M*A*S*H: Give 'Em Hell, Hawkeye

M*A*S*H: Give 'Em Hell, Hawkeye
CBS
November 16, 1981
Dramedy
DVD
C-

Dennis Koenig came up with this head-shaking story:

• Hawkeye writes a rambling letter to Truman, which he continues after he has Yamato (Kellye Nakahara) mail it off.
• A boy of 10 or 12 wants BJ to perform surgery to give him "Western" eyes, so Margaret flirts with him to boost his confidence.
• Charles jokes about VD so Potter puts him in charge of treating the local prostitutes.
• Hawkeye of all people is made these ladies' chaperone!
• Yet another violent Turk or two in post-op.
• Margaret and Klinger team up for camp beautification in order to get a water heater, so they make a fountain using bedpans.
• Less than a minute spent on a soldier who went blind.

With M*A*S*H, it's not even shark-jumping.  It's just a show that after almost a decade on the air seems to have lost its way and doesn't care that it has.  Mae Hi makes her second appearance, as Sun Ki the hooker.

Mork & Mindy: My Dad Can't Beat Up Anybody

Mork & Mindy: My Dad Can't Beat Up Anybody
ABC
November 12, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Mearth hero-worships Christopher Reeve as Superman.  (The second movie was released the previous December, around the same time as Popeye.  Reeve and Williams were close friends since Juilliard.)  Mork feels inadequate as a househusband and tries to find a job.  Writers McRaven & Johnson seem to have forgotten Mork's previous jobs, including as a night watchman (a job he's rejected for here).  When Mearth finds Mork's spacesuit, Mork pretends to be a superhero.  Governor Lamm (1975-1987) is mentioned by name, which is funny considering that two episodes this season have implied that Colorado is in the Midwest.

Lee Weaver, who played a Sergeant on Soap, is Gus the cop here.  Stanley Kamel, who's Charlie, would be Clean-cut Man on Three's Company.  Hugh Gillin, who was Gen. Tomlin on M*A*S*H and recently Terri's father on Three's Company, is Dave the Bartender here.  Orson is absent so instead Mork makes the report to Orson's Hispanic maid!  (Sounding suspiciously like Williams doing a Señor Wences voice.)

Three's Company: Lies My Roommate Told Me

Worth tuning in just for Furley's outfit.

Three's Company: Lies My Roommate Told Me
ABC
November 10, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

In this George Burditt story, Larry is uncharacteristically shy around Terri, maybe because he's not usually attracted to intelligent women.  He wants Jack's help even though

1. Jack has had to make Janet settle for a home-cooked dinner rather than a night out at Doctor Zhivago;
2. Jack is dead tired from a late date the previous night;
3. and Larry has to give Mr. Furley a lot of money to take Janet out as a distraction.

Jack reluctantly consents, to help his best friend and to have his own date with Greedy Gretchen (Teresa Ganzel, in a role she'd reprise on Three's a Crowd, and one that would be referred to in her absence).  Of course Janet and Mr. Furley end up at the same restaurant where Jack is feeding lines to Larry from the next booth.  If I recall correctly, Larry's crush on Terri would continue, despite her lack of interest.

M*A*S*H: Rumor at the Top

M*A*S*H: Rumor at the Top
CBS
November 9, 1981
Dramedy
DVD
B-

This Pollock & Davis story is better than most lately, although maybe not too plausible.  Klinger starts a rumor that a new MASH unit will be formed and the 4077th split up.  He and everyone but Potter, who's kept out of the loop, scheme for their own purposes, and things get a little wacky.  It feels tonally odd for this late in the series, but it is more interesting than the somewhat toothless recent episodes.  And it is nice to hear Hawkeye and BJ sounding bromantic about their friendship, as well as Mulcahy's quiet "God rest his soul" for Col. Blake.  Note that Mulcahy, feeling guilty about lying, convinces Potter to paint his portrait.  I'm not sure who's left, Margaret?

Roy Goldman (as Roy Goldman), Jeff Maxwell (Straminsky), and Kellye Nakahara (Yamato) return.

Mork & Mindy: Mama Mork, Papa Mindy

Mork & Mindy: Mama Mork, Papa Mindy
ABC
November 5, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This Kout & Zateslo story continues to move things along quickly.  By the end of it, Mearth seems to have moved from infancy to toddlerhood or maybe beyond, speaking in full sentences.  Mork is excited about motherhood but Mindy is dubious about fatherhood.  Her own father, after his initial fear, offers good advice.  For the first time in awhile, Mork makes a report to Orson, who he asks to be godfather.  And there is no "To Be Continued."

Frank Buxton, who wrote an early episode of The Bob Newhart Show, here directs his first of four Mork episodes.

Three's Company: Some of That Jazz

Three's Company: Some of That Jazz
ABC
November 3, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This Staretski & Rips story asks us to believe that Janet would consider quitting her job as manager of the flower shop, which Jack says she worked four years to get, in order to pursue a career in dance, on the advice of her instructor,
Michael (Michael Bell, who was also Chrissy's guru).  Still, it does have the scene that makes all the J/J shippers sigh, where Jack asks Janet to dance when she's upset about Michael's sleaziness.  Terri still seems to be trying to find her place in the apartment and in the series, and it feels weird to hear that she and Janet are already best friends.

M*A*S*H: Identity Crisis

M*A*S*H: Identity Crisis
CBS
November 2, 1981
Dramedy
DVD
C+

This Wilcox & Mumford story has two forgettable threads (the "revenge" the staff is planning on behalf of a jilted soldier, and the insurance salesman who keeps trying to work in post-op), and one not completely satisfactory but interesting thread.  A soldier confesses to Father Mulcahy that he's swiped tags with a dead buddy who was about to be shipped home.  Mulcahy is conflicted, especially since he can't tell anyone, so he guilt-trips the young man into not going home with a false identity.

Jeff Maxwell (Straminsky, revealed to have a wife and a girlfriend), Kellye Nakahara (Yamato), Shari Saba (Lt. Shari), Bill Snider (this time a Corpsman), and Jo Ann Thompson (Nurse Jo Ann, although referred to as Thompson) return.  Stiers directed.

Mork & Mindy: Three the Hard Way

Mork & Mindy: Three the Hard Way
ABC
October 29, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Richard Rosenstock and Roy Teicher's first of two Mork stories is set one month after the wedding and Mork is diagnosed by Exidor (who was also his best man) as pregnant, although even Exidor has a hard time believing it.  Mork develops a navel and apparently gives birth to an egg through it.  The egg grows to a great size and eventually hatches a grown man played by Jonathan Winters.  Mindy is understandably surprised and upset.  She wanted to spend more time as a couple before having kids, and she expected herself to be the one who'd become pregnant.  Her feeling that things are being rushed is one that the viewer can't help sharing.  Although the individual episodes of this season aren't bad, it does feel like there could've been a few episodes spent on the engagement and that M & M becoming parents only four episodes in is unnecessary.  This all could've been stretched out to a full season.  I don't really remember much of my reaction at the time, beyond I was definitely curious to see what would happen next.  And again they tease us with "To Be Continued," although really, what could they do for an encore at this point?

This episode also marks the last appearance of Mr. Bickley, who's upset because his girlfriend has run off with his father.  It would've been interesting to see his reaction to Mearth, but M & M are more isolated this season than in the last two.

Three's Company: Professor Jack

Three's Company: Professor Jack
ABC
October 27, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
C+


Laura Levine, who wrote four Bob Newhart Show episodes, offers her first of two for Three's Company, and it doesn't quite work.  Considering that there are not one but two major misunderstandings, I expect more of a pay-off than middle-aged men getting paint and Chinese food dumped on them.

Janet has a new boss (maybe Mr. Compton sold the flower shop in the last couple years), Tom Latham (Frank Aletter, who'd been Major Stoner on M*A*S*H and Daniel Turner on What's Happening!!).  Mr. Latham wants his wife (Sally Kemp, who earlier in the year played Mrs. Landis on Bosom Buddies) to learn cooking from Jack, so Janet sets it up.  Terri jumps to the wrong conclusion and thinks Jack is offering "love lessons."  Meanwhile, her boss, Dr. Anderson (Paul Kent, who previously played Alvin Morrell), wants her help in finding an apartment for his niece.  Jack and Janet assume Dr. Anderson is going to have a "love nest" for Terri.  Cindy drops by a couple times, for a change hitting Janet rather than Jack with the front door.

M*A*S*H: That's Show Biz

M*A*S*H: That's Show Biz
CBS
October 26, 1981
Dramedy
DVD
C+

This Pollock & Davis story runs an hour but there's barely enough material for half.  Marina Ryan (the adorable Gail Edwards, who I know best from It's a Living), a member of a USO troop comes to the 4077th because of appendicitis.  Hawkeye operates on her and she forms a crush on him.  Her troop visits and ends up staying a few days, entertaining the camp and connecting with the staff.  The thing is, there's not much here that's very interesting or surprising, other than that Hawkeye gently spurns Marina.  Not much to open the tenth season with but maybe things will improve later.

Martin Ferrero was a Waiter on Soap, is the Wounded Man in Jeep here, and would be a Salesman on Mork & Mindy.  Brian Byers (this time a nameless Patient) and Kellye Nakahara (Yamato, this time with more to do) return.

Bosom Buddies: Reunion

Bosom Buddies: Reunion
ABC
October 22, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B

If you can get past the fact that an Ohio high school (Poe High in Shaker Heights) is having their sixth reunion in not only New York but the restaurant of the Susan B. Anthony hotel, this is a good episode.  Henry thinks back to an awkward time, but it's not the usual high school memory.  He lied to a deaf girl who asked him to the prom, saying he couldn't go, but he was really worried about other kids making fun of him.  He still feels guilty about it, especially when she shows up at the reunion.

I like how he confides in Amy, including through flashbacks, which are, yes, anachronistic.  Kip is full-on hippie, including using drugs and calling everyone a fascist, while Henry refers to "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not," although SNL wouldn't premiere till the Fall of '75.  And his dancing lessons are very disco-y.  But they're still fun to watch, especially when Kip does a looser-limbed version.

Meanwhile, Kip tries to use Sonny to impress his male classmates, but she keeps undercutting him till he learns his lesson; and Isabelle learns that everyone is mistaking her for Brenda, the only black girl in the school, but when Rodney, the only black guy, shows up, she doesn't mind so much.  Note that the roster on the high school wall contains the names of Hanks, Scolari, and Zwick among others.

Jeff Harlan, who plays Jackie, was Bill Mason and a Customer on Mork & Mindy.  Ruth is absent.  This is the first of four Buddies episodes written by Gary H. Miller.

Mork & Mindy: The Honeymoon

Mork & Mindy: The Honeymoon
ABC
October 22, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B

McRaven & Johnson wrote this story where Mindy learns what it's like to be the strange creature from another planet, and Mork learns what Earthlings do on their honeymoon, thanks to a marriage manual Fred gave to Mindy to give to Mork.  (He can't be blamed for not wanting to give Mork fatherly advice.)  Mindy is patient and understanding with Mork, who first dresses like a chicken and then is as scared as a chicken at the idea of mating (not that they call it that).  She tells him she's nervous about motherhood, which would soon become ironic.  The episode ends with her driving the egg back home (symbolic?), although I could see how this could've been a two-parter.  It's fun to see the sets and costumes and it would've been interesting to explore Ork more.  Again, it's "To Be Continued."

Felix Silla (yes, Cousin Itt, as well as various Krofft roles) plays the Orkan Porter.  Orson, although mentioned several times, is absent.

Bosom Buddies: There's No Business...

If I remember correctly, Amy's T-shirt
is from the Joey Midnight episode.

Bosom Buddies: There's No Business...
ABC
October 15, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Chris Thompson wrote this story, which is another series-shifter.  Henry's Uncle Mort (John C. Becher, who would be Mr. Gretski on Three's Company) sells him a commercial production studio for the $2000 that Henry was going to buy a treasury bill with.  (Half of it was Kip's, minus $40 Amy contributed.)  Kip is unhappy with this news but it's too late by the time he finds out.  And then they find out that Mort owes a sleazy man named Victor (32-year-old Joe Regalbuto, later of Murphy Brown) $17,000.  The guys can't come up with the money but Ruth can, which she does out of friendship and out of a desire to humiliate Victor, who in so many words calls her a hooker.  She'll be the silent partner, with Amy still retaining 2% rather than 1%.  (This will matter in a later episode.)

We are settling in to the Eighties, or at least the Early Eighties here, with cocaine jokes ("Snorting money, Kip?"/ "It cuts out the middleman") and the line that I still remember vividly from the time: "Our future?!  We now have the same future as disco!"

Mork & Mindy: The Wedding

Mork & Mindy: The Wedding
ABC
October 15, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B

This Eisenstock & Mintz story has Mindy breaking the news of the engagement to her grandmother, father, and stepmother.  Cathy still doesn't know Mork is an alien (I don't think she ever finds out), so she doesn't understand Fred's objections.  Mindy is stubborn and her father gives in, despite his misgivings.  Orson on the other hand punishes Mork by turning him into a dog.  Mindy still wants to go ahead with the wedding.  Everything works out, although Mindy is very surprised to hear that the honeymoon will be on Ork.  And the episode ends with another "To Be Continued."  Despite the obstacles, this doesn't feel as sad as the previous episode, if not as joyful as you'd expect a wedding episode to be.  M & M clearly love each other and are definitely ready for "for worse," but I hope they have some "for better" soon.

James Staley, who plays the Reverend, previously was Stu Scully.  I'm assuming Stephanie Dizon is Stephanie Kayano under another name, or it's just a coincidence that they found another plump Asian girl with the first name of Stephanie to play Stephanie from the daycare.  (She doesn't have any lines, so I can't be sure.)

Three's Company: Terri Makes Her Move

Three's Company: Terri Makes Her Move
ABC
October 13, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Ellen Guylas wrote this story where Larry, who owes Jack a favor, decides to pay him back by making Terri think that Jack had his heartbroken and needs comfort.  Meanwhile, Janet has a Scrabble date downstairs with Mr. Furley.  Terri apparently still doesn't know the ground rule about being platonic, or she doesn't see her actions as flirtatious.  She also seems cool with the idea of Janet being involved with Jack, although this would change.  Her character would later be revealed to be from Massachusetts, but her mother (Mina Kolb in her first of three appearances), father (Hugh Gillin, who'd played Gen. Tomlin on M*A*S*H), and bratty sister of about 13 visit the apartment briefly her first night, suggesting that they, unlike Janet's family, live locally now.  (The episode has one of the shortest spans in the series, almost happening in real time.)

Bosom Buddies: The Truth and Other Lies

Bosom Buddies: The Truth and Other Lies
ABC
October 8, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Bosom Buddies for the moment continued airing on Thursdays after Mork & Mindy, but for now with Best of the West* in between.  But, as with some other shows in their second season, Buddies decided to try something new.  I know that some people consider this Leonard Ripps story a shark-jump, but I don't find the revealing of Kip and Henry's identities to be a deal-breaker for the show. I do have some quibbles with this episode, but nothing like I did with Three's Company's season-opener.

Kip and Sonny are getting closer, including sharing a kiss they both find incredible.  He wants to tell her the truth.  Henry supports him but expects Kip to wait till they get back to the hotel, not to pull Sonny aside at a gathering for the President of San Flan (a literally banana republic, if the flag is any indication).  Of course Kip is his usual spontaneous self and strips to the waist, shortly before the curtain is drawn back so that everyone can salute that flag.  The studio audience has a great time, first anticipating and then seeing the reveal and consequences.  Some of that has faded for the home viewer over time, but there are some nice touches, like Ruth's amusement, and Sonny pulling Amy's hair as if expecting it to be a wig.  (Has she never seen her roommate naked or at least in underwear?)

Isabelle is also present.  She's managing the hotel in Lilly's absence, and it's suggested Lilly won't be coming back, as she's engaged to a native island king.  I don't know how Lilly would've taken the reveal, but Isabelle decides to put her friendship for the guys, as well as her own pride, ahead of the rules of the hotel.  Kip and Henry can stay, as long as no one else at the Susan B. finds out.

Sonny is not as easily placated.  She's very angry at Kip (not so much at Henry) and she has it out with him.  They yell and they push each other's shoulders, but he tells her he did it all for love of her.  And they have another passionate kiss.  The scene ends with fireworks and a train crash, indicating more passion, although we'll find out in subsequent episodes that they never have sex.

My issues with the episode are that the transition from anger to affection is uncomfortable, although I'm not sure how else it could've been played; and that there is minor racism, with San Flan and the native chieftain.  Still, I feel like Buddies is in a better place at this point than Mork & Mindy, and I'm not just saying that with hindsight.

It looks like this is the first episode Joel Zwick directed since the Pilot, although it also looks like he'd do all of the second season.


*Western comedy the critics loved and the viewers didn't.  I watched, given that line-up, but don't remember much beyond it had Joel Higgins pre-Silver-Spoons.

Mork & Mindy: Limited Engagement

Mork & Mindy: Limited Engagement
ABC
October 8, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Brian Levant's second of two Mork stories changes the course of the show, but watching it again I felt a melancholy undertone tone that I hadn't noticed before.  And I say that as someone who did and does ship M & M hard, and who in fact was in the studio audience when this was taped.  (I remember the pony and I remember asking the warm-up guy about Bebo; he joked that Bebo had become Mork's chaps.  Williams looked sheepish.)  The best scene here is when Mindy's father and grandmother, who are both fond of Mork, warn her against marrying him.  And they're not being prejudiced; they have real, genuine concerns.  These are not addressed in this episode, but they are that Orkans age backwards and Orkans may not be able to reproduce with Earthlings.  Mindy tries to talk to Mork, but he's too busy wooing her, including a production number towards the end, which is fun to watch but feels out of place in the bigger picture.  In the end, she gives in because she doesn't want him to leave.  This is not Ann Marie's trippy ecstasy at Donald's proposal but a young woman recognizing that her love for an alien is making her give up any hope for a normal life.  And in the end, Mork defies Orson, who forbids the marriage.  It's "to be continued," but it does not bode well.

Bob Claver, who'd done The Bob Newhart Show and Welcome Back, Kotter, takes over as director from (usually) Howard Storm.

Three's Company: Jack Bares All

Three's Company: Jack Bares All
ABC
October 6, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
C-

This is the first one-hour episode of the series, as well as the introduction of Priscilla Barnes as Terri Alden.  As such, it's a shame that Staretski & Rips couldn't do a better job of writing.  Yes, some blame goes to Powers's direction and Barnes's performance, but they're doing the best they can with what they were given.  And I did try to watch this episode objectively (including with director commentary) but these are the issues that remain:

• Terri is an unsympathetic character for most of the episode.  My issue is not really with the scene where she initially annoys Jack, since he's being unsympathetic there, while she's trying to act as a professional, albeit a somewhat snarky professional.  It's actually worse when Terri tries to make up with Jack and further offends him, and here is a good example of the subpar writing.  Even though Janet must've (or should've) told her that it's a platonic living arrangement, Terri acts seductively when she goes into the kitchen.  (Powers says on the commentary that he wanted a Marilyn Monroe style.)  And then, very un-Marilyn, she teases Jack about cooking, saying real men don't.  Now, wouldn't Janet have told her that Jack is a chef?  Beyond that, wouldn't it have come up that Jack is in the ER because he's a chef?  (Not to mention he's wearing an apron and Felipe is also dressed for the kitchen.)  And then when Furley tells Terri that Jack is gay, Terri makes things even worse by apologizing, trying to act tolerant but questioning why he'd have served in the Navy.  OK, it's 1981, but that doesn't make this good character development, or good plot progression.
• Jack is also, as I said, unsympathetic through part of the episode.  He's more justified than Terri, but he did ask Janet to find a roommate while he was busy.  Instead of either insisting on not living with Terri, or trying to communicate with her, he lets Larry talk him into a scheme of vengeance that's a lot more spiteful, and less funny, than what the two of them did at Eleanor's party.
• Larry is unsympathetic through most of the episode.  As he was the previous year, he's trying to move a girlfriend in, this time Didi (Shell Kepler, who'd previously played Larry's girlfriend Luanne, who he also lied to about his profession).  As I asked then, what is the point of this, when we know Larry's relationships are short-term?  And then he seems very taken with Terri (a crush that would continue), but he nonetheless wants her out and Didi in.  So he comes up with the scheme and persists in it, even though everyone onstage (and in the studio audience) is appalled.
• Janet is relatively sympathetic, although it's wrong of her to try to gloss over Jack's anger at Terri.
• Cindy is OK, although it gets annoying that she keeps saying both that she's only going to be ten minutes away (at UCLA, studying to be a veterinarian) and that she'll miss everyone but will visit often (at one point coming back just to say that and to hit Jack with a door).
• Other than his homophobic comments, Mr. Furley is fine this episode.  He is, perhaps willfully, blind to hints at the party that Jack is straight (as in Terri's impersonation of Jack, and Janet's of Larry), but it's not for the first time.
• Felipe is annoying, but that's usually a given.  (Mr. Angelino has decided to give Jack "one more chance.")

So what's to like?  Well, Ritter's dead-on impression of Knotts (and Knotts's reaction) for one.  Also, while I don't think the moment is earned, the way that Jack and Terri make up would pass for sweet on a better episode.  And there are some ensemble moments that are good, like the adding-words-for-a-sentence game.  But this is not how I wanted the sixth season kicked off thirty-five years ago or now.

Bobby F. Ellerbee had played Don on What's Happening!! and his role as Dr. Cooper is, as far as I can recall, the first speaking one for a black actor on 3'sC.  Although she's not credited, Sheila Rogers, who'd previously played Punkin Randall's mother, here first appears in the role of Desk Nurse Marge Andrews.

Journey: Don't Stop Believin'

Journey: Don't Stop Believin'
Song released October 6, 1981
Music Video
DVD
B-

Same concert, same blue MTV shirt, possibly their most famous song, although the title-drop occurs pretty far in.