50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 2)
The Six Million Dollar Man
"Nuclear Alert"
Originally aired September 13, 1974
Season 2 premiere
Wiki said:
Steve must stop a group of government conspirators who have assembled an atomic bomb from stolen parts.
On a private flight, four figures are invited by an unseen host to bid on an item. The bidding starts at $25 million, and finishes at $60 million...to the outrage of the sheikh-looking type (Sid Haig) who made the second-highest bid, as each party is allowed only one. In Washington, the sheikh bursts into Oscar's office with valuable information to trade--that he was just at a black market auction for a tactical atomic bomb. Oscar cancels his next appointment.
We now have the classic version of the opening, with Oscar's full narration and use of more of the theme. The bionic limb sound effects are entirely absent from the episode, however. I think I read that they finally kick in for good several episodes into this season.
Steve's present as Oscar leads a meeting with experts and military brass. They know who's buying the bomb, but not who's selling it; and determine that most of the components have been stolen from various nuclear powers...the last piece being a reflector fuse. They're informed that one just shipped out by truck, and Steve proposes the risky plan of getting him on that truck and letting the delivery proceed as bait. A tracking device is installed in Steve's bionic hand, and he communicates with Oscar via a pen radio as he locates the truck at a diner and approaches the driver, Carson (Thomas Bellin), just as he's receiving a call informing him that Steve will be taking the truck the rest of the way. After Steve pulls out, Carson, who it turns out is on the take, informs a couple of baddies at the diner, Cal and Zeb (Felice Orlandi and uncredited Gabriel Walsh), about the kink in their plan. Meanwhile, one of the experts who was at the meeting, Doctor Clea Broder (Carol Lawrence), is abducted at gunpoint by the man who was sitting next to her, Ted Swenson (Fred Beir)--who was also the seller at the auction, identified by a distinctive ring--and another man to assemble the device for them.
Steve gets out at the side of the road and enters the secured back of the truck by peeling back part of its roof to remove a transistor from the fuse that will prevent it from triggering the device...remembering instructions that Dr. Broder gave him. While Steve's calling in to a dispatcher at a pay phone, he's approached by Cal and Zeb, who've followed the truck and inject something into his right arm. Steve plays along and lets them put him in the back of their car, take his keys, and abscond with the truck. He then pursues on foot--being spotted running at high speed by a disbelieving farmer (uncredited Charles Wagenheim). Steve gets back in through the top of the truck, but when a weigh station stop reveals that the vehicle is 200 pounds heavier than it should be, Cal figures that they've got a passenger.
Meanwhile, Oscar's tracking truck, which was delayed by an accident staged by Carson (and where he's assisted by an Air Force major played by Stewart Moss), loses the beeper signal because Steve is out of range. Oscar confers with General Wiley (George Gaynes) at a mobile command post. Steve gets back out of the truck as it reaches its airport destination and is driven into a hangar. There the back of the truck is opened with armed backup to find no passenger; and Swenson brings in Broder. Having gotten into the hangar by busting a padlock, Steve spies on the parties involved, and after Swenson and company exit, he gets in the truck and updates Oscar via his communicator, informing Goldman of the involvement of Swenson, a member of Oscar's staff. (Now would be the time to question OSI's internal security.) Steve then frees Broder from the room she's been locked in, but the two of them are caught and brought aboard the private plane from the teaser, where a cuffed Steve is kept under guard and Broder is taken to the otherwise assembled bomb to install the reflector fuse. Having been informed by Steve that he removed the transistor, she complies. Swenson orders the plane to take off despite not being cleared by the tower, and Wiley and Oscar arrive at the field to watch it fly away. The general insists that they have to get the reflector back despite Steve having disabled it.
