The Full Wax: Episode 2.3

Probably looking forward to Women Aloud.

The Full Wax: Episode 2.3
BBC
26 March 1992
Talk Show
VHS
C-

When the "highlight" is poor Mo Gaffney go-go dancing, and not even a Teri Garr interview can save things, it's time to call it a day.  I realize this isn't a complete collection, but the four and a fraction episodes average out to a very low C+, worth tuning in to, especially if you're a Whose Line Is It Anyway? fan, but you'll probably want to hit the fast-forward button.

The Full Wax: Episode 2.2 [fragment]

The Full Wax: Episode 2.2 [fragment]
19 March 1992
BBC
Talk Show
VHS
B-

American comedienne Ruby Wax interviews celebrities but would rather talk about herself.  Mo Gaffney is tagged for her appearance as "Taffy Turner."  Tony in his two scenes is sexy, adorable, silly, and witty, but Teri is underutilized in scenes of her being underutilized.

The Bob Newhart Show: Confessions of an Orthodontist

Pachinko!

The Bob Newhart Show: Confessions of an Orthodontist
CBS
February 23, 1974
Sitcom
DVD
B

Bob covers for Dr. Frank Walburn (Roger Perry, who was Tom Blaine in Gidget Gets Married).  His secretary is Miss Brennan, who was one of Carol's possible fill-ins, and I have to say that Teri Garr looks more stunning than ever (a combination of her hair and her outfits), and she of course takes the "dumb blonde" character to a whole other level.  But the episode is mostly about Jerry's crush on Emily, and the Patchett and Tarses script handles this with the class and gentle humor I've come to expect from this series.

M*A*S*H: The Sniper

M*A*S*H: The Sniper
CBS
November 17, 1973
Dramedy
DVD
D+

I found this episode unfunny even before they got to the first of two rape jokes Pierce makes to Houlihan.  Using the laugh track heavily during a sniper attack didn't help.  Oh well, it was nice to see Teri Garr (as Lt. Suzanne Marquette)

Kellye Nakahara (Yamato) and Dennis Troy (this time the Ambulance Driver) return.  Marcia Gelman plays Nurse Jacobs for the first of two times.

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?

That Girl: The Drunkard

That Girl: The Drunkard
ABC
April 18, 1968
Sitcom
DVD
D+

This collaboration between Danny Arnold and Ruth Brooks Flippen just doesn't work at all.  Sid Caesar plays Marty Nickels, a TV comic with a drinking problem.  (I believe this was about a decade before his real life drinking problem, but that doesn't make this any less painful to watch.)  He casts Ann, partly for her legs, even though one of her rivals is Teri Garr.  Then he shows up at her apartment drunk-- three nights in a row!-- and each morning thinks that he's slept with her.  (He asks her if she's old enough to vote, i.e. over 21.)  And then his mother shows up, just so that he can hear that "Mrs. Nickels" is in Ann's bedroom and think that he's married Ann.  (Audrey Christie, who plays his mother Ella Nickels, was previously Miss Dailey and was ten years older than Caesar, who was not aging well.)  The episode is tasteless, unfunny, implausible even on farcical terms, just a mess.  In fact, the worst episode of any show I've watched so far.  The only reason I'm not going lower with the grade is because Ann at least wears cute outfits.

That Girl: This Little Piggy Had a Ball

That Girl: This Little Piggy Had a Ball
ABC
March 23, 1967
Sitcom
DVD
B

This middle of five collaborations between Arnold Margolin and Jim Parker has Ann in a very Lucy Ricardo kind of situation, with her toe stuck in a bowling ball when she has to go to a banquet on behalf of a friend, but it does play out differently.  We again see how supportive, literally as well as figuratively, Donald is and the last scene with them is sexy as well as sweet.  The episode is also notable for funny people in minor roles, including the first of two TG guest shots for Teri Garr (then going by Terry) and the second of three for Rob Reiner.  The instantly recognizable Jane Dulo plays the Nurse (a typical role for her, she'd be a Nurse on Welcome Back, Kotter for instance) and would return to the show later.

Shirley Bonne plays Sharon Hackett and was Charlotte on the Pilot.  Burt Taylor was a Waiter, is Frank here, and would be an M.C. later.  The Fireman is the second of four roles Jerry Fogel would play on the show.