TV Time Capsule

Dr. Hartley’s Busiest Season on ‘The Bob Newhart Show’

“Holidays With the Hartleys” continues.

On December 23, 1972, CBS aired “His Busiest Season,” an episode of “The Bob Newhart Show” that finds everyone feeling blue at Christmastime.

While Chicago psychologist Dr. Bob Hartley (Newhart) struggles to treat his sad-sack patients, his wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette) makes her shopping list.

EMILY: What do you think I should buy your Uncle Harry and Aunt May? I can’t think of a thing.

BOB: What did we send them last year?

EMILY: A basket of fruit.

BOB: They should have eaten it by now.

To cheer his patients – and himself and Emily – Bob throws an impromptu Christmas Eve party. He tries to lead everyone in a round of carols, but each song brings back a bad memory for a member of the group.

Suddenly, things begin looking up.

“I just feel great because we’re all having such a rotten time together,” Emily declares as the room erupts in laughter.

See for yourself: “His Busiest Season” is part of “The Bob Newhart Show: The Complete First Season” DVD set and can also be rented and purchased at iTunes and Amazon.com and streamed at Hulu.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Saturday, December 23, 1972:

8: “Alias Smith and Jones”* (ABC), “All in the Family”* (CBS), “Ernie Ford’s White Christmas” (NBC)

8:30: “Bridget Loves Bernie” (CBS)

9: “Streets of San Francisco” (ABC), “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (CBS), “Climb an Angry Mountain” (NBC)

9:30: “The Bob Newhart Show” (CBS)

10: “The Sixth Sense” (ABC), “The Carol Burnett Show” (CBS)

 

The Record

For the week of December 17, 1972:

Top novel: “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach

Top song: “Me and Mrs. Jones” by Billy Paul

Top movie: “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean”

In the news: U.N. Ambassador George Bush quit

 

 

Captions: “Bob Newhart Show” stars Bob Newhart and Suzanne Pleshette in scenes from “His Busiest Season.”

‘The Bob Newhart Show’s’ Endless Holiday Office Party

“Holidays With the Hartleys” continues.

On December 22, 1973, CBS aired “I’m Dreaming of a Slight Christmas,” a “Bob Newhart Show” episode that finds Chicago psychologist Bob Hartley (Newhart) dreading his office holiday party.

The shindigs always follow a pattern, as Bob explains:

Around 2 o’clock it usually starts and then Carol says what a great guy I am. And then about 2:05, somebody spikes the watercooler. About 2:30, Carol tells me off. And then sometime between 3 and 4, somebody asks for some free psychological advice. And then around 4 o’clock, all the ear, nose and throat men on the sixth floor come down and challenge us to an ice hockey game on the roof. And then at 5 o’clock, Tupperman starts reciting the Hippocratic oath while Jerry hums “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth.”

This year, Bob plans to leave the party early to spend Christmas Eve with wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette). Too bad a blizzard strands him at the office!

See for yourself: “I’m Dreaming of a Slight Christmas” is part of “The Bob Newhart Show: The Complete Second Season” DVD set and can also be rented and purchased at iTunes and Amazon.com and streamed at Hulu.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Saturday, December 22, 1973:

8: “Partridge Family” (ABC), “All in the Family” (CBS), “Emergency!” (NBC)

8:30: “Snatched” (ABC), “M*A*S*H” (CBS)

9: “Mary Tyler Moore Show” (CBS), “Fitzwilly” (NBC)

9:30: “Bob Newhart Show” (CBS)

10: “Griff” (ABC), “Carol Burnett Show” (CBS)

 

The Record

For the week of December 16, 1973:

Top novel: “Burr” by Gore Vidal

Top song: “The Most Beautiful Girl” by Charlie Rich

Top movie: “Amacord”

Top TV show: “All in the Family” (CBS)

In the news: First-class stamp prices increased from 8 cents to a dime

 

 

Captions: Dr. Bob Hartley, patient Mr. Peterson and receptionist Carol Keester – played by John Fiedler and Marcia Wallace, respectively – learn a blizzard has shut down Chicago during Bob’s holiday office party (top); Emily isn’t thrilled with the tiny tree Bob has brought home for their scaled-down Christmas (middle); Bob braves the blizzard to spend Christmas Eve with Emily, but he’s too tired to celebrate, so they snuggle on the sofa (bottom).