Combat aircraft are launched by land and sea to intercept the plane (with lots of pretty F-4 footage involved). Swenson discovers that the reflector has been tampered with and a search of Steve turns up the transistor in his shirt pocket. Swenson quickly solders the missing component into place, then calls Wiley and Goldman to call off his fighter escort, threatening to drop the now operational bomb; Steve confirming the weapon's status when he's put on with Oscar. Wiley plans to shoot down the plane when it's reached a point where the danger of fallout will be minimal. Steve, unaware of the exact timetable, advises Broder to fasten her seat belt. She then witnesses as he twists apart his cuffs and leaps up to kick out the exit hatch. Swenson quickly does a Goldfinger, though Steve makes an ineffectual motion to reach for him. Steve proceeds to take out the flight crew; then, with the plane on auto-pilot, has Broder take him back to the bomb, where he uses his bionic strength to get at the reflector faster, then tears out wires to stop it five seconds short of detonation. He returns to the cockpit and tensely takes a bit of time getting around to making his call that the bomb has been deactivated, to be informed by Oscar that he had about ten seconds left.
In the coda, Oscar informs Steve and Broder of an agreement among the nuclear powers to coordinate intel about stolen components in the future, and Broder presses Steve for info about his abilities, to only be sworn to secrecy about what she saw.
Among the brass at Oscar's meeting is a major general played by an uncredited John Stephenson. I guess the Super Friends must have been busy with another case.
Shazam!
"The Brothers"
Originally aired September 14, 1974
Wiki said:
Chad is a blind boy who is being overly-protected by his older brother, Danny. Chad feels so useless that he decides to run away, and when his brother goes after him, Danny gets bitten by a rattlesnake.
Danny Martin's (Steve Tanner) supposed to be watching his brother, Chad (Lance Kerwin), who's intent on taking a blind walk through the wilderness across a sparkly stream. Danny attempts to pursue but manages to lose Chad in the rough terrain. Back at the Shazamvan, Billy and Mentor hear thunder.
Billy: Holy moley, it's the Elders. I'm late.
That's Zeus quoting Wordsworth. Right after that clip, it's indicated that Mentor can hear what the Elders are saying, and that he's "forbidden" to explain their cryptic words of wisdom, suggesting that he answers to them. Chad then wanders onto the road in front of the motorhome and Mentor has to swerve off the side to avoid hitting him. Billy and Mentor soon discover that Chad's blind, though he doesn't have glasses or a cane, and the boy gets defensive.
Billy: Ease up, man, I'm not hassling you.
Chad only became blind about a year before, and has issues with people treating him like he's diseased or helpless...especially his older brother, who catches up. Mentor and Billy try to encourage Danny not to be so overprotective and let Chad learn to do things on his own. Billy, who has a couple of flashbacks to the Elders along the way, tries to befriend Chad, citing Jose Feliciano, Ray Charles, and Stevie Wonder as examples of what blind people are capable of. He then puts bells on a football and tosses it back and forth outside with Chad, teaching him to listen to its sound; but a remark from Danny causes Chad to lose his cool, tripping on a branch and becoming frustrated. Later, Chad grabs a stick and takes off into the wilderness alone.
When the others go after him, Danny spots Chad, but is bitten in the leg by a rattler while scurrying downhill. He hobbles to Chad and tells him what happened, and Chad insists that Danny stay in place to avoid spreading the poison while he goes for help. He finds Billy and Mentor and there's another "Holy moley!" as Chad fills them in. Mentor brings up getting Captain Marvel involved, triggering Billy's third flashback. Billy swears Chad to secrecy, then says the magic word and reintroduces himself as Cap, to the boy's excitement. While Cap flies to the van (as Billy refers to it) for snakebite serum in their paramedic kit, Chad leads Mentor back in Danny's direction. But Danny, afraid for Chad's welfare, tries to find him and is felled by a minor rockslide.
Chad employs his other senses to retrace his steps, but when he finds the spot, they discover that Danny's trapped under rocks nearby. Cap delivers a "Holy moley!" as he flies upon the situation, then hurls aside the rocks to free Danny, who hasn't broken anything. Cap removes his cape to cover Danny in it, then whips out a walkie talkie to contact the L.A. Hospital Emergency Unit (uncredited Lou Scheimer) for guidance on treating the bite.
