As I watched "Turtles, Ties, and Toreadors", I was shocked by how illogical the episode is...and so I agree wholeheartedly with Zombiemockingbird's review. It made me wonder why they made it. Perhaps it sounded better during the writers' meeting...but when you see it, you can't help but wonder.
When the show begins, you learn that the Petries wanted to hire a part-time maid...though Laura's search for one has been completely frustrating. Rob is home to announce that he has found one through some agency...and the new part-time maid will be arriving soon. However, when the woman arrives, there are MANY problems. Maria is fresh off the boat (so to speak) from Spain, doesn't know English, knows nothing about housekeeping or cooking! On top of this, she has a broken arm AND expects to live with the Petries! This is NOT what they agreed to with the agency but they try her out anyway and she turns out to be terrible at everything except painting.
The entire show made little sense and made me feel a tad uncomfortable, as Maria and her situation certainly was NOT funny. Overall, a big miss and an episode that really doesn't even seem to fit on "The Dick Van Dyke Show".
By the way, the actress who played Maria (Miriam Colon) was not Spanish but Puerto Rican. So, I am sure native speaking Puerto Ricans and Spaniards could easily tell that she wasn't Spanish, as Puerto Rican Spanish is quite different from traditional Spanish...particularly from Barcelona.