The Terrible Catsafterme

SEASON 1 – FX

Opening theme: “Temptation Sensation” by Heinz Kiessling

• 001. The Gang Gets Racist – 8/4/2005
  • Twin siblings Dennis (Glenn Howerton) and “Sweet Dee” Reynolds (Kaitlyn Olson) and their friends Ronald “Mac” McDonald (Rob McElhenney) and Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day) run the small bar Paddy’s Irish Pub in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dee brings her black friend Terrell (Malcolm Barrett) from her acting class to meet the guys, and after they accidentally come across as racist, they end up hiring him to help bring business to Paddy’s. Charlie has a huge crush on the waitress (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) at Java Company, but he turns her off immediately when she misconstrues him as being racist as well. Mac wants to make more black friends so he drags Charlie to a college campus to mingle. They only seem attracted to Charlie, and a black girl named Janell (Telisha Shaw) asks him out. He is not interested but takes her out to Java so that he can prove to the waitress that he is not racist. The waitress tells Janell what is going on and she punches Charlie and gives him a black eye. Meanwhile Terrell has filled up the bar with customers, but they soon realize that Terrel is gay and it has become a gay bar. Mac and Dee object to this, but Dennis and Charlie are pleased with how much they are making. Dee orchestrates getting Dennis drunk and having her acting class friends pretend they had an encounter with him, which causes him to vote to change the bar back to the way it was. It is revealed that Janell is Terrell’s sister, and that Dee’s acting friends couldn’t show for the ruse, indicating that Dennis’ gay encounters were real. 2/15/15

Read the rest of this entry »

SEASON 1 – NBC

Created by Jeff Harris and Bernie Kukoff

Theme song: “It Takes Diff’rent Strokes” composed and performed by Alan Thicke , Al Burton, and Gloria Loring

• 001. Movin’ In – 11/3/1978
  • Wealthy industrialist Philip Drummond (Conrad Bain) lives in a high rise apartment in Manhattan with his 13-year old daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato), who spends most of her time in boarding school. Big changes occur when their black housekeeper Lucy passes away and asks Phil on her deathbed to take care of her two sons. Phil hires a new housekeeper named Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae) and the moves Lucy’s sons 13-year old Willis (Todd Bridges) and 8-year old Arnold Jackson (Gary Coleman) from Harlem into his home. Mrs. Garrett nearly quits when she finds out that her new boss is bringing in two boys, but changes her mind when she finds out they are orphans. They arrive at the penthouse apartment and while Arnold is thrilled with its opulence, Willis has reservations about being a fish out of water and refuses to accept his new home. Mr. Drummond tries to make them feel welcome by getting them to participate in family fun time and then having loads of toys and a pony delivered to their house. Will is still resigned to leaving and going back to Harlem to live with another family, but after Mr. Drummond tells Willis that he is being selfish, and Arnold concurs. Willis spends some time thinking in the hot tub and decides to give living there a shot, with the stipulation that the door is always open if he wants to leave. 2/15/15

Read the rest of this entry »

SEASON 1 – CBS

Created by Carl Reiner

Theme music by Earle Hagen

• 001. The Sick Boy and the Sitter – 10/3/1961
  • Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) works as a writer for The Alan Brady Show along with fellow writers Sally Rogers (Rose Marie) and Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam), produced by Alan’s brother-in-law Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon). At home his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) fears that their son Ritchie (Larry Matthews) might be sick when he refuses a cupcake. Rob has been invited to attend a party at his boss Alan’s house, but Laura is concerned about Ritchie. Eventually Rob talks her into attending and they hire babysitter Janie (Mary Lee Dearring). Laura nervously checks her watch at the party when Rob and his staff are asked to entertain. Buddy performs his human joke machine routine, Sally performs I Wish I Could Sing Like Durante, and Rob performs as a drunk trying to hide it from his wife. When they get home they find Janie’s parents (Michael Keith as Sam, Barbara Eiler as Dotty) and Dr. Miller (Stacy Keach Sr.) at the house and nearly freak out … until they find out that Janie had bumped her head on the freezer door and Ritchie is fine. 2/14/15

  Read the rest of this entry »

SEASON 1 – FOX

Created by Larry Willmore, based on the stand-up comedy of Bernie Mac

Theme song written by Stanley Smith

• 001. Pilot – 11/14/2001
  • Bernie Mac (himself aka Bernie McCullough) is a stand-up comedian living in Los Angeles with his wife Wanda (Kellita Smith), who has to take care for his sister’s three kids Vanessa (Camille Winbush), Jordan (Jeremy Suarez), and Bryana Thompkins (Dee Dee Davis), when their mother Stacey enters rehab. Bernie addresses ‘America’ and tells the tale of how he picked them up from the airport and encountered problems immediately when Jordan has a meltdown. He introduces the rules of the house including not touching any of his things. He later has to pick up Jordan’s asthma medicine at the drug store, where Jordan has an accident and pees on the photo counter as Bernie frantically tries to get him to the restroom. Bernie gives Vanessa a hard time when she disrespects him in front of his friends Chuy (Carlos Mencia), Kelly Perine (himself), and W.B. (Reginald Ballard). She ends up calling Children’s Services about Bernie’s threats and language, and Bernie has to meet with social worker Brad Cooley (Matt Besser) who tells him he needs to quit smoking his cigars. Bernie regains some his composure when Wanda encourages Vanessa to apologize to him. Jordan apologizes as well, although Bernie isn’t sure what he did. 2/14/15

  Read the rest of this entry »

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

Read the rest of this entry »