Once Danny's been treated, Cap helps Danny to appreciate how Chad came through for him and the titular siblings share a hug. When Cap has to make a lame excuse to explain Billy's absence, Chad plays along with him.
In a pre-moral coda, Billy's practicing using his other senses in the van with his eyes closed when they run out of gas. As they're starting to walk to a station miles away, Mentor suggests using Captain Marvel, but the sound of thunder declares otherwise. (This is starting to remind me of
Highway to Heaven...)
Cap: Hi. Today we saw that everyone needs a helping hand. That people with problems or handicaps can get along almost as well as any of us. All they need is a chance to gain self-confidence. See you next week.
Star Trek
"Bem"
Originally aired September 14, 1974
Paramount+ said:
The Enterprise crew is being observed as their suitability to meet with advanced civilizations.
Captain's log, stardate 7403.6: The Enterprise is on a series of exploratory and contact missions. Traveling with us as an independent observer is a member of a recently contacted alien species, Honorary Commander Ari bn Bem. He's from the planet Pandro in the Garo VII system. We have taken up orbit around Delta Theta III, a newly discovered class-M planet. A previous scouting mission has reported possible aboriginal life forms here, and the Enterprise is to investigate and report.
Kirk is taking a landing party to place monitoring devices while avoiding contact. The captain objects when Bem (who refers to himself as "this one" like Mantis; Doohan) insists on coming along for the first time in several missions. What's more, Bem takes the liberty of setting the transporter coordinates...
Spock finds it curious that the planet seems so geologically young despite orbiting an old star. After picking up readings of a group of life forms, Bem runs into the forest on his own, getting through the thick tangle by splitting his body into several pieces, the upper parts floating freely. When Kirk and Spock catch up, they find Bem being captured by what appears to be a food-gathering party of lizard people.
Uhura, who's in charge of the
Enterprise but only shown standing next to the captain's chair, orders the rest of the landing party up because of increased activity from the anomaly. As they follow the aborigines taking Bem to their village, Kirk and Spock discover that their phasers and communicators have been replaced with fakes. They find Bem in a primitive wood cage only to be captured and put in adjoining cages. When accused of having taken their equipment, Bem, who believes they rely on their devices too much, pulls the phasers and communicators out of pouches, then easily escapes his cell by splitting the parts of his body. Spock describes him as a "colony creature". The anomaly causes interference that prevents communication with the
Enterprise, and when Kirk and Spock pull their phasers to defend themselves from the natives, they're held in a multicolored stasis field and questioned by an unseen alien entity (Nichols), who describes the natives as her children and objects to the intruders' interference with them. She causes their phasers to disappear, and the party is recaptured by the natives.
Kirk: There are times, Mr. Spock, when I think I should have been a librarian.
The
Enterprise is unable to locate the landing party, so Scotty prepares another landing party.
Kirk chastises a humbled Bem, then the entity questions why they're still interfering with her children. Kirk explains that Bem is their responsibility and frames it as his effort to prevent further interference with the entity's children. Bem resolves to disassemble his unity for his failure, but the entity persuades him to live to learn from his error, while declaring that the intruders must leave so as not to corrupt the development of her children.
Once back on the
Enterprise, Kirk has the planet classified as quarantined. Everyone feels humbled by their contact with the entity, who sends them one last message complimenting how they've learned.
Bem stands out as one of the more cartoony elements of the animated series. Yeah, it's the sort of thing that they weren't able to do in live action, but in this case, why would they have wanted to?
Emergency!
"The Screenwriter"
Originally aired September 14, 1974
Season 4 premiere
Edited IMDb said:
A screenwriter spends a day observing Squad 51 at work, which includes a motorcycle accident, a worker suffering from exposure to chemicals, the delivery of a baby, and a structure fire at a toy factory.
Dick Friend (uncredited J.B. Friend) brings screenwriter Art Frommich (Shelley Berman) to the station to observe the firefighters at work as research for his next project. He eschews a tour or briefings about procedures to maintain his own narrow focus, which includes a tendency to narrate into a tape recorder his imaginary version of what's not going on. When the squad gets a call to see to accident victims, he tries to climb on the fire engine. The accident involves a seemingly drunk driver named Gene Porter (Roger Perry) and a young motorcyclist (Brendon Boone), who's on the pavement with an injured leg. At Rampart, Brackett informs them that the cyclist has a severed artery, endangering his leg. He also helps see to Porter's recovery, but saves his Friday side for an impatient policeman (Del Monroe) who's eager for Brackett to clear Porter so he can be taken into custody, while the doctor insists on doing tests.
At the station, Captain Stanley encourages Frommich to interview the firefighters about their professional experiences, but it's getting off to an awkward start when the station is called to an industrial accident at a fabrics company. A worker (uncredited Angelo De Meo?) takes them to a 260-pound man named Al (Larry Csonka) who was exposed to chemicals and is now acting hostile, threatening anyone who tries to communicate with him, including the captain. When the paramedics identify the chemical causing the psychosis, Brackett advises sedation. The firefighters climb down a ladder into the pit Al's in, Johnny first, and Al starts tossing them around, grabbing Chet upside-down by the waist and shaking him up and down. The paramedics and Marco pile on to help subdue him.
At Rampart, Porter's wife, Anne (Terrence O'Connor), insists to Brackett that Gene doesn't drink anymore, though the circumstances--including liquor found in the car--say otherwise. Anne comforts a young woman (Bennye Gatteys, I presume) who's crying because her husband's having his leg amputated, and Anne is horrified to learn that it's the man her husband hit. Anne is taken to see her husband, who's obliviously unconcerned with the victim of his accident until she gives him an update, dramatically declaring that she's been lying to herself that he's changed.
At the station, the firefighters take interest when Frommich receives a visit from a bubbly blonde named Renee (Carol Wayne) who's said to be the pinup on the back of Johnny's locker.
Capt. Stanely: So, have you ever been in a fire station before, miss, uh...?
Renee: October.
Frommich takes the aspiring actress out to dinner alone despite Johnny's enthusiastic attempt to persuade them to eat at the station. The squad is then called to woman who's going into labor in a shopping center parking lot. When they try to question her husband, it turns out that both are deaf-mutes, but they read lips, and the husband communicates with them via gestures and notes. They move the couple into the back of the supermarket, where they put the woman on a table. The doctors and Dix listen with interest at the base station through the open biophone as the paramedics help the woman to deliver her baby girl.
At Rampart, Brackett's concerned with proving that Porter wasn't drunk, as no alcohol was found in his blood. Tests seem to rule out his theory of hypercalcemia, until Early helps him to realize that a known pancreatic issue was making his calcium levels appear normal. Brackett informs Anne, emphasizing that Gene was apparently about to start drinking again because of the symptoms he was suffering, and she's happy to help support her husband under the circumstances.
After Frommich returns to the station, he announces to Johnny that he's decided to base his story on an actual paramedic, who's actual name and life story he'll use. The end of this scene is lost due to a poorly placed Frndly commercial, but from the next scene at the station, it's apparent that he hasn't decided who to cover yet and Johnny's trying to sell himself for the part. The station and other units are then called to a fire at the Kiddyland Toy Co. factory. At the scene, a man who's ineffectually spraying the fire with a garden hose is shocked when loose lines fall into the puddle he's standing in. Frommich is finally narration-less and paying attention as he watches the crew rescue the man and tend to him, which includes defib. The paramedics then go inside to rescue a man who's trapped under some debris, getting him out as the place is starting to go up. In the aftermath, Johnny's disappointed to learn that Frommich hasn't seen the light as we were led to believe, he's just gotten inspiration to change the focus of his story from the heroic deeds of paramedics to evil dolls that are threatening to eat the world.
Roy (getting in the ambulance): How's the script coming?
Johnny: I just got replaced by a doll.
