Lisa Gerritsen Movies

This TV-movie spin on "Lenningen vs. the Ants" not only features predatory locusts, but grasshoppers as well. The insect invasion threatens the harvest of a small rural community. Ben Johnson plays the father of one of the imperiled farm families. Ron Howard plays Johnson's son, who is considered something of a coward and therefore must prove himself as the locusts close in. Locusts premiered the same October week in 1974 that The Last Picture Show, which featured Ben Johnson in his Oscar-winning performance as Sam the Lion, made its network TV bow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The wife and daughter of travelling salesman Baxter Flynn (Alllen Garfield) are unaware that he is carrying on a secret life as a compulsive gambler--and paid mob informant. When Flynn witnesses a double murder, Ironside (Raymond Burr) is determined to force the man to give testimony against the killers. Only one problem: If Flynn shows up in court, his dirty little secrets will be revealed to the world, resulting in disgrace for his family--and, very possibly, instant death for himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The eponymous star of The Mary Tyler Moore Show launches her third season in the role of Mary Richards, the still lovable, still unmarried associate producer of "The Six O'Clock News" on Minneapolis TV station WJM-TV. Also returning are the familiar supporting characters: irascible producer Lou Grant (Edward Asner), cheerful newswriter Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod), vain-and-stupid anchorman Ted Baxter (Ted Knight), Mary's tough-talking best friend Rhoda Morganstern (Valerie Harper), and her flighty landlady, Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman). The season opener is the classic "The Good-Time News," in which Mary lobbies for a raise from her chauvinistic boss Lou, while Ted makes a public ass of himself (again!) by trying to be an on-the-air jokester. The subsequent episode "Rhoda the Beautiful" unveils the "new," svelte-and-slim Rhoda Morganstern, reflecting the well-publicized diet upon which Valerie Harper embarked during the summer hiatus (and which encouraged co-stars Edward Asner and Gavin MacLeod to drop several pounds themselves). In "But Seriously, Folks," Jerry Van Dyke, brother of Mary Tyler Moore's former sitcom co-star Dick Van Dyke, makes his first appearance as aspiring comedian (and Mary Richards' erstwhile boyfriend) Wes Callison; and in "Rhoda Morganstern: Minneapolis to New York," future series regular Georgia Engel is introduced as Ted's naïve, soft-spoken girlfriend, Georgette Fanklin. Also, Ted tries to fatten his bank account by doing embarrassing pork-sausage commercials in "Farmer Ted and the News." Phyllis' 15-year-old daughter, Bess (Lisa Gerritsen), is beside herself when her same-aged boyfriend falls for Mary in "It Was Fascination, I Know"; and in the season's most talked-about episode, Mary spends the night with former beau Tom Vernon (Joseph Campanella) in "Remembrance of Things Past." Emmy awards this season went to star Mary Tyler Moore and co-stars Valerie Harper and Ted Knight. As a bonus, season three found the series posting its highest-ever ratings, securely fastened into the number seven slot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although advertised as a "reunion" of former I Dream of Jeannie stars Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman, the made-for-TV A Howling in the Woods is actually a vehicle for Eden, with Hagman contributing a glorified cameo role. The scene is a remote wooded area in Nevada, where disillusioned housewife Liza Crocker (Eden) has arrived for a solitary camping trip. It so happens that Liza's "sanctuary" is located near the small and cloistered town where she was born -- a town that does not necessarily want to have her back. As Liza's husband, Eddie (Larry Hagman), searches for her in hopes of a reconciliation, the heroine is terrorized by the mournful sound of a howling dog, which triggers painful and frightening memories that she had hoped were long, long buried. Based on a novel by Velda Johnston, the underrated and almost unbearably suspenseful A Howling in the Woods debuted November 11, 1971, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jack Cassidy guest-stars as O'Casey, a shiftless dreamer whose get-rich-quick schemes have brought nothing but grief for his wife (Diane Baker) and daughter Cassie (Lisa Gerritsen). When O'Casey hatches a duplicitious scheme to sell and reclaim a