M*A*S*H: Yessir, That's Our Baby

Three officers and a baby

M*A*S*H: Yessir, That's Our Baby
CBS
December 31, 1979
Dramedy
DVD
B-

Jim Mulligan wrote this episode that is very messagy (about the plight of Amerasian children) but does have a cute baby and a not quite happy ending.  The scenes with Klinger and the baby are interesting, because I think he would become the father of an Amerasian child, after his marriage to a Korean woman.  (My memory is fuzzy on the details.)

Howard Platt, who's Major Ted Spector, is perhaps most recognizable as Dr. Phil Newman on The Bob Newhart Show.  William Bogert has his first of two M*A*S*H roles, as Roger Prescott.  Kellye Nakahara (Yamato) and Yuki Shimoda (this time Chung Ho Kim) return.  Alda directed.

The Boy in the Plastic Bubble

The Boy in the Plastic Bubble
ABC
November 12, 1976
TV-Movie
DVD
B

I can best describe this "based on a true story" (not really) story as moving kitsch.  That is, it's hokey and manipulative, but there is something touching about it.  Travolta was a teen idol by then (and still very much on the rise), so I appreciate his willingness to play such an unusual character who is not "cool" in any traditional way.  Reed as his father starts out looking like first-season Mike Brady and progresses to, well, Variety Hour Mike Brady.  (But more about that later.)  There are moments, like when Travolta is in his Scooby Scuba outfit talking about being an alien as his high school friends smoke dope, that stretch and even snap the limits of credibility, but it is oddly compelling.  And I like that Glynnis O'Connor plays a flawed but likable love interest.  (In real life, Travolta began his tragic romance with Diana Hyland, who plays his mother and who would be dead in March.)

Travolta's WBK classmate Vernee Watson plays Gwen here.  Kelly Ward, who plays Tom Shuster here, would be Putzie in Grease, as well as have a role on M*A*S*H.  "Obnoxious Reporter" (he's not that bad) Timothy Hines would appear on the last season of The Bob Newhart Show, while Ralph Bellamy who's the unaging Dr. Gunther here, would also do BNS.  And, yes, that's Newhart's Dr. Phil Newman (Howard Platt) as a neighbor.  Randal Kleiser would go on to direct Grease and Blue Lagoon, among other, well, kitsch.

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: The Article

20 years earlier

The Bob Newhart Show: The Article
CBS
December 6, 1975
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Erik Tarloff's second of two BNS scripts is less intelligent than usual for the show.  Ellen does a libelous article about the doctors in Bob's building, after they act like a bunch of idiots.  What I like here: the bit of Western parody, Emily's beaming smile when she enters Jerry's crowded office, and Bob's remark to Howard that it isn't necessarily the shins that are the first to go.

Bobby Ramsen returns, this time as Morty the Photographer.  Kristina Holland, the voice of Alice Boyle on Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, appears as Carol's substitute Gail Bronson, a role she'd soon reprise.

The Bob Newhart Show: Serve for Daylight

The Bob Newhart Show: Serve for Daylight
CBS
December 14, 1974
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Jerry Mayer wrote this story about Bob and Emily playing tennis together in a tournament sponsored by the Urology Department.  Paula Shaw, who's Dr. Tammy Ziegler, would later be Janet's mother on Three's Company.

The Bob Newhart Show: The Great Rimpau Medical Arts Co-Op Experiment

The Bob Newhart Show: The Great Rimpau Medical Arts Co-Op Experiment 
CBS
September 28, 1974
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This first of three episodes written by Geoffrey Neigher and Colman Mitchell is sometimes funny but uneven, with a similar flaw to the previous episode: too many characters, some of them not well defined.  I thought the scenes with Bob and Emily, like the "dust bunnies" scene, worked better than the ones at work.

Seventy-five-year-old Merrie Earle makes her first of three appearances as Mrs. Loomis.  Tom Lacy, who's Dr. Whelan, would appear on Three's Company.

The Bob Newhart Show: By the Way...You're Fired

The Bob Newhart Show: By the Way...You're Fired
CBS
February 16, 1974
Sitcom
DVD
B

Carol is distracted at work by her new romance with Don Livingston (who'd change his last name to Fezler but still be played by Richard Schaal).  Jerry gets so annoyed, he fires her, twice.  Bob is as always caught in the middle.  Note that Howard seems to be aging backwards, as he's celebrating his 40th birthday.  And despite having fallen in love with Ellen, he shows up with his old girlfriend Mary Ellen (Jill Jaress).  Maybe this episode is set earlier.

Besides Dr. Newman and Dr. Tupperman, Dr. Ralph Tetzi (Gene Blakely) returns.  Dick Wilson plays the Man With Hat.

The Bob Newhart Show: Emily in for Carol

The Bob Newhart Show: Emily in for Carol
CBS
October 13, 1973
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Jerry Mayer's story is about how Emily substitutes as receptionist when Carol takes a three-week trip to Rome.  I know travel was cheaper then, but damn!  That's a heck of a vacation on her salary.  Tippy Tupperman is mentioned but not seen.

Nora Marlowe has her middle of three BNS roles, as Mrs. Manning.  Howard Platt's unpleasant plastic surgeon character, Dr. Phil Newman, makes his debut.  Teri Garr for the first time plays airheaded secretary Miss Brennan.  And thirty-two-year-old Rhoda Gemignani makes her first of three appearances as Joan Rossi; she'd be more prominent as Mrs. Rossini on Who's the Boss?