Roy: Well, that's show biz.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
"Will Mary Richards Go to Jail?"
Originally aired September 14, 1974
Season 5 premiere
Wiki said:
When Mary refuses to reveal a source, she is found in contempt of court and is sent to jail, where she befriends two prostitutes.
Mary's just convinced Lou to see a doctor because he thinks he may have the mumps when a bookkeeper (Charles Woolf, I presume) comes into the newsroom with a scoop about graft among companies involved in a highway project. Mary writes it up and hands it to Ted to read on the air...
Afterward, a throng of reporters interviews Ted about the scoop, which he takes credit for despite having been dismissive of it during the broadcast. After they leave, DOJ special agent Harrison (James Randolph) subpoenas Ted to testify before a grand jury. Having returned, Lou emphatically advises Ted that he doesn't have to reveal his source under the First Amendment; but when Harrison explains that Ted could face jail time, Ted quickly points the finger at Mary. She comes back from testifying to inform the news crew that the judge gave her until Monday to change her mind, or she'll be put in jail.
Come Monday, Mary asks Lou for advice and he gives her an inspiring speech about the importance of confidential sources to ensuring the freedom of the press. Sue Ann insists on throwing a party for Mary before the agents comes to take her to jail. Ted gives Mary a pack of cigarettes to use as currency. When Mary's put in her cell, she nervously chats up her new "roomies," Sherry and Kim (Barbara Colby and Mary Ann Chinn).
Sherry: Hi, I'm Sandra Dee and this is Annette Funicello.
Naturally, Mary annoys her roomies as she chatters on while they're getting ready for lights out.
Sherry: Which bunk do you want?
Kim: Oh, I don't care where I sleep.
Sherry: I know, that's why you're here.
The next day Lou visits Mary in her cell having changed his tune, advising her to tell them what they want to know. Mary gets him to admit that he just wants to get her out, and she reassures him that he didn't talk her into it, she just needed to hear him say what she already knew. Grant likens Mary to a daughter who's made him proud, and when prompted, reluctantly agrees to reward her as he would one of them...with a hug.
In the coda, Mary's saying goodbye to her roomies...as they're being let out while her bail's still pending.
The Bob Newhart Show
"Big Brother Is Watching"
Originally aired September 14, 1974
Season 3 premiere
Wiki said:
Bob disapproves of the idea of his sister Ellen moving in with Howard.
Ellen (Pat Finley reprising the recurring role established late last season), who's looking for a job, has been trying unsuccessfully to live with her mother but shows up at Bob and Emily's with a suitcase, needing to find an apartment closer to Howard. Howard argues for getting married sooner, but his insistence that he already knows everything about her is undermined when it comes out that he doesn't know Ellen's job, favorite color, or eye color. Bob and Emily insist on hosting her in their room while they sleep on a convertible bed in the den, but this arrangement quickly proves to be trying. Ellen comes to the office to talk to Bob--who's all stiff and hunched from the sofa bed--about moving in with Howard. Bob initially tries to act like it doesn't bother him, but when Howard and Ellen are about to carry her suitcases to his place, Bob threatens to break Howard's legs.
Ellen expresses how she feels humiliated, but Howard doesn't want to come between Ellen and Bob because he loves them both. She walks out with her suitcases anyway, and ends up rooming with Carol. Soon Bob and Emily visit Carols' eclectically furnished pad (which I'm pretty sure is making its first appearance) to talk things out with Ellen. Jerry also comes by for a dinner date he'd made with Carol a couple of weeks prior, and, having forgotten, she ducks into the bathroom to get herself together. Howard then drops in, wanting to beg Ellen's forgiveness. Everyone's making amends when Ellen walks in to hear it, but announces that she's found a place of her own. Everyone leaves to see it, almost forgetting Carol, who awkwardly comes out to find herself alone before Emily returns for her.
In the coda, Ellen needs someplace to stay while her shelves are being done, and Bob would rather she stayed at Howard's than go back to sleeping in the den.
