OWEN MARSHALL, COUNSELOR AT LAW: WORDS OF SUMMER {SECOND SEASON PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The second season premiere in this series of legal dramas concerning Owen Marshall, a warm, compassionate, small-town defense attorney.
In this episode, 21-year-old aspiring Olympian Ann Glover seeks Owen's help when she is disqualified from the Southwest Water Sports Association thanks to a letter from a woman named Louise Carpenter. Ann explains that Louise and her husband Julian hired her to tutor their 15-year-old daughter Ardis in swimming and diving and paid her in new clothes so that she might retain her technical amateur status. In addition, Julian gave her a "private gift" of $100 at the end of the summer. Owen meets with the Carpenters, who are evasive about their feelings towards Ann, and Owen wonders if Louise might have grown jealous of Julian's interest in the younger woman. He agrees to take the case and starts to file an injunction with the sports association. Finally, Louise admits that her true motivation in sabotaging Ann is that she is guilty of "perversion," having allegedly tried to seduce Ardis over the summer.
Ann strenuously denies any untoward behavior and attempts to contact Ardis to remedy the situation, though she is forbidden to speak to her. Louise agrees not to pursue the matter if Ann agrees to leave California, though Owen objects to this extreme demand. Louise produces some vaguely flirty photographs of Ann and Ardis, as well as a more suggestive letter in which Ann quotes Lord Byron to Ardis. However, Ann explains that she was merely counseling the girl about a boy on whom she nursed a crush. She then produces a reply letter from Ardis that seems to confirm the girl's strongly affectionate feelings for her, and Ardis admits to writing it. During the preliminary hearing, Ardis describes how Ann's unwanted advances left her "ashamed and repulsed," leading her to eventually tell her mother about the inappropriate encounter. Owen questions the logistics of her story, clearly doubtful of its validity.
The Carpenters' lawyer then questions Meg Dayton, who was Ann's roommate for two years. Meg reveals that she writes for a publication called "The 12th Letter," a reference to "L" for Lesbos. She acknowledges that she "is what she is" and adds that Ann was not bothered by her identity, adding that nothing romantic occurred between them. Owen's daughter confirms that Louise has been spreading rumors that Ann is a "weirdo" in the vein of Tchaikovsky, and Jess takes the shy and sheltered Ann out for her first-ever drink. Owen then has a revelation; back in the courtroom, he forces Ardis to admit that her affectionate letter to Ann was written after the alleged physical encounter took place; Ardis finally breaks down and admits that she "worshipped" Ann, but grew angry and resentful when Ann did not contact her after the summer ended. That led her to make up a lie to anger both Ann and her own distant mother. Later, Owen finds Ann at the pool and explains that Ardis is getting help in order to understand her harmless "crush." Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: September 14, 1972 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:49:48
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:69461
- GENRE: Drama, legal
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, legal; LGBTQ+ Collection - Drama; Water sports
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1971-1974
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- David Victor … Executive Producer, Created by
- Jon Epstein … Producer
- Joseph Monzio … Associate Producer
- Harry Falk … Director
- Jerry McNeely … Created by
- Edward DeBlasio … Writer
- Elmer Bernstein … Music by
- Arthur Hill … Cast, Owen Marshall
- Lee Majors … Cast, Jess Brandon
- Joan Darling … Cast, Frieda Krause
- Barbara Rush … Cast, Louise Carpenter
- Meredith Baxter (see also: Meredith Baxter-Birney) … Cast, Ann Glover
- Pat O'Brien … Cast, Attorney
- Denise Nickerson … Cast, Ardis Carpenter
- Craig Stevens … Cast, Julian Carpenter
- Christine Matchett … Cast, Melissa Marshall
- Russell Johnson … Cast, Assistant D.A. Brenton Grant
- Kristina Holland … Cast, Meg Dayton
- Bill Toomey … Cast, Bill Todd
- John Zaremba … Cast, Judge Blaustein
- Anne Lockhart … Cast, Tessa
- Alice Frost … Cast, Maid
- Drucilla Brooks … Cast, Pat
- Michael Rupert … Cast, Waiter