The Terrible Catsafterme

SEASON 1 – NBC

Created by David Swift

Theme music by Bernard Green

• 000. Peepers – UNAIRED PILOT 1952
  • Robinson J. Peepers arrives at Jefferson City’s junior high school to begin his teaching assignment in the general science department. He meets the principal Mr. Gurney and finds out that he has arrived six months too early and his services won’t be required until the following Fall when an additional wing is built and a new class is added. Peepers is mistaken for a student by the nurse (Helen Wagner) and swept into Miss Dean’s music class. Mr. Gurney rescues him and allows him to stay at the school and assigns him to work with the existing science teacher Mr. Wadd, who would prefer to work alone. Wadd assigns Peepers menial tasks such as sharpening pencils and cleaning the equipment. When Wadd finds out that Mrs. Deen would rather sit with Peepers than go to lunch with him, he convinces Principal Gurney that he can handle the extra classroom and that Peepers is not needed. Gurney concurs and reluctantly lets Peepers go, inviting him to have lunch before he leaves. Wadd steals Peepers’ seat, and as Peepers is making his way to another table, he accidentally knocks off Wadd’s toupee, making him the laughing stock of the lunchroom. Wadd ends up disappearing in shame, so Principal Gurney assigns Peepers to take over the class. Walter Matthau plays the part of Coach Charlie Burr, although he is credited onscreen as David Tyrell. Betty Sinclair plays Miss Jellison. Penny Santon is the cook. 12/30/14

• 001. Mr. Peepers Gets a Job – 7/3/1952
  • Robinson J. Peepers (Wally Cox) arrives at Jefferson City’s junior high school to begin his teaching assignment in the general science department. The wing in which he supposed to teach is under construction so the principal Mr. Gabriel Gurney (Joseph Foley) pairs him up with another science teacher Mr. Wadd (Leonard Elliott), who would prefer to work alone. When a balloon explodes in the classroom during an experiment, Wadd blames it on Mr. Peepers, who is busy pretending to teach an empty classroom. The music teacher Miss Rayola Deen (Norma Crane) invites him to lunch and saves a seat for him. Coach Charlie Burr (David Tyrell) agrees that Peepers should join them, but Mr. Wadd swipes the seat. As Peepers is making his way to another table, he accidentally knocks off Wadd’s toupee, making him the laughing stock of the lunchroom. Wadd ends up disappearing, so Principal Gurney assigns Peepers to take his class. Betty Sinclair is Gurney’s secretary Mrs. Grace Mandible. 9/16/14
• 002. The Chess Match – 7/10/1952
  • Mr. Peepers agrees to speak at a function of the Jefferson City Wildflower Group, of which his principal’s wife Bernice Gurney (Marion Lorne) is a member, but Mr. Gurney is hellbent on having him represent the school in a chess tournament with a rival school. Meanwhile Mr. Peepers had started an exercise regimen with Coach Burr and while retrieving a basketball, has managed to get himself stuck inside the basketball hoop. Unable to get him out and too embarrassed to call the fire department, they allow Mr. Peepers to deliver the speech to the flower club while playing – and winning – the chess tournament, all from inside the basketball hoop. 9/16/14
• 003. The Ventilation System – 7/31/1952
  • Mr. Peepers has worked for two weeks and hasn’t gotten his paycheck yet, and has resorted to eating wheat germ for lunch. Miss Deen asks the cooking teacher Mrs. Mandible to feed Peepers some of the Home Economics food, but when they bring out a halibut to be prepared, Mr. Peepers drops his tie clip into the fish and gets his hand stuck in it. The paychecks finally come and Peepers gets his while fumbling with the fish on his hand. Meanwhile the janitor Mr. Floyd Feebles (Roland Wood) is trying to fix the ventilation system and Peepers’ check gets sucked into the shaft. Peepers crawls in after it and gets stuck in the shaft above Mr. Gurney’s office. Feebles reverses the air flow and blows Peepers out. He finally retrieves his check and later sits down to eat the prepared fish, when it is sucked away as well. 10/6/14
• 004. The Janitor Takes Time Off – 8/7/1952
  • With janitor Mr. Feebles suffering a leg injury – which he is faking – Mr. Gurney assigns each member of the faculty one of his duties by having them draw it out of a hat. Mr. Peepers gets the task of re-painting the lines on the volleyball court. Mr. Gurney tries to trade jobs with him since he doesn’t want to tar the roof, but Peepers refuses citing a fear of heights. When Peepers goes to use the Ajax Striper, he loses control of it while swatting a fly and it ends up painting the entire school. Gurney assigns him to work weekends to get the school clean again. Joey Walsh is Elwood and Georgia Harvey is Miss Monitor. 10/6/14
• 005. The Velvet Touch – 8/14/1952
  • When Mr. Gurney leaves town for a convention in Cleveland, the militant Ms. Velvet Clave come in to replace him temporarily as principal. After a run-in with his water cooler, Peepers catches student Jean applying lipstick and takes her to the principal’s office. Clave tells her that she’ll stay after school for a month, but Peepers insists it is too severe, invoking her ire and getting him fire. Peepers goes to the train station to head to Pine Branch, Ohio, and runs into Ms. Clave and the returning Mr. Gurney, who is furious that she had fired him and immediately asks him back. Gurney and Peepers manage to lock Clave in Peepers’ giant trunk, which is systematically tossed around. When they get back to school and she is let out, Peepers notes that she had put a nice crease in his suit. 11/8/14
• 006. Helen the Cow – 8/21/1952
  • After Mr. Peepers has a run-in with his shaving cream and mirror, Mr. Gurney notifies him that superintendent Mr. E.J. Bascomb (Gage Clarke) is coming to the school for an inspection. The visit corresponds with the day that Peepers has allowed the students to bring their pets in for show and tell. One student Norman (Donny Harris) brings in his cow Helen. Peepers is charged with hiding the cow, and searches for a location all around the school, but it ends up under the cafeteria table where they have lunch with Bascomb. He finds the cow when the table walks away. Bascomb finally leaves, barely forgiving the school. Norman tries to take Helen home, but she has a calf. Penny Santon is Mrs. Gilroy. 11/8/14
• 007. The Job Offer – 8/28/1952
  • After sharing his budget on his $43 a week salary, of which he is afforded an extra ten cents every week to save, Peepers is visited by Mr. Schraeder (Frank Albertson), an executive from a seed company, who offers him a $20,000 a year job because of an article he wrote for Petal and Stem magazine. Mr. Gurney argues with Schraeder about stealing a science teacher from Jefferson, but later reconsiders and advises Peepers to meet with the company. Peepers meets Schraeder and his boss Mr. Winckler (Ben Lackland) at a private business club. When Peepers finds out that they want him to create false speculations in order to boost their sales, he walks out. He justifies his decision by calculating that after expenses, he’d only wind up with $43 a week, the exact amount he is making at Jefferson. Graham Velsey is a waiter. 1/25/15
• 008. The School Dance – 9/11/1952
  • Peepers is decorating for the school dance and chats with Mrs. Gurney and Mrs. Mandible, who try to convince him to attend the dance. Peepers admits he has no date, and then discusses his mutual bachelorhood with fellow teacher Harvey “Wes” Weskit (Tony Randall). Peepers resigns himself to not attending…until he meets new school nurse Nancy Remington (Patricia Benoit). She agrees to go to the dance with the nervous Peepers, who asks her as she is examining kids for measles. Peepers convinces Wes to join them and he agrees since he has an obvious crush on Nancy himself. Wes gets the first dance with Nancy, but after Peepers fumbles with the punch for a while, he dances with her and they retire outside for a chat. All seems to be going well until Nancy tells Peepers he better go home. It turns out he is coming down with measles. 1/25/15
• 009. The Delinquent – 9/18/1952
  • When Peepers’ student Roscoe Lautenschlager (Tarry Green) dumps chemicals down the drain in his classroom and ruins the school’s piping, Peepers thinks that the boy needs a mentor. He goes and asks the parents Harry (Mike Kellin) and May (Virginia Smith) for permission, and then goes and applies for a fishing license – ending up with a marriage license. While fishing, Roscoe attaches Peepers’ hook to him and he ends up casting himself into the water, coming up with an under-sized fish in his boot. He is getting ready to throw him back when a game warden (Thomas Heaphy) arrests him. They go before the judge (William A. Lee), and Roscoe’s testimony gets Peepers off the hook. Mr. Lautenschlager later visits Roscoe in the classroom and ruins the ruins the piping again. Fred Stewart assumes the role of Mr. Gurney for just this one episode. 3/13/15
• 010. Episode 10 – 9/25/1952
  • Unavailable for viewing

SEASON 2

• 011. The New Job – 10/26/1952
  • Mr. Peepers is discharged from the Army and returns to Jefferson City to his old job. The faculty welcomes him home with a band and Mrs. Gurney attempts to read him a poem in Mr. Gurney’s absence in St. Louis, but can’t find her glasses. Peepers asks Wes if he thinks that he and Nancy are still an item. Mrs. Gurney finds her glasses but leaves the poem on her desk. When he visits his old room he meets the elderly Mr. Monfrede (Richard Barrows), who has a sick wife at home, and visits the superintendent Mr. Bascomb to find out the status of his job. Bascom says that in accordance with the G.I. Bill, Peepers is entitled to his old job, but Peepers doesn’t want to see Bascom lose his job. Nancy tells Peepers how kind he is to give up his job for Mr. Monfrede. Mrs. Gurney is finally able to read her poem which reveals that the school has finished a new science room for him for the Advanced Class, so that both science teachers will keep their job. Throughout the episode, people keep pulling pins out of Mr. Peepers’ suit. Joe Mantell is Peeper’s fellow soldier. 3/13/15
• 012. Meet the Parents – 11/2/1952
  • Peepers is invited over to visit with Nancy and her parents (Ernest Treux, Sylvia Field) and her old friend Freddie Willis (Murray Hamilton). Mrs. Gurney and Wes warn Peepers that he better be the life of the party to overshadow Freddie, by doing such things as telling jokes, doing bird calls, and performing magic. Peepers decides to just be himself, and consequently finds himself being largely ignored as Freddie does all of those things himself. Peepers thinks he has really blown it when he accidentally unravels Mrs. Remington’s crotchet rug, but it turns out that Mr. Remington hated the rug and Mrs. Remington was glad to have the chance to start it over. After Freddie leaves, Nancy’s parents confess that they thought that Freddie was domineering and boorish. 6/2/15
• 013. The Speech (aka Going Bowling) – 11/9/1952
  • Peepers practices bowling for their match later that evening against Wrigley High. On the way home, he encounters Mr. Remington on the bus, who mentions that he will see Peepers that night according to Nancy. Peepers doesn’t have a clue what plans he has made, but Nancy mentions that he will be giving a speech at 10pm. Wes insists that Peepers be there for the bowling match. Peepers goes to the Nancy’s house and finds out that he is supposed to give a speech about fire prevention. Mr. Remington gets Peepers to watch a Rin Tin Tin movie with him while he waits to give his speech, but unbeknownst to him, Peepers sneaks out the window to the bowling alley. The game is delayed due to a power outage, but Peepers tries to leave before the end of the game, only to quickly roll the winning frame. Peepers is interviewed on television, where the Remingtons and all of their guest view him. Peepers recovers by giving his speech on fire prevention during his interview. Katherine Squire is Mrs. Crump. Dick Dudley is George McCabe. 6/4/15
• 014. The Rare Birds – 11/16/1952
  • One morning Peepers and Wes discuss the previous year’s events relating to the repairing of the town’s clock tower. He recalls that the City Council led by the Mayor Mr. Trilling (Geoffrey Lumb) had finally voted to fix the clock which neither rang correctly nor told the right time on its face. However Peepers had recently discovered a nest of baby Myrtle Warblers in the tower. Their mother had abandoned them and he had been feeding them until they were old enough to take flight. Peepers and Mrs. Gurney go to the City Council to implore them to wait until the birds got a few days older, but they are voted down. Peepers and Wes end up camping in the clock tower and ringing it manually and setting it correctly in order to call off the clock repairman. In the end, the birds finally are old enough to fly on their own. Back in the present, Peepers has prepared a birdhouse should the events re-occur the following Spring. They then notice the bell has once again gone haywire and speculate whether it is birds or mice that are causing the ruckus. Roland Wood now plays Brophy, the night watchman. 7/26/15
• 015. Episode 15  11/23/1952
  • Unavailable for viewing
• 016. The Drive-In Movie – 11/30/1952
  • Wes gives Peepers some tickets to the drive-in movies, but Peepers finds out that Nancy has accepted a date with Freddie. He pretends to get his own date and then show up by himself, winding up parked next to Nancy and Freddie. When he accidentally pops his hood and cannot get it down, Nancy invites him into their car. Peepers attempts to get popcorn but gets in and delivers it to the wrong car. He also attempts to help fix Freddie’s flat tire but jacks up the wrong car. Freddie gets irritated with him and Peepers goes back to is own car. When it starts to snow, Nancy, who tells Peepers she wished she had come with him alone, leaves Freddie’s convertible and gets into Peepers’ jalopy. Freddie is stubborn at first but end up joining them. He apologizes to Peepers for the way he acted and they end up shaking hands. Mike Kellin is the attendant. 7/26/15
• 017. Teen-Age Crush – 12/7/1952
  • Mr. Peepers’ student Helen Fernley (Norma Jane Marlowe) develops a crush on him, causing Peepers to seek the advice of Wes. When Mrs. Gurney catches wind of the crush thanks to Helen writing about him and accidentally turning the paper into her in class, Peepers decides to visit Helen’s parents Sam (Milton Parsons) and Ethel (Meg Wyllie) and put a stop to it. Sam is an inventor and spends the entire visit talking about his inventions. The next day Helen tells her friend Mary Ellen (Ann Marie Tallon) that her father sold one of his inventions and that they will be moving to Hollywood. Helen says goodbye to Mr. Peepers, using a similar speech that Peepers had practiced delivering to her parents. 10/20/15
• 018. Sis Peepers Visits – 12/14/1952
