What's Happening!!: The Eviction

What's Happening!!: The Eviction
ABC
March 9, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Joanne Pagliaro wrote the teleplay based on a story by a writer with only one other credit.  Mrs. Watson has sold the building to Mr. Logan (Hal Williams, who had appeared as three different characters on That Girl and who at this point was about six years away from 227).  When the tenants try to organize, Raj and Rerun are evicted, until Shirley and Dee do a better job of organizing.  I might've gone with a B-, but I didn't find any of the other tenants (Big Earl included) interesting or funny.  I do like that that one record, with music heard on other episodes, keeps playing.

Richard Lee-Sung, who often appeared on M*A*S*H, plays Mr. Wing.

That Girl: Two for the Money

That Girl: Two for the Money
ABC
March 5, 1971
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Somewhat predictable episode involving horse racing and modeling, although I do like how patient and understanding Donald is.  Louis De Farra was recently Pierre and is Oscarelli here.  Cashier Dick Yarmy was earlier Fred Thompson.  Roy Applegate is Bill and was Harry earlier, while Arthur Abelson is Harry here and would later appear on M*A*S*H.  Hal Williams was Donald's friend Herbie last time but this time is named John.  Joe Ross, who was Duane Cartwright on The Brady Bunch, plays Barney here.  For some reason, Dick Van Patten is the announcer at the race track, while it's Larry McCormick over the radio.  Alex Rocco is a race track employee here.  Producer Bernie Orenstein plays a Better and this time Sam Denoff is the Big Better.

That Girl: Stag Party

Suffice to say, my image search for
"that girl stag party" was not successful.

That Girl: Stag Party
ABC
February 26, 1971
Sitcom
DVD
C+

I didn't really care for this Turteltaub-Orenstein story, except for the last few minutes, where there's a twist in the plot, followed by a sort of sweet scene with Don and Ann.  Note the continuity error of Jerry having been married to Ruthie for seven years.  (And whatever happened to Margie, the woman he married in '67?)

Hal Williams makes his second appearance on the show, as Herbie Robinson, while Jerry Fogel's last TG role is as Frankie

That Girl: Gone-A-Courtin

That Girl: Gone-A-Courtin
ABC
March 5, 1970
Sitcom
DVD
C+

I have to admit that some of the entertainment value for me in this Joseph-Bonaduce-written episode was exclaiming, "That doesn't make any sense."  Ann goes to an audition for a role as "a typical emancipated woman" who's apparently supposed to be emasculating as well, but the producer has a tantrum and scares her.  Then later she's thrilled to be called back to his office at 8 p.m., but the role he wants her to play is that of clumsy secretary to his lawyer, in order to prove that he didn't stab a man with a shish-kabob and the man instead stabbed himself.  By the time Ann is holding a flaming shish-kabob in the courtroom and scaring that man, any realism has pretty much disappeared, not that it hasn't been slipping away from the show in the last two or three years anyway.  Still, um, Ann wears some cute outfits.  Oh, and there's another How Did This Tag Get Past the Censors tag, where Ann spills water in Donald's lap, she tries to help, and he says a line that sounds ad-libbed by Bessell: "Move your hand away."

Associate producer Lew Gallo and creator Sam Denoff are two of the men who go to the hat check stand.  Alan Oppenheimer's third of four roles on the show is as Morgan Jerome.  Allen Davis, who's Lionel Vernon, was the Desk Clerk in the Vegas episodes.  Harvey J. Goldenberg, who plays Jones, would later be an Assistant Chef.  Thirty-one-year-old Hal Williams, later of 227, has his first of three TG roles, as the Court Clerk.

Alan Oppenheimer shares my reaction.