A Crowded Christmas Eve on ‘The Bob Newhart Show’

“Holidays With the Hartleys” continues.

On December 21, 1974, CBS aired “Home is Where the Hurt is,” another “Bob Newhart Show” episode where everyone spends Christmas Eve together.

Chicago psychologist Bob Hartley and wife Emily (Newhart, Suzanne Pleshette) – decked out in their very finest – are headed to the symphony when neighbor Howard Borden (Bill Dailey) shows up and asks to borrow some tinsel for his aluminum tree.

After Howard finally scoots out the door, Bob’s receptionist Carol Keester (Marcia Wallace) arrives and embarks on a long-winded monologue about her unhappy childhood.

Later, Howard returns to borrow more decorations.

“I thought you guys were going to the symphony,” he says.

“We thought we’d give them another year to practice,” Bob responds.

Carol finally musters the courage to confront her father and leaves. Bob awakens his dozing wife by sliding next to her on the sofa.

“It was kind of a nice Christmas Eve,” Bob says as he and Emily snuggle.

“And I think it’s going to turn out to be a lovely Christmas morning, too,” she coos.

See for yourself: “Home is Where the Heart is” is part of “The Bob Newhart Show: The Complete Third Season” DVD set and can also be rented and purchased at iTunes and Amazon.com and streamed at Hulu.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Saturday, December 21, 1974:

8: “A Dream for Christmas”* (ABC), “All in the Family” (CBS), “Emergency!” (NBC)

9: “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (CBS), “Geronimo”* (NBC)

9:30: “The Bob Newhart Show” (CBS)

10: “The Carol Burnett Show” (CBS), “Nakia” (ABC)

 

The Record

For the week of December 15, 1974:

Top novel: “Centennial” by James Michener

Top song: “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas

Top movie: “The Man With the Golden Gun”

In the news: Stimulate the economy, experts urged

 

 

Captions: In “Home is Where the Hurt is,” Dr. Bob Hartley (Bob Newhart) dozes off while receptionist Carol Keester drones on (top); neighbor Howard Borden, played by Bill Daily, drops by to borrow decorations and Emily and Carol – played by Suzanne Pleshette and Marcia Wallace – chat (middle); and Bob and Emily finally have some alone time (bottom).

A Celebrity Olympics: ABC’s ‘Battle of the Network Stars’

On November 13, 1976, ABC launched “Battle of the Network Stars,” a series of specials featuring teams of actors from ABC, CBS and NBC shows competing in swimming, kayaking and other sports, as well as games of tug-of-war and Simon Says.

Howard Cosell hosted most “Battles,” which ABC aired about twice a year through the mid-1980s.

Joyce Millman remembered the specials in a 2003 New York Times column:

Everybody who was anybody in prime time suited up for “Battle of the Network Stars” – it was like Emmy night with taunting and a dunk tank. Which led to memorable incidents, like Robert Conrad, the competition-crazed captain of the NBC team, crowing over a foot race and making the ABC captain, Gabe (“Welcome Back, Kotter”) Kaplan, so mad that he dug down deep and blew Mr. Conrad off the track.

“Battle of the Network Stars” was a celebrity peep show, with egos as exposed as a Charlie’s Angel in a wet T-shirt (of which it offered many glimpses). It was utter trash, and it was delicious.

See for yourself: “Battle of the Network Stars” isn’t online or on video; visit TVShowsonDVD.com and petition its release!

