Norman Abbott Movies

Dinah Shore appears as herself in this episode, which was taped back when Dinah had her own popular syndicated talk show. A daily feature of Ms. Shore's program is a cooking session, and Mel (Vic Tayback) has been invited to prepare his own special chili before the cameras. Problem is, Mel can bring only one of his waitresses to appear on the show with him--and thus does a monumental battle for one-upsmanship rage amongst Alice (Linda Lavin), Flo (Polly Holliday) and Vera (Beth Howland). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Someone has lost a bag containing $40,000 in Mel's Diner. Law-abiding Alice (Linda Lavin) decides that it's the decent thing to do to seek out the owner. Alas, Alice is the only one subscribing to this line of thinking: everyone else is dreaming of how to spend the dough. If this episode enjoyed a higher rating than usual, it was probably because it originally aired the same night as the legendary finale of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

There's a new man in the life of Alice Hyatt (Linda Lavin). Unfortunately, the new man isn't really new at all--at least not so far as Alice's coworker Flo (Polly Holliday) is concerned. Seems that the man in question is "Big Daddy" Dawson (Norman Alden), Flo's first husband, a race-car driver whom she is thinking of rewedding--despite his reputation for being just as "fast" off the track as on. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Beginning its fifth successful season on Friday, September 12, 1975, Sanford and Son was essentially the mixture as before with most of the familiar regulars firmly in place. His well-publicized contract disputes more or less receding into memory, Redd Foxx was back as cantankerous Watts junk dealer Fred Sanford, with Demond Wilson as his long-suffering son and reluctant business partner Lamont. Also returning were LaWanda Page as Fred's explosively prudish sister-in-law Aunt Esther, Lynn Hamilton as Fred's sometimes fiancée Donna Harris, Don Bexley and Nathaniel Taylor as family friends Bubba and Rollo, and Hal Williams and Howard Platt as police officers Smitty and Hoppy. Conspicuously absent from the fifth-season roster were three actors who had departed for other sitcoms: Gregory Sierra (Julio Fuentes), who had moved to Barney Miller; Pat Morita (Ah Chew), who had transferred to Happy Days; and, most notably, Whitman Mayo (Grady Wilson), now starring in his own spin-off series, Grady. However, despite his new leading-man workload, Mayo would continue to make token Sanford appearances as Grady, returning to the series on a more or less regular basis after Grady (the series) folded in the spring of 1976. Additions and emendations to the Sanford format included the arrival of Marlene Clark as Janet Lawson, a widowed mother with whom Lamont would fall in love, and Edward Crawford as Janet's young son Roger. Also, Fred and Lamont Sanford would try to amplify their income by managing a boarding house, the Sanford Arms, which introduced as steady stream of recurring characters -- and also set the stage for the ultimate conclusion of Sanford and Son at the end of 1977. That denouement was still part of the distant future by the conclusion of the series' sixth season, during which Sanford ranked as America's seventh most popular weekly series. Fans were particularly gratified that NBC chose to rerun selected episodes on Wednesday evenings from April to August 1976, under the title The Best of Sanford and Son. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the last of Adam-12's Yuletide episodes, Officer Jim Reed (Kent McCord) wants to deliver a Christmas tree to a retirement home. Jim's partner Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) doesn't object to this gesture of generosity--but he does raise a howl at the notion of using Adam-12 for non-police business. Elsewhere, the two cops contend with a misguided Good Samaritan and a liquor-store robbery. Comedian (and future A-list Hollywood agent) Martin Ingels appears as a thief who spends his Holiday time siphoning gasoline from other people's cars. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Still riding high in the ratings, Sanford and Son returned to its by then traditional Friday-night NBC time slot for a third successful season on September 14, 1973. The basic premise -- crotchety old Fred Sanford running a rundown Los Angeles junk business with his restless son Lamont -- was still firmly in place, as were many of the familiar regulars: Redd Foxx as Fred; Demond Wilson as Lamont; LaWanda Page as Fred's pious, abrasive sister-in-law Aunt Esther; Lynn Hamilton as Fred's off-and-on fiancée, nurse Donna Harris; Don Bexley as Fred's wheeler-dealer buddy Bubba Hoover; Nathaniel Taylor as Lamont's foolhardy crony Rollo Taylor; Hal Williams and Howard Platt as local beat cops Smitty and Hoppy; and Gregory Sierra as the Sanfords' Puerto Rican neighbor and business rival, Julio Fuentes. The most prominent of the new recurring characters was Whitman Mayo as Grady Wilson, Fred Sanford's best friend and severest critic. Grady came in very handy when, in the middle of season three, Redd Foxx walked off Sanford and Son due to a well-publicized contractual dispute with the series' producer (of Foxx' many demands, the press chose to focus on the most trivial: the actor insisted that a window be installed in his dressing room). It was then hastily explained that Fred Sanford had gone on an extended trip to St. Louis, leaving Grady in charge of Sanford and Son Salvage -- and as temporary head of the Sanford household. Despite the temporary defection of its star, Sanford and Son continued to reap excellent ratings. By the end of the 1973-1974 season, the series ranked as the third most popular American TV program. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Eddie (Butch Patrick) would like to make the school track team, but unfortunately everyone is faster than he is. In order to help Eddie qualify, Herman (Fred Gwynne) volunteers his services as athletic coach--and as usual he bungles the assignment. Meanwhile, Grandpa (Al Lewis) tries to solve the dilemma by conjuring up a "speed pill" (no, not THAT kind of "speed"). Featured in the cast is Emmaline Henry, who would soon be seen as Mrs. Bellows on another fantasy-based sitcom, I Dream of Jeannie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Feeling unwanted and unloved after an argument with Herman (Fred Gwynne), Grandpa (Al Lewis) packs up his potions and leaves the Munster mansion. When the family finally tracks Grandpa down, they find him performing a seedy magic act in an even seedier nightclub. With this episode, Pat Priest takes over from Beverly Owen in the role of Marilyn Munster. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Herman (Fred Gwynne) comes to the rescue of little Galen Stewart (Brian Nash), who has gotten his head caught in an iron fence. Unfortunately, Galen's parents don't believe his story about being saved by a benevolent monster, and the bundle the boy off to a Viennese psychiatrist (played with a broad musical-comedy accent by Harvey Korman). It is up to Herman to convince Mr. and Mrs. Stewart that he actually exists--but this proves to be more difficult than he thinks. This is the final episode of The Munsters' first season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Thanks to a wager made by son Eddie (Butch Patrick), Herman (Fred Gwynne) finds himself commandeering the Munster Koach in a drag race. Even though he has decked himself out in a Brandoesque leather jacket, Herman proves to be no match for the pro drivers. Saving the day is Grandpa (Al Lewis), who roars onto the track in a vehicle of his own design--a motorized coffin called the "Dragula"! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Suffering from insomnia, Marilyn (Beverly Owen) takes a sleeping potion which, unbeknownst to her, has been "improved" by her Grandpa (Al Lewis). The result: Marilyn goes into a deep and possibly permanent slumber, prompting Herman (Fred Gwynne) to seek out a "Prince Charming" who will be able to awaken his niece with a kiss. Somehow this plotline also involves a brace of unemployed actors (one played by future Love Boat leading man Gavin McLeod, the other by The Incredible Shrinking Man star Grant Williams)--not to mention Grandpa's scheme to convert water into gasoline. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Told in flashback, this episode recounts the misadventures of Herman Munster (Fred Gwynne) as he prepares to attend an Army reunion. Finding that he no longer fits in his old uniform, Herman decides to go on a crash diet--a scheme that is systematically sabotaged by his wife Lily (Yvonne DeCarlo), who doesn't want her husband galavanting around with a bunch of drunken veterans. Paul Lynde returns in the role of the extremely nearsighted Dr. Dudley. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi