Alan Rafkin Movies

As the last minutes of 1959 tick away and Milwaukee prepares to ring in 1960, it looks as though New Year's Eve will hardly be an occasion for celebration in the household of Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams). Not only is Shirley suffering from a miserable cold, but Laverne has been stood up by her date. But things liven up a bit thanks to the efforts by Lenny (Michael McKean) to acknowledge the New Year by performing a "human fly" act--and he's just the insect who can do it! This episode is also known as "New Years Eve 1959". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) set sail from Milwaukee Harbor on their Great Lakes luxury cruise. While Laverne flirts harmlessly with every guy on board, Shirley enters into what she thinks is a serious relationship with handsome Ensign Benson (Philip Clark). Meanwhile, stowaways Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L. Lander) wreak their customary havoc. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Laid off from the brewery, Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) go to work for an ambitious florist. When next we see our heroines, they are attempting to peddle garden plants door to door. If the actor playing "Rudy" sounds familiar, that's because he is Ralph James, best known as the booming (but never-seen) voice of the otherworldly Orson on Mork and Mindy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

General Korshack (Ed Binns demands that Hawkeye (Alan Alda) become his personal physician. While the rest of the camp mulls over Hawkeye's imminent departure, Radar (Gary Burghoff) becomes surrogate daddy for the baby of an American GI's Korean girl friend (Suesie Elene). Both situations are resolved before the final fade-out, but the results are neither entirely happy nor entirely sad. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Carmine (Eddie Mekka) may be many things, but he's never been a criminal--or has he? Suspecting Carmine of participating in a counterfeiting ring, the FBI uses the apartment of Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) for a stakeout. Not wishing to see "The Big Ragu" go to the pen, the girls do everything in their power (and then some!) to distract the federal agents. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Mel (Vic Tayback) entrusts his precious old car to the care of Alice (Linda Lavin)--and that's his first mistake. Somehow or other Flo (Polly Holliday) gets behind the wheel of the car, resulting in an accident that literally spreads the remnants of the vehicle from one end of Phoenix to another. Still, Flo actually believes she can cover up her carelessness--and she might have gotten away with it if not for a tempestuous witness named Maria (Chi Chi Navarro). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Not only is Vera (Beth Howland) unlucky in love, but there's hardly any love to talk about. In the past three years, the guileless waitress has had three dates--and in only one instance did the guy show up. Compassionately, Alice (Linda Lavin) and Flo (Polly Holliday) join forces to set Vera up on a blind date...and the guy they manage to ensare for their friend is, to put it mildly, a real piece of work. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It seems that Laverne (Penny Marshall) can never go shopping at a department store without getting into trouble. In an earlier episode, she was falsely accused of shoplifting: this time, she is attacked by a giant toy robot! AN ambulance-chasing lawyer (Richard Karron) encourages Laverne to sue the store, with the usual hilarious results. Ironically, the "huge" robot is manned by renowned dwarf actor Billy Curtis. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

For the sake of charity, Laverne (Penny Marshall) agrees to participate in a female tag-team wrestling match. When Laverne's partner pulls up injured, Shirley (Cindy Williams) is coaxed into the ring, terrified at the prospect. And with good reason: The girls' opponents turn out to be a musclebound amazon whom they had earlier insulted during a traffic altercation. Making her first appearance as Terry Buttafucco is Judy Pioli, who as Judy Pioli Ervin also wrote several of the series' best scripts. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A made-for-TV domestic comedy, Let's Switch stars Barbara Eden as a homemaker and Barbara Feldon as her best friend, a glamorous magazine editor. Both are slightly jealous of each other's life style, so they decide to switch roles for a while. Feldon is consigned to the laundry and kitchen, while Eden makes the worldwide journalistic rounds. "There's no place like home...there's no place like home..." Let's Switch plays like an elongated half-hour sitcom, which in essence it is. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The ceiling in Bob's office collapses, forcing him and his patients to do some quick improvising. It doesn't take long for Bob to establish a reputation for having the only "floating therapy session" in Chicago. Also appearing are Lucian Scott as Mr. Vickers, Jess Nadelman as Bud Brey, Don Nagel as the waiter, and Bob Newhart's real-life father-in-law, Bill Quinn as Eddie. Written by Tom Patchett and Jay Tarses, "The Ceiling Hits Bob" was telecast on March 8, 1975 (though it was filmed much earlier), as the final third-season episode of The Bob Newhart Show. ~ 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

Suddenly possessed with a sense of social consciousness, Bob offers free counseling sessions to Miles Lascoe, a recently paroled armed robber. The new patient is relaxed enough, but Bob is a bundle of nerves. The role of Lascoe is played by Henry Winkler, just before his ascent to stardom as the Fonz on Happy Days. The first Bob Newhart Show directed by series regular Peter Bonerz, "Clink Shrink" was written by Paul B. Lichtman and Howard Storm, and first aired on January 26, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi