Tue, Jan 20, 1976
Loretta considers not going to Nashville since Heather is missing. Mary finds out the truth about Tom. Loretta gets some good news. Cathy admits she's in love with Steve. Tom tries to finish things with Mae. Mary and Martha have a fight, while Heather returns home with disturbing news.
Mon, Feb 9, 1976
After leaving Mae, Tom avoids Mary with claims of having a headache and coming down with the flu. Loretta is taken away for tests. Charlie learns from Sgt. Foley that the Vega caught fire and destroyed the demonstration records. The bad news continues when Dr. Hastings informs Charlie and the Shumways that Loretta will be crippled for life without a dangerous operation. Tom confesses to Mary that he gave her a venereal disease. Mary thinks her life is starting to sound like a soap opera.
Tue, Feb 10, 1976
Martha phones Mary after seeing Tom arrive at the Haggers house with his suitcases, but Mary refuses to elaborate. Martha is further distressed when Cathy reveals that George plans to run for office in the next union election. Charlie welcomes Tom as a house guest but is preoccupied with Loretta's back surgery. Mary gives Loretta a Milky Way before surgery and visits the library where she asks Mrs. Delorean for books on social diseases. Cathy stops by Mary's kitchen with news that she got a job in a massage parlor. Charlie receives bad news about Loretta.
Wed, Feb 11, 1976
Dr. Hastings informs Charlie that Loretta's surgery didn't get the results they hoped for. Roberta is upset by the reaction of friends to her date with Grandpa Larkin. George sides with Cathy when Martha is upset about Cathy's new job in the massage parlor. Charlie learns that his insurance company has refused to pay Loretta's hospital bill. Mary, Tom, and Mae all find themselves seeking treatment in Dr. Miller's office.
Thu, Feb 12, 1976
Mary gives Tom to Mae, insisting she no longer wants him as her husband. Cathy's work uniform shocks Martha. Sal Babbitaglia, Cathy's boss, laughs at Martha's suggestion that he doesn't run a reputable business, but Cathy gets nervous after her first customer reveals his interest in meter maid uniforms and rubber hoses. When Cathy tells her parents what happened at work, George grabs a bat and leaves to kill Babbitaglia.
Fri, Feb 13, 1976
Cathy begs Mary to get Tom and try to stop George from killing Sal Babbitaglia. At the plant, Tom is counseled by the employee psychologist Bob Gilroy, who walks out in disgust over Tom's revelation of giving Mary a venereal disease. Dr. Abramson confides to Charlie that Dr. Hastings botched Loretta's surgery and is guilty of professional negligence. Roberta tells Martha and Grandpa Larkin that she was fired for fraternizing with a client but is now selling door-to-door cosmetics. George arrives at the massage parlor and is arrested along with Babbitaglia in a raid organized by Detective Johnson.
Mon, Feb 16, 1976
Tom takes Heather out to avoid Mary's liver dinner, but Mary refuses to go. Dennis stops by with Mary's groceries and shoe. Roberta visits and ends her relationship with Grandpa Larkin. Dr. Miller phones Mary with the test results. Steve announces that a volume of his poems is going to be published. George phones home from the police station where he's been arrested in the massage parlor raid. Loretta learns that she probably will never walk again.
Tue, Feb 17, 1976
Mary, Dennis, and Roberta discuss STET, Survival Training and Existence Therapy. Tom comes back from dinner and is angered by Dennis' presence which Tom thinks is Mary's way of paying him back for his affair with Mae. Later, Mary goes to the jail and convinces Dennis to free George who she insists was arrested by mistake.
Wed, Feb 18, 1976
George forbids Cathy to marry Steve. Charlie and Loretta's hope for Loretta's recovery is renewed when they learn that faith healer Dorelda Doremus is coming to Fernwood. Cathy appeals to Mary for support in her engagement to Steve, but Mary remains objective. Tom prepares dinner for Mary at Charlie and Loretta's house.
Thu, Feb 19, 1976
Mary and Tom reconcile their differences. Dr. Abramson offers to testify on Loretta's behalf if she elects to sue Dr. Hastings for negligence. Grandpa Larkin offers Roberta sage advice when she makes a dramatic decision about her future. Mary is horrified to read an article about Dorelda Doremus that exposes the faith healer as a fake. Mary and Tom worry that Loretta will be devastated to learn that Dorelda can't heal her.
Fri, Feb 20, 1976
Tom reassures Mary that their fighting is a sign they love and care about each other. George seeks help from Mary when Cathy continues to give him the silent treatment over Steve. Mary can't tell Loretta the truth about Dorelda Doremus when Loretta insists Dorelda is God's answer to her prayers. Cathy and Steve celebrate an anniversary. Desperate for money, Charlie is duped by loan officer Joe Zimmer.
Tue, Feb 24, 1976
Mary finds a joint on Heather and throws it in the waste basket. Later, Mary retrieves the joint and is caught by Tom. In order to lecture Heather about the dangers of marijuana, Tom and Mary decide to experience it first hand and smoke pot before joining Charlie and Loretta at Dorelda Doremus' faith healing show. Dorelda refuses to lay hands on Loretta but "cures" a paralyzed woman in the audience. A stoned Tom wheels Loretta on stage, forcing Dorelda to lay hands on her. Loretta attempts to walk but falls face down.
Wed, Feb 25, 1976
Dorelda tries to heal Loretta and fails again. George receives an anonymous threat warning him not to run for union office at the plant. A stoned Mary and Tom barge into Dorelda's dressing room and accuse her of being a fake. Dorelda sends curses from God to the Hartmans. Tom and Mary try to convince Charlie of the truth about Dorelda. Steve tells Martha he's going to propose to Cathy. Mary and Tom pig out in bed and discuss how pot heightens the senses.
Thu, Feb 26, 1976
Heather rails against her parents when she realizes Tom and Mary smoked her joint. Charlie and Loretta get a visit from a real estate agent and learn that Charlie should've read the fine print on his loan application. Mary and Dr. Fermin must save Mae who collapses in Mary's kitchen after swallowing sleeping pills.
Mon, Mar 1, 1976
Mary lends a sympathetic ear to Mae and learns about Mae's ex-husband Mike Olinski. Cathy fears that exposure to a more sophisticated lifestyle will take Steve away from her. Visitors to the Haggers home include the Fedders, who fail miserably in their attempt to cheer up Loretta, oily lawyer Lucius Minnow, and a deputy sheriff serving Charlie and Loretta with an eviction notice.
Tue, Mar 2, 1976
When Dennis admits he still wants Mary, she encourages a relationship between him and Roberta. Roberta tries to let Grandpa Larkin down easily when she reveals her interest in Sgt. Foley. Tom bristles at Mary's matchmaking between Dennis and Roberta and Mae and her ex-husband Mike Olinski.
Thu, Mar 4, 1976
Clete reports the news of Leroy's bizarre death at age 47. Martha can't find George when she calls the hotel to inform him of Leroy's death. Blanche comforts a guilt-ridden, weepy Mary who's mistaken for the widow by the mortician. Blanche doesn't want to get soaked by Leroy's funeral expenses. Cathy refuses to go with Steve as he prepares to leave for New York. Martha finally reaches George, but he has a date with Sheri.
Fri, Mar 5, 1976
Joe Sweeney and Sheri place George in a compromising position. Mary and Tom have a serious discussion about death and the continuation of life. Mike Olinski phones Mary, and she persuades him to meet them for a drink at the Capri. George arrives home to find Sweeney visiting (and subtly threatening) Martha.
Top-rated
Mon, Mar 8, 1976
Reverend Buryfield conducts Leroy's funeral in Mary's kitchen. Tom doesn't understand Mary's restlessness and asks if she's given up on their family in order to meddle in the lives of others. Tom suspects George's frame-up might be retaliation for Tom's dissatisfaction with working conditions at the plant. Mae's excited by Tom's news that Mike Olinski wants to meet her at the Capri.
Tue, Mar 9, 1976
Mike and Mae's reunion at the Capri doesn't go as planned, but it's Tom who gets the brunt of their ensuing bar room brawl. Mae's attempt at an apology for the previous night results in another fight, this one between Mary and Mae. Lucius Minnow tells the Haggers that a $10,000 insurance settlement has been offered, but he turned it down because he's holding out for six figures. Loretta makes her return engagement to the Capri, and during her performance she suddenly stands on her own.
Wed, Mar 10, 1976
Martha wonders if George's nervousness is a result of someone intimidating him. Charlie and Loretta interrupt a tense moment in the Hartman kitchen, and ask Mary if they can stay with Tom and Mary if they get evicted within the week. Mae reminds Tom of everything he's got. The Shumways and Hartmans gather to watch Steve's debut on the Johnny Tilson Show, where it's apparent that he's romancing starlet Kate Walters. Martha faints after seeing George's blackmail photos.
Thu, Mar 11, 1976
Mary tells Tom that it'll be 23 years before their sexual desires are synchronized again. Tom is angered by Mary's need for "something else" that she can't explain. Mary seeks answers to happiness from Grandpa Larkin who surmises she doesn't quite fit in anywhere. Mary hides under the kitchen sink. Cathy worries that she's losing Steve. Loretta has inspiration for a new song, Ballad of a Legless Woman. Mary cries and shares a lunch meat sandwich with Grandpa.
Fri, Mar 12, 1976
Dr. Fermin tells Loretta that she's in spontaneous remission. Charlie devises a plan to come up with money to stall eviction by selling raffle tickets for a color TV he and Loretta don't have. Martha refuses to believe George's claim that he was framed by union officials in Milwaukee. Loretta and Mary decide that Mary's "thing" is communication. Tiny catches Charlie selling raffle tickets and orders him out. When Tom intervenes, Tiny tells him to shut up or he's fired, prompting Charlie to deck Tiny who falls to the floor unconscious.