M*A*S*H: Dear Dad

M*A*S*H: Dear Dad
CBS
December 17, 1972
Dramedy
DVD
C+

If I recall correctly, this would be the first of many episodes where Hawkeye writes a letter to his father back in Vermont.  It is also the first of I don't know how many Christmas episodes.  There was a recent episode where it was 1951, but I guess we can pretend that this happened before then and make this still 1950.  Continuity is not yet an issue.  Looking at this episode by itself, the letter device allows for a lot of moments that have no consequences, like Hawkeye making three dates in one night.  (Doesn't he think the nurses compare notes?  It's not like this is a city.)  And I have to admit that, yes, this is where Hawkeye/Hot Lips shipping really begins, since he not only compliments her bottom but gives her a big Christmas kiss (sans mistletoe), which she happily returns.  Of course, this is after he and Trapper sabotage her date with Frank, for no reason except to be jerks.  But we're supposed to see this as harmless fun, and after all Hawkeye performs surgery in the field while dressed as Santa, and Trapper vaccinates the local children.  The real hero of the episode is Father Mulcahy, who talks Klinger (not in drag but wearing a lucky scarf from his mother) out of throwing a grenade at Burns.  Oh, and Blake's "sex lecture" is a cute scene, with the first hint that Radar is a virgin.


Odessa Cleveland (Bayliss) and Bonnie Jones (Bannerman) return.  Buck Young has his first of three M*A*S*H roles, as the M.P.

The Bob Newhart Show: I Owe It All to You...But Not That Much

The Bob Newhart Show: I Owe It All to You...But Not That Much
CBS
December 16, 1972
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Jerry becomes Bob's patient and it damages their friendship.  We find out a little more about Jerry's brother.  It's an early "drunk Bob" episode.  There's a reference to Margaret but she isn't shown.  And Carol wears one of her most dated outfits (see above).

The Brady Kids: Marlon's Birthday Party

The Brady Kids: Marlon's Birthday Party
ABC
December 16, 1972
Cartoon
DVD
B-

This may well be the most WTF episode:

• Marlon receives a birthday card mailed in 30 B.C., according to the postmark
• The kids conclude that since it's in hieroglyphics, it must be from Cleopatra
• Marlon is in the habit of celebrating his birthday with Merlin, despite the difference of centuries
• Marlon and Merlin accidentally trade places and things happen in parallel, in those separate times and places
• A campaign sign for Robin Hood goes up in the kids' "metropolis"
• Marlon sends historical figures from various eras to the kids' treehouse
• The house may collapse from the weight of all these guests
• So the kids perform "Sugar Shop" (admittedly one of their best tunes)
• Merlin can't do any magic without his book, which gets passed around between the pandas and the frenemies, partly due to conveniently spilled black pepper
• Marlon and Merlin recite a magic spell in sync, returning everything to normal, except for King Arthur and a couple of his knights stuck in modern times

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home: The New House

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home: The New House
Syndicated
December 12, 1972
Cartoon, Sitcom
DVD
B-

This episode by Jack Elinson and Norman Paul is similar to "The New Car," with Harry and his family deciding it's best to keep what they have, but I think it's a better episode because more satirical.  Also, the kids are more in character here, partly because old-Chet's voice is on this one.  (I know they didn't air in the order they were made.)

Hazel Shermet joins the voice cast, I think as the real estate agent this time.

M*A*S*H: Germ Warfare

M*A*S*H: Germ Warfare
CBS
December 10, 1972
Dramedy
DVD
D+

There are some serious consent issues in this episode written by Larry Gelbart.  Most noticeably, Hawkeye and Trapper take Burns's blood while he's asleep, to give to a North Korean P.O.W., something he obviously wouldn't agree to if he were conscious.  And later when they suspect Frank has hepatitis, they steal his urine!  Later they handcuff him and Margaret together to prevent him going into surgery.  And then at the end they give him daisies and say, "No hard feelings?"  A smaller example is that Hawkeye tells Dish (Karen Philipp, not seen since the pilot) he has fantasies about her, even though she's not interested (she seems to be wearing a ring), and she and we are meant to just see this as charming.  I realize this was a different era (early '70s as well as early '50s), but personal autonomy did exist and should've been respected.  I won't go with a lower grade though, since there are a couple clever lines (Radar using the word "aesthetic" and Burns accurately saying that he's only paranoid because everyone's out to get him).

