TV EPISODE GUIDES - VOLUME I D E D I C A T I O N By Don Hinkle, Jr. (c) Copyright VanDon Software Publishing, Co., 1992 I'd like to dedicate this electronic-book, as well as this first volume, of my entire life, to everyone who has ever sat in front of a television set, and has been carried off to far-away lands and been mystified by travels impossible to man. To you, to me, to miracles! And to my daughter, Vanessa R. Davis-Hinkle. For always being there, through good and bad, thick and thin, high and low, in and out. For never giving up on me, and for always knowing that I was with you, even 600 miles away! And for having a smile, and answers when everything else seemed gloomy. Mere words can never say everything that I feel for you. You have made my life worth living, and I'll never stop loving you! I N T R O D U C T I O N The earliest memories I have are of the standard fixture in any civilized living room, the box, large or small, black or white, new or old, good or bad, working or just barely, the thing we call "the TV set." The magical light at the far end of the room, that brought a generation alive, and gave birth to the "boob tube" generation. A small box in reality, but infinite in theory. It was invented in the late 40s, and was made popular in the 50s. Today there is only one home out of a thousand that doesn't have one. Not bad for a "box" that was once thought of as a "passing fancy!" In my youth I traveled to far-away lands, distant planets, fought wars, made love, jumped out of planes, flew with Superman, made a fortune, lost a fortune, brought the car of my dreams, ventured underwater, made friends with a dolphin, tamed a grisly bear, cured diseases, fought racism, spelunked caves--and dreamed, as no other dreamer had before me. All 3 feet from the glowing wonder and without ever leaving my comfortable seat! I remember my favorite TV series was the Three Stooges, and quite to my suprize, it wasn't really a series, just old "shorts" edited into individual episodes. Much the same way the Little Rascals and Laurel and Hardy were. Whatever the cause, when I was a kid the Stooges "boomed" into the scene. Everyone I knew was watching. At school, everyone wanted to be Curly. Me? I wanted to be Shemp. I loved Curly, but figured Shemp was the odd man out, the one no one understood--just like me. As I got older I realized there were just three "Stooge stages." 1) You love them (usually as a kid). 2) You hate them (as you grow and become intellectual, they fall behind and become redundant). 3) You love them (you are now an adult. And "you are now in sing-sing!") You and I both came full-circle. In contrast, a bit of irony, women hate the Stooges. I never understood why they hate those loveable "morons." Other series I watched faithfully were Bosom Buddies, Superman, Spencer, Star Trek, Hogan's Heroes, the Honeymooners, the Great Gildersleeve, Sea Hunt, Robin Hood, the Patty Duke Show, My Two Dads, the A-Team, Doctor Who, MacGyver, Remington Steele, Riptide, Star Trek, and the all time classic, M*A*S*H. I loved them then, and I still love them now. I always dreamed of being Mike Nelson (Sea Hunt) and writing a book about my exploits. Later I dreamed of becoming a park/forest ranger. Unfortunately my life had a different calling and I ended up in other places, far from my dream. But I still carried the passion to write a book. One day I told my daughter that I was again thinking about all the things I had yet to accomplish in my life. She told me "if you feel like a book, I know it will be great." This is that book. However, I soon discovered it would be more than "just a book." It is the culmination of 50+ years of television history. So much history infact, that it had to be broken into several volumes. It was either that, or a hard drive dedicated to this television history! Instead of writing a hard cover book, limiting me to a select market, I wanted to share my passions with the people who share with me. Hence, the "electronic book." According to modern statistics, the same people who faithfully watch TV, are they same people who own a computer. MY PEOPLE!, MY FRIENDS!, MY FELLOW TRAVELLERS!!! G E T T I N G D O W N T O I T Have you ever watched a favorite show on late-night TV and wondered when the show was filmed or taped? Have you watched a show where the characters were old one day, a teen the next, and 30 the day after that? Have you seen a show in black & white in one episode, and color the next? Have you wondered where "so-n-so" entered the series? Have you wondered what shows Mel Blanc guested in? Have you heard that both Alan Alda and Mike Farrell wrote and directed episodes of M*A*S*H, and you wish you knew which they were? Or who produced what episode, directed, or even wrote a certain show? Or perhaps, which show an actor or actress started in? Do you even know the title to your favorite episode? Hummm. I'll bet you didn't even know that each episode of a show carries a "production title." This is what they go by when filming it! It is also referred to as a "working title," "show title" or "episode title." For example, the first episode of Superman (1951) was called "Superman On Earth." Or the episode of Lost In Space featuring John Carradine as the guest was titled "the Galaxy Gift." And a classic, the Honeymooners episode where everyone in the building is learning to dance, except Ralph. Oh yes! He does the Hucklebuck! The episode was titled "Mama Loves Mambo." Every show has them, but very few shows "present" them. You will never see a "production title" on M*A*S*H, the Jack Benny Show, Growing Pains, Three's Company, Bewitched, Happy Days, Father Knows Best and most others. You will see titles on Superman (the early episodes only, later they stopped presenting them), Batman, F Troop, the A-Team and a select few. (Generally, the rule is that all mystery, crime and drama, and most detective shows present them (Charlie's Angels, the Equalizer, Murder She Wrote, etc.), where comedy and campy-shows don't). I took a few years, to present them all, just for you! Now with these "Episode Guides" you can have every show, every title, every plot (story), every director, writer, producer on your desktop for instant reference. Since it was impossible to put every show ever known to man on a single volume, I have broken the volumes into nice little "packages." Each package has shows from the 50s, 60s, 70, and some include the 80s (due to the fact that shows from the 80s are still in negotiations for syndication). Those that were too long (Like Doctor Who for instance) were given volumes of their very own. Each episode of Doctor Who is actually a movie length show, edited into one large show, from 6-8 (more or less) "serials" which were shown each week). In each volume you are sure to find a show that you love! Currently available are 25 volumes, and that number is growing every day! If you don't find your favorite show in any of the volumes, I assure you, it will be here soon! This is what I do, and what I love. If however, you cannot find your favorite show on a volume, drop me a line and I'll try to accommodate you in every way possible. H E R E W E G O...! Every show has a plot that the progression follows. This is the script that they work by. Without the script, there would be no show. Our lives would be pretty boring, to say the least. However, even though there are millions of shows on reruns (professionally known as "syndication") there are still only a handful of plots of which most shows have lived by, and some have died by. Historians have commonly believed that there was never anything new under the sun, just rehashed ideas, made into new things. If this is true, than it is certainly true for the TV generations. A brief summation of all the standard plots that well known shows have used (or will follow). You can find these plots (aka "stories") hard at work in Family matters, Mr. Belvedere, Growing Pains, Who's the Boss?, and just about any TV show, past or present, even future, on prime time. STANDARD PLOTS * Someone wins a shopping spree. * Someone is challenged to an event (usually sports related) that they cannot possibly match. * Someone initiates an endless string of practical jokes, that soon gets out of control. * A group (friends, coworkers, etc.) go on a "primal" camping trip, to get in touch with their "primal self." * A back to nature episode. * Someone is chosen to do a commercial. * Someone is obsessed with someone or something. * An episode where everyone is old (usually through a dream sequence), except one person in the cast. * Someone gets "flashed" or robbed. (The perpetrator is usually caught). * Someone wants to get a tatoo, to show their affection for a loved one. * Someone buys a dump of a house, or a beat up old wreck of a car. * Someone (usually a family member) goes on a disastrous camping trip. * A horrible new neighbor moves in. * Someone inept fixes something around the house, (usually turns into a disaster.) * Someone elopes * Someone buys a stolen car or motorcycle. * A high school reunion episode. * An old friend returns, who is now a celebrity, or rock star. * An old friend returns, who hasn't changed a bit, but everyone else has. * Someone (usually friends) go on a trip of some kind, gets stranded, and nearly starve to death. * Someone doesn't make the basketball, (football, baseball, etc.) team. * Someone walks out on an unfair job. * Two old friends fall in love. * Someone gets a sexually transmitted disease. * Someone gets a promotion, and turns into a tyrant. * Someone gets married to avoid being deported. * Someone steals a friend's girlfriend. * The family goes to court (usually over something petty). * Someone moves in with the family. * Someone dies (and is usually replaced). * Someone moves out. * Someone cheats on a school test. * The house is robbed. * A fire. * A natural disaster. * Someone mistakenly thinks they've gained a promotion. * Someone thinks they are dying. * Someone buys a business (usually turns out to be a "lemon.") * A sunburn at the beach, or tanning booth. * Someone contracts a cold, (flu, measles, chicken pocks, etc.) just in time to ruin a vacation or outing. * A visit to the hospital. * A "It's a Wonderful Life" takeoff, where the principal player (lead) dreams how his/her life could have been. STANDARD ISSUES * Medicare * The homeless * AIDS * Death * Taxes * Pregnancy (usually teens involved) * Marriage * Infertility * Divorce * Relationships * Loss of virginity * Rape (or date rape) * Prostitution * Drug abuse * V.D. * Drug addiction * Child molestation * Legal proceedings (a series all in its own!) * Religion * Homosexuality * Lesbianism * Activist groups * Earth Day * Deadly toxins * Poison * Television (really!) * Murder (many a series have been founded on this one!) * Gang violence * Repression of some sort * Depression * Suicide * Various "fad" illnesses * Animal cruelty * Harm to wildlife (dolphin trapping, seal clubbing, etc.) This is just a SAMPLE of the standard plots (stories) that so many shows use. They are commonly used on comedy, drama, adventure, detective and mystery shows. They have (or will be) used on every show ever known to modern man. These plots can be tooled to any show by the professional script writer, with little effort. They are indeed masters at their craft! AND NOW FOR THE GUIDES! --END OF CHAPTER-- --NEXT CHAPTER, PLEASE--