SEASON 1 – CBS
Created by Whitney Blake and Allan Manings
Theme song: “One Day at a Time” written by Jeff and Nancy Barry
- 001. Ann’s Decision – 12/16/1975
- Thirty-four year old Annie Romano (Bonnie Franklin), a newly divorced mother of two teenage daughters, moves herself and girls from Logansport, Indiana to Indianapolis, and gets an apartment and a job selling cosmetics. Her older daughter, the sixteen-year old Julie Cooper (Mackenzie Phillips) is attempting to arrange a camping trip with two other girls and three guys, and tries to get her mother’s quick approval to go. Annie doesn’t think it is a good idea and shuts it down quickly, leading to Julie storming off to her room. Her younger daughter Barbara Cooper (Valerie Bertinelli) is more congenial with her biggest current problem being the fact that she’s made the basketball team, but fears she won’t grow any longer. Annie also has to contend with her twenty-six year old lawyer David Kane (Richard Masur), whom she is casually dating but can’t see a future with because of their age gap, plus the building superintendent Dwayne Schneider (Pat Harrington, Jr.) who, despite being married, fancies himself a ladies man and is constantly hitting on Annie and letting himself in the apartment with his pass key. Julie emerges from her room and gives her mother an ultimatum that she will either let her go on the trip or she will return to her father Ed to live. Annie makes the quick decision to give Julie bus fare rather than be threatened. She quickly regrets it and calls Ed in a panic, after getting some advice from David that she should have at least sat down with Julie to discuss the matter. While she is talking to Ed, who is annoyed by there being two men in her apartment, Julie returns and tells her mother that she would miss her way too much to ever leave. Annie tells her that she still doesn’t want her going on the camping trip, but is going to allow it because she isn’t too sure of her decision. She also gives a speech to both girls about all of them sticking together through their mistakes. David offers to take all of the girls out to dinner, and Julie makes a phone call to her friend Trudy to tell her that despite the fight she put up, her mother wouldn’t allow her to go on the trip. 2/27/21
- 002. Chicago Rendezvous – 12/23/1975
- Ann comes home tipsy with an airline pilot named Steve Blanchard (Lyman Ward), who she met at lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Julie and Barbara are a bit shocked to see their mother kissing him when he leaves. When David stops by and finds out about him, he is more than a bit jealous. Then Schneider stops by and brings her a dozen roses, and initially claims that they are from him, but then admits that he dropped them off for Steve, along with a note and tickets to Chicago. She tries to decide whether she wants to take Steve up on the offer to go away for the weekend, and makes the mistake of turning to David for advice. He flips out and tells her how much he likes her, and tells her that he is no pushover and leaves. They share a laugh and a kiss before he goes, but she knows he is hurt. Still, she is packed and ready to go, so she tells the girls about the trip. Barbara thinks it sound fun, but Julie also thinks that the fact that she is ‘shacking up’ sounds sleazy. Ann tries to persuade them that the weekend will just be about fun and sightseeing in Chicago. She heads out and waits for the taxi to go to the airport, and while she is waiting, Schneider tells her that he understands her needs, and that sometimes it is justified to lie to your children about things being platonic. Ann carefully considers the notion of lying, and then turns around and heads back upstairs to the girls. 2/27/21
- 003. Jealousy – 12/30/1975
- Julie and Barbara have been getting to know their father Ed’s new girlfriend Candy Carruthers (Carla Borelli), a gorgeous younger TV commercial star. After attending the circus with her and having a great time, Julie looks to get tips about her ex-boyfriend Jeff (Rory Stevens), who left her from Trish the Dish. Candy suggests giving herself a makeover with makeup and false eyelashes. Ann is getting more and more irritated and jealous that Ed not only has a hot girlfriend, but that her girls seem to love her, and Julie is getting advice from her. Even David and Schneider seem smitten with her. She finally snaps at the girls for leaving the cap off of the ginger ale and making it flat. David reminds her that no matter how she feels, Ann is still their mother and responsibility for the girls. Ann laments the fact that she always has to be the bad guy, while others are having fun. Still, she tries to give Julie some sound advice, and tells her that she doesn’t need a lot of makeup to win over a boy, but when Jeff stops by the apartment, Julie goes to work at applying make and stuffing her bra. Before Jeff sees her, Julie overhears him telling Ann how much she likes Julie for being herself, and that he’s breaking it off with Trish because she’s so funny and wears too much makeup. Julie tries to get everything off, but accidentally leaves her bra partially stuffed. They all laugh it off, and Julie tells her mother that she’s right as usual. Ann tells Barb maybe they can fix the flat ginger ale by stuffing it with tissue. 5/25/21
- 004. How to Succeed Without Trying – 1/6/1976
