Season One: 1975-1976: 24
Episodes
1- Pilot- Phyllis's husband, Lars dies, so Phyllis, pennyless
and in need of a home, moves to San Francisco to live with Lar's mother and
step-father. Phyllis has a hard time finding a job, so Johnathon suggests
she try and get a job with an old girlfriend of Lar's, Julie Erskin. Phyllis
goes to the Photo Studio, and quickly gets the job, though she has trouble
working with the owner, who Lars once asked to marry.
Note: This episode is available on video from MTM Home Video.
2- Bess, Is You A Woman Now?- Bess goes on a trip with friends
of hers. Phyllis decides to call her up early one morning and finds a boy
answers the phone. She gets suspisios and trys to have a talk with Bess when
she gets home to find out what really happened up in the ski lodge. Luckily
for Phyllis, she finds nothing happened.
Note: This episode is available on video from MTM Home Video.
3. Up For Grabs- An old aquaintance of Lars and Phyllis comes
to visit Phyllis. Phyllis soon finds the man wants to be more than just friends,
but Phyllis feels its too soon after her husbands death to start dating
again.
4. Leaving Home- Mother Dexter is mad that she has no where to
stay at her son's house anymore, since Phyllis has taken over the guest room.
Phyllis, feeling guilty, moves out to a crummy, rundown apartment. She is
persuaded to come back, though.
Note: This is the first time we meet Mother Dexter.
5. The First Day- Mary Richards recieves a letter from Phyllis
telling her story of how things went on the first day at her new job. This
episode switches back and forth between Mary reading the letter and Phyllis
at her new job.
Note:This is Mary Tyler Moore's first of two appearences in the series.
6. Phyllis Takes Piano Lessons- Regreting she never had a piano
recital as a kid, Phyllis takes piano lessons and discovers she is the only
adult.
7. Phyllis's Garage Sale- All of Phyllis's belongings arrive from
her old home and Jonathon and Audrey's house is stuffed with her stuff. Jonathon
makes her get rid of all of her stuff so she has a garage sale but can't
part with any of it.
Note: Carmine Coridi, Dan Valenti in Season Two guest stars as a second hand man in this episode.
8. The First Date- Phyllis decided to go on the first date
since her husband dies, but is miserable throught the whold thing.
9. All Together Now!- Phyllis thinks she a Bess need more time
together, so her and Bss go to a Dance Club and stay up all night telling
each other secrets.
10. Audry Leaves Johnathon- Audrey learns of something Johnathon
did long ago and leaves him. She stays with Phyllis.
11. Phyllis Opens Julie's Heart- Phyllis gets involved in Julie's
love-life and gets her to say "I Love You" to a "friend". It results in Julie
getting hurt.
12. So Lonely I could Cry- The Dexter's and Bess are all away
and for a week, Phyllis is feeling lonely.
Note: One of the
truly classic moments of the series is when Phyllis trys to make conversation with objects around her house. Also, listen for the "singles club" song.
13. Phyllis and the Little People- Bess announces she is engaged,
so Phyllis, thinking Bess is too young to wed, invites Bess's soon to be
mother and father in-law to diner, only to discover they are midgets. Phyllis
becomes good friends with them.In the end Mother Dexter discourages Bess
to get married by telling her a lie of when she was young.
14. There's No Business like No Business- The photo studio where
Phyllis works has financial trouble, so Phyllis trys to land a big account
but fails. Johnathon decides to invest in the company in the end.
15. Paging Doctor Lindstrom- Audry meets a medium and asks
him over to try to "call-back" Lars from the After-Life.
16. The $17,623,419.53 Man- A wealthy business man proposes to
Phyllis
17. Honor Thy Mother Dexter- Feeling Mother Dexter needs to get
out more, Phyllis tries to get her a job at the photo studio which doesn't
work out. So, she gets her a date, whome she will eventually marry in the
next season.
18. Phyllis in Love- Phyllis falls in love for a married
man.
19. Crazy Moma- Felling fed up with Phyllis, Bess moves out and
Phyllis tries to convince her to come home.
20. A Man, A Woman, and Another Woman- Phyllis's old friend from
episode three returns to San Francisco with his new bride.
21. Leo's Suicide- Leo is depressed and he tries to commit suicide
by overdosing on pills. Lucyily, he fails. Guest Star: Linda Lavin
22. Sonny Boy- Johnathon's Brother Visits and the two are always
fighting.
23. Widows-Merry and Otherwise- Audrey's niece's husband has
died, so she comes to Audry and Johnathon's house and Phyllis must comfort
her.
24. The Triangle- Bess dumps her boyfriend, who in turn falls
in love with Phyllis.
Season Two: 1976-1977: 24 Episodes
25.. The New Job- Phyllis is out of a job after Julie gets
married and closes the photo studio, She applys for a secretary for a city
supervisor but is then out of a job again when the supervisor is fired. When
the new supervisor comes, (Dan Valenti) she must convince him to let her
be his secretary. Note: Phyllis's new boss Dan Valenti guest stared in episode
seven as a second-hand man.
26.. You're Not Getting Better, Just Older- No one is celebrating
Phyllis's birthday, so she calls on her firend, Mary Richards to come out.
Mary, thinking it is an emergency, is very angry when she finds out the reason
Phyllis called her. Guest Star: Mary Tyler Moore
27. Speech 1A- Phyllis must write an important speech for her
boss, Dan Valenti.
28. Off the Bench- Phyllis tries to make a bum presentable by
getting him a job and new clothes, but the bum would rather be a bum. Guest
Star: Larry Storch
29. Boss or Buddy or Both or Neither- Phyllis goes on strike
after seeing that Dan doesn't appreciate her enough.
30. Phyllis Crys Wolf- Phyllis does not like the idea that Bess's
new boyfriend is much older than
her.
31. Out of the Colset- One of Phyllis's all time worst dates:
A man she dates proposes to her then later announces he is gay.
32. The Wrong Box- Phyllis thinks Lars sould be buried in San
Francisco, so she has his body shipped from Minneapolis. When they get the
box, they discover something is moving inside.
33. Phyllis and the Jumper- Dan's friend loves Phyllis
34. Bess Airs Her Views- Bess and her classmates start a riot
when they hear their teacher was fired because she posed nude long ago. She
is expelled from school and Phyllis tries to get her back in.
35. Mother Dexter Cohabitates- Mother Dexter is having mixed feelings
about her boyfriend, Arthur, but later decides to marry him.
36. Mother Dexter's Wedding- It's happened again! It's Mother
Dexter's wedding and Phyllis forgets to pick her up. This is Judith Lowry's
last appearence as Mother Dexter.
37. The Christmas Party- It's Christmas and Phyllis is going to
be all alone. So, she suggests a Christmas party and the office. Leonard
agrees, but Dan doesn't. So, Leonard's side of teh office has a party while
Dan's side works, but Phyllis sneaks over to the party without Dan
knowing.
38. Phyllis Runs the Office- Phyllis and Dan switch places for
a day and Phyllis runs the office while Dan does the secretarial work.
39. The Threat- Leonard is scared because he gets a few death
threats.
40. Taking a Chance on Chance- Phyllis dates a gambler.
41. Leonard and the Bribe- Leonard is not sure what to do when
he recieves a hundred thousand dollar bribe to cast a vote.
42. Broken-Hearted Bess- Bess is down in the dumps when her boyfriend
dumps her, so Phyllis tries to cheer her up.
43. I Am Beautiful- Phyllis fixes Harriet up real nice so Leonard
will notice her.
44. Dan's Ex- Phyllis meets Dan's ex-wