_______
50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 1)
_______
Hawaii Five-O
"Why Wait Till Uncle Kevin Dies?"
Originally aired October 30, 1973
Wiki said:
McGarrett investigates a string of five murders of wealthy men and enlists the aid of an undercover agent from the mainland to reveal a pay-before-death inheritance scheme.
At a marina, a couple of kids swim onto a yacht by night to burglarize it. They hide when they hear a security guard on the deck (Lee Stetson), who comes in and, thinking he's alone, gets to work setting a bomb. After reporting the theft to Detective Poheni (Doug Mossman) the next day, the yacht's owner, Charles Privit (William Bigelow), takes his boat out of the dock and ends up in the drink the hard way. McGarrett questions the kids--who were picked up trying to fence Privit's goods--and learns about the guard, who's sniffed out to have been a phony. Five-O also talks to Charles's brother and heir, Jeremy (Fred Ball), who was at the dock...and learn that he got a sizeable monetary advance in trade for his inheritance from a company called Reversions, Inc. At the company's headquarters, the chairman, Jeffrey Talbot (Murray Matheson), makes a show of cooperating, which includes handing over a list of clients. Talking to the clients, Five-O discovers that four of them recently lost the people to whom they were heirs soon after doing their business with Reversions. They further learn from D.A. Manicote, who's investigated the company before, that all of this has happened since a recent change of management. As the company is planning to leave the islands soon for Europe, Steve wants to set up a sting operation, inventing an heir for them to do business with.
Then Jeremy Privit is killed in a helicopter explosion, and Five-O turns up that he'd been recently cut out of his brother's will, which would have left him in considerable debt to Reversions. A skeptical Manicote sets Five-O up with a visiting assistant D.A. named Calvin Cutler (Lawrence Pressman), a colorfully laid-back character who's smart, can handle himself, and wouldn't be verifiable as an undercover operative. Five-O invents a background for Cutler, which includes his titular rich uncle, and quizzes him on the details. Then they give him a makeover--shave, haircut, and contacts. An attorney working with Five-O, Frank Mualana (Thomas Fujiwara), files Kevin Baines's will with a bank, and Five-O tails the people whom he reports have access to it. One of the subjects, a clerk named Natalie Harper, is seen making a drop to a man whom we've met as the phony marina security guard, who also watched the helicopter explosion with satisfaction.
Calvin hits the town as Edgar Baines, making a show of having money issues, and is eventually approached by the mystery suspect, Luke Foster. Foster later listens in via tap as Calvin makes a call to McGarrett...who plays a loan shark who doesn't want to do business. Edgar is subsequently interviewed by Talbot, who questions him about his uncle, then investigates his background. Kevin Baines has been set up as a publicity-avoiding recluse, but planted articles in the files of a cooperating local newspaper establish his existence. Finally, Talbot makes his proposition to Edgar, dropping the titular question.
Edgar signs the paperwork for Talbot, which includes an application for accident insurance, which he leaves a coded note about for Five-O, explaining to them why Jeremy Privit was hit. Reversions's operatives immediately go to work on Event #7, with plans to be in Switzerland before an investigation can be made. A heavy is sent to babysit Edgar, while Luke delivers propane tanks to Uncle Kevin's secure beach house, where he sees an unidentifiable figure wheeled around. He sets his propane bomb, then finds that he's been locked in, and discovers a dummy in Uncle Kevin's bed. McGarrett announces himself from a safe distance outside via bullhorn and coerces Foster via phone to turn state's evidence in exchange for being let out. Once he's agreed, Chin pops up inside the house to reveal that the bomb has already been neutralized. Edgar is freed by Five-O, who then swoop in on Talbot's boardroom as the board is about to depart. Steve closes the episode by finishing an Alexander Pope quote that Talbot starts.
_______
Adam-12
"Van Nuys Division: Pete's Mustache"
Originally aired October 31, 1973
Edited IMDb said:
Malloy returns from vacation sporting a mustache, bringing forth jokes from coworkers.
As Pete returns to work, everyone has their reaction to his new growth...Officer Woods referring to it as a "cookie duster". On Patrol with Reed, names start dropping, including Groucho Marx, Burt Reynolds, and Yosemite Sam. The officers see a small, low-flying plane stalling, call it in, and locate the crashed craft with the help of Air-10. The drunken pilot, Donald Whorton (Myron Healey), stumbles out and the officers have to stop him from lighting his cigarette as fuel pours out of the craft. Reed finds the man's young son inside, who doesn't have a pulse. An engine and ambulance arrive to see to the boy and spray down the plane. With the boy's fate uncertain, the officers arrest the sobering but defensive Whorton.
The officers respond to a 459 at the home of wealthy Stuart Nolan (Robert Clarke), who's belatedly noticed that three rare stamps are missing from his collection. Pete connects this to Reno West's M.O. of "take a little, leave a little"--stealing few items of great value, such that the victims often don't discover they've been robbed until well after the fact.
Next the officers are assigned to a 211 at a jeweler's. They get a description from the proprietor, Marvin Weber (Sid Miller), who tells of how the robber had previously ordered the gems under a story. A very observant eyewitness, Jacqueline Carey (Priscilla Pointer), draws sketches of the man with and without the false beard he was wearing. She explains that she works for the make-up department of a film studio, and compliments the subtitular facial hair.
Back on patrol, the officers hear a commotion of horn-honking, which leads them to a woman (Eve McVeagh, I presume) who's driving along the curb slowly with a would-be robber's arm stuck in her electrically rolled-up passenger window.
The officers then see a department store security officer (Jim Nolan) who's holding a 484 suspect (Penny Santon). The shoplifter loudly protests her innocence of stealing a wallet, but the officers find $36,000 in her purse, which is what motivated the guard to call them. A little investigation turns up that it was money that she took from a joint savings account that she holds with her estranged husband, and she took the wallet to keep it in.
In the coda, Malloy's telling others at HQ how the 211 suspect in the drawing was picked up, and nobody notices that his mustache is gone. He volunteers how a trimming mishap made him look like "a red-headed Charlie Chaplain".
I read on IMDb that the Reno West storyline is a four-part arc, and that he won't appear on camera again until the conclusion. They didn't even mention his name in this one.
_______
Ironside
"The Helping Hand"
Originally aired November 1, 1973
Wiki said:
An alien-smuggling ring hunts down a Mexican woman out to expose their operation.
Fran's now hiring a maid, Rosita Rojas (Maria-Elena Cordero), to help out in her increasingly immodest apartment, which includes Rosita preparing a dinner for the Chief and Mark before she discovers Fran's badge and abruptly leaves. A van picks her up to unload her and several other girls at the shabby digs provided by the shady, titularly named agency that runs them. She reports her discovery to her agent, Floyd Stoner (Joshua Bryant), who refuses to give her a raise to help take care of her sick sister. Fran finds that Rosita left her purse, so the Chief accompanies her to the agency's front office, where Stoner's partner, Ross Graham (Cameron Mitchell), tries to play it casual while steering the fuzz away from Rosita's address. But the Chief--clearly ahead of what's going on--forces the issue by saying that he'll ask immigration, so Graham calls Stoner to arrange a visit.
Graham and the agency's translator, Pedro Reyes (Joaquín Martínez), hurredly clear the other ladies out of the apartment--including Teresa Rojas (uncredited Rosângela Maldonado)--and take them for a drive in the van. Rosita makes an excuse for her sister's absence and refuses an offer to take her out of her shabby digs; Ironside hands her his card. Graham realizes during the drive how bad Teresa is, and she ends up dying before a doctor can be summoned, which causes Rosita to flee. Meanwhile, the Chief makes a call to arrange liaising with Immigration.
Sgt. Ramirez of Immigration (Rodolfo Acosta) visits the Cave, describing how girls like Rosita are treated like slaves, and the Chief refers him to a judge who should be able to accommodate his investigation. Then Rosita tries to call the Cave from a phone booth, but is found, pursued, and cornered in a parking garage by Stoner...who's afterward found stabbed unconscious in the garage. The Chief treats Rosita as a suspect to facilitate searching her apartment, though he suspects that another party was involved and has the police look for Graham and his van. Fran drops into a sweatshop that Ramirez has found across the street from the apartment to ask for help from the girls working there, whom their boss, Miss Durgin (Jan Stratton), insists are legal.
Meanwhile, Graham's van is found at the bottom of the lake, with one body inside--presumably Teresa's, though she's very wet and this isn't made clear. The whereabouts of the other girls is unknown. Ed and Mark visit a local church to enlist the help of Father Arturo (uncredited Miguel Landa) in getting Rosita to come to them if he sees her. Graham calls on Reyes, afraid that Teresa's death will be pinned on him. Rosita goes to the church and subsequently the Cave, where she testifies, but claims that Stoner was the only man who was after her when she fled from him in the garage. Then the team gets a phone tip from one of the sweatshop girls about Reyes's involvement in the operation, though Rosita claims not to know him.