  • Mr. Peepers picks up his homely, intelligent sister Agnes (Jenny Egan) up from the airport and brings her to the Gurney’s house to stay for a visit. Wes brings over his friend Ned Paisley (John Connell) to meet Agnes, but he leaves quickly when he realizes that Agnes is extremely intelligent. Mrs. Gurney arranges another date for her, this time with a man named Howard Croft (Gerald S. O’Loughlin). Wes advises Peepers that Agnes comes off as too smart, so he advises her to tone it down. As she gets dangerously close to acting smart for Howard, Peepers gives her numerous warnings… but when she starts discussing baseball, Howard declares it is his favorite subject to talk about. 10/20/15
• 019. Wes’ Bachelor Party – 12/21/1952
  • Peepers takes a train to the Chicago suburb of Glencoe for Wes’s stag party. He waits in library and runs afoul of the bookshelf when he can’t get a book back on, and discovers a gigantic dictionary. Wes’s fiancee Marge Bellows (Georgann Johnson) tells him that Wes will be leaving Jefferson City to work for her father in Chicago. At the stag party a French singer (Monica Boyer) makes Peepers nervous, which instigates Marge’s brother Rock (Charles Grunwell), who will be Wes’s boss at the new job, to make fun of Peepers. This causes Wes to leave the stag party… and Chicago for good. Marge catches Wes on the train and decides to head to Jefferson City with them. Jack Warden is a Chicago cab driver. Byron Russell is the butler. Stefan Gierasch is the attendant. Douglas Rodgers is Dave. 12/23/15
• 020. The Hollywood Film Company – 12/28/1952
  • Mr. Peepers feels bad that he cannot afford to contribute $20 for a silver table setting for Wes’s wedding gift, so he enters a bean-counting contest at the local drug store, where he runs afoul of uppity movie director Don Rooten (Joshua Shelley). Peepers submits his guess of 4601 beans and the director jokingly makes his guess for one more. It also turns out that Rooten and his crew are filming in Peepers’ classroom, and Peepers provokes his ire once more. Rooten ends up winning the contest, so Peepers resorts to selling his butterfly collections that is hanging in his classroom. Rooten is aghast because it will ruin the continuity of the footage he has already filmed and offers to buy the collection himself. Peepers ends up renting the butterflies to the crew for $20… and also ends up with a job as Rooten’s assistant. Gary Walberg is Howard. 12/26/15
• 021. Nancy’s Surprise Birthday Party – 1/4/1953
  • In preparation of a surprise birthday gathering he is throwing for Nancy, Peepers gets his haircut, and amidst enduring the barber Charlie’s (Parker Fennelly) old jokes, he and Wes notice the snow storm brewing outside. Back at school the snow continues to come down, and despite janitor Mr. Mumsey’s (Roy Fant) efforts to fix the furnace, soon it is freezing in the school and the buses can’t get through to take the children home, resulting in everyone having to stay the night in the school. Wes decides to brave the storm to pick up his fiancee Marge, a cake, and Peepers’ gift for Marge. They nervously wait his return, but when he makes it back, Peepers sets up a makeshift party using candles in the test tubes. The blouse that he has gotten for her is still frozen stiff when she opens it. Meanwhile Mrs. Gurney plays Cat’s Cradle with Marillee (Joy Hilton) and gets tied up in the string. 2/28/16
• 022. The Old Student – 1/11/1953
  • Mrs. Gurney introduces Edward Barnes (Mike Kellin) to Mr. Peepers in the hopes that Peepers will help him get his junior high school diploma. Barnes is the father of one of Peepers’ student and is quite a successful businessman. Barnes offers to pay off Peepers for a diploma, but Peepers insists on testing him. He fails the test and gives up. Peepers goes to see Barnes in his opulent home and meets his wife (Florence Sundstrom). He offers to take on the challenge of tutoring Barnes, and he accepts. On his final test, Barnes passes with flying colors. 12/15/14
• 023. Episode 23 – 1/18/1953
  • Unavailable for viewing
• 024. The Engagement Party – 1/25/1953
  • As future Best Man, Peepers helps his pal Wes get prepared for a dinner during which he will propose to his girlfriend Marge Bellows. They start at the candy store, and Wes gets a ticket for blaring his horn. Then Peepers and Wes are forced to wait for Marge and Nancy to get ready for dinner. They chat with Mr. Remington, while Peepers plays with the garbage disposal. When Marge arrives, she hit Wes in the elbow with the door…followed by him getting another ticket for parking in front of the driveway. At dinner at Martinelli’s, Wes is in a sour mood from his bad day. Peepers dances with Marge and she tells him how disappointed she is with Wes’ attitude. Back at the table Peepers passes Wes the engagement ring and he presents it to Marge, and apologizes for being so cranky. While they are kissing in the car, they blare the horn and Wes gets his third ticket in one day. 12/15/14
• 025. The Astronomy Class – 2/1/1953
  • Besides being upset that the bulk of his class has failed his astronomy exam and blames his own lack of knowledge on the failure, Mr. Peepers is battling a bad cold. He gets permission to let the class re-take their test and heads home to prepare review notes, but because of his cold, he can’t stay awake. Nancy and Mrs. Gurney come to take care of him, though Mrs. Gurney spends most of the time trying to get an ice cube tray out of the freezer. Wes goes to pick up Peepers’ visiting sister Agnes and suggests that Peepers allow her to take over his class to help them review. Peepers is afraid that her knowledge of astronomy will be too far over their heads. However when Peepers returns to administer the test, he finds the at they all pass. He credits Agnes, but she assures  him that it was his straightforward notes that she used that got through to them. In fact she has submitted the notes to the observatory where she works and they are going to be used for in a visitors information pamphlet. 2/28/16
• 026. The Marriage License – 2/8/1953
  • Peepers and Wes pick up Marge at the train station, and Peepers and Nancy head to the Jefferson City Court House to assist Wes and Marge in getting their marriage license. When Wes and Marge are late, Peepers and Nancy are seen at the courthouse and talk quickly makes its way back to school and then the social column in The Jefferson City Express News & Corrector that it is them who are getting married. First Peepers had to set Wes straight, then Mrs. Gurney, then Mr. Remington. However he hasn’t been able to talk to Nancy about it since she is now away in Chicago. He calls her and tells her the news, and she is surprisingly accepting of it. They continue to talk, and Peepers says that sometimes these things end up coming true. Harry Sheppard is the license clerk. 5/22/16
• 027. The School Bazaar – 2/15/1953
  • Mr. Peepers injures his finger while helping construct carnival games for the school and is tended to by Mrs. Gurney. When Nancy returns to the nurse’s office, she informs Peepers that she has received a job offer in Des Moines. Peepers is downtrodden through the bazaar as he lures customers into Mrs. Gurney’s fortune telling booth, and he contemplates kissing Nancy in the kissing booth. Wes tends the high striker game, but can’t seem to hit the bell himself, even though an old lady can do it. Peepers confesses how sad he is that Nancy is leaving to Mrs. Gurney, so she tells Nancy’s fortune and sways her toward staying. Peepers finally gives Nancy a big kiss in her booth, and finds out that Nancy has decided not to leave. He asks Wes to borrow another dollar for another kiss. Bobby Vail is Mrs. Gurney’s customer Mr. Brown. 5/22/16  
• 028. The Senator’s Visit – 2/22/1953
