06:00 Man From Atlantis
07:00 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
07:30 WKRP In Cincinnati
08:00 Rising Damp
Man From Atlantis. Season 2, Episode 1. "Melt Down" Victor Buono is fantastic as Mr. Schubert returns to menace Mark Harris and - indeed - the world in general. This first episode of the regular series is a curious mixture of things that suck and things that are great fun. The stuff that sucks is as follows: the story starts when Mr. Schubert makes the water level rise by six inches all around the world, and the only person to notice this is Mark Harris! (What!?) The episode also contains several scenes with Mark and a random-girl-on-the-beach-who befriends-him. All of these scenes, and the supposed comedy they bring, are painful to watch. Finally, Patrick Duffy's Mark is such a dreadfully dull hero, it's hard to give a fig what happens to him.
Never mind, there's lot of good stuff in this episode, too. First off, I repeat that Victor Buono is superb. I can see why the producers brought him back. He's hilarious and menacing in equal measure. Mark Harris is more like a super-hero now. He spent the four movies that started the series doing very little in the way of super-heroics, but the producers have sorted that out. Mark uses his sonar powers (twice) to blow things up. Both above ground and under water. He also gets into a very physical fight with four massive goons and he has no trouble tossing them around like were fluffy toys.
With advent of the regular series, Mark and Elizabeth are no longer mere passengers on the Cetacean, they seem to be in charge of the whole thing. They run around barking orders at the crew like nobody's business. And while this makes absolutely no sense, it is definitely a lot cooler than the way things were before.
Finally, Mr. Schubert's plan is quite clever. And the episode provides one or two successful twists at the tale unfolds. I also like the special effects. Like the scene where the Cetacean must outrun some rapidly freezing water. Cool.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Episode 16. "Party is Such Sweet Sorrow" is one of the best episode so far. It's not only very funny (Mary gets drunk at her going away party) but it shows how much Mary loves the gang she works with and how much they love her. Particular Lou Grant.
WKRP In Cincinnati. Episode 63. "Secrets of Dayton Heights" Arthur Carlson is a great creation. He's the buffoon in most episodes (playing with kids toys and avoiding people as much as possible) yet when his people need someone to stand by them (in the show's more serious episodes) he is the one who is always there. This time out it is Les who needs Carlson beside him when he discovers that his mother lied to him about the identity of his father. It's a great episode. Light on laughs, but you feel that you are watching a good stage play instead. Particularly in the long final scene where Les goes to visit his father and doesn't tell him who he is. The show never tries to pull on the heartstrings and is all the more powerful because of it.
Rising Damp. Episode 5. "All Our Yesterdays" A very simple idea (one of the tenants is playing his radio too loud and annoying everyone) is used to great effect and produces a lot of laughs as the regulars gather together and try and convince themselves that they are not afraid to challenge their unpleasant co-tenant: Spooner the wrestler.
Highlight? The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Sat, Jul 5, 08 - Man From Atlantis, Mary Tyler Moore, WKRP In Cincinnati, Rising Damp
