50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 1)
The Six Million Dollar Man
"Target in the Sky"
Originally aired October 26, 1975
Wiki said:
When Oscar discovers missiles have been installed near a lumber camp, Steve goes undercover as a lumberjack to investigate.
Unshaven Steve hoofs it to the camp while in contact via walkie talkie with Oscar, who's driving around the area. They're following up on a report from now-missing agent Ben Cosgrove, who claimed to have seen a guidance antenna in the vicinity. Steve's conveniently offered a ride from heiress camp boss Kelly Wixted (Barbara Rhoades), who introduces him to antagonistic-to-newcomers foreman Jeremy Burke (Denny Miller with a 'stache). Burke tests Steve to see if he's got what it takes, having him climb a tree to take the top 15 feet off. The chain of Steve's saw breaks off because of a bolt loosened by Burke, so Steve bionic-drives a wedge into his cut and pushes the treetop down. From the treetop, Steve bionic-spots the tracks of a missile carrier.
On the job, Steve tries asking about Cosgrove; and Burke warns Steve to stay away from Kelly. Steve's next job is to join Burke atop a pile of jammed logs. Burke deliberately rolls their log erratically to cause Steve to fall in the water. Once back on, Steve bionic-rolls the log so fast that Jeremy can't keep up and is tossed; and Kelly chastises the two of them for playing games. Steve learns from Kelly that the company's on the edge of bankruptcy and that Jeremy claims to have a plan to come up with $60,000 that Kelly needs to keep the payroll coming in. Approached by Thad Jones (Rafer Johnson), Steve learns more about where Cosgrove was last seen, and spots a shuttered shed in the area. Meanwhile, Oscar proceeds to Stockwell Aerospace to have Dr. Morton Craig (Ivor Francis) check inventory to see if the equipment in the camp came from there.
Burke leaves Steve to chop down some trees with an axe, or he can "kiss [his] axe goodbye". Once alone, Steve makes fast work of the trees, then bionic-sprints to the shed. Peeping into a hole in the knotty wood, he sees the carrier, but no missiles. Steve's about to bust in when Kelly drives up, so he has to make an excuse for wandering off. Back at the camp, Jeremy wants to fire Steve, thinking he didn't have time to do the assigned job, but Steve shows him otherwise. Burke then calls an unseen party to warn him that they've got another Cosgrove, and is offered $100,000 to do something he seems reluctant about. Oscar updates Steve that two missiles are missing, and Steve tells Oscar to check into any VIP flights scheduled over the area.
At the next opportunity, Burke uses a crane to send a log rolling downhill over Steve, then calls his side-employer--Dr. Craig. Steve, wedged into a ditch, rolls the log back off him, but finds his walkie talkie smashed. After bionic-spotting a missile nosecone being deilivered via van to the shed, steve sneaks up and breaks into the shed by tearing out some boards. Inside, he finds missiles on the launcher, and Ben Cosgrove (Hank Stohl) laid up on a bunk in a room. Steve rips out the launcher's wiring. Just as Oscar's telling Craig how there must be a high-ranking inside man in the company, Craig intercepts Steve's call to Oscar, learning that he sabotaged the launcher controls and is onto Burke.
Steve confronts Jeremy about the murder attempt and missiles, bionic-roughing-him-up for info, but is caught by Kelly, who tells Steve that Oscar's looking for him, informs Jeremy that men have walked off the job for lack of payroll, and learns what Jeremy was being paid to do. The three of them proceed to the shed to find not Oscar, but Craig with armed goons. Craig informs them that the plane of interest is Air Force II, carrying key members of the President's cabinet; and he's brought a back-up unit to replace the one that Steve tore up. Craig has Steve, Jeremy, and Kelly locked up in a shed full of explosives with orders that a crate be detonated by a sharpshooter outside if they try to escape. While Craig and goons track the plane, Steve bionic-rolls a ball of string and tosses it through the window to take out the sharpshooter; then bionic-kicks down the door and heads for the launcher. With seconds to spare, Steve tosses a stick of dynamite into the missiles, blowing them up. Jeremy stops Craig from escaping and AFII flies safely overhead.
In the coda, Kelly's got the camp running again but is shorthanded, and updates Steve that Jeremy's looking at serving a light sentence. Steve offers to continue helping out at the camp until the workers come back.
Steve: Well, Oscar, you sure you don't wanna lumber along with us?
Oscar: You're barking up the wrong tree, pal.
All in the Family
"Mike Faces Life"
Originally aired October 27, 1975
Wiki said:
Gloria loses her job at Kressler's Department Store due to her pregnancy, so she and Mike decide to protest.
The episode opens with Edith at the Stivics', aiding Mike while he tries to fix the sink. Archie enters in a good mood and singing a saucy song because he's heading off to a veterans' convention for the weekend, where he and his old war buddies plan to primarily indulge in prankery. Edith tells Mike of two more dead uncles, one who smoked in the basement when there was a gas leak, another who was hit by a trolley at the ripe old age of 80. Gloria comes home for once, now showing. After injuring his hand working on the water heater, Mike emphasizes how he has to do things himself as he and Gloria are struggling to make ends meet. A talk about the Bunkers' leaner early years turns into a trip down memory lane about Milton Berle, complete with a singalong of his show's Texaco-promoting theme song. The bubble bursts when Gloria opens her check to find it accompanied by a pink slip.
While Mike tries unsuccessfully to cheer Gloria up, Edith takes a prank call from a drunk Archie. Gloria's visited by work friend Sheila Tishman (Diane Shalet), who, being a well-connected gossip, tells her she was fired for being pregnant. Mike and Gloria drop in on personnel manager D. Bertram Crenshaw III (George Furth), who, when confronted with a law against firing a woman for being in Gloria's condition, denies that being the reason. Mike threatens to unleash his infamous rage on Crenshaw, but Crenshaw records the whole thing. He then turns off the recorder to admit that she was fired for that reason, as she won't fit the store's image while looking like "Alfred Hitchcock in drag". Mike and Gloria leave while threatening to take action.
Gloria: Power to the preggos!
Later, Mike and Gloria rush home to catch Gloria on TV, marching in a picket line that she organized, consisting largely of pregnant women, who threatened Crenshaw when he tried to cross it incognito. Mike then takes a call from a loudmouth drunk and realizes after he hangs up that it was Archie.
M*A*S*H
"The Kids"
Originally aired October 31, 1975
IMDb said:
The 4077th takes in Nurse Cratty's Korean orphans during a shelling attack, including a pregnant girl with a bullet wound. But Frank accuses one of the orphans of stealing his newly (and dubiously) awarded Purple Heart.
After a seventeen-hour surgery session, the 4077th gets notice that because of shelling, Nurse Meg Cratty (Ann Doran) is bringing the occupants of her orphanage to the camp. Meanwhile, Frank is showing off a Purple Heart that he got for taking an eggshell fragment in the eye during a sniper attack. (I don't recall this being in the episode about the sniper.) The truckload of mostly very young orphans arrives, and following some washing up and eating, they bunk in twos with the regulars. B.J. puts the pair in the Swamp to sleep with the story of Androcles and the lion; while Potter does the same with a manual for stripping and reassembling a rifle.
In the night, a pregnant young woman named Sung Lee (Haunani Minn) who came in with the orphans collapses from having been shot in the abdomen. B.J. performs a Caesarian section assisted by Cratty, and the baby is delivered successfully, while Radar's told that the girl will be fine. Frank gets worked up because he can't find his Purple Heart, and goes after an urchin whom he refers to as a "slicky boy" (Mitchell Sakamoto), who'd previously relieved him of a couple of quarters, but the lad gives Frank the slip in the shower. Potter awards the newborn baby with Frank's Purple Heart, which the guys swiped...a move that even Houlihan approves of. As the orphans are leaving in the coda, Radar has to take his teddy back from one who'd been sleeping next to his bunk.
Alan Alda was nominated for an Emmy for directing this episode. Contrary to the Wiki description, this does not appear to be a Christmas episode.
Hawaii Five-O
"Sing a Song of Suspense"
Originally aired October 31, 1975
Paramount+ said:
When a singer witnesses a murder committed by a racketeer, Five-O has to protect her until she can give evidence.
Chelsea Merriman (Lois Nettleton) performs a folksy song called "I'm Not There" on acoustic guitar at a private party hosted by career-aiding club owner Koko Apaleka (Tommy Atkins). Also present are Apaleka's right-hand man, Walter Mapu (Jimmy Borges), and drunk and disgruntled singer Julene Balli (Karen Ericson). While making a call in a dressing room adjoining the bedroom, Chelsea witnesses as Koko and Julene get into an argument about some shady dealings involving an Aleno Kimura that turns physical--Julene scratching Koko's face and Koko punching her off the balcony, then not helping her as she loses her grip on the railing.
When Five-O investigates, Chelsea's gone, having left her expensive guitar behind; and Steve notices Koko's bandaged face. At HQ, Officer Oliver MacDougall (Shelly Novack) helps with questioning witnesses, who all seem to have a practiced story. Trying to track down Chelsea, Chin talks to a cabbie (Chuck Chuck Akamine) who took her back to her hotel. Koko learns that Chelsea was in the dressing room when her purse is found there. Danno shows up at Chelsea's room to return her guitar, but she evades questioning and takes the first opportunity to split the scene. But her taxi to the airport is intercepted by a sedan full of heavies who nab her, causing her to suspiciously miss an afternoon charity concert. Aleno Kimura (Jerry Waialae) then shows up at 5OHQ with Chelsea, wanting her kept alive to testify at his rival's trial.
Chelsea nevertheless denies having seen anything. Bergman confirms that Julene was alive when she went over, having found a bruise on her face and skin under her fingernails. Steve tries to coax the truth from Chelsea by quoting a socially conscious song of hers.
Steve: Did you write that?
Chelsea: Yeah. But I was much older then.
Goons who are waiting for Chelsea outside her hotel are scared off by Duke and Chin driving her back; but she finds Koko already in her room. Both keep their conversation overtly casual, focusing on him owing her a dinner; though she betrays signs of tension. He comes around to probing her about her being in the dressing room and having talked to Five-O. She maintains ignorance of having seen anything; but he makes a point of ominously asking her about her seven-year-old daughter, Marissa (Traci Weled). After he leaves, Chelsea calls to check on Marissa just as the girl receives a package containing a doll with a broken head. Chelsea tells her mother (Mrs. Stroud [Jean Tarrant]) to take Marissa to an uncle in Arizona, then calls Five-O.
The press soon gets wind that Chelsea's under police protection to testify against Apaleka. She gives the true story to McGarrett and a stenographer from a hospital bed, and is reassured that her mother and daughter are now in L.A. under 24-hour police protection. When Danno and Duke arrive at Koko's office with a search warrant, they find that he's "gone fishing". A hitman named Dewey (Ward Benson) gets embedded in a hospital room across the hall; and a hood named Taplin (Robert Lui) smuggles in a Five-O Special, then creates a distraction to get Chin and a uniformed officer away from the door so Dewey can cross the hall to plug her occupied bed full of holes, producing blood stains. Dewey doesn't know that his victim was a dummy with a blood pack on its back. Steve proceeds to a beach house that he rents (specified not to be his main residence), where he engages in his usual beach-jogging routine while keeping Chelsea with an undercover cop staking the place out.
Chelsea uses the opportunity to get to know Steve better while flirting with him. He assigns plainclothes MacDougall as her bodyguard. Apaleka believes that Chelsea's still alive and orders her found. Chelsea is sniffed out when Apeleka's secretary (Reri Jobe) pretends to be an operator connecting a long-distance call to the beach house from Marissa. Koko and Dewey move in on Kimura at a Japanese restaurant to force him to call in with a fake tip on Koko's whereabouts. Steve is skeptical, but is seen leaving in his car. Koko then moves in on the beach house, posing as a courier from Kimura to get in and hold MacDougall at gunpoint. But Kimura's lured to a particular spot by what turns out to be a recording of Chelsea singing, and finds McGarrett with a gun on his back.
Koko: I saw you drive down the coast. How'd you get back?
Steve: The beach, I like to jog. Book him, Danno.
Chelsea confirms that she intends to testify, and offers to make Steve dinner.