The Chief consults with Judge Thompson (Garry Walberg) and D.A. David Hillier (uncredited Eric Server), who are persuaded to put deportation on the back burner to facilitate the stabbing investigation. While minding Rosita, Fran gets a call that Stoner has died. The Chief talks to Reyes, trying to get him to come forward to save Rosita from being charged for murder. Reyes subsequently visits the church to point Graham and Durgin to a worshipper whom they're led to believe is Rosita, but turns out to be Fran. Graham pulls a gun (because for some reason Fran didn't), but soon finds himself surrounded by Team Ironside and CLE backup. He's convinced to surrender to face the charges that are on him, including his share of responsibility for Teresa's death; and Reyes agrees to stand trial for the stabbing of Stoner, which the Chief considers to have been in defense of Rosita.
_______
The Brady Bunch
"My Brother's Keeper"
Originally aired November 2, 1973
Wiki said:
Bobby saves Peter from being struck by a falling ladder in their backyard. Peter, grateful to Bobby for saving his life, offers to become Bobby's "servant for life".
Peter's doing outdoor work when his hose catches a ladder that Greg had been working on. Bobby pushes Peter out of the way, and Peter--assuming that the falling ladder would have done to his head what it does to a flower pot--promises to pay back Bobby, who's now dowsed in a bucket of green paint that was on top of the ladder.
Mike: Well...welcome to our planet.
At dinner, Peter makes a milk toast in honor of "the bravest person in the world," and promises to be Bobby's slave for life. Peter immediately throws himself into his chosen role, volunteering to polish Bobby's shoes; not going to a party held by his unseen GOTW; and working on building a go-cart for his little brother...among other tasks that we're only told about. Bobby soon comes to take advantage of the situation, having Peter do his chores so he can go to a ball game. Carol tries to rein in Bobby, while Greg warns Peter that Bobby's making a pigeon out of him. The breaking point comes when Bobby tries to guilt Peter into selling magazine subscriptions for him so he can win a surfboard.
The brothers declare that they won't speak to each other, creating tension in the household. After each tries to get Greg to let him move into his room, Peter promptly takes a page from the Book of Gilligan and tapes a diagonal line across the room. As each tries to annoy the other across the divide, the usual shenanigans ensue from complications like Peter's TV being plugged into an outlet on Bobby's side, and Bobby being the one with access to the bathroom...which he emphasizes by taking a page from the Book of Bunker.
Wiki said:
Although no toilets are ever shown in the Brady residence, one is heard being flushed for the only time in this episode.
Bobby finds himself desperate for companionship when the rest of the family leave for other engagements and he finds himself alone in the house with Peter. While the parents are leaving, they try to convince Bobby to apologize to Peter, and he does...for saving Peter's life. Peter doesn't accept what he considers to be the "crummiest" apology that he's ever heard, and a brief fight ensues in which Bobby hides in a double-doored walk-in closet that I can't say I've ever noticed being in the boys' room. Bobby finds himself locked in, and bangs and shouts for attention while Peter's downstairs on the phone. When Peter finally comes up and hears the commotion, he opens the door, and Bobby tries to spin it as a life-saving situation. While Peter's unconvinced that the situation was that serious, he accepts when Bobby declares that the two of them are now even.
There's a subplot about the girls wallpapering their room. When Carol starts talking about redecorating other parts of the house to match, Mike references an earlier episode when the same situation came up while they were repainting their bedroom.
Bobby has braces at this point, which I hadn't noticed in previous episodes.
_______
Love, American Style
"Love and the Fortunate Cookie / Love and the Lady Prisoner / Love and the Opera Singer / Love and the Weighty Problem"
Originally aired November 2, 1973
"Love and the Fortunate Cookie" takes place in the San Francisco office of a fortune cookie company, where Jack (Mako) hires Anna Fung (Linda Bush) as their new secretary on sight because he wants to date her. She ends up going out with Jack's partner, Milton (Robert Ito), as well, though neither gets as far with her as each leads the other to believe. When an important client, Mr. Wu (Dale Ishimoto), takes an interest in Anna, they reluctantly surrender dibs on her to please him, but afterward fret that they may have made a mistake if Wu ends up as unsatisfied as they were. But the next day, Wu acts as pleased with her as Jack and Milton acted to each other, and sits down to sign a contract. Cut to two years later, when Jack comes in to announce to Milton that he finally scored with Anna...and we learn that he's already been married to her for seven months!