Patrick Adiarte (Ho-Jon), Timothy Brown (Jones), Odessa Cleveland (Bayliss), and Robert Gooden (Boone) return.  Byron Chung plays the P.O.W., his first of seven roles on the show.  This is the only series episode directed by Terry Becker, who also directed one for The Brady Bunch.

The Bob Newhart Show: Bob and Emily and Howard and Carol and Jerry

The Bob Newhart Show: Bob and Emily and Howard and Carol and Jerry
CBS
December 9, 1972
Sitcom
DVD
B+

Then everything clicks in this first BNS episode directed by Peter Baldwin and first written by Charlotte Brown.  Not only is it the ultimate episode for Howard/Carol shippers (with a bone thrown to Jerry/Carol shippers), but it's funny and intelligent and a bit sexy.  The five main characters (getting their names run together Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice style) play off each other very well, but there are some good moments with the guest cast, too.  Note that two of the Emily motifs, fear of flying and love of matchmaking, are used, but she also teases Bob that he's overpaid.  The bathroom scene is just perfect, and if the rest of the episode were on that level, I'd go with an A- or higher.

Marilyn Child is Mrs. Walker again.  Shizuko Hoshi, who plays the Waitress, would be a Hostess the following year.  And, yes, forty-year-old Pat Morita plays the Bartender.

The Flintstones Comedy Hour: "Flying So High" and "Shadow, Shadow" Segments

The Flintstones Comedy Hour: "Flying So High" and "Shadow, Shadow" Segments
December 9, 1972
CBS
Cartoon
VHS
B-

These two "videos" have some nice visuals, including silhouettes for the latter.  And the music has a mellow sound, a bit like the Three's Company theme actually.

The Brady Kids: The Big Time

The Brady Kids: The Big Time
ABC
December 9, 1972
Cartoon
DVD
C+

A talent show comes to the Bradys' "city" (this city with only one school), and this time Cindy's voice changes rather than Peter's, thanks of course to Marlon's magic.  When she gets it back (her siblings refuse to perform without her, unless they can use the pandas, don't ask), they all perform "Drummer Man," although we never find out who wins, not that we really care by this point.  The six-person bicycle is kind of cool though.

The Brady Bunch: Greg's Triangle

The Brady Bunch: Greg's Triangle
ABC
December 8, 1972
Sitcom
DVD
B

This Freedman & Gershman episode has Greg having to choose between Marcia and his new girlfriend Jennifer for head cheerleader.  He instead chooses sixteen-year-old Rita Wilson as Pat Conway, who does seem to be the best.  (Marcia misspeaks, with "gate" or "gay" for "great" in her cheer.)  There's some fun Greg & Marcia arguing here, as well as the younger brothers teasing Greg, Marcia telling Jan she (Jan) doesn't know anything about life and then Jan telling Peter he doesn't, as well as the parents' reaction to Jennifer's snow job.  (Cindy and Alice don't get very much to do this time.)  Notice how flirty Mike and Carol get when he's giving her golf lessons.  (Apparently she's forgotten how to play golf since the first season.)  Also, you can amuse yourself by counting how many times the guy in the Afro and sweater vest walks by in the campus scenes.

This is the first of six Brady episodes Richard Michaels directed.

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home: The New Car

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home: The New Car
Syndicated
December 5, 1972
Cartoon, Sitcom
DVD
C+

This episode gets marked down for Harry's sexist fantasy about trading in wives like cars (Alice has to explain to him that people are not the same as possessions), for Chet and Alice's uncharacteristic attitudes about "what will the neighbors think," and for the replacement of David Hayward as Chet by (I believe) Lennie Weinrib.  Hayward's Chet had sensitivity and intelligence that the new Chet lacks, making him just another goofy, lazy son character.  I do like the Cal Worthington parody (meriting the disclaimer at the beginning of the episode that no character should be mistaken for real life), and how Harry gets his revenge on live TV.

Hal Smith and Pat Harrington, Jr. both provide voices.

The Bob Newhart Show: I Want to Be Alone

The Bob Newhart Show: I Want to Be Alone
CBS
December 2, 1972
Sitcom
DVD
B

Jerry Mayer's second BNS script further solidifies the characterization, particularly that of Emily and Howard.  Daily's delivery on "God, I hope that's Bob!" is just right, and you can see how proud Emily is of herself for not only hosting but speaking up at a teachers' meeting.  Mayer can even be credited with initiating the running joke that Mr. Carlin wears a toupee.  Newhart gets some good scenes, on his own and with others, but that's less surprising.

