youth program that he's involved in, and he makes an appointment to discuss it over lunch. He drops into the newsroom in civvies to pick her up and Sue Ann tries to pick him up before learning his profession. Father Brian takes Mary to Steak and Ale, where he discusses his dissatisfaction with the life of a priest and brings up a friend who left the priesthood because he fell in love. Mary takes this as being about her, discussing it with Murray afterward. When she calls Father Brian to tell him that the show has been approved, he informs her that he wants to postpone it because he's thinking of leaving the priesthood.
Now in full fretting mode, Mary tries to talk about it with Lou, and he blames her, but makes a point of restoring her confidence in herself. After Mary heads out to keep her dinner appointment with Father Brian, he drops by the newsroom to talk to Lou, who forces him to sit down over drinks so he can share a childhood anecdote about a bicycle that he wanted...which the father doesn't see the point of, so Lou gets more direct, and Father Brian clarifies that he's not thinking of leaving over a woman, just about his own doubts. At Mary's now-decorated place, she comes right out to the priest about what she thinks is going on, only to be informed as Lou was. Her reaction gets a good laugh out of Father Brian, and he teases her some in her discomfort before informing her that he's going to a church retreat to think thing over.
The documentary about the program gets made anyway, which the crew watches at Mary's place in the coda, where Ted gets upset about his sign-off being cut off.
Now that I'm seeing Mary's place furnished, I'm starting to think that maybe it was a redress of Sue Ann's kitchen set set.
The Bob Newhart Show
"Death of a Fruitman"
Originally aired September 27, 1975
Wiki said:
One of Bob's patients dies after being crushed by a truckload of zucchini.
This episode about a recurring character's unusual death aired one month before the famous "Chuckles Bites the Dust" episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Members of Bob's therapy group--Mr. Peterson, Mrs. Bakerman, Michelle Nardo, and Elliot Carlin--assemble in Bob's office for what's supposed to be a surprise party commemorating their fourth anniversary, upset that Mr. Gianelli, who was supposed to bring a cake in the shape of a brain, hasn't shown. Bob arrives, clearly anticipating the surprise, and tries to play the voice of reason while the others express their ill feelings toward Gianelli, who eventually sends a message through Carol that he's not coming. The group proceeds to read a poem to Bob that each of them wrote part of, but the last line is missing because it was Gianelli's.
When Gianelli calls Bob at home, Bob tells him off for letting the group down and tells him to stop coming to therapy.
Howard: That's telling him, Bob. Keep those unbalanced people off balance.
Bob explains that he was using reverse psychology to motivate Gianelli into showing up next time. Howard tries to use reverse psychology to get the Hartleys to pay for dinner, but Bob turns it back on him.
At the next session, the others express outright hatred for Gianelli. They proceed to revisit the poem, which Bob obtained the last line of.
Peterson: You helped us all in every way...
Elliot: You got inside our head...
Michelle: And that is why we'd like to say...
Carol (bursting in): Mr. Gianelli's dead!
Carol informs them of the zucchini accident, and the group members insincerely mourn Gianelli while turning their hostility on Bob for kicking him out of the group.
At home, Bob beats himself up over how he last spoke to Gianelli. Emily--who makes matters worse by making zucchini--encourages Bob to host a wake-type party for the group celebrating Gianelli's life. Bob tries to dictate a eulogy to a critical Carol, and discusses the situation with Jerry, who's upset to be faced with his own mortality.
As the party commences at the apartment, the Hartleys learn that Gianelli didn't even show up at his funeral, having donated his body to science. Peterson, who had an ongoing hostile relationship with Gianelli, drowns himself in drink. Howard bursts in after returning from a flight and, not knowing what the party's for, ruins the moment of silence.
In the coda, Jerry's practicing treating every goodbye with someone as if it will be the last, and Bob's still triggered at the mention of zucchini.
IMDb explains that Noam Pitlik, who'd played Mr. Gianelli in all but his most recent appearance, left the show for a full-time directing gig on
Barney Miller.
Their plans are so secret even they don't know them.
That would explain much.
They met while they were both on tour. Now she's a bionic secret agent and he's returned to his homeworld. It's all so bittersweet.
I was expecting a little more "D'oh!"
I only remember Oscar. I don't remember Rudy, but I'm kind of assuming he showed up.
I've read that he appeared regularly on both shows while they shared a network. I'm thinking that Dr. Mike may have been conceived with the intent of setting him up as Jaime's Rudy, but they changed plans.
Yes.
Which is now coming into season.
That's true. It has to be what I'm remembering. I have associated memories of the Avengers issues by Shooter and Perez where they meet the Guardians of the Galaxy.
I haven't listened, but maybe it's a live version that didn't draw attention to the liveness.
