SEASON 1 – NBC
Created by Aaron Ruben
Theme song by Earle Hagen
- 001. Diana, Substitute Mother – 4/14/1982
- At Millard Fillmore High School in Los Angeles, a student named Ginger Peterson (Cindy Fisher) follows British English teacher Diana Swanson (Lynn Redgrave) into the teachers’ cafeteria to return a book from her. This arouses the ire of the vice principal Mr. Brody (Norman Bartold), who is a stickler for the rules about students being in the teachers’ area. Both Diana and fellow teacher Gwen Edwards (Van Nessa Clarke) are much less concerned. The express their annoyance at Mr. Brody to the school principal Ben Cooper (Norman Fell), who is much more diplomatic but suggests that the rules should be followed and that the teachers shouldn’t get too close to the students. Later, while Miss Swanson works on choosing the winner of the Spring essay contest, Heroes: Past and Present, she is visited by the custodian Mr. Pafko (Richard Karron), who suggests that if he fixed her desk, he might be considered a hero himself. She also is visited by science teacher Michael Dreyfuss (Adam Arkin), who asks her out on a date. She has to decline because she is spending the evening with her apartment neighbor David (Mark Metcalf) on their laundry date. Ginger also stops by in hopes of finding out won the contest, and Miss Swanson tells her that it is her. Ginger is thrilled, until she finds out that there will be an awards ceremony for the parents of the winners, and she suddenly seems distressed. Miss Swanson tells her that if there is something bothering her, her door is always open. Miss Swanson later finds out from the gossipy school secretary, Lois McCardle (Kit McDonough) tells her that Ginger’s parents are separated and on their way to a divorce. That evening, while Diana is on her date with David at her apartment, Ginger shows up with her suitcases ready to move in. She is upset that her mother has run off on a date, while her father is living in New York. She didn’t even have the opportunity to tell her mother about her award. Miss Swanson tells her that she had better go home, as her mother would worry about her. Ginger slinks off, but on Monday morning, she still hasn’t shown up at home, and her mother (Sally Kemp) is now in Mr. Cooper’s office worried sick. Ginger had left a note that she was going to stay with Miss Swanson, the only person who cared about her. Diana feels terrible, while Mrs. Swanson blames her for not caring enough to let her stay with her. Mr. Cooper lectures her that this is why it is best to not get involved with her students. He later feels bad and stops by her apartment that evening to try and make her feel better, telling her a tale about a time he got close to a student, who used his advice to win money at the track and didn’t share with him. Mr. Cooper gets a phone call from the police, telling him that a girl fitting Ginger’s description has been last seen boarding a bus out of town. As Diana becomes even more worried, Ginger shows up at her door and tells her that she was headed to New York to visit her father in New York but then turned back when she realized that he too was probably just as damaged by the divorce as her mother was. She had already stopped at home to let her mother know that she is back. Ginger realizes that it is her parents’ decision to get divorced and that she had better learn to accept it. 2/21/25
- 002. The Dreyfuss Affair – 4/21/1982
- Mr. Brody is up in arms because he had to send two girls home for inappropriate dress at school. He asks Miss Swanson to help establish a dress code since she is from conservative England, but she explains that they are starting to wear wild clothing there too. Meanwhile, a student named Victoria (Heidi Bohay) is failing Mr. Dreyfuss’s Science class, and with an exam coming up that could make or break her grade, she asks if she can take it after the other students. He is unwilling to give her a break because she hasn’t taken the class seriously, but she tells him that if she doesn’t pass the class, she might not get the car that she is expecting for her birthday. When he still refuses, she concocts a scheme to meet with him after class and throw her arms around him, just before her friend Debbie (Leslie King) barges into the room to witness Victoria and Mr. Dreyfuss in each other’s arms. Victoria times the ruse perfectly and then report his ‘actions’ to Mr. Cooper. When he is called into to defend himself from their accusations, he is so angry at being duped that he says that he shouldn’t have to defend himself from such ridiculous claims. Mr. Cooper tells him that he will have to investigate and report it to the superintendent and suspend him in the meantime. The other teachers are all outraged, knowing that Mr. Dreyfuss would never do such a thing. Diana goes to see Mr. Cooper and tells him that he needs to do something, and he tells her that he has been trying to get Dreyfuss on the phone so that he can defend himself, while the school board tells him that he has 24 hours to prove Dreyfuss innocent, while Victoria’s father is telling him that has 24 hours to prove him guilty. Diana goes to see Dreyfuss and confront him on why he isn’t defending himself. He tells her that he was too angry to be put on trial in front of Victoria, but also second guesses himself since he his thoughts might sometimes drift to inappropriate places with the girls in his class. They both agree that it would better if they could get Debbie and Victoria apart to get their stories. The fact that girls always stick together gives Diana an idea. She calls Debbie to her room and tells her that she admires the way that she has acted as witness for Victoria. She also tells Debbie that she is in a similar situation with Mr. Cooper, but that she can never catch him in front of a witness. Debbie says that she will act as a witness by barging in on them just like she did with Victoria. Diana the asks to see Mr. Cooper at the end of the day and then stalls him until Debbie can barge into the room. Diana throws her arm around Cooper just as Debbie comes in, and then Debbie tells Cooper that this is exactly how they trapped Mr. Dreyfuss. Debbie admits it but says that Victoria threatened her to maintain the story or she’d get her kicked out of school. Cooper says that she won’t be kicked out and asks her to return tomorrow so that she can give him the real story. Cooper is so pleased with Miss Swanson’s investigative work that he gives her a hug… just as Lois walks into his office. 2/21/25
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