Patricia Smith makes her last appearance as Margaret, claiming to have only two kids.  (Maybe she doesn't count the baby as a kid who knows about the facts of life.)  Helen Page Camp, who was Myrna Hoover on the Pilot, is Mrs. Prince here.  Nora Marlowe has her first of three BNS roles, as Mrs. Brandell.  Bernie Kopell makes his only appearance on the show, as swinging bachelor Dr. Arnold.  Thirty-one-year-old Archie Hahn makes his screen debut, as the Bellman.

The Brady Kids: It's All Greek to Me

The Brady Kids: It's All Greek to Me
ABC
December 2, 1972
Cartoon
DVD
B-

This second Brady script by Marc Richards ("Tape" was the earlier one) is helped by the presence of Wonder Woman, as was an earlier episode by Superman.  Along with the brawn vs. brain debate, that's why this was one of the episodes I most remembered.  Jan being set up as "the smart one" had already been established on previous episodes, I suppose because she wears glasses.  (The main show wouldn't oversimplify like that.)  Too bad "No Hurry" is one of the kids' weakest numbers.  And, yes, there are a ton of anachronisms here, but then the fact that the kids have traveled to Ancient Greece via Marlon's magic throws reality out the window in itself.

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home: Expectant Papa

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home: Expectant Papa
Syndicated
November 28, 1972
Cartoon, Sitcom
DVD
B-

This is the only WTYF episode written by William Raynor and Myles Wilder and it has a plot very different than what they could've gotten away with on The Brady Bunch.  When Irma is possibly pregnant, the only one happy about it is Harry.  My main issue with the episode is that too much of it is focused on Harry.  I understand that he's the series protagonist, but shouldn't Irma's feelings, at roughly 40, be given more significance than they are?  The title reflects this unbalanced emphasis, as does Harry's insistence that he be the one to tell the kids, "We're pregnant."

Twelve-year-old Willie Aames takes over as the voice of Jamie, although I couldn't really tell a difference.

M*A*S*H: I Hate a Mystery

M*A*S*H: I Hate a Mystery
CBS
November 26, 1972
Dramedy
DVD
B

In a different way than The Bob Newhart Show, this show seems to be finding itself mid-season.  This is one of two series episodes written by Hal Dresner and among other things it gives William Christopher and the always spot-on Burghoff more to do.  As the title indicates, a mysterious rash of thefts has broken out, and the criminal is less obvious than in "Cowboy."  It turns out to be trusted houseboy Ho-Jon (Patrick Adiarte), who wants to bribe border guards to get his family out of North Korea.  For the second episode in a row, Henry is involved with Leslie Scorch (note the matching robes below), despite being married.  But then so are Trapper and Burns.  I believe this was a carryover from the movie and none of the men are judged for their adultery, except Burns because he's seen as a hypocrite.

Timothy Brown (Jones), Odessa Cleveland (Bayliss), and Linda Meiklejohn (Scorch) all return.  Bonnie Jones makes her first appearance as Lt. Barbara Bannerman and I like that she stands up to Hawkeye and Trapper without being presented as a bitch like Houlihan.

The Bob Newhart Show: Anything Happen While I Was Gone?

The Bob Newhart Show: Anything Happen While I Was Gone?
CBS
November 25, 1972
Sitcom
DVD
B

This first of six BNS stories by Martin Cohan is the first to really feel like the characters are falling into place, particularly Emily, who is able to blend in as one of the boys when both Bob and Jerry skip Jerry's bachelor party.  While Bob and Emily were vacationing in Mexico (Emily bought flight insurance but she did go, so she's made progress with that fear), Jerry got involved in a whirlwind romance with Cynthia Fremont (27-year-old Elaine Giftos, who seems to have specialized in these poised but essentially unlikable roles, see Three's Company).  They're soon engaged but Bob thinks Cynthia is too controlling.  (Bob calls her a back-buster, presumably a euphemism.)  Carol doesn't like her either, which might lend support to Jerry/Carol shippers, except that we see that Cynthia is condescending to Carol, reason enough.  Howard/Carol shippers should note that when Carol jokes that she's cranky when she gets her eight hours of sleep, Howard is very intrigued and puts his arm behind her shoulders on the couch.