Lou wants to return a favor to an old Army buddy, but balks when he asks for a date with Mary.Lou wants to return a favor to an old Army buddy, but balks when he asks for a date with Mary.Lou wants to return a favor to an old Army buddy, but balks when he asks for a date with Mary.
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Did you know
- TriviaThe two featured characters in this episode are played by much younger actors: Ed Asner (Lou Grant) was born in 1929 and Alex Rocco (Ben Selwyn) was born in 1936. Both characters fought in WWII and referenced an AWOL event in 1946 when the actors were 16 and 10 respectively.
- GoofsThe marksmanship awards on Lou's uniform are in the wrong place. Those types of awards are hung below the campaign ribbons; usually on left breast pocket flap.
- ConnectionsReferences Rocky (1976)
- SoundtracksLove Is All Around
Written and Performed by Sonny Curtis
Featured review
Certainly has its moments!
This is a likable episode, even if it doesn't approach the brilliance of some of the more memorable entries. Always fun to see Georgette in action, this time going to bat for Ted in her inimitable way to wangle a raise from Lou. The Lou stuff is very Lou stuff indeed, which is reliably amusing. By now, in the show's seventh and last season, viewers feel they've lived with the MTM characters, invited them into their homes as part of their own family circle.
A high point is when an enraged Mary has to be physically restrained by Lou from committing mayhem on presumptuous babe-hound Ben Selwyn. Definitely one of her more assertive moments! Contrast this with the Mary of the early seasons... Speaking of early seasons, it was in the first season that Lou was telling about his military reunions, and at that time his service wasn't given as having been in the Army but in the Marine Corps. He mentioned the discomfort of being a former Marine sergeant surrounded by former Marine privates he no longer outranked. The writers had either forgotten this detail or assumed it came up so long before that we'd have forgotten. Like reruns didn't exist?
One thing I personally like about this one is including what was almost the last television appearance of Dort Clark, who started on the small screen in 1948, when TV was new-- and the screen was small indeed. The list of his credits in TV movies and series is staggering, plus he went big-screen as well at times, and onstage too. In "South Pacific" he was a hit in the wild-man role of Luther Billis (who could forget 'Honey Bun'?), played on the screen by Ray Walston, who visited Dort to pick up some pointers for his own portrayal. Dort Clark had only one more TV appearance after Lou's reunion. Too bad he wasn't given much to do-- when the guys arrive at Mary's, he's next to Lou coming through the door, with a true Character face like a side of beef. It's really a bit part, which is a sorry waste of talent. But he was regarded highly enough to have his name in the credits, which meant better pay as well as recognition. There might be more hidden gems among the cast, but aside from Alex Rocco, Lou's other Army buddies are unnamed. Who were they?
That's a lot of the fun of these decades-old shows-- finding long-gone onscreen friends, as well as brief glimpses of up-and-coming performers who later made real names for themselves.
A high point is when an enraged Mary has to be physically restrained by Lou from committing mayhem on presumptuous babe-hound Ben Selwyn. Definitely one of her more assertive moments! Contrast this with the Mary of the early seasons... Speaking of early seasons, it was in the first season that Lou was telling about his military reunions, and at that time his service wasn't given as having been in the Army but in the Marine Corps. He mentioned the discomfort of being a former Marine sergeant surrounded by former Marine privates he no longer outranked. The writers had either forgotten this detail or assumed it came up so long before that we'd have forgotten. Like reruns didn't exist?
One thing I personally like about this one is including what was almost the last television appearance of Dort Clark, who started on the small screen in 1948, when TV was new-- and the screen was small indeed. The list of his credits in TV movies and series is staggering, plus he went big-screen as well at times, and onstage too. In "South Pacific" he was a hit in the wild-man role of Luther Billis (who could forget 'Honey Bun'?), played on the screen by Ray Walston, who visited Dort to pick up some pointers for his own portrayal. Dort Clark had only one more TV appearance after Lou's reunion. Too bad he wasn't given much to do-- when the guys arrive at Mary's, he's next to Lou coming through the door, with a true Character face like a side of beef. It's really a bit part, which is a sorry waste of talent. But he was regarded highly enough to have his name in the credits, which meant better pay as well as recognition. There might be more hidden gems among the cast, but aside from Alex Rocco, Lou's other Army buddies are unnamed. Who were they?
That's a lot of the fun of these decades-old shows-- finding long-gone onscreen friends, as well as brief glimpses of up-and-coming performers who later made real names for themselves.
helpful•11
- AnnieLola
- Sep 28, 2020
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