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Saturday, November 13, 1976:

8: “Holmes & Yoyo” (ABC), “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (CBS), “Emergency!” (NBC)

8:30: “What’s Happening!!” (ABC), “The Bob Newhart Show” (CBS)

9: “Battle of the Network Stars” (ABC), “All in the Family” (CBS), “Macon County Line” (NBC)

9:30: “Alice” (CBS)

10: “The Carol Burnett Show” (CBS)

 

The Record

For the week of November 7, 1976:

Top novel: “Sleeping Murder” by Agatha Christie

Top song: “Rock’n Me” by Steve Miller Band

Top movie: “Carrie”

Top TV show: “Gone With the Wind, Part 2” (NBC)

In the news: The movie industry sued to stop selling VCRs

 

 

Captions: Howard Cosell speaks to Gabe Kaplan on the first “Battle of the Network Stars” special (top, photograph by ABC Photo Archives courtesy Getty Images); ABC’s advertisement for the special, from TV Guide’s November 13, 1976, issue (bottom).

‘Of Thee I Sing:’ Not the Same Old Song and Dance

On October 24, 1972, CBS aired “Of Thee I Sing,” an adaptation of George and Ira Gershwin’s musical parody of presidential politics.

“Of Thee I Sing” hit Broadway in 1931, becoming the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

The 90-minute TV production starred Carroll O’Connor as John Wintergreen, who is elected president on a “love” platform. On Inauguration Day, he marries Mary Turner (Cloris Leachman) – much to the chagrin of beauty queen Diana Devereaux (Michele Lee), who claims Wintergreen promised to marry her.

The cast also included Jack Gilford as hapless vice president Alexander Throttlebottom and Jim Backus as oafish Senator Robert Lyons.

The Washington Post’s Tom Shales called the show “amazingly entertaining,” praising O’Connor’s musical abilities:

Archie Bunker can sing. Really. Not with the actor’s croak he uses to do “Those Were the Days” each week but with the kind of rich, warm, croony voice you hardly hear anywhere any more.

Shales was also surprised to see “little tape editing has been done, and a few line fluffs even find their ways to the air” but concluded this added a sense of “spontaneity and an almost-live ambience.”

“Of Thee I Sing” ranked 22nd in the weekly ratings.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Tuesday, October 24, 1972:

8: “Temperatures Rising” (ABC), “Maude” (CBS), “Bonanza” (NBC)

8:30: “Short Walk to Daylight” (ABC), “Hawaii Five-O” (CBS)

9: “The Bold Ones: The New Doctors” (NBC)

9:30: “Of Thee I Sing” (CBS)

10: “Marcus Welby, M.D.” (ABC), “NBC News Special: Growing Up in Prison”

 

The Record

For the week of October 22, 1972:

Top novel: “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach

Top song: “My Ding-a-Ling” by Chuck Berry

At the movies: “Lady Sings the Blues”

Top TV show: “All in the Family” (CBS)

In the news: Negotiations to end the Vietnam War continue

 

Caption: “Of Thee I Sing” stars Carroll O’Connor and Cloris Leachman on the cover of TV Guide’s October 21, 1972, issue.

‘Charlie’s Angels’ – Flying High … or Sinking Low?

On September 22, 1976, ABC aired the series premiere of “Charlie’s Angels,” a show that’s remembered as a commercial success but a critical failure.

Except that’s not completely accurate.

Yes, “Charlie’s Angels” was an instant hit with viewers.

“Hellride,” the series premiere, introduced the original cast: Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett-Majors and Jaclyn Smith as a trio of beautiful investigators who work for always-heard-but-never-seen private eye Charlie Townsend, voiced by John Forsythe.

“Hellride” was the week’s eighth most-watched prime-time broadcast; ratings grew as the season progressed, and “Charlie’s Angels” ended the season as Wednesday night’s biggest hit and the fifth most-popular series overall.

It’s also true that many critics instantly disliked the show.

It was described as “junk” (the Baltimore Sun’s Bill Carter), “childish” (the Associated Press’s Jay Sharbutt) and “a series that will require a raise in pay for me to watch it again” (the Ottawa Journal’s Keith Ashford).

But the scorn wasn’t universal.

The Washington Post’s Tom Shales suggested “Charlie’s Angels” was harmless fun, calling it “spoofy.”

Time described it as “opulently produced,” comparing it to “Mission: Impossible.”

The Los Angeles Times’ Lee Margulies was even more complimentary, defending Charlie and his angels against critics who charged producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg with exploiting its cast:

[T]he exploitation label doesn’t quite fit because … the leading characters clearly have more going for them than the way they look. They are depicted as independent, intelligent, resourceful and brave, adept at race-car driving and poker, effective with their hands and guns. And Charlie, though he gives the impression of being some sort of stud, obviously covets them for their professional talents – and no others.

It turns out Margulies was ahead of his time.

As critic Emily Nussbaum noted in a 2003 New York Times essay on “Charlie’s Angels:” “Equal parts misogyny and girl power, the show is like ‘Saturday Night Live’s’ floor wax/dessert topping – it’s feminist, it’s anti-feminist, it’s both.”

“Hellride” can be streamed for free at Crackle and downloaded for $1.99 at iTunes and Amazon.com. The episode is also part of the “Charlie’s Angels: The Complete First Season” DVD set.

 

Also on TV

On September 22, 1976, ABC also aired the season premieres of “The Bionic Woman” (a Bigfoot-themed crossover episode with “The Six Million Dollar Man”) and “Baretta;” CBS broadcast the season premieres of “Good Times” (the episode in which Florida receives the most fateful telegram in TV history) and “All in the Family” (Archie has an affair with a waitress) and the debuts of the baseball sitcom “Ball Four” and “The Blue Knight,” a police drama starring George Kennedy; NBC showed “The Million Dollar Ripoff,” a TV-movie starring Freddie Prinze, and the debut of the Kurt Russell-Tim Matheson western “The Quest.”

 

The Record

During the week of September 19, 1976, the number ones included Leon Uris’s “Trinity” (novel) and Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music” (song). Woody Allen’s “The Front” was new in theaters and in Philadelphia, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter met in the first televised presidential debate since 1960.

 

  

 

Captions: “Charlie’s Angels” cast members, from left, Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett-Majors and Jaclyn Smith in a photograph from TV Guide’s September 18, 1976, fall preview issue (top, photo by Peter Kredenser); from top, Smith, Jackson and Fawcett-Majors on the magazine’s September 25, 1976, cover (middle); ABC’s advertisement for the series premiere from the September 18 edition (bottom).

‘Battlestar Galactica’ Begins Its Journey

On September 17, 1978, ABC launched “Battlestar Galactica,” a lavish space opera that became one of television’s biggest franchises.

“Saga of a Star World,” the three-hour pilot, established the show’s dark premise: In a faraway galaxy, sinister robots called Cylons annihilate mankind – except for a small band of survivors who embark on a search for Earth aboard a ragtag flotilla, led by the Galactica supership.

Lorne Greene starred as Galactica’s commander, Adama. Co-stars included Richard Hatch as Adama’s son Apollo, a heroic fighter pilot; Dirk Benedict as roguish Starbuck, a fellow pilot; and John Colicos as the traitorous Baltar, a human who colluded with the Cylons.

ABC reportedly paid a then-record $1 million to produce each episode of “Galactica,” which many critics predicted would become a “Star Wars”-size hit.

The Washington Post’s Tom Shales called “Galactica” the 1978-79 season’s “only one unanimously certified sure-thing,” noting its broad appeal: “It’s a family saga, a soap opera, a carnival for kids and an ongoing blitz of slam-bang special-effects space battles.”

ABC slotted “Galactica” on Sunday nights at 8, opposite Mary Tyler Moore’s new variety hour “Mary” on CBS and “The Big Event” specials on NBC.

Initially, it was no contest: “Saga of a Star World” was seen in 20.7 million households, ranking fifth for the week.

Ratings remained strong for the first few weeks – until CBS cancelled Moore’s show, replacing it with “All in the Family” and “Alice.”

“Galactica’s” numbers plunged. ABC pulled the show off the air, slashed its budget and re-launched it the following season as “Galactica 1980,” in which Adama’s fleet finally reached modern-day Earth.

It lasted 10 episodes.

“Battlestar Galactica” developed a cult following – one teenage fan committed suicide when ABC yanked the show – and there were numerous revival attempts.

In 1999, Hatch filmed a trailer for “The Second Coming,” a sequel series that, ignoring the events of “Galactica 1980,” would have cast Apollo as the fleet’s new commander.

Universal Studios, which owned the “Battlestar Galactia” rights, opted instead to introduce a “re-imagined” series on Sci-Fi in 2003.

The new program became the channel’s signature show, running four seasons and spawning two TV-movies – “Razor” and “The Plan” – as well as “Caprica,” a prequel series that debuted in 2010.

“Saga of a Star World” can be streamed for free at Hulu and downloaded in three parts for $1.99 each at iTunes and Amazon.com. The episode is also part of the “Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Epic Series” DVD set.

 

Also on TV

On September 17, 1978, ABC also aired the first half of “Lassie: The New Beginning,” a two-part TV-movie; CBS broadcast the season premiere of “60 Minutes” and the “30th Primetime Emmy Awards;” and NBC repeated “Dumbo” and showed the second half of a two-part presentation of 1976’s “King Kong.”

 

The Record

During the week of September 17, 1978, the number ones included Taste of Honey’s “Boogie Oogie Oogie” (song) and Cheech and Chong’s “Up in Smoke” (movie). In New York, a multi-union strike kept the city’s newspapers shuttered for the 39th day.

 

  

Captions: “Battlestar Galactica” cast members, from left, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene and Richard Hatch in a photograph from TV Guide’s September 9, 1978, issue (top, photo by Douglas Kirkland); Benedict, Greene and Hatch on the magazine’s September 16, 1978, cover (middle, illustration by David Byrd); ABC’s advertisement for the series premiere, also from that edition (bottom).

Sue Ann Nivens, Happy Homewrecker

“Betty, White Hot!” a series of periodic flashbacks to key moments in Betty White’s amazing television career, continues.

On September 15, 1973, CBS aired “The Lars Affair,” the classic “Mary Tyler Moore Show” episode that introduced Betty White as TV hostess Sue Ann Nivens, whose dimpled smile masked a deliciously bitchy personality.

The episode, which served as the sitcom’s fourth season premiere, finds snobbish Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) devastated to learn henpecked husband Lars is having an affair with Sue Ann, the star of “The Happy Homemaker” on WJM, the Minneapolis TV station where Phyllis’s friend Mary Richards (Moore) works.

Phyllis confronts Sue Ann on “The Happy Homemaker” set, where she slams the oven door, deliberately destroying a chocolate soufflé Sue Ann is baking. (“My poor baby!” Sue Ann wails.)

Before Sue Ann, White was known for playing sweet-as-spun-sugar characters such as newlywed Vicki Angel, her role on the 1950s sitcom “Date With the Angels.”

In White’s expert hands, Sue Ann became a precursor to Martha Stewart: a perfectionist with a helpful hint for every occasion.

In “The Lars Affair,” as Mary’s neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) helps tidy up after a dinner party, Sue Ann admonishes the “dear” for throwing out the coffee grounds (“They’re the perfect plant food for Mary’s geraniums!”). In “Happy Birthday, Lou!,” a December 22, 1973, episode,  Sue Ann objects to the chafing dish Mary plans to use at another party (“What do we plan to do about the tarnish?”).

Sue Ann’s favorite sparring partner was WJM newsroom writer Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod): He zinged her for being promiscuous, she zapped him for being bald.

From “Not With My Wife, I Don’t,” a January 3, 1976, broadcast:

SUE ANN: Mary, I just dropped by, dear, to tell you to be sure to stop in my studio this week. I’m devoting all my shows to you poor unfortunate single girls.

MARY: Sue Ann, in case you’ve forgotten, you are single also.

SUE ANN: Oh yes, but that’s only because I don’t happen to place my love life above my profession.

 

MURRAY: I thought that was your profession.

SUE ANN: Oh Murray, witty Murray. Jokes fall from your lips – almost as fast as hair falls from your head.

The show’s writers occasionally explored Sue Ann’s vulnerable side. In “The Happy Homemaker Takes Lou Home” – a December 6, 1975, installment – Sue Ann finds herself spurned by her favorite target, gruff Lou Grant (Ed Asner), who gently tells her she’s “too good” to keep throwing herself at him.

“Isn’t life funny?” Sue Ann says. “I’ve been accepted by lots of men and felt rotten. You’ve just rejected me and I feel like a million dollars. Thanks, Lou.”

Sue Ann was conceived as a one-time character, but White proved so popular that producers made her a semi-regular. She appeared in 33 episodes after “The Lars Affair,” twice winning Emmys for her performance.

In White’s 1995 memoir “Here We Go Again: My Life in Television,” she credited Moore, her longtime friend, with Sue Ann’s success:

No matter how funny the part is, if a guest character is someone the lead character doesn’t like, the audience can often get protective and not respond well to the newcomer. It might work in drama, but that syndrome can do you in when you’re going for comedy. It was thanks to Mary’s choice as an actress that Sue Ann worked. Rather than disliking her, Mary Richards found Sue Ann Nivens laughable, so the audience could relax and laugh with her.

“The Lars Affair” can be rented for 99 cents or purchased for $1.99 at iTunes and downloaded for 99 cents from Amazon.com. The episode is also part of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show: The Complete Fourth Season” DVD set. The next “Betty, White Hot!” installment will be posted tomorrow.

 

Also on TV

On September 15, 1973, CBS also aired the season premieres of “All in the Family,” “M*A*S*H,” “The Bob Newhart Show” and “The Carol Burnett Show” (guest: Jim Nabors, natch); ABC broadcast the season premiere of “The Partridge Family” and showed “Irma La Douce,” a 1963 flick starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine; and NBC carried “America Goes Public,” a Democratic Party telethon.

 

The Record

During the week of September 9, 1973, the number ones included Mary Stewart’s “The Hollow Hills” (book) and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” (song). “American Graffiti” was new at the movies, and in Washington, President Nixon and special prosecutor Archibald Cox were at an impasse in their dispute over the Watergate tapes.

 

  

Captions: Mary Tyler Moore and Betty White in a 1976 photograph by Ken Whitmore (top, courtesy IMDB.com, via MPTV); CBS’s advertisement for “The Lars Affair” from TV Guide’s September 15, 1973, issue (bottom).

Saturday, January 22, 1972 / Thursday, January 22, 2009

“Then/Now” compares TV classics to their modern-day counterparts.

At the end of “30 Rock’s” freshmen season, Entertainment Weekly compared the NBC comedy to CBS’s classic “Mary Tyler Moore Show,” noting each show’s use of similar character archetypes: the plucky career gal (“MTM’s” Mary Richards, “30 Rock’s” Liz Lemon), the gruff boss (Lou Grant, Jack Donaghy), the resident egomaniac (Ted Baxter, Tracy Jordan), the Jewish confidant (Rhoda Morgenstern, Pete Hornberger).

Now that we’ve gotten to know “30 Rock” a little better – the show is now in its fourth season – there’s a stronger basis for comparison: the similar relationships between Mary and Lou on “MTM” and Liz and Jack on “30 Rock.”

Each show depicts the career gal and her boss as more than colleagues and more than friends – but less than lovers.

