Ellen: Alone Again...Naturally

Ellen: Alone Again...Naturally
ABC
January 8, 1997
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Ellen babysits Ed's daughters Willa and Emily (Sarah Dampf and Cristine Rose) for New Year's Eve, but she makes a resolution to "live dangerously," which means going to a romantic French restaurant on her own and taking a pottery class.  The writing in this Mark Wilding story is pretty solid, including the Ghost parody, but I had to mark it down from a B because of the subplot where Spence and Joe accidentally and stupidly burn Paige's kitchen.  Note that Ellen finds a bathroom attendant to be a better therapist than the professionals she's paying $75/hour (which honestly doesn't sound that much for L.A., considering what Bob Hartley charged in the '70s), and even shares a dream about K.D. Lang (another fourth-season hint/tease).

Bob Saget again plays himself, this time filming a Canadian movie for Lifetime, with Paige overseeing the budget.

Ellen: Fleas Navidad

Ellen: Fleas Navidad
ABC
December 18, 1996
Sitcom
DVD
B-

In this Newman & Stark story, Ellen delays joining Paige on a Mexican vacation when she takes in a stray dog.  As an in-joke, she names the dog Vance, DeGeneres's brother's name.  A more obvious in-joke is when, in the tag, Ellen Morgan gets an Ellen DeGeneres album and wonders if the rumors are true about the comedienne.

Walter Denbo's voice will be instantly recognizable to Who's the Boss? viewers, since John Del Regno had a recurring role as Tony's friend Philly Fingers.  Customer #1 Patrick Harrigan would be a Waiter later in the season.

Ellen: The Pregnancy Test

Ellen: The Pregnancy Test
ABC
November 20, 1996
Sitcom
DVD
B

Mark Driscoll wrote this story where Paige thinks she's pregnant, so Audrey suggests that the two of them, and Ellen, take home pregnancy tests.  One of the tests comes out positive, and it's assumed to be Paige's.  Then Paige gets her period, so Audrey seems to be the pregnant one, and so of course blurts this out to Audrey's boyfriend Mike (Dana Gould, who does his most famous joke here, the one about Don Knotts as an obscene phone caller).  In the end, it's just a false positive, but, as Ellen tells her latest therapist (Marilyn Kagan, who was Althea on Mork & Mindy fifteen years earlier), she resents the implication that she couldn't be a mother.  There's a definite subtext that Ellen is avoiding dealing with her sexuality, but even on a surface level, we see that she feels different from her friends, and has all her life.

Chris D'Arienzo plays a nameless Customer again.  ZZ Top appear in this week's title sequence, and, yes, Ellen wears a beard for that.  Alan Myerson previously directed, among many series, The Bob Newhart Show and Welcome Back, Kotter; he'd do two more for Ellen.

Welcome Back, Kotter: Sweatwork

Other local schools on the board

Welcome Back, Kotter: Sweatwork
ABC
December 22, 1977
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This Eric Cohen story starts out in a promising way, with Woodman (speaking slang) recruiting Freddie to run a campus radio program, because of his experience with Wally the Wow.  Even it becoming about Arnold getting low ratings and Freddie having to "fire" him is fine, since the emphasis is on their friendship.  (They spent 2 1/2 years of fifth grade together.)  I was OK with Arnold doing the Network thing.  (There's a moment when you just know he's going to get people to yell out their windows.)  But then it turns into another "swelled head" episode, and I just can't believe Arnold would advocate for lower teachers' salaries, when he's seen Mr. Kotter struggle for "about three years."  The twins by the way are six months old, putting this presumably in the following March, since they were born at the beginning of the school year.  Barbarino is absent, not for the last time.

The Bob Newhart Show: Jerry's Retirement

The Bob Newhart Show: Jerry's Retirement
CBS
November 27, 1976
Sitcom
DVD
B-

In this Hugh Wilson story, Emily's now 66-year-old and retired father (John Randolph in his last BNS appearance) visits at the same time that 38-year-old Jerry unexpectedly comes into a lot of money and also decides to retire.  There are some funny moments here, like Jerry's premature senility, but I feel like the episode doesn't either resolve itself or set up a cliff-hanger.  (If I recall correctly, Jerry's windfall would be a continuing story, at least for awhile.)

The Bob Newhart Show: Et Tu, Carol?

I couldn't find this picture earlier, so have
this now since I can't find the Buddha clock

The Bob Newhart Show: Et Tu, Carol?
CBS
October 30, 1976
Sitcom
DVD
B

This is the first of three BNS scripts by Gary David Goldberg, who'd go on to Family Ties.  There's some de ja vu to it, as Bob notes when he can't believe Carol is quitting again.  (And I'm pretty sure the "Tippy is a touch typist" joke and Phil's reply have come up before.)  Still, I like how Emily and Carol's friendship comes across, and how they both handle Bob.  And Howard's Buddha clock is great!

Shirley O'Hara makes her last appearance as Debbie Flett.  This is Daily's 100th episode.

The Bob Newhart Show: Still Crazy After All These Years

The Bob Newhart Show: Still Crazy After All These Years
CBS
October 16, 1976
Sitcom
DVD
B-

In this Hugh Wilson story, Dr. Ned Podbillion (Leonard Stone, who'd be on M*A*S*H the next year) remakes Howard in his own image while Bob and Emily are on vacation.  Meanwhile, Jerry is heading to Mexico.  This is the 100th show of the series, and thus the 100th program for Newhart the person, as well as the 100th program for Marcia Wallace, whose two Brady Bunch episodes make up for her missing a couple for this show.

The Bob Newhart Show: My Boy Guillermo

Gail Strickland

The Bob Newhart Show: My Boy Guillermo
CBS
January 24, 1976
Sitcom
DVD
B

In Sy Rosen's first of nine BNS stories, and the first of four directed by Alan Myerson, Jerry's girlfriend Courtney Simpson (Gail Strickland) returns, proposes marriage, and says that she wants to adopt a little boy named Guillermo.  There's some funny stuff here, mixed in with the more serious moments.  I like the subplot of Bob boring Emily and Howard with magic tricks; Pleshette's reactions are priceless, e.g. "Scarves, Bob?  His life will be filled with scarves?"