  • Senator Malcolm H. MacDonald (Thomas Chalmers), an alum of the junior high, is coming for a week-long visit to Jefferson City, where they plan to erect a bust of him in the park. Mr. Peepers is excited to see him and given the honor of presenting him with a scroll signed by all of the students. However when MacDonald arrives, Peepers is in one of the classrooms preoccupied with rolling the scroll back up after he dropped it, and misses the Senator altogether. Peepers then goes to see MacDonald at his hotel room, and after getting through the Senator’s secretary (Harry Townes),  the two have a nice discussion and Peepers expresses his concern that so many kids can’t go onto college because they can’t afford it. Peepers once again forgets to give MacDonald the scroll. Later as he and Nancy watch the Senator on TV, MacDonald mentions Peepers by name and how much he respected his concerns, and urges the city to skip the bust and use it toward a college scholarship, also offering to match the donation himself. Angela Adamides is Merillee. 8/23/16
• 029. Hunting for an Apartment – 3/1/1953
  • Rob and Wes drop off Nancy and Marge at Mrs. Gurney’s place, where she will host a wedding shower for Marge. Rob and West take off and go look for apartments where Wes and Marge can live after they’re married. A realtor (Heywood Hale Brown) shows them a run-down apartment which Wes can barely afford, but he is optimistic and sees ways to fix everything broken in it. Mostly Peepers comes behind him with a pen knife and fixes everything but the closet door. Wes sends Rob to go and pick up Nancy and Marge from the shower and bring her back to show her the place. Marge is only getting egg beaters for her gifts. Peepers is delayed waiting for the girls, but eventually retrieves them and they head back to the apartment. Despite the place being run-down, Marge loves the apartment. Peepers remarks how agreeable his friends are. Nancy offers congratulations on the Girls Scouts of America’s 41st anniversary. 8/24/16
• 030. Romeo and Juliet – 3/8/1953
  • A touring company of Romeo and Juliet featuring the original Broadway cast comes to Jefferson city to put on a production, and with the actresses playing Juliet and the nurse down, the producer Roger Van Arsdale (Ian Keith) looks for two local actresses to step in. Peepers suggest Nancy for the role of Juliet and Mrs. Gurney as the nurse. Mrs. Gurney hosts a dinner party at her house for Van Arsdale, who once knew Mrs. Gurney in her younger days on the stage and is told by Peepers that she is now wealthy. He works on convincing Mrs. Gurney that she could assist him by financing a new production of Macbeth for $500 with her in the lead. After a successful play, Van Arsdale quickly flees with Mrs. Gurney’s money. When Mrs. Gurney finds out about it, she feels like a fool. Nancy comforts her, while Peepers gets the police and is able to retrieve the funds that he had taken. Bill Story is the actor playing Romeo. Rex Marshall plugs the show’s sponsor Reynolds Aluminum, while Helen Wagner plugs Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil.  11/11/16
• 031. The Birthday Party – 3/15/1953
  • On the eve of his birthday, Mr. Peepers cleans his apartment in preparation for a visit from his mother (Ruth McDevitt). Wes makes Peepers nervous that his mother will show Nancy a photo of him from when he was two on a bearskin rug. Wes accompanies Peepers to pick Mom Peepers, and then has Peepers drive his mother around while Wes visits with Nancy to plan a surprise birthday party for Peepers. Mom stays with Nancy, and shows her the bearskin rug picture. After dinner, Nancy and Mrs. Peepers stall – and then rush – Peepers to get him to the surprise party at the right time. He collects his gifts, and his mother gives him his bearskin picture since it makes him so nervous for her to have it. Student Cleo Green plays the cello at the party much to Wes’s chagrin, and the Mandibles bring along a French foreign exchange student with whom Wes attempts to communicate. 11/11/16
• 032. The New Car – 3/22/1953
  • Nancy’s old friend Freddie Willis (Murray Hamilton) is in town from San Francisco and picks her up in his new car to go to lunch. This gets Peepers jealous, and also thinking that he too needs a car, so after discussing it with Wes and Mrs. Gurney, and overhearing a conversation between students Merillee (Angela Adamides) and Sylvia (Norma Jane Marlow) in which they decide which boy to choose because he has a car, he visits Patton’s Used Car Lot. The car salesman (Cliff Norton) give him some high pressure, and Peepers decides to think it over to see if he thinks he can afford it. Peepers returns from the lot and Nancy returns from her lunch date, and Nancy tells Peepers that she was didn’t enjoy lunch because Freddie only talked about his car. Nancy also says she’d be disappointed if Peepers got a car so they couldn’t play their bus ‘transfer game.’ Peepers tears up the loan application.  2/19/17
• 033. The Picnic – 3/29/1953
  • Unavailable for viewing…
• 034. The Butterfly – 4/5/1953
  • Peepers and Wes visit Walker’s Bog looking for butterfly specimens for class. After Wes falls in the bog twice, Peepers captures a butterfly that he is unable to identify. Peepers gets a telegram from a lepidopterist society indicating that he may have a rare specimen and plan to come to see it. Before they arrive Mrs. Gurney accidentally releases the butterfly. The society’s bigwig Anderson P. Henderson (David Orrick McDearmon) arrives before they can recover it, but they eventually do when it flies back in and lands on Peepers’ shoulder. Henderson offers Peepers $200 if he will pin and mount it and turn it over to him, but Peepers struggles with the thought of not allowing a rare specimen to whom he’s come attached to multiply. Wes tries to convince him that he can really use the money, and Peepers decide to accept the offer. However as he starts the process of killing the butterfly, he has a change of heart and releases it to fly away. 2/19/17
• 035. Freedom of the Press – 4/12/1953
  • As Peepers reads a newspaper from his hometown, he recalls his first day on the job as the sponsor for the Jefferson Junior High newspaper. He works closely with the students to get the paper completed by noon, at which time the school’s superintendent Mr. Bascomb will be visiting the school. Peepers prepares the class on how to behave, and despite some mixed-up signals, the visit goes well. However Bascomb takes issue with the paper’s editorial which criticizes the school’s policy to keep students off the grass. As Peepers recalls Thomas Jefferson’s words about the freedom of the press, Peepers prepares to stand up to Bascomb and defend the editorial. When Bascomb begins to outline his reasons for the school policy, Peepers finds an alternative solution whereby Bascomb will hold a press conference with the students so they can better understand the policies of the school. Jonathan Marlowe is student Elwood Hamper, Donald Harris is Tommy Sparks, and Norma Jane Marlow is Arabella Winters. 8/14/17
• 036. Nervous Wes – 4/19/1953
  • Peepers and Wes get ready to head to Chicago for Wes’s wedding, but Wes keeps overthinking the loss of his freedom and the discarding of his little black book, and struggles with cold feet. They board the train along with Mrs. Gurney and Nancy, but since the seats are so crowded, Peepers and Wes try to find a place to sleep. Peepers arranges a blanket to hold his head up but he has trouble sleeping amidst the conversation between the conductor (Floyd Buckley) and a man. Just as the train is approaching their final destination, Wes tells Peepers that he absolutely cannot go through with the marriage… but when he sees Marge on the platform, he immediately runs up to her an kisses her passionately. Peepers invites the audience to attend Wes’s wedding the following week. Frank Corsaro is the “Candy Butcher.” 8/15/17
• 037. The Wedding – 4/26/1953
  • On the morning of the wedding, an extremely nervous Wes and Peepers sit in a coffee shop in Chicago Towers and plan out the day. Peepers goes to see the tailor (Dan Morgan) to get his suit for the wedding, while Nancy helps Marge get into her wedding dress. Marge recounts the first time she met Wes and he tries to impress her by speaking French, and merely says “the pencil is on the table.” Marge’s father (Howard Freeman) brings her a card from Wes with the same French inscription on it. Mrs. Gurney stops by to offer her blessing as well. Back at the coffee shop, the waitress (Katherine Copeland) tries to comfort Wes, and Peepers shows up in a top hat and tails, so Wes tells him they were all supposed to wear blue suits. At the Little Church Among the Elms, Marge searches for something ‘old’ and gets an antique locket from Nancy, Peepers tries to help Wes’s nerve, and Mrs. Gurney finally makes it after going to the wrong church. The wedding comes off without a hitch, and as the minister (Ward Costello) delivers the vows, Peepers and Nancy stare into each other’s eyes. Peepers plugs the TV Guide that did a story on their show, and makes a plea for a donation for multiple sclerosis. The announcer extends the thanks of the cast and crew for the Peabody Award they were given. 1/30/18
• 038. Mrs. Gurney Retires – 5/3/1953
  • Mr. Peepers get ready to head out for the day and the postman Mr. Sweeney (Parker Fennelly) brings him a postcard from Wes on his honeymoon in Sun Valley, as well as his contract from the Board of Education. Peepers discusses the fact that the school forgot to include his Army term as his seniority with his landlady Mrs. Murchison (Katherine Squire). When he gets to school, he chats with Mrs. Gurney who says she is retiring before next semester like she always does, and then visits Mr. Bascombe who assists him with getting his service time corrected. Mrs. Gurney overhears Bascombe telling Peepers how great of a job he is doing and how the school needs fresh blood like him and not so many old fuddy-duddies. Mrs. Gurney then tells Bascombe that she is retiring and that she means it this time. After Mr. Peepers talks to Arabella about how much Mrs. Gurney means to the students, and then talks to Mrs. Gurney and realizes that she doesn’t really want to leave, he talks to Mr. Bascombe, who then writes Mrs. Gurney a letter that she reads to herself in class… afterward announcing that she will be back for the next semester. 1/30/18
• 039. The New Student – 5/10/1953
  • Mr. Peepers’ old friend Captain Johnny Finn (Douglas Rodgers) comes to see him and tells him that he and his wife have adopted a Chinese boy named Charley (Lawrence Lee III). Johnny hopes that he can enroll Charley in his class. While Peepers is trying to teach, Charley wanders around the room rudely and says he doesn’t belong with the other kids and wants to go hang out at the air base. Peepers goes to visit Lee Wong (Peter Chan) at the laundry to learn some Chinese phrases to show Charley he is interested in him, but Lee barely speaks Chinese himself. Mrs. Gurney catches Charley teaching the kids how to play craps; she keeps them busy until Mr. Peepers arrives by playing Twenty Questions with them. When Peepers tries to teach the class about health, Charley once again acts rude and this time leaves to go back to the airbase. Peepers goes down the air base and runs into an old acquaintance Sergeant Ehrlich (Martin Balsam), who initially finds it humorous that Charley walked out of class. However when he finds that Peepers is his teacher, he recommends that if he wants to grow up smart like his father, he will return to school… so Charley and Peepers head out together. Later Peepers announces that he just finished his first class in which Charley showed some interest. David Winters is student Walter Murdock. 10/4/18
• 040. Coming Home – 5/17/1953
  • Wes calls Peepers from Sun Valley in the middle of the night to tell him that he and Marge having a great time on their honeymoon and that they’re heading back in the morning. He asks Peepers to go over to Marge’s apartment and get the utilities turned on and accept delivery of some furniture before their arrival, while simultaneously trying to figure out what song Wes and Marge have been dancing to. The next day Peepers and Nancy head over to the apartment to get the apartment cleaned up and put away their wedding gifts, including multiple egg beaters. The movers from Hogan Van & Storage arrive with Marge’s furniture from Chicago, which consist solely of a chair and a mattress. As they clean, they begin to notice that part of the apartment are crumbling around them. Peepers meets Nancy’s father, who is a realtor, to see how to force the landlord to fix up the apartment. Mr. Remington suggest they go after the landlord, and then realizes that the building is one of his without telling Peepers. Nevertheless who uses some reserve money and gets the apartment fixed up for Wes and Marge. They are thrilled when they get home, and Wes assumes it was because he laid down the law with the realtor, not knowing that it was truly Peepers who had everything taken care of. Later amidst some extremely noisy water pipes, Wes calls Peepers to tell him that he remembered the name of the song: Be Still My Pounding Heart. Harry Clark is the head mover, and Michael Enserro is Floyd the assistant. 10/5/18
• 041. The Dinner Party – 5/24/1953
  • As they prepare to go to school, Wes laments his hair loss and invites Peepers and Nancy to the first dinner that he and Marge plan to serve as a married couple. Later Wes and Marge have to comfort each other because they are both so nervous. They can’t decide on roast beef or lamb, so Marge prepares both, in addition to four pots full of potatoes. On the nigh of the dinner, Wes nervously tries to entertain Peepers, while Nancy assists in the kitchen. Peepers eats three plates worth of food, but when he refuses a fourth, Marge thinks he doesn’t like the food. leading to an argument between her and Wes. That night Wes shows up at Peepers’ house and asks to stay the night, taking over Peepers’ bed while he sleeps on an army cot. As Wes stews about the argument, he finally realizes he is being a beast and returns home, just as Peepers finally falls through the cot. 8/6/19
• 042. The Graduation Speech – 5/31/1953
  • The end of the school year is nearing and Wes and Peepers are lamenting that each passing Junior High school year makes them feel older. During class, Peepers brings up Elwood to tell the class what he plans to do over Summer vacation, which include building a treehouse with his gang the Tarzans. Mrs. Gurney stumbles into the room thinking it is hers, and then later reveals that Mr. Boskem has to fill in giving out diplomas for the ill principal at Westbury High and won’t be able to make the graduation speech. Mrs. Gurney and Wes quickly nominate Peepers to make the speech. Wes gives Peepers tip on how to speak in public and properly use the water glass for effect. Mrs. Gurney also joins the lessons to tell him how to properly enunciate. Peepers gives a speech without water about choosing the right occupation which is well received by the faculty and students, one of whom brings him a pitcher of water after the speech has ended. 8/6/19
• 043. The Last Date Before Vacation – 6/7/1953
  • Mr. Peepers visits his barber Charlie (Dan Morgan) to get a haircut before he leaves for his Summer vacation to return to his hometown. Charlie expresses his concern that another barber will be cutting Peepers’ hair for the summer. Peepers plans to take Nancy to dinner for their last date for the next ten weeks while he is gone. Nancy’s father is lending them his car for the evening and gives him instructions on how to drive it… as irrelevant as they are. He also expresses his desire for Peepers to join his lodge Lancers of the Southern Star, which will be holding a dance that night as well. When they arrive at the restaurant, they find that it is closed on that day, so they head to another one, and wind up lost when they follow a detour. An hour later, they realize that all of the restaurants are closed by then, so they head to the lodge dance. They are able to get some sandwiches, but Mr. Remington occupies all of Peepers’ time while Nancy dances with other men. Nancy and Peepers get some quiet time outside and discuss how much Peepers will miss Jefferson City while he is gone. When they get back inside, the find that the lodge dance has ended. They have their final dance sans music. 3/4/20
• 044. The Bus Trip – 6/14/1953
  • Peepers waits at the bus station for his trip back to his home town of Williamsport, West Virginia. He is joined by Wes, Mrs. Gurney, and Nancy who all see him off. Wes gives him the book The Terrible Murder Case to read on the bus. As he attempts to read, a man known named Lance “Gabby” Train (Ben Lackland) chats with him about being on the bus for two weeks traveling the country. When Gabby turns off the light, Peepers takes his book and moves to a seat next to an elderly lady named Opal (Olive Templeton) who is traveling with her pet chicken Alfred. They make a stop at a lunch counter where Peepers tries to get the available flavors of pie from a the counter man (Fred Kareman) that is constantly interrupted by another talkative passenger named Fabian (Heywood Hale Broun). When Peepers gets back on the bus, his book is missing, but Opal shares murder tales she’s heard about. Peepers reports his missing book to the bus driver (Gerald S. O’Laughlin), but then realizes he’s not supposed to talk to the bus driver while the bus is in motion. In Williamsport, Peepers’ mother (Ruth McDevett) waits for him with Homer the station master (Joseph Sweeney), and are surprised and happy when the bus arrives on time. Mom fills in Peepers on the throw rug situation at the house. His sister Agnes parks the car and greets him as well. The bus driver finds his missing book and gives it to him, but his mother proceeds to tell him the entire plot and ending, so he donates the book into a bin collecting books for servicemen. 3/6/20
• 045. Cousin Luther – 6/21/1953
  • Peepers chats with his mother about the neighbor Mr. Rafferty who was up all night mowing the grass and his night on the town where he met up with old school chums and with Agnes about how she had a planetoid named Agnoid named after her, as they prepare for a family reunion at the house. When Peepers goes into the garage to find the ice cream maker he is greeted by his old friend Merv Holt (James Broderick) and they do a little bit of roughhousing and reminiscing about their old bottle cap collection. Peepers reminds Merv how he used to jump from the roof of the garage into a tree. Merv tries this again and ends up shaking the garage that all of the boxes stored with the ice cream maker fall on top of Peepers. The family begins to arrive and Peepers is cornered by his Uncle Lyman (Earl George) and Aunt Borghild (Paula Trueman), who can seemingly do nothing other than brag about their successful insurance salesman son Luther (Robert Emmett) who is coming in from Chicago, where he loves living. Each time they ask about Peepers’ life and he tries to answer them, they begin talking about Luther again. Sis reminds Peepers how Luther was a cruel child who once tied him to a tree. Sis also takes issue with Aunt Lillian (Reta Shaw) who keeps asking her when she plans to get married. Once Luther shows up, the family is regaled by his stories of success that his father keeps prompting him to tell. Luther insults Peepers’ suit, and Uncle Lyman implies that Peepers has seen no success because he isn’t wealthy like Luther. Peepers tells him that everyone is a different individual and that he enjoys his life in Jeffersonville and gets a real kick out of seeing his students every day. Luther later confesses to Peepers that it took a lot of guts to stand up to his father, and implies that he envies Peepers’ life even more than his own. He also tells Peepers that the reason he ties him to a tree as a child is because he was afraid that Peepers didn’t like him and would run away from hanging out with him. Doro Merande is Aunt Ralphia, whose back doesn’t feel quite right. 6/16/20
• 046. The Summer College Course – 6/28/1953
  • Wes, Marge, Nancy, and Mrs. Gurney drive up to see Peepers and to drive him on the five-hour drive to a college so that he can take a refresher course for Science teachers. His mother suggests that they stay the night and get an early start so they will be more refreshed for the journey. Then when Wes has a clumsy entrance into town and bumps into something when she parks, Mrs. Peepers is even more adamant about everyone staying. Wes stays in Peepers’ bunk beds and they stay up chatting late about the new flagpole ball in town and wind up laughing into the wee hours of the night. Likewise Marge and Nancy stay in the bed with Agnes, and they end up talking about their Summer wardrobes and Agnes’s hair. They too end up laughing all night long. Mrs. Gurney and Mrs. Peepers stay in a room together and they have more awkward conversations about gardening and other non-sequiturs that keep them up all night. By the time everyone commits to going to sleep, the alarms all go off at 4am. They load up and leave with Peepers driving, but soon everyone realizes that they can’t stay awake. Peepers decides to pull off the road and take a nap, and plan on getting an early afternoon start. 6/16/20
• 047. The Teachers College – 7/5/1953
  • Peepers visits his old school, the Upstate Teachers College, where he intents to take a science teacher’s refresher course. He makes contact with his old professor Dr. Hoffman (Michael Gorrin), who suggest that he stay at the North Hall where there is currently a vacancy. He rooms with a football player named Roy Freed (Harry Holsten), who is taking some classes to make up for once he failed so he will be eligible to play. After discussing whether Roy does or doesn’t know Peeper’s old roommate Rock Burns, Peepers tries to study, while Roy breaks out his drum set. Peepers starts to get lonely becuase he can’t seem to connect with anyone since he is much older at 28 years old, so he resorts to playing chess with himself. He runs into old friends Eddie (Lin McCarthy) and Jerry (William Smithers), and they set up a reunion at Curly’s with other fellow students Merv Hudson and Bill Davenport (Lonny Chapman) from the Class of ’48. Peepers, known to his friends as Pappy, gets there first and chats with the bartender Curly (Walter F. Appler aka William Appler), who encourages him to carve his initials in the table since he never did. Eddie, Jerry, and Bill then show up and they drink beer, toast themselves, and sing the old science song. They then realize they have very little to talk about. They then talk about a complicated practical joke they played on a fellow student… but it turns out they played it on Rob. After they talk about their old friend Floyd Patten, they again have nothing to talk about. When Jerry learns that Merv didn’t come because he stayed home to write his wife and kids, Jerry decides to leave and do the same. They toast to Jerry, and then the others leave also, leaving Peepers alone. He quietly sings the science song again, and then wanders out of Curly’s. He teaches Roy to play chess wearing ear muffs, as Roy plays drums while he plays chess. 9/29/20

SEASON 3

• 048. Missing Nancy – 9/13/1953
  • Peepers prepares to leave his mother’s house and catch a bus for home, but first has to verify for her that he hasn’t forgotten to pack his toothbrush. Agnes is leaving at the same time for work at the observatory and suffers similar delays from their mother before finally getting out the door. Upon arrival back at school, Peepers reconnects with Harvey, who tells him how he had a great summer relaxing and doing nothing, but then spells out all of the places he went and tasks his wife had him do. He also tells Peepers that Nancy has been looking for him. Harvey loads him up with books to carry his class, and he unknowingly walks past Nancy who is stacked up with towels. Nancy catches up with Mrs. Gurney, and tells her to tell Peepers she is looking for him if she sees him. Gurney roams into her class and stumbles through a back-to-school program for her class. Peepers stop by and they catch up, and she encourages Peepers to stop by the dispensary to see Nancy, but when he does, she has a “Back in 10 Minutes” sign on her door. Seconds after he walks away disappointed, she comes out and removes the sign. Peepers then goes to his own class where the students greet him. He gives instructions on how the children can get their books and supplies in the basement storage room. Nancy finally stops in his classroom, and they get alone time to stare awkwardly at each other and tell one another that they’ve missed each other after eight weeks of absence. Finally Peepers asks her to join him for a milkshake. Peepers asks the audience to forgive him for not sending a postcard over the summer because he ran out of ink in his pen. 9/29/20
• 049. The New Homes – 9/20/1953
  • Mr. Peepers spends the night over at Wes’s place while Marge is in Chicago. Wes shows him how small the bathroom is when Peepers suggest that they brush their teeth together, and then teases him that he has a plan for a larger space that he’ll share with him the next day. After Peepers gets done teaching the kids about the ghost crab, playing a recording of the sounds it makes, Wes visits his classroom and reveals the house plans that he’s piecemealed together from various magazines. Mrs. Gurney stops in and tells them that she can keep the secret, but then leaves before they can tell it to her. Meanwhile Marge share with Nancy that her father has gifted them a down payment on a house and has had his own plans drawn up. Wes and Marge have Peepers and Nancy over the next night so they unveil their plans, although neither know about the other’s. When Wes shows off the plans, Mage isn’t sure how to tell him about hers, so she asks Peepers to do it. The next day at school, Peepers offers to take them to have the mechanical drawing teacher Eugene Sullivan convert Wes’s plans to the standard prints. Wes tells him there is no need, but Peepers takes them and rushes off with them… only to return seconds later. Wes tells him that Marge already told him about the plans, then asks if Peepers returned because his conscience was bother him. Peepers says that he actually just remembered that Sullivan was off work. 1/17/21
• 050. The Home Movies – 9/27/1953
  • Peepers is trying to find a place to hang his coat in the school restroom, so he opts for the light cord, but this causes the light to go on and off as he adds objects to his jacket pockets. Wes tracks him down in the restroom and tells him that his 16mm home movies from his Chicago trip with Marge have arrived, and asks if Peepers could check out the school projector and bring it home so they can watch them. Peepers sends two students to pick up the projector and screen, but the boys fight all the way and earn a lecture form Peepers. Wes stops by his class room and asks if they get a preview of the film, which he likens to the style of Gone with the Wind and Ben Hur, but Peepers tells him that he has a class to teach. Wes has the idea to have a screening party with Peepers, Nancy, and Mrs. Gurney, who shows up with 3-D glasses. Wes anxiously has Peepers screen the film, which is an amateur work at best, dominated by scenes of wet grass, missing heads, Wes following a pretty girl while he was filming Marge, beefcake from Wes, and a dog that he found, but the most curious aspect is a smoking stranger who keeps popping up and no one seems to know who he is. Once they finish the film, a man (Louis Camuti) shows up to deliver the ice cream that Wes had ordered… and it is the smoking man from the film 1/18/21
• 051. The School Locker – 10/4/1953
  • Mr. Peepers is forced to spend extra minutes every morning going through the same ritual in order to get his locker open, hitting different areas of the locker in a precise order. On one particular day, this makes him late for class, and he is caught and lecture by the school superintendent Mr. Bascomb. Wes tells him that he shouldn’t have to live like that and that he should demand that the custodian Mr. O. Hansen (Arthur O’Connell) fix the locker. Although Hansen says he’ll be up, he doesn’t do anything because he rarely leaves the basement. Peepers goes to see him and is told that the lockers are old and need to be replaced. Peepers then goes to see Mr. Bascomb, armed with his locker door, but Bascomb goes through an entire litany of expenditures that make it impossible to afford replacing the locker, including an epidemic of broken chalkboard pointers. Peepers stops by to see Wes, and learns that Wes is the culprit who keeps breaking the pointers, and is also offered the use of Wes’s tools to fix the locker himself. He gets to work, hammering the locker from inside until the door finally opens seamlessly. However, whatever he has done now causes Wes’s locker not to open. Peepers works into the night to get Wes’s locker back up to snuff, but has returned his locker to its original state, causing him once again to resort to the original ritual to get it open. Peepers reminds the audience of Fire Prevention Week. Rex Marshall reminds the audience about the latest issue of American magazine featuring the article The Love Life of Mr. Peepers. Helen Lewis peddles Reynolds aluminum foil. 5/14/21
• 052. Episode #3.5 – 10/11/1953
  • Unavailable for viewing
• 053. Aunt Lil – 10/18/1953
  • Peepers and Nancy are at Upstate Teacher’s College, and Mrs. Gurney has been writing to Peepers weekly. Peepers’ Aunt Lil is back in Jefferson City and is staying with Mrs. Gurney, which puts Peepers in mind of the first time she came to visit him. Through flashback he recalls a day in Charlie’s (Dan Morgan) Barber Shop, where he runs into his landlady’s son Arnold (Bobby Alford), who is afraid to get a haircut. He trudges through it, and by the time he is finished he is no longer afraid. Peepers then gets his turn and tells Charlie that Lil is driving in from Williamsport, and the route when will likely take. Later he expresses concern about keeping her occupied while he’s at work. Nancy suggests that he ask Mrs. Gurney to keep her occupied with ladies events around town and she comes up with plenty of ideas. When Lil arrives, she gives Peepers the details of her journey and the truck driver who flirted with her. When he tells her about the plans he’s made for her, she tells him that she’d rather watch him teach. Wes warns him that it can be nerve racking to have someone watch you, and offers to have Marge make further plans to keep her busy at the City Museum. Peepers goes to pick her up at Mrs. Gurney’s house where she is saying, and finds them singing Button Up Your Overcoat around the piano. When he tells her about the plans, she tells him that she has her heart set on watching him teach. He finally acquiesces… and naturally stumbles over his words during his lecture. It doesn’t matter to her though, as she is enthralled and amazed. Phillipa Bevans is the mother at the barber shop. 5/14/21