Neither twosome’s flirtation is reduced to a simplistic “will-they-or-won’t-they?” cliché, allowing each series to explore other dynamics that occur in friendships between men and women.

In “Baby Sit-Com,” the “MTM” episode that aired 38 years ago tonight, Mary (Moore) is babysitting Bess (Lisa Gerritsen) – landlady Phyllis Lindstrom’s refreshingly un-smart-alecky 11-year-old daughter – when an old flame calls to ask her to dinner.

Mary declines (politely, of course). After some arm-twisting from Rhoda (Valerie Harper) and Bess, she changes her mind, then spends the rest of the afternoon trying to find a replacement sitter.

Finally, Mary calls Lou, who agrees to help out – but only because he wants to watch a big boxing match on her TV.

(When Lou arrives at Mary’s apartment, he explains he couldn’t watch the fight at home because his wife wanted to watch a documentary. “‘The Six Wives of Henry the VIII?’ ‘The Eight Wives of Henry the VI?’ I don’t know,” he huffs.)

Much of the rest of “Baby Sit-Com” is devoted to Lou’s scenes with Bess, revealing the crusty newsman’s softer side. Initially, the two struggle to connect, but they soon discover a mutual appreciation for freshly baked cookies and five-card stud.

It isn’t hard to imagine the “MTM” scriptwriters coming up with the episode’s concept – “Lou Grant, babysitter!” – and then working backward, engaging in the usual sitcom-narrative acrobatics (Rhoda can’t sit for Mary because she has the flu; Ted can’t do it because he’s out of town, etc.) to make an otherwise unlikely situation seem plausible.

And even though Mary and Lou share just two scenes – when he arrives at her apartment to sit with Bess and when Mary returns from her date and Lou departs – “Baby Sit-Com” offers insights into their relationship.

When Mary’s trying to line up a replacement sitter, “Mr. Grant” is her call of last resort, but there’s no hint of desperation in her voice when he answers; she knows she can count on him.

(How far Mary’s come from the “MTM” pilot, when Lou cows her with his famous “I hate spunk!” tirade.)

Meanwhile, Lou’s reason for taking the babysitting gig – he wants to watch a boxing match on Mary’s TV – rings a little hollow. Couldn’t he just as easily watch the fight in a neighborhood bar?

Maybe this is another sitcom plot convolution, or maybe the scriptwriters wanted to demonstrate Lou’s willingness to step outside his comfort zone – his initial interaction with Bess prove he’s uneasy around kids – to help Mary out of a bind.

Similar themes are explored in “Retreat to Move Forward,” the “30 Rock” episode that aired one year ago tonight.

In the storyline, Jack (Alec Baldwin) has been asked to give a speech at General Electric’s annual retreat but he’s nervous about attending because he’s had a rough year, including being implicated in a bungled corporate coup.

Liz (Tina Fey) is reluctant when Jack asks her to accompany him, but finally relents when he frames the request as a favor. “Ugh, fine, I’ll go – for you,” she says.

At the retreat, the executives Jack idolizes welcome him back into their inner circle. One expresses concern over Jack’s chumminess with Liz – an underling! – so Jack asks her to call him “Mr. Donaghy” for the duration of the retreat.

Liz is offended: “Friendship over!” she declares.

Before his speech, Jack retreats to the men’s room to give himself a pep talk in the mirror – unaware the microphone attached to his lapel is hot. The audience in the ballroom roars as they hear Jack tell himself, “It’s winning time, you magnificent son of a bitch!”

Liz races into the men’s room to alert Jack (“I’m ruined!” he says, collapsing to the floor), then swipes his mic and heads to the stage, where she tries to “outdo” him by performing bad impressions (Sling Blade, Mrs. Cunningham) and then finally ripping off her blouse and dancing.

The episode’s final scene finds Jack and Liz in his office, where he says her ploy worked. “A lot of people from the conference e-mailed me to ask if I was there when the bra lady went crazy” he says. “I can’t believe you did that for me.”

“That’s what friends do, Jack,” Liz responds.

Just as the relationship between Mary and Lou evolved after the “MTM” pilot, Liz and Jack have come a long way from the “30 Rock” premiere, when their first meeting went so badly Liz had to lay down, convinced she was having a bad dream.

Today, Liz and Jack’s friendship reminds us that, while “30 Rock’s” style of comedy is much broader than “MTM’s,” the relationships on each show are often equally warm.

 

From the Pages of TV Guide

Also airing January 22, 1972:

8:00 CBS ALL IN THE FAMILY

No night could be more frenzied than the one being shared by all in the family. Reason: a woman just dropped off her little boy, said he was Mike’s son – and left. Archie: Carroll O’Connor. Edith: Jean Stapleton. Mike: Rob Reiner. Gloria: Sally Struthers. Guest Cast … Marilyn Sanders: Marcia Rodd. Boy: Stephen Manley.

Also airing January 22, 2009:

9:00pm NBC The Office (CC): Michael and Dwight spy on a rival company. NEW

Saturday, January 5, 1974

Introducing “Good Night!,” a periodic flashback to an evening of great television with tips on using DVDs, downloads and other media to recreate it. First up: CBS’s lineup from 36 years ago tonight.

In this historic winter – with jobs scarce, the deficit growing and the government poised to adopt sweeping health care reform – it’s worth recalling a time when another president pursued a pricey health care overhaul in a period of economic anxiety.

Back then, people stayed home on Saturday nights – who could afford to go out? – and took their minds off their troubles with CBS’s top-rated lineup of “All in the Family,” “M*A*S*H” and the Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart and Carol Burnett shows.

The first Saturday in 1974 brought solid episodes from each series, although Burnett’s variety hour was the standout.

Her funniest sketch cast guest star Steve Lawrence as a Madison Avenue advertising executive who discovers client Tim Conway having drinks with rival Harvey Korman in a smoky cocktail lounge. Double entendres abound:

LAWRENCE: This isn’t the first time this thing has happened. Every time I turn my back he has an “innocent lunch” with some other ad agency president.

CONWAY: Uh, wait a minute. That’s not true.

LAWRENCE: Oh yeah? Well what about the time in Boston?

KORMAN: What happened in Boston?

LAWRENCE: I found him in a motel room – with three account executives from Benton and Denton. … You should have seen the room: There were presentations and dummy ads all over the bed!

The episode’s other highlight is the splashy musical finale, a light-hearted tribute to Hollywood death scenes (“With a Pow! Pow! And a Bang Bang!”).

Also quite funny is “WJM Tries Harder,” the “MTM” installment, which finds news producer Mary Richards (Moore) feeling embarrassed when she begins dating the anchor from a rival station with better ratings and a bigger budget.

“Mike and Gloria Mix It Up,” the “All in the Family” episode, centers on a big fight between the young couple (Rob Reiner, Sally Struthers) – a rare story in which Archie and Edith (Carroll O’Connor, Jean Stapleton) barely appear.

“Oh, Brother,” the “Bob Newhart” episode, is distinguished by a young Raul Julia’s appearance as the kid brother of dentist Jerry Robinson (Peter Bonerz), while

the “M*A*S*H” installment, “Henry in Love,” focuses on a fling between Lt. Col. Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson) and a 20-year-old nurse who’s more interested in Hawkeye (Alan Alda).

Each of the four sitcom episodes are available on DVD; the “Bob Newhart” installment can also be purchased from iTunes and streamed on Hulu.

Finding “The Carol Burnett Show” is a bit trickier.

The ninth volume in Columbia’s rare 2002 “Carol Burnett Show: The Collector’s Edition” DVD set contains the Steve Lawrence episode from January 5, 1974; this disc – as well as the full collector’s set – regularly pops up on eBay.

 

From the Pages of TV Guide

Also airing January 5, 1974:

6:30 CBS NEWS – Dan Rather

6:30 NBC NEWS – Tom Brokaw