- Ann is trying to help Julie find her earring for a date, but Barb wants her attention to help her study for an exam. Julie advises Barb to just flirty with her teacher Mr. Turner, while Ann thinks that method of thinking is outdated and sexist. David arrives at the apartment and tells Ann that he got her lined up for an interview with an account executive named Pete Holston (Robert Mandan). Julie tries to talk her into flirting with Holston in order to get the job, but she wants nothing to do with that. They end up having nice, but brief interview, but Holston says he has another appointment and will be in touch to talk later. Ann comes home raving about how nice he is, and seemed to like her for her ability, not her body, although Holston was clearly leering at her when she wasn’t looking. She later gets a call from Holston asking if he can stop by her apartment to finish the interview. Everyone thinks that he plans to put the moves on her, and both David and Schneider thinks she should take advantage of her looks to get the job. After she thinks it over, she has Julie tell Holston that Ann isn’t feeling well and will have to chat later in the office. When Ann goes in to see him, she tells him that she wanted to make sure he was only interested in her performance at the office, and not her body. He tells her how refreshing it is to hear a woman confident in her ability, and if all women were as straight-up as she is, then there would be less men taking advantage of them. Unfortunately, he’s given the job to another man, but promises to keep her in mind. Ann tells the receptionist (Louisa Moritz) that he’s clearly a good man. Then she overhears Holston giving another interviewee named Miss Hefley (Shera Danese) the same spiel, and inviting himself to her house to finish the interview, causing her to give him a hard kick to the shin. 5/25/21
- 005. David Loves Ann – 1/13/1976
- David and Ann have a fun date together, and in the course of their joking when David brings Ann home, she casually mentions that she loves him. David perks up when he hears this and becomes quite amorous… until Julie and Barbara wake up and interrupt them. David wants to include them in a conversation about marrying Ann, but she doesn’t want to talk about it. Schneider comes in and gets involved as well, much to David’s irritation. Eventually David gets frustrated with Ann unable to give him an answer, and he finally storms out and demands that she give him an answer by the end of the week. Ann explains to Barbara that she does in fact love David, but it’s not a romantic love. She also tells her how she once felt the love with their father, but she felt just as strongly about divorcing him. David comes back over the same night and see if she’s thought about it any more, and she tells him that she’s too tired to concentrate at this point. Ann goes to bed, and David tries to work on the girls to convince her to marry him, telling them how he can help financially support them. He finally drives himself crazy and charges into Ann’s bedroom demanding an answer. Schneider also returns to retrieve some soup he had earlier brought over. David and Ann finally collapse onto the floor in exhaustion, and she tells him she cannot marry him at this point. David tells her he is furious, but the soon fall asleep together on the floor. Schneider quietly sneaks them a bottle of chilled champagne for when they wake up. 9/22/21
- 006. Julie’s Best Friend – 1/20/1976
- Julie has a new, wealthy best friend named Beverly and is planning to spend the weekend with her at Beverly’s lake house. Barbara thinks she’s a snob and is tires of hearing Barbara talk about her, and the lack of clothes she has to wear for the weekend. She also asks her mother if she can send her to Armsby Hall private school. Ann has just returned from the grocery store and complains she barely has enough money for that. As if on cue, David comes over bearing an entire cart full of groceries that he spend over $100 on. Ann doesn’t like this because it make her feel dependent on someone again. Making matters worse, when David hears Barbara talking about the school, he is quick to whip out a check and write it for $900 so that she can attend the school for a semester. This too doesn’t sit well with Ann, and she refuses the check and rips it up. Barbara acts as if her mother has destroyed her life. David keeps trying to write a check, but Ann keeps tearing them up. Schneider naturally gets involved, and encourages Ann to accept the money. Ann doesn’t want to be in debt for something frivolous, nor does she want to take it as a gift, and this would put her in debt to David. Barbara tells her mother that things will never be the same, but when Barbara call and cancels their plan in favor of having another friend over, she is quick to turn to Ann for comfort. 9/22/21
- 007. Super Blues – 1/27/1976
- Ann is getting ready to throw a party for the neighbors, and as she prepares her apartment, the girls are doing their fair share of bickering. Schneider stops by to bring the mail, and when he hears she is having a party – especially one for other tenants – he seems hurt and hints that he’d like an invitation. After he leaves, Ann discovers that her garbage disposal is broken, so she has Barbara call Schneider to come fix it. Schneider mistakes the call for an invitation, so he comes up with guns blazing, dressed in party attire, and playing tricks like a hand buzzer on David and a Whoopie Cushion on Ann. When Barbara mentions the garbage disposal, Schneider realizes he was only called to fix it, and he slinks back downstairs claiming he has other plans. Meanwhile, two of the boring guests, Fred (Don Diamond) and Ginny (Fritzi Burr) show up. Ann then heads down to talk to Schneider and apologize. Schneider is depressed that he is just thought of as the superintendent, and laments he’s been single for ten years. Ann understands and also laments losing her seven-year marriage. The two talk and laugh, and Ann points out that Schneider never even made a pass at her. When she remembers there is a party going on her appointment, she heads back… and brings Schneider with her. He plays his rock and roll music on the piano and really livens it up, but then a fight ensues between Fred and another guest named Harold (John O’Leary), and Schneider, who likely caused the fracas, slinks out and reminds Ann to keep it down. 3/20/22
- 008. All the Way – 2/10/1976
- When Julie is silently stewing in her room, Barbara goes in to check on her, and Julie tells her in confidence that her boyfriend Chuck Butterfield (William Kirby Cullen) wants to sleep with her. Julie is unsure, but knows that it might mean losing Chuck if she declines one more time. His parents will be out of town that night and wants her to come over. Barbara is also unsure how to answer so she looks to her mother for help. Ann deduces that Barbara is talking about Julie, so she confronts her. Naturally Julie is furious at Barbara, but Ann wants to help nonetheless. She admits that part of her wants to tell her to stay away from Chuck altogether, but part of her also understands and wants to tell her that it is her decision. David comes over and he tries to help as well, and although he really can’t contribute helpful advice, he realizes that Julie really doesn’t want to sleep with him, so he volunteers to talk to Chuck. When Chuck arrives that night, David takes him in the bathroom and has a conversation with him. He isn’t threatening, but tells Chuck that he’s hurting Julie, who is torn and miserable over this issue. Chuck says that now that he realizes this, he will consider Julie ‘hands off’ when she comes over. It becomes clear however that he still wants Julie to sleep with him, and he tries to convince her that he really loves her. They start to kiss passionately and then Chuck turns off the lights. Ann and Julie are waiting up for her, and when she comes in with a big smile on her face, they fear the worst. However, Julie tells them that she turned Chuck down, and if he doesn’t call her again, it is his loss. She says she’s simply not ready, but that may change in five years… or the next day. Ann sullenly realizes they will have to go through this again with Barbara soon. 3/20/22
- 009. Fighting City Hall – 2/17/1976
- Ann tries to get some action from a representative named Mr. Faraday (Ken Olfson) from the Tri-State Telephone company, when a computer glitch causes her to get billed over $4000 for her $15 phone bill. Faraday can only suggest that she pay the bill and then wait for the refund when the computer catches its own error. Naturally she can’t afford to pay this bill, and is now afraid that the phone company is going to shut off her service. She has written to the Better Business Bureau, Ralph Nader, and President Ford, with the message that the bell ‘tolls for thee.’ Sure enough, the phone is cut of right in the middle of a conversation between Julie and her boyfriend Peter. David arrives and tells her that he was able to get her phone turned back on by playing golf with the manager of the phone company, making her even angrier. Meanwhile, Schneider barges in wearing his WW2 uniform, reporting that President Ford is going to be driving by their complex in an effort to avoid main streets between the airport and his hotel. He has gotten a confidential map of the President’s route from the sanitation department since they have to have the trash cans off the street. While he goes to greet the President, two Secret Service Agents, Render (Ivan Bonar) and Clark (Laurence Haddon) come to see and detain Ann. Since she wrote the letter to Ford, she is now seen as a security risk. She is dumbfounded that her letter has led to this, and furious that she wrote the President for help and is treated in such away. Various coincidental items that they find as they search the apartment seem to implicate her, such as the presidential route, and the fact that Schneider is using a rifle scope instead of binoculars to see the President. As Ann gets angrier, the Secret Service men ask how she would go about protecting the President. They tell her that they get hundreds of letters similar to her, and although most of them are harmless, they can’t take the chance, because they don’t get a second chance. She finally understands their position and they watch the President’s limo go by through the window. Schneider thinks that the hand waving out the window belongs to Ford, simply because it looks like he got it stuck in the window. 7/21/22
- 010. David Plus Two – 2/24/1976
- Ann and the girls have been doing David’s laundry since Ann lost a bet by agreeing to a trick question – “if I’m wrong, will you do my laundry?” Ann asks Ann if he will take her to see the film An Affair to Remember at the movies, but he says he has a big meeting with a client who is flying in. Julie notes how impressed she is that her mother is able to keep David at bay while remaining platonic with him and just going on dates without intimacy, although Ann assures her that she’s not trying use or abuse him. Meanwhile, they their new neighbor Denny Barnes (Susan Bay) who moved in a month earlier stops by, and David seems pretty uncomfortable but mentions that they already met in the elevator. David heads off to his meeting, but Schneider stops by to ask David to move his car. Annie finds it odd since he said he was going to his meeting, so they go up to his apartment to look for him. He won’t answer the door, but they hear music inside, so Ann has Schneider use his passkey so they can make sure he okay… only find them scantily dressed in the clothes that Annie just washed. She leaves in a huff, but then won’t take his calls, so David comes down to talk to her. He think he was within his rights to lie to her considering their relationship, or lack thereof. David winds up storming out because he feels that she had no right to barge into his place, and is also angry that he won’t admit that he is jealous. Annie is inconsolable, and then Denny shows up with ice cream to talk to her. She says she had no idea that Ann was dating him, and then is shocked to find out that they aren’t even sleeping together. Annie says she is trying to find herself and test her wings, but Denny asks how she can test her wings if she never tries to fly. She asks Denny to leave, and the calls David and asks if she can come up. He is still angry, so she has to use one of his trick questions – “If I’m wrong, can I come up?” 7/22/22
- 011. Julie’s Job – 3/2/1976
- Schneider helps Julie get a job at Arnie’s, a seedy truck stop downtown, and Julie plans to buy a broken-down car from her friend Peter with the money. However, when her mother finds out the location and details of the job, including the fact that she’d be working 4-10pm on school nights, she tells her that she can’t take the job. She says she doesn’t want Julie making the same mistakes she did, but Julie counters by reminding her that she has always said that people need to learn from their own mistakes. Annie can’t argue with her logic, so she lets her take the job. She soon finds out that her ex-husband Ed is furious that she let her take the job and claims she’s an unfit mother. Barbara also complains because she has to do Julie’s chores. David comes to take Anne out for a fancy dinner, but when he sees how upset she is about the job, he suggests they stop at Arnie’s to see how she is doing. Over at Arnie’s, Julie is having a particularly hectic night at work with a man named Milton (Roy Stuart) and his young girlfriend Sondra (Suzanne Somers) hound her about adding the date into the amount of the bill. An older couple named Herbie (John Zoller) and Hattie (Jessamine Milner) also bicker when Hattie thinks Julie has eyes for Herbie. And then a quartet of obnoxious men (John Finnegan, Tom Lawrence, Joe Petrullo, Joey Forman) come in and start ordering over top of each other, making sexual innuendo to Julie, and then finally pinch her rear end. By this time, Anne and David have arrived, and when they see what is going on, they come to the defense of Julie. When Anne gets spanked by one of the patrons, she pours water over their head. Arnie (Stanley Adams) takes the side of the customer, causing Julie to quit and stand in solidarity with her mother and David. That evening, they go home and have a fried chicken dinner. Julie finds out from Peter that he has already sold the card. She also thanks her mom for not say that she told her so, prompting Annie to do just that. Jeannie Linero is Marilyn, the other waitress. 11/15/22
- 012. The College Man – 3/9/1976
- Julie is a nervous wreck because she is preparing for a blind date with a Purdue college boy named Ken Anderson (Robby Benson), with whom her friend Marsha set her up. Julie gets even more nervous when Schneider comes over to fumigate for cockroaches and other bugs and smells up the apartment. It is evident once Ken arrives that he is attracted to Anne, and he gets to know her before Julie even comes out of her room. When he finally meets her, he doesn’t seem that interested, and when he offers to take her to a Mozart concert, she tells him that he’s more into Bowie. David comes over to spend the evening with Annie and a pizza, and jokingly invites Julie and Ken to stay with them, and Ken actually jumps at the chance. He also jumps at the chance to dance The Hustle with Anne. Julie and David spend a lot of time rolling their eyes watching David and Anne having their own conversation, and once he leaves, after calling Julie “Judy”, Julie reads her mother the riot act for being a Benedict Arnold and robbing the cradle. David takes Julie’s side and tells her that she overdid it with him. With everyone arguing, David invites Julie up to have some ice cream in his apartment. After they leave, Ken returns for his jacket, which he purposely left behind, and then proceeds to make a pass at Anne and tries to kiss her. Anne explains that she isn’t interested in him that way, even though he insists that biologically they are both in their sexual prime. Once he realizes he has struck out, he tries to slink away, but Anne stops him and ask him why he doesn’t date women his own age. He explains that after his first time with a girl his age, she laughed at him. His friends then told him that older women are grateful for attention from younger men. Anne sends him on his way but tells him to consider himself a friend of the family. As he leaves, Julie and David are returning to the apartment and run into Ken. He apologizes to Julie and offers to take her out for ice cream, a proposition she jumps at even though she’s already full of ice cream. 11/16/22
- 013. Father David – 3/16/1976
- Barbara tries to get all of her chores done in order to butter up her mother because she wants to host the end-of-the-season party for the basketball team. Ann has no problem with them having the party until she realizes it is on the Saturday that she is already scheduled to attend a wedding. She tells the girls that she won’t allow them to have it without her there to chaperone. When David stops by that day, they get the idea to ask him to chaperone, and he agrees. Ann thinks it is fine too but lays down the ground rules that they do not bring in any beer for the party. David thinks the rule is archaic but agrees to follow Ann’s house rules. Barbara however really likes a player named Pete (David-Mark Petrie) and doesn’t want to be embarrassed by her mother not allowing beer since all of the other parents seem to. Barbara tells Julie that they will just have the guys bring the beer because technically that would mean that they themselves did not bring the beer. On the night of the party, David serves everyone canned soda, but right under his nose, everyone hauls out their own cans of beer that they are hiding in a chest in the living room. The manage to fool David as he heads off to the bedroom. One of the kids named Herbie (David Levy) is giving Barbara screwdrivers that he smuggled in inside a water bottle, and she is becoming more and more drunk. When David comes out to ask them to turn down the music, he finally notices that everyone has beer and he tells Julie to get all of the beer out of the apartment. As she attempts to do this, she realizes that Barbara is drumk, and the guys break out into a beer spraying fight. This sets David off, and he tells everyone to get out of the house. He tells Barbara she needs to go to bed, but before she can get there, she has to run to the bathroom to throw up. Annie then arrives home and sees the mess, and meets a very triggered David who goes on a tirade about how the kids tricked him, and how he would never want the burden of being a parent. Annie finds the whole thing amusing, even though the house is trashed, and David finally calms down himself. As Annie is laughing at the situation, she hears Barbara throwing up in the bathroom and rushes there to help her. Derek Russell is Stretch. Cheryl Robinson is Sally. Tim Erwin is Tom. Christ Eastland is Chris. Lori Farrow is Lori. 4/23/23
- 014. Dad Comes Back: Part One – 3/23/1976
- Barbara gets a phone call from her father Ed (Joseph Campanella), who tells her that he is going to stop by that afternoon for a visit. Both she and Julie are ecstatic when they hear this. Ann is in a great mood when she comes home and announces that she got a job with a Public Relations firm. However, when they tell her about her ex’s visit, she isn’t happy about it. David also feels threatened about him coming. However, when he arrives, he merely announces that he is just there to tell them that he is going to get married to his girlfriend Vicky and wants the girls to attend. They are both crestfallen about the news, with Barbara even more upset and reduced to tears. She discusses with Julie ways that they can prevent the wedding. Barbara even volunteers to go live with him, thinking he only wants to get married because he is lonely. Ann is also taken aback by the announcement and thinks he is rushing into marriage, and her concern makes David feel insecure. Barbara is still holding out hope that her parents will get back together and realizes that they’ll have to get rid of David for this to happen. Barbara invites her father to stay for dinner and then starts bringing up their old memories. David decides to leave, even though he had made reservations at a fancy restaurant to celebrate Ann’s new job. After the girls have a good time playing Charades with their parents, they head off to bed, with Barbara hopeful that they’ll get back together. Ed and Ann discuss their marriage and how it fell being apart but realize that they’re no longer bitter and can discuss what went wrong without anger. When he gets ready to drive home, Annie offers for him to stay the night on the couch. When Julie and Barbara see that he’s staying, Barbara’s hopes get even higher that they’ll reconcile. NOTE: This is the first of a two-part episode. 4/23/23
- 015. Dad Comes Back: Part Tw0 – 3/30/1976
- After Ed spends the night in the apartment, Barbara start to get her hopes up that he and her mother are going to reconcile and get remarried. David stops by to invite Annie to go play tennis and finds out that Ed has spent the night. Even though Annie assures him that nothing happened between them, David marches off. Later, David overhears Barbara telling Schneider that she thinks they will et back together, and after David clarifies what she said, he marches up to read them both the riot act. Although he knows nothing happened, he tells them that they are getting Barbara’s hopes up for a reconciliation. They both feel terrible, and Ed thinks he has to fix it, while Annie gets annoyed that Ed thinks that she is too helpless to handle anything. Their argument escalates and reaches a boil right when the girls walk in. They don’t understand what is happening, but Barbara gets very upset by their fight. She runs to her mother and tells Ed that she never wants to see him again. Ed leaves to go back to Vicky, and Barbara tells her mother that she hates him. Annie makes her promise to never say that again and reminds her that Ed is a good father that tries hard for his girls, even if he doesn’t see eye to eye with Annie. Ed feels horrible after he leaves and comes back to once again try and smooth things over. This time Barbara is more understanding and apologetic, and they are able to accept that their parents are indeed better apart from each other than when they’re together. NOTE: This is the second part of a two-part episode. 9/6/23
