TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT {A.K.A. THE TED KNIGHT SHOW}: THE SOUND OF MOTHER (TV)
Summary
One in this series of comedies about Henry Rush, a dyspeptic cartoonist, his photographer wife Muriel, and their daughters Jackie and Sara, who all share a townhouse in San Francisco. In this episode, Monroe brings the mail and learns that he has received a new color television in a contest, but Henry dismisses it as “phony,” saying he will have to subscribe to some questionable publications to receive the so-called free gift. Muriel, however, is distracted by a letter from her birth mother, Betty Farnsworth, stating that she is departing on a trip to Asia from San Francisco and wants to meet with her. Jackie and Sara are intrigued, but Muriel refuses to consider it, saying that she wants nothing to do with the selfish, well-to-do woman who abandoned her. Betty soon calls, however, and the daughters answer and scheme with Henry to have her arrive at their home on the following day. The next day, they struggle to find a united way to tell Muriel about their actions, and when they finally reveal that Betty is coming, Muriel says that she is glad of the chance to finally “let her have it,” much to the family’s concern.
Everyone fusses over the preparations for Betty’s arrival, including Monroe, who “borrows” Henry’s tie. When Betty arrives, however, they are all stunned to find that she is not a rich socialite but a nun, and a frazzled Muriel barricades herself in the kitchen. Despite her family’s requests, she refuses to come out, and Betty spends a brief amount of time with the others before leaving sadly. Muriel soon regrets missing her chance, however, and pursues Betty to the seaport, where she finds her on a boat. She admits that it was painful for her to learn that she had been adopted, but acknowledges that it was likely harder for Betty. Betty explains that she turned to religion after her husband’s death in the war, and says that she has been assigned to work at a children’s hospital in Taiwan and wanted to see Muriel before she left. She gives Muriel a locket with her father’s photo and says that he was a “beautiful man,” and they share a loving moment before Muriel leaves. Back at home, Monroe is surprised to receive a package: a black-and-white television, a “thank-you gift” from the couple who received the color set that he neglected to collect. Annoyed at having taken Henry’s “advice,” he signs for the package—and then learns that he just agreed to purchase the magazines after all. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: November 10, 1984 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:22:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:08275
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Families
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1980-1983; Syndication - 1984-1987
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Arne Sultan … Executive Producer, Developed by
- Earl Barret … Executive Producer, Developed by, Director
- Volney Howard, III … Supervising Producer
- George Yanok … Producer
- Janet Grushow … Associate Producer
- Brian Cooke … Created by
- Gary Ress … Writer
- Rick Sultan … Writer
- Johnny Mandel … Music by
- Ted Knight … Cast, Henry Rush
- Nancy Dussault … Cast, Muriel Rush
- Deborah Van Valkenburgh … Cast, Jackie Rush
- Lydia Cornell … Cast, Sara Rush
- Jm J. Bullock (see also: Jim J. Bullock) … Cast, Monroe Ficus
- Priscilla Pointer … Cast, Betty Farnsworth
- William Cannon … Cast, Andrew Rush
- Michael Cannon … Cast, Andrew Rush