One of their cookies: A Rolling Stone gathers 200,000 bucks a year.
In "Love and the Lady Prisoner," Marilyn (Elena Verdugo) is an inmate who enjoys conjugal visits from six husbands, as she was locked up for bigamy. Somehow she's able to arrange for one of them, Mel (John Myhers), to bring a blind date for her cellmate, Thelma (Reva Rose). At first sight Thelma isn't impressed by Barry (Gino Conforti), but the guard (Bella Bruck) encourages her to give it a try before splitting the couples into separate cells. Awkward small talk between Thelma and Barry ensues, as he learns that she's been in for eight years for bank robbery, though she claims innocence.
Thelma: I mean, I don't even know if Gilligan got off his island!...Did we ever get to the Moon?...Who won the sexual revolution?
The pair starts to loosen up as they dance to a transistor radio that he brought, and she offers to help him get out of his galoshes. Cut to Marilyn being returned to the cell to find a tied and gagged Barry under the covers of Thelma's bed...Thelma having taken his winter coat and galoshes to effect an escape...which it turns out was done with Mel's cooperation, behind Marilyn's back. Marilyn tries to make lemonade by offering Barry the slot of husband #7.
In "Love and the Opera Singer," Linda (Tracy Brooks Swope) is disappointed when it seems that the lecherous doctor she's dating (Frank Welker) isn't as cultured as he's led her to believe. When he learns that she's into opera, he points her to a large portrait on his wall of his great uncle, Enrico Charisma (Avery Schreiber), allegedly the greatest tenor of his time. Linda's skeptical as she's never heard of him, so the doctor starts telling her the story of how Uncle Enrico sacrificed his voice for the love of a woman--helped along by Linda identifying operas that he only vaguely describes. We flash back to Enrico entertaining audiences while his manager, Sam Sloan (Jack Burns, the other half of the shared Burns and Schreiber credit), tries to discourage him from seeing female admirers backstage, as Enrico insists on serenading every one of them, potentially overworking his voice. Then Enrico is visited backstage by Anna Scott (Barbara Babcock), a reporter who detests opera but wants to know why women find Charisma irresistible. Charisma sees her as a challenge, pulling out all the stops when she doesn't start to undress at the sound of his singing voice. The more he demonstrates his virtuosity, the more she starts to show signs that her resistance is weakening. Finally, he sings a sustained note that shatters her like glass (with the help of an animated effect). As we return to the present, Linda's convinced that the doctor is more refined than she'd thought, though she doesn't believe his story. Cut to the doctor trying to impress another date that he brings over (Erica Hagen), but when she turns out to be into prize fighting, he switches his story to his great uncle on the wall having been Rocky Charisma.
In "Love and the Weighty Problem," Earl (Warren Berlinger) visits the home of his girlfriend as she's about to return from a trip. But when Lisa arrives (Pat Finley), both Earl and her mother (Naomi Stevens) are surprised that she's been at a Gastronomics Anonymous ranch, where she's shed her once-plump figure. Earl starts to feel threatened by the attention that Lisa's now getting from other men and her eagerness to show off her new figure, but she insists that she's still committed to him. As they reacquaint themselves, however, Earl, who still enjoys eating, is put off by the new diet that Lisa expects him to share. Earl ends up departing for the GA ranch to lose weight himself, which puts the shoe on the other foot as Lisa starts to feel threatened by the competition that a slimmed-down Earl will attract. She's relieved when he returns heavier than before...for while her roommate helped to keep her on the wagon, his was a food filcher. Earl finally makes the move of presenting her with an engagement ring.
_______
Yeah, but it's not an homage. It definitely sounds like the 70s.
I'd say that it's an homage in the lyrics, not the music.
I still haven't seen it either.
FWIW, it takes place in a "feels like the '50s" version of 1962.
"Bring on the Lucie (Freda People)" and "Out the Blue" are top-tier, and I'd put the title track, "Aisumasen," and "Meat City" just below them.
Offhand (not having listened to it for some time), I'd agree that "Out of the Blue" is a standout. "Tight A$" is a memorably fun little bit of business.
This operation did make it an effort to suspend my disbelief.
)