SEASON 2
- 016. The Runaways: Part 1 – 9/28/1976
- Anne is getting a little irritated by Julie having her boyfriend Chuck over for dinner all of the time, but she is even more disturbed when she finds out that he has dropped out of college, and making matters worse, Julie has been skipping some of her high school classes to hang out with him in his van. Annie is most upset by the fact that Julie is now lying to her and keeping secrets. When she confronts Julie about it, Julie lets it slip that she and Chuck are engaged. Annie nearly goes into a rage until David helps her calm down. She decides to discuss it with Julie rather than debate and points out of all of the follies they will be susceptible to. Chuck returns to the apartment and gets into the conversation and tells Annie that he plans to one day run a ski lodge. Both Anne and David can clearly see that they are headed for disaster with no job, no money, no education, and no clue about what they are doing. Annie finally reaches her breaking point and throws David out of the apartment. Julie accuses her of not letting her live her own life and seeing that there are other ways of living life other than how she did. The next morning, Barbara wakes up and finds that Julie isn’t there, having left a note to tell her mother that she has run off with David, for her not to worry, and that she loves her. NOTE: This is the first part of a four-part episode. 9/6/23
- 017. The Runaways: Part 2 – 10/5/1976
- Anne reads the note from Julie and immediately calls David to come down to the apartment. Schneider also stops by, but he thinks that Julie is holding a ‘kidnap breakfast’ since he has helped Julie and Chuck jump start their van and told him that they are going to ‘kidnap’ their friends to come over for breakfast. Schneider feels terrible for helping them and tries to help by putting out APBs with his many trucker friends to look for a leopard-spotted van. They start making phone calls to find out where the kids might be, including calls with Chuck’s parents who also did not know that they had run away. Anne wants to call the police, but David tells her that they won’t look for missing kids until after 48 hours, as they assume that most kids will come back home by then. Schneider is able to get hold of truckers on his CB named Beer Belly (voice of Jim B. Smith), Rubber Duck, and Honey Wagon while using his own handle Super Stud. Anne is beside herself with worry, but has no idea what to do, blaming herself for announcing how she is now an independent woman since her divorce. Meanwhile, Julie and Chuck sit at a rest stop in their van, eating burgers and onion rings, but worrying about the fact that they only have about $80 to their name. Chuck thinks he can find work but tells Julie that his planned job in Aspen has fallen through. Julie worries that her mother is worried, and Chuck tells her that he has hurt his parents as well. They both agree that they are happy now that they are free of their parents. Chuck’s parents Hal (Howard Morton) and Alice Butterfield (K Callen) come over to Anne’s place so that they can work together to find the kids. The Butterfields put the blame on Julie, the Romanos’ religion, and the way Anne has raised Julie. The are also judgmental when both David and Schneider are introduced as Anne’s ‘friends’. Hal is also worried that David is a lawyer and that they will get sued for him taking Julie over state lines. When Anne and the Butterfields can’t seem to cooperate, the Butterfields go home, and each family promises to contact the other if they hear anything. After they leave, Julie finally calls home and tells her mother and Barbara not to worry. She tells them that they’ve agreed to let another hippy couple named Dan (John Mark Robinson) and Mary (Lane Binkley) sleep in their van for three dollars a day. Julie says they’re off to a good start, but they’ve made their decision to start a life on their own. When it becomes evident that she isn’t coming home, Anne and Barbara both break down into tears. NOTE: This is the second part of a four-part episode. 12/27/23
- 018. The Runaways: Part 3 – 10/12/1976
- Anne and Barbara can’t sleep while worrying about Julie, so they get up at 4:00am and talk about the communication gap between parents and children. Anne can’t understand why Julie doesn’t believe any advice from her but will take anything said by Chuck as gospel. Barbara admits that sometimes kids only want to hear what they want to hear. She says she can’t understand why parents want kids to act grown up, but when they try to make their own decisions, parents come down hard on them. Meanwhile, Schneider brings his CB radio back over with a message from Rest Stop Rosie (voice of Kelly Britt) for Anne’s new handle, Carrot Top. She thinks she has spotted the van, but it turns out to be a tiger striped van rather than a spotted one. Schneider apologizes for wasting Anne’s time and getting her hopes up. Both Anne and Barbara show their appreciation to Schneider by giving him kisses on the cheeks. Julie and Chuck are on their third night crammed into the van with Dan and Mary. They learn that they came from California and that Mary is only sixteen. They also find out that they met in Los Angeles while working on porno movies. Dan and Mary decide to go get breakfast at a diner, where they plan to swap their bills with someone who has just ordered coffee. As