race horse, Hoss Cartwright takes it upon himself to reform the ne'er-do-well, and to simulatenously restore Cassie's faith in her dad. Portions of David Rose's background music were later adapted for the series' classic 1972 episode "Forever." Written by old Hollywood and network-radio hand True Boardman, "Cassie" was originally shown on October 24, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Joyce Van Patten is cast as brassy comedienne Gail Spencer, who pays a visit to her friend Bill (Brian Keith) while stopping over in New York. Impressed that Gail is always "on", always ready with a joke for any occasion, Jody is inspired to become a comedian himself--but at all the wrong times, especially during school! For obscure reasons, the original TV Guide synopsis list Patience Cleveland as school principal Miss Harris, a role actually played by Sarah Selby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"How will you make it on your own?" These lyrics from the original version of the Mary Tyler Moore Show's theme song, "Love Is All Around" were the first words heard by the viewers as 30-year-old Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) left her hometown and drove into Minneapolis in the opening episode of the series' inaugural season. Hoping to find new professional vistas -- and, incidentally, to get over a failed romance -- Mary moves into an attic apartment in the building managed by pretentious flibbertigibbet Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman). Almost immediately, the sweet, insecure Mary finds herself embroiled in a war of words with her New York-born neighbor Rhoda Morganstern (Valerie Harper), who had wanted the attic room for herself. Despite this bad beginning, Mary and Rhoda would soon be the closest of friends. Answering a want ad posted by local TV station WJM-TV, Mary has an unforgettable interview with Lou Grant (Ed Asner), irascible, hard-drinking producer of the station's nightly news broadcast. "You know what?" Lou effuses to Mary. "You've got spunk." Pause. "I HATE spunk!" Even so, and despite her complete lack of experience in the TV world, Lou offers Mary the job of the newscast's associate producer. This allows her to become acquainted with the rest of the staff, including good-natured news writer Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod), weatherman Gordy Howard (John Amos), and especially anchorman Ted Baxter (Ted Knight), whose monumental ego is matched only by his miniscule brain.

Most of The Mary Tyler Moore Show's first-season episodes deal with Mary's efforts to acclimate herself to her new surroundings, her new job, and her new friends, and also her ongoing search for "Mr. Right" in the dating field. Incidentally, when the series was in development, Mary was supposed to have been a divorcée, but this notion was squelched when CBS executives, acknowledging the popularity of Mary Tyler Moore's previous series The Dick Van Dyke Show, worried that audiences would conclude that "Rob and Laura Petrie" had broken up! In another bit of trivia, it should be noted that the original pilot of The Mary Tyler Moore Show had been filmed in the traditional one-camera "movie" style, minus a live studio audience. That the decision to shoot the series with three cameras in front of a crowd was a wise one can be determined by a peek from the existing clip of the first pilot's "Mary meets Lou" sequence: the characters are there, the lines are there, but the warmth, the heart, and the immediacy are not.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ended its first season as the 22nd most popular series in America. It also took home its first Emmy awards, for Outstanding Supporting Actor (Ed Asner); Outstanding Supporting Actress (Valerie Harper); Outstanding Directorial Achievement (Jay Sandrich, for the episode "Toulouse-Latrec Is One of My Favorite Artists"); and Outstanding Writing Achievement (James L. Brooks and Allan Burns, for "Support Your Local Mother," in which Nancy Walker makes her first appearance as Rhoda Morganstern's obstreperous mom, Ida). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jody (Johnnie Whitaker) is thrilled when his Bolivian pen pal Paco Mendez (Miguel Monsalve) pays a visit to New York. Hoping to make Paco feel at home, the members of the Davis household fall over themselves giving the boy excessive attention and lavishing him with kind words. As a result, Jody begins feeling neglected--and becomes intensely jealous! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide