The Terrible Catsafterme

SEASON 1 – ABC

Created by Sidney Sheldon and William Asher

Theme song written by Sid Ramin and Robert Wells. Performed by the Skip-Jacks.

• 000. Pilot – UNAIRED 1963
  • Editor Martin Lane is irritated with his San Francisco Express newspaper publisher J.R. Castle for changing his editorials, and he makes an off-the-cuff statement to the secretary that he intends to quit and move to Europe. The Lane family stuck in traffic late for work trying to meet his niece Cathy upon her arrival at the airport from Scotland. Cathy has given up on waiting for them and has gone to Martin’s office, where everyone thinks she is Patty. When she is asked where her father is, she replies that he is in Scotland. This causes Mr. Castle to assume he has quit and immediately replace him with Albert Marcus. Cathy then heads to the Lane house, where she meets Patty’s new boyfriend Richard who attempts to kiss her and gets a smack in the face. He tells her that he plans to give his ring to Sue Ellen, and dumps Patty the next time he sees her. Finally Cathy meets her new family, and everyone is astounded how much they look alike, including Patty herself, who wants to use her to see if they can pass for each other. After they practice the ‘mirror routine’ together, Patty pretends to be Cathy in front of her family but becomes upset and resentful of Cathy when they tell her how much they hope she will be a big influence on Patty, who is in need of guidance and can be very selfish. Cathy then poses as Patty in order to find out what was said. Everyone falls for it, except for Patty’s brother Ross (Charles Herbert), who can tell them apart immediately. Cathy feels horrible, so she arranges it to get Richard back for Patty, who is all too happy to be dating ‘twins’… or so he thinks. When Mr. Castle gets a look at the paper under the editorship of Marcus, he finds it too flat and demands that the secretary get Martin back. Martin happens to call in to clear the air and gets a treat when he hears Mr. Castle groveling… and promising never to touch his editorials again. Evan Nord is the stewardess. NOTE: Much of the footage from the pilot was later used as flashback sequences in the Season 1 episode The Cousins. 5/30/21

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SEASON 1 – Syndicated

Created by Gail Parent, Ann Marcus, Jerry Adelman, and Daniel Gregory Browne. Developed by Norman Lear.

Opening theme by Earle Hagen. Theme voice-over by Dody Goodman

• 001. Episode #1.1 – 1/5/1976
  • In the town of Fernwood, Ohio, housewife Mary Hartman (Louise Lasser) has a discussion with her sister Cathy Shumway (Debralee Scott) and friend Loretta Haggers (Mary Kay Place) about the mass murder of their neighbors, the Buck Lombardi family… and their goats and chicken. Reporter Harold Clemens (Archie Hahn) from The Fernwood Currier, who was in town covering the “Fernwood Flasher”, stops by talk to the ladies about the murder. Mary’s husband Tom (Greg Mullavey) works in construction with Loretta’s husband Charlie (Graham Jarvis) and Mary’s father George (Philip Bruns). They discuss the murder, and Tom and Charlie discuss how many times they make love to their wives each week. Tom buys a gun in light of the recent murder. He also rebukes the advances of his wife, saying that he only likes to make love when he initiates it… even though it has been five weeks. Charlie and Loretta have a healthier relationship even though he 43 and she is 22. He is trying to save money so that Loretta can afford to make a demo record of her country-western music. Charlie loads his shotgun and tells Loretta to keep it handy as well. Mary gets a call from police Sgt. Dennis Foley (Bruce Soloman) letting her know that her grandfather Raymond Larkin (Victor Kilian) has been arrested as the “Fernwood Flasher.” Dody Goodman appears in a preview for the next episode as Mary’s mother Martha Shumway. 3/26/15

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SEASON 1 – CBS

Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans

Theme song: “Good Times” written by Dave Grusin, Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman. Performed by Jim Gilstrap and Blinky Williams

NOTE: This series is a spin-off of the sitcom “Maude”

• 001. Too Old Blues – 2/8/1974
  • James (John Amos) and Florida Evans (Esther Rolle) live in an inner-city housing project in a black neighborhood in Chicago. with their three children James Jr. “J.J” (Jimmie Walker), Thelma (BernNadette Stanis) and Michael (Ralph Carter). After a long series of odd jobs, James takes a test and gets a letter indicating he is accepted into a government union apprentice program and foresees a bright future for him and the family. James asks Florida to throw an expensive party to celebrate the new job. However, when he shows up at the interview, he is told by the interviewer (Woodrow Parfrey) that there was a mistake and that he is too old for the job. James returns home in the middle of the party, on which Florida has spent the rent money. Florida comforts him by telling them that they’ve made it so far being broke. James continues with his odd jobs, this time working at a car wash. NOTE: This was actually the third episode filmed but was the first to air in order to add more exposition to the show. Ja’Net Dubois is the family friend Willona Woods. Matthew “Stymie” Beard is James’ friend Monty. 5/2/2015

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SEASON 1 – ABC

Created by David Levy

This series is based on the cartoon strip of the same name by Charles Addams, published in the “New Yorker” magazine

Theme song: “The Addams Family” theme by Vic Mizzy

• 001. The Addams Family Goes to School – 9/18/1964
  • Mr. Sam Hilliard (Allyn Joslyn) visits the gloomy home of the Addams family on Cemetery Lane because they have an 8-year old son Pugsley (Ken Weatherwax) and 6-year old Wednesday (Lisa Loring) who have not been enrolled in Sherwood Elementary School. Hilliard meets the kids’ parents Gomez (John Astin) and Morticia “Tish” (Carolyn Jones), Uncle Fester (Jackie Coogan), Grandmama Addams (Blossom Rock aka Marie Blake), and the family butler Lurch (Ted Cassidy) as well as witnessing all sorts of eerie strangeness and supernatural happenings that the family seems to think are normal. He flees when he is nearly hit by a flying knife thrown by Uncle Fester. Tish is all for sending the kids to school and so they meet with the vice principal Miss Comstock (Madge Blake) and enroll the kids in school. But when Wednesday comes home crying because of the book Grimm’s Family Tales, which features a dragon getting slayed. Lurch brings Hilliard back to their home where they confront him about the violent books in the school. The school ultimately takes the Addams’ advice. Ted Cassidy‘s arm portrays the family’s pet disembodied hand Thing. Rolfe Sedan is Mr. Briggs the postman. Nydia Westman is Miss Morrison. 3/24/15

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SEASON 1 – ABC

Theme song: “Hooperman Theme” by Mike Post

• 001. Hooperman (Pilot) – 9/23/1987
  • Inspector Harry Hooperman (John Ritter) is a plainclothes officer for the San Francisco Police Department, living alone in a dilapidated apartment. He has a close relationship with his elderly landlady Estelle Metzler (Maxine Stuart). Among his co-workers are his steely Captain Celeste “C.Z.” Stern (Barbara Basson), his partner Inspector Clarence McNeil (Felton Perry), dispatcher Betty Bushkin (Alix Elias), conservative Inspector Boris “Bobo” Pritzger (Clarence Felder), gay officer Rick Silardi (Joseph Gian), and officer Maureen “Mo” DeMott (Sydney Walsh), who is intent on dating Silardi. After having his car broken into, Hooperman helps get suicidal 16-year old Roger Bayshore (Philip Tanzini) off a ledge by dropping a watermelon onto the street. Once he gets to the station, he hears of the homicide of his landlady Mrs. Metezler during a robbery. Hooperman inherits the apartment building and her disagreeable Jack Russell Terrier Bijoux, which he has no place to take except for the station. When Silardi and DeMott arrest a man named Cripps (Ned Bellamy) for burglary, Bijoux tries to attack him, leading Hooperman to believe that he is the killer of Mrs. Metzler. Hooperman is able to get a warrant to search Cripps’ apartment from Judge Shinley (David Byrd) under the guise that the informant’s name is a man “B. Joux”, and finds the gun and a piece of Estelle’s jewelry. Despite the efforts of District Attorney Kimmel (Michael Holden), the Defense Attorney (Amy Aquino) and Judge Janice Neiman (Eric Yohn) get the case thrown out because the chief witness was a dog. However Hooperman is able to rouse the Cripps to anger and force him to admit that he “should have killed the dog too.” A woman named Susan Smith (Debrah Farentino) answers Hooperman’s ad for a building managers and shows up to meet him, amid a sea of complaining tenants, including T.J. (Paul Linke) and Rudy (Rod Gist). 3/23/15

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