they head out, they discuss how much they could get from the stereo in the van. Julie starts to feel frustrated with their life on the road and doesn’t like their new van mates very much. Back home, Schneider brings over his CB and asks Barbara to set it up. He also brings some food for them, and then shares a message from Beer Belly, who has spotted the van on the side of the road, along with the police who have picked up Julie and Chuck and are bringing them home. Anne is ecstatic but doesn’t know what she will say when Julie gets home. The Butterfields come over to Anne’s house to meet up with Chuck when he arrives. When the officer (Ron Vernan) arrives with the kids, they turn out to be Dan and Mary rather than Chuck and Julie. They claim that they bought the van off of Chuck and Julie, but Barbara also spots that Mary is wearing Julie’s necklace that Chuck made. She claims Julie gave it to her, but Barbara said she never would do that. Anne has a meltdown, pleading to know what they did to Julie. NOTE: Jim Isaacs is credited as a used car salesman but does not appear in the episode. NOTE: This is the first of a four-part episode. 12/27/23
- 019. The Runaways: Part 4 (The Conclusion) – 10/19/1976
- Annie is frantic with worry and had been getting very little sleep while not know the fate of Julie and Chuck after the police found the couple who stole their van. Schneider tries to introduce her to some calisthenics to help her relax through exercise. Meanwhile, Julie and Chuck have moved into the ultra-seedy Empire motel in Kokomo, where they can only afford to pay their rent by Chuck giving blood. Julie decides to try and call Barbara and get her to send her some money, her bankbook, and some clothes. They try to get a derelict (Henry Proach) to call for them so that he can ask for Barbara if Annie happens to answer, but he just falls on Chuck and then takes off. Barbara does indeed answer but refuses to keep the call secret from their mother, who doesn’t know if Julie is dead or alive. She tells Julie that the only way that she’ll send anything is if she gives her the address of their motel so that their mother can deliver it in person. When Chuck realizes that the bum has stolen his wallet, Julie feels she has no choice but to give her the location. Annie shows up at the Empire with everything Julie requested, plus cookies from Barbara. It becomes clear that Julie is frustrated with their living conditions, and her relationship with Chuck is suffering from it as well. Annie tries to talk her into coming home and assures her that they can all work together to make things work again. Julie is adamant that she doesn’t want things like they were before, and she wants to be able to come and go as she pleases, see Chuck as she pleases, and be treated like an adult. If her mother doesn’t agree with these things, she won’t come home. Annie tells her not to come home if those are the terms, and then storms out. When she gets back home, Chuck’s parents are both furious that she was with them and didn’t bring them back. Barbara is also upset with her mother that Julie didn’t come home, but when Mr. Butterfield insults Annie, Barbara kicks him in the shin and throws him out. Annie admits to Barbara that it was a hard decision, but that she couldn’t stop being her mother just so that Julie could have her way. Julie and Chuck then return home on their own, and Julie tells her that it killed her when her mother walked away. Annie assures her that she is welcome to be there as it is still her home. Barbara is thrilled to see her too, and they immediately return to their bickering, which is music to Annie’s ears. Schneider rushes in with a lead on Julie’s whereabouts in Chicago, only to see that Julie is there at the apartment. 5/5/24
- 020. Barbara’s Emergence – 10/26/1979
- Barbara has a crush on a boy named Hank Basso (Michael Goodrow), but she is too scared to talk to him. Julie comes to the soda shop where they are hanging out and she helps Barabara along by pickpocketing Hank and then letting Barbara return the wallet. Barbara comes home excited to tell everyone that she had gotten a date with Hank ad that he is coming over to the apartment that night. Meanwhile, Schneider is installing a new shower head in the bathroom and comes out after seemingly having taken a shower. Annie tells Barbara that since she is going to a department store sale that night, Julie will have to stay home and chaperone in order to protect her reputation. Barbara isn’t sure how to entertain Hank, so Julie gives her some pointers and tells her to serve him a beer. Things get a little awkward when he does come over, as Barbara serves him a beer with ice in it, offers to play Scrabble, and gives him cookies that he turns his nose up at. However, Hank has heard of Julie and her exploits with her boyfriend Chuck, which has earned her the reputation of ‘Super Cooper’ and being the main subject in the Senior Problems class. Realizing that Barbara is too young and inexperienced for him, he quickly ends the date, but tells Julie that he’d like to see her sometime. Although Julie clearly isn’t interested, Barbara blames Julie for trying to steal her boyfriend. She decides that she will make everyone at school believe that she is sexually active. She starts this out by spreading the rumor that she is taking birth control pills. She flirts with two boys, Bob Morton (John Putch) and Pete (Christopher Knight) at the soda shop. When she gets home that night, her mother castigates her for trying to get a reputation by lying to people about her experience. Boys start pulling up to the apartment and honking for her, causing her mother to tell her that she is over-advertising. When her mother steps out for a minute, Hank shows up and says he wants to find out who the real Barbara is. She willingly kisses him, but then had to fend him off when he tries to drag her to her bedroom. Annie comes home in the middle of this and kicks him in the pants, and then tells Barbara that this is what happens when she gets a reputation. She runs to her mother in tears and recognizes that she has learned a lesson the hard way. 5/5/24
- 021. David’s New Job: Part 1 – 11/9/1976
- After Barbara goes bowling with Schneider’s bowling team, the Indy Plumbers, and manages to beat his horrible score, they are all surprised by the return of David from his recent trip to Los Angeles. He is in a terrific mood and tells them all that he will be sharing some great news with Ann when she gets home from work. After Schneider leaves, the girls beg him to tell them the good news, so he reveals that he has received a job offer from a top firm in Los Angeles to be a partner, and he plans on proposing to Ann and moving the entire family to California. The girls are less than enthused because they know that Ann will not accept the offer. In fact, they aren’t even so sure about leaving Indianapolis at this point in their lives, but he shows them the house that he is renting, and they are both excited about the pool and the fact that they will have their own rooms, along with all of the other perks of Hollywood life. When Ann gets home from work, she is excited to see David, and he wastes no time in bringing out a flower, a candle, and some music, causing her to actually guess that he is going to propose again. He tells her that this is the real proposal that could change their lives and then tells her about the California job. She declines, like always, staring that after just two years of divorce, she is finally finding herself and her independence. He makes his case by having her rank him in all of his qualities, and she concedes that he is a solid 10 right down the line… but it doesn’t change her decision. He then brings the girls in to help him make his case, and it is obvious that he already coached them on all of the great things about California. He also vows that he would never try to take her independence but wants her to make her decision quickly. When she refuses to commit, he asks if she loves him, and she agrees that she does. He tries to get her to say that marriage could be in their future, but she says that it doesn’t matter because he is moving to California. He responds that he is willing to give up his job and wait for her in Indianapolis, because she is his future. She falls into his arms, and he starts making plans to either marry her and then move to California, or to move to California and then marry her. Although she hugs him tight, her eyes show nothing but sadness. NOTE: This is the first of a two-part episode. 9/21/24
- 022. David’s New Job: Part 2 (Conclusion) – 11/16/1976
- Schneider and the girls get the apartment ready for the wedding, while Ann nervously tries to figure out what dress she is going to wear during the ceremony. The girls note that she has been a nervous wreck in the days leading up to the wedding, while as the day gets closer, they are feeling more melancholy about leaving Indianapolis. Schneider also laments in his own way that he will miss the girls, although he thinks boys moving in the apartment might be easier for him to get to know, also mentioning that he may one day head to the coast too. David comes over to tell Ann that he is inviting his Aunt Rose, while the girls try to cheer her up with some jokes about the wedding. She nearly melts down about everyone trying to cheer her up, but then composes herself and tells David that she just has some wedding day jitters. The two kiss, and she tells him how he is her rock, and she is happy that he was strong enough to force her into the marriage. He doesn’t care for the term ‘force’ but accepts it and tries to convince her how great life will be in California. When he mentions that they will be near a day-care school, she questions why that would matter, so he tells her that he plans to have kids with her. This is a shock to her, and she tell him that she never planned to have any more kids. He thinks she is being selfish since he has never had that experience. As they are arguing, Reverend Howland (Alan Brasington) comes over to meet them before the wedding, but has trouble getting a word in edgewise, as the two of them bicker about the prospect of having children. He slips away so that they can argue amongst themselves, and David continues to tell her how selfish she is being, but then tells her that he will sacrifice having children. She suddenly realizes that she doesn’t want him to sacrifice any more for her, and she tells him that she has indeed been selfish and has used him as a friend, a lover, and a surrogate father for the girls. He admits that he knew this all along but allowed her to use him in that way. She tells him that things are over, and he agrees that they can’t go on this way. As he leaves while telling her how he will take care of many of the logistics of their wedding and their move, as Ann slowly breaks down and tells him that she loves him. After he tells her that he will contact his Aunt Rose and leaves, she sits down alone, telling herself that she is scared. 9/21/24
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