• 054. The Puppies – 10/25/1953
  • Mr. Peepers gets up early to take his students’ nature group to go on a field trip to Farmer Walker’s (Roland Wood) farm. Since they only observe nature in Autumn months, they call themselves the Fall Guys. His landlady Mrs. Murchison (now played by Ruth White) gives her little boy Arnold (Bobby Alford) permission to go along, so Peepers’ reluctantly lets him go along. They all take the bus to the farm, and Mr. Peepers lectures the kids about good bus behavior between interruptions from Arnold. Mr. Adams gives the kids permission to explore, and they check out a Maple tree and chickens, while Arnold is more fascinated by a pen of puppies. On the way home, Peepers and his student Marillee (Angel Adamides) sing a song she wrote called Fall Guys All. As Peepers starts to teach it to everyone, he realizes that Arnold isn’t on the bus. He has the driver Wilbur turn around and head back to the farm, where he finds Arnold still playing with the puppies. When Arnold cries, when Peepers won’t let him take a puppy, Peepers goes ahead and buys one for an early birthday gift. Arnold names him Dog, but once they get home, Mrs. Murchison won’t let him keep the puppy. Peepers agrees to keep the puppy himself and share it with Arnold. The first night the puppy stays in his room, he prepares a space for him on the floor and covers the ground in newspapers. But Dog immediately jumps into bed with Peepers… quickly followed by Arnold. 9/7/21
• 055. The Box Lunch Social – 11/1/1953
  • Mr Peepers and Nancy go out to a movie one night, and between getting popcorned and getting shushed by an angry patron, the two spot Superintendent Bascomb at the theater. Nancy wonders if he’s lonely having bee a bachelor for over thirty years, so she decides to invite him to their box lunch social at the school, and he jumps at the chance to go. Meanwhile, Mrs. Gurney hosts a meeting to catch up with the box lunch committee, and hears from Mrs. Mandible – referred to as ‘Helen Mandle’ by Mrs. Gurney –  who reports on the decorations, and Mr. Myron Busby (Graham Velsey), who simply reports that the floor has been waxed. Harvey speaks for Peepers on the music, because Peepers is still out trying to scrounge up an act. He interviews Stokey Wilson (Don Gordon), the leader of a jazz trio, but since he needs $75 for them to perform, and Peepers can only offer $15, he has to turn down the job. Mrs. Gurney, Nancy, and Marge discuss with each other whether it is ethical to let their men know what their box lunches will look like, and Mrs. Gurney advises that they shouldn’t tell them. Since Mrs. Gurney is now a widow, she is hoping to have a better chance at finding a Prince Charming. The night of the dance, Wes auctions off the meals, and Peepers does in fact get Nancy… but Wes doesn’t get Marge. The last two standing are Mrs. Gurney and Mr. Bascomb, so Wes sells Bascomb the meal for $1.oo. The two have a nice lunch together, and Mrs. Gurney gives him a standing invitation to come to the social every year, when Bascomb tells her that he’s never actually been invited. Peepers solves the music problem by renting a player piano for the dance for just $5. 9/8/21
• 056. The Leather Chair – 11/8/1953
  • Mr. Peepers can’t seem to get his lamp fixed, so he turns to his landlady Mrs. Murchison, who cannot afford to replace it, but offers to let Mr. Peepers search through the basement to see if he can find any parts to repair it. He does indeed find a new lamp, and in addition, he finds an old leather chair with a missing leg. Mrs. Murchison tells him that he can have that as well if he wants to repair it. Peepers looks forward to spending the evening catching up on his reading since he is two weeks behind, all from the comfort of this leather chair. He goes to the library to get some books and magazines. He runs into Wes, who is there checking out books on Eli Whitney. Peepers tells him his plans to spend the evening in the leather chair, and gives him numerous reasons why he has been so on-the-go and has fallen so far behind on reading. They bid each other farewell, and Peepers heads home for his night of reading. As soon as he sits down, Mrs. Gurney call to invite him over for snacks and to be their fourth at Bridge. After she tells him who will be there, he realizes that she already has four and doesn’t really need him since she forgot to count herself among the players. As he finally starts to read, a Mayoral candidate parks himself in front of the house and blares his campaign speech from giant speakers on his car. Once that is finished, Nancy calls him to see if he wants to take her ill mother’s place in seeing The Student Prince. However, once she realizes he has been planning to read, she tells him she will find someone else. Finally, he gets to sit and read, and the light starts going on and off. He gets that fixed and is ready to begin… and then he drifts off into sleep. Charity Grace is the librarian. 3/7/22
• 057. The New Gym Teacher – 11/15/1953
  • Mr. Peepers and Mrs. Gurney have been filling in for the old gym instructor Coach Timbers, who left to get into the poultry business with his father. They are both anxious for the new gym teacher to come, because Mr. Peepers’ Biology class is way behind, and Mrs. Gurney gets vertigo when she sees someone bouncing a ball. Peepers tries to get his class caught up by teaching about insect mimicry before they move into the topic of stagnant water. Nancy brings him good news that the new gym teacher is finally coming, an All American football from Eastern University named Frank T. Whip III (Jack Warden). Nancy asks Mr. Peepers if he’d like to meet him at the train station, and Peepers accept. The two meet up and while they’re waiting, they chat amicably and get acquainted with each other. Whip talks a lot about his father, and brings along an oar from his father that intends to hang in his office. Peepers also shows him around town with what they can see from the train station. Back at the school, Wes finds out about Whip, and remembers him from school since they went to the same one. He doesn’t seem to think much of him. When Whip gets to the school, Peepers introduces him around to the other teachers, but Wes gives him the cold shoulders. Nancy suggests that Peepers talk to him, but Wes doesn’t want to talk about it. However, he lets it all out anyway, and tells Peepers that he didn’t like Whip in school because he drove around in a Cadillac and seemed to look down on people like Wes who have to work for a living. Wes warns Peepers that even though he seems nice, people can change. He then follows his own advice and decides to give Whip a chance. He invites him to join the all for dinner, and invites him to play paddle ball with him and Peepers, who is glad to see that they are now hitting it off. George Forest is Mr. Sullivan. 3/7/22

On hold until further episodes are available…

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 16th, 2000 at 5:33 pm and is filed under Television. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.