Cheers 3.3: “I Call Your Name”

Airdate: 10/18/84

Two parallel stories: something’s eating at Diane, and her sour mood sours everyone else’s. When Frasier stops by and “hypothetically” solicits Sam’s advice on a patient whose girlfriend calls out the name of an ex-boyfriend during sex, Sam deduces it’s about Diane. The two have at it (again), but this time Frasier gets involved; a true psychiatrist, he believes the two former lovers should admit if there’s a spark, and “let it rage into an inferno or extinguish it forever.” There’s no spark they tell him, and he walks away satisfies, but Diane admits there’s still something there. After kissing him passionately, Diane has the last word: “Frasier!”

The other story involves Cliff – so true to his postal uniform he rats out a co-worker, Lewis, for stealing a perfume sample from a magazine. The offender, a burly African-American, gets fired for it, and hunts down Cliff not for his guilt but his busibodiness – he can help catch the guy. Cliff’s in for it now, and when Lewis returns for a name, Cliff offers it in a sealed envelope, imploring his inquisitor to show mercy and realize the squealer is sorry and only meant to do his civic duty. Lewis reads between the lines and tells Cliff that he’d better not do it again.

Fine writing showcasing nothing but character here, in a light comic fashion. Cliff’s tale is akin to the “Cliff’s Rocky Moment” episode – this time it’s not his bluster but by-the-books pedantry that gets him in trouble. But just like in the Rocky episode he finds a way to craftily and tacitly solve the problem, even if just a slight but of cowardice still seeps through. The Sam/Diane story sifts through the remnants of their rocky relationship, and still gleans comic gold from each disguising harbored feelings for the other as accusations that the other still has harbored feelings. And we thought a dead romance would never produce for the show. But then again, was it ever a “romance”?

Cold open: Carla ends her date prematurely when she forgets she has to work; her date is disappointed that now they can’t go to the RV show, until she suggests Coach as a replacement. “I still won’t get a kiss,” he laments. Her reply: “Maybe if you ask him nicely.”

Norm’s opener: Norm’s already at the bar.

Wonder Woman 1.5: The Feminum Mystique, Part 2

Airdate: 11/6/78

Wonder Girl passes the test, but now Radl and Murphy want the alloy, Feminum, that her bracelets are made out of.  Murphy uses his masculine charm on boy crazy WG to get the location of Paradise Island, where the Feminum mines are located, and so a Nazi assault is launched on the uncharted island, prompting Wonder Woman to rush to the defense of her beloved homeland. Meanwhile, Wonder Girl escapes her captors, and alerts Steve to Peter Knight’s true identity, but the chief mechanic, another Nazi spy named Karl Wertz, is still at loose. Back on Paradise Island, Radl enslaves the Amazons (after subduing them all with gas bombs), and forces them to mine the Feminum, but WW and WG turn the tables on him and distributes the bracelets to the girls, enabling them to overpower their captors. They return to the states just in time to stop Wertz from hijacking the XPJ-1 (after Steve gets knocked out… again!).

Fast-paced conclusion wraps everything up quite nicely, but just a few questions:

1.     Why are Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl and the Amazons all impervious to everything – except gas bombs and even chloroform rags? Quite an Achilles heel!

2.     Which will happen first: an episode in which Steve does not get knocked out or one in which he figures out that Diana and WW are the same peson?

3.     Which dime store did they buy the obvious miniature models of WW and WG in the invisible plane shots?

4.     How did they do the scene with Lynda Carter (not a stunt woman) keeping the XPJ-1 from taking off?

5.     Does Debra Winger ever list this role on her resume?

Waltons 7.13: “The Conscience”

Airdate: 1/4/79

With war fever making the rounds with the Walton boys, only Jason has ambivalent feelings about the prospect of killing another man in combat. When he considers filing as a conscientious observer, he is chastised by everyone from drunk thugs at a bar to his own father and brother (Ben). After taking a sojourn on the top of Waltons Mountain to sort out his thoughts, he is greeted by apologetic family members, who promise to show greater tolerance. Jason has decided that he will enlist after college, believing that he should demonstrate the same call to duty practiced by his forefathers and fellow man.

Crisis of conscience exploration is reminiscent of Waltons 1.4, in which John-Boy

grapples with the killing of a deer. This time, there’s a bit more political baggage here, as we’re talking the justification of murder in war – clearly, you’ll either be satisfied or unsatisfied by the ending, depending on what your stripes are. I was a bit surprised myself, given the predominance of antiwar sentiment in the years following Vietnam; but truth be told The Waltons still swings conservative, and we were still years away from arguably the first popular antiwar film about WWII, Saving Private Ryan.

Subplot is another war related story: Jim-Bob gets an air-force tattoo, which he later regrets after realizing the wrath he must now face from his mother!

Waltons 7.12: “The Boosters”

Airdate: 12/28/78

Ben, according to his dad, is getting a little big for his britches at the mill, and so he decides to take out a bank loan for an auto lot (motor lodge) to be built near Godsey’s store, capitalizing on the influx of traffic from Pickett’s war plant. Ben forms a booster club to drum up more money ad support, but the idea is abruptly aborted upon news that the War Department has put a halt to any non-war related construction. Another idea: why not move the buildings from the abandoned mine town to Walton’s Mountain to create a new and improved town center? Again, no dice, as this idea was built upon the false rumor that a new steel mill would be coming. Finally, plan C: Ben, with some help from John, settles on the establishment of a few new stores, including an antiquarian and a new barber shop run by newly-licensed haircutter Yancy, creating a small boom on Walton’s Mountain.

Ben is front and center here, showcasing his continuing attribute as the business-minded go-getter of the family. Solid, developing story resulting in the creation of a “town center” on Walton’s Mountain – certainly will be useful as the show tries to get beyond the bumpkin setting and go in the wartime/homefront direction.

Amusing subplot involving Yancy taking a barber correspondence course. And no, it doesn’t follow he expected “earnest but lousy barber giving bad haircuts” route.

The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone (1979)

From 1979, 13 years after The Flintstones left the prime time airwaves but kept alive through reruns and numerous Saturday morning incarnations, comes this one-hour TV special, which aired on NBC on 10/30/79.  The Flintstones and Rubbles win big on a popular game show, “Make a Deal or Don’t,” and their prize is an al-expense paid trip to a haunted castle in Transylvania. Betty and Wilma love its touristy charm, but Fred and Barney are too pooped to party, so all turn in early. Unfortunately, the very real monster Rockula startles a sleeping Wilma, thinking that she s his bride. When this misidentification is cleared up, he still wants to marry her, something only possible if she were a widow. Both he, and unfinished creation Frankenstone, are all to happy to make it happen, so poor Fred has to rescue his dearly beloved and save his own skin – and salvage what clearly has turned into a real dud of a grand prize!

Loads of fun, with the usual voices (Henry Corden, Mel Blanc, Jean Vander Pyl) as the main characters. Fun to hear Casey Kasem’s unmistakable voice as the game show host, Monty Marble (can you guess the game show being parodied?). Without spoiling anything, I will say that Barney winds up saving the day with a very special skill, and no, it doesn’t involve propelling a rock-heavy automobile with his bare feet.

Also on this tape is The Flintstones New Neighbors, a 30-minute special that was part of a limited-run prime-time series on NBC, owing in no small part to the rating success of the above special. Broadcast on 9/26/80, it also features

Frankenstone, but this time as a different character: the patriarch of an Addams Family-esque clan who move in next door to Fred and Wilma. The Rubbles and Wilma are delighted, but Fred plays Archie Bunker and is upset that an oddball family has “decreased property values” in the neighborhood (yes, that’s actual dialogue). Upon hearing of Fred’s intolerance, Barney is furious (you can tell because his pupils get black and huge) and ends their friendship. Only after a picnic, in which Pebbles gets carried away by a pterodactyl and subsequently rescued by Frankenstone, does Fred see the error of his ways and ask for forgiveness from all he offended, which he gets. This classic show is out of print, but you can get it by clicking this share.

This special, I think, is even better than the Rockula one, if only for its message of acceptance and understanding. It was also nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animated Programming, and followed by “Fred’s Final Fling” in the Flintstone Special run. 

You can also read this review on Amazon by clicking here.