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The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet: A Wife in the Office (1964)
Archival footage from Season 9
This episode makes use of footage from the 1960 episode "David Hires a Secretary." In that episode, June Blair Nelson played one-time character "Cathy Carson," who came to work as a temporary at the law firm. In the new episode, it is implied that we are actually seeing David's wife June in the flashback footage as the Nelson's look back on her work at the office.
The use of the old scenes is a clever way to save on costs and work. This episode is now commonly available on DVD for viewing, affording fans a look at one of June's earliest appearances on the series. June is absolutely delightful and always presents some of the best and most memorable work of the very early '60s seasons of O & H. Her chemistry with David mirrors that of Ozzie and Harriet themselves: A loving couple who enjoy to kid each other at times, and we become enamored of them.
Bonanza: The Stalker (1969)
Fine work by Charlotte Stewart and David Canary
Fans of Star Trek are familiar with the work of D.C. Fontana and the writer's effort is more than acceptable for this action-packed episode of "Bonanza." Charlotte Stewart turns in a wonderful performance in one of only two appearances on the series. Her character finds herself in a tough situation, falling in love with a helpful, hard-working man (Candy Canaday) who recently shot her husband in self-defense. Candy falls for Lisa, a lovely young widow with beautiful, long blonde hair. We see their romance grow as Candy takes on the responsibilities that would have fallen to the late husband and father, leading to his desire to marry Lisa.
Excellent chemistry between Stewart and featured cast member David Canary highlights the episode, whose plot moves along at a nice pace. Although all of the Cartwrights appear as expected, Michael Landon has the smallest role this time out. He and Charlotte would later work together regularly when she took her role of Miss Beadle on Landon's series "Little House on the Prairie." Don't miss her fine effort here.
Super Friends: Professor Goodfellow's G.E.E.C. (1973)
Inventive Invention Tale -- With Life Lessons for Youths
One of the better Season 1 episodes of Super Friends. With an hour of programming on Saturday mornings, the idea was to offer lessons to the young viewers through each story, often centering on an environmental theme. This time out, Professor Goodfellow's invention allows for people to become extremely lazy; all of their former responsibilities are taken over by the machine. The invention's far-reaching abilities are effectively revealed through a good script.
The moral arises as to the value of human industriousness, along with the potential danger of unchecked reliance on technology. The youth-identification characters of Wendy and Marvin offer the writers the use of a continuing, non-superhero cast whose ordinary lives are integrated into the story. The viewer is drawn into the conflict of sorts between the G.E.E.C.'s seeming perfection versus the superheroes' cautious guard.
As a bonus, Plastic Man guest stars. Most likely the character had never been animated before, despite having been around for over 30 years at the time (though not published for several periods). Plas was a Quality Comics hero, acquired by National (DC) Comics years earlier. For this episode, DC had both Plas and their creation, Elongated Man in their stable, either of which had the necessary ability to meet the needs of the story. For comics fans of the era, the guest appearances of Plastic Man, Green Arrow, and The Flash in the early Super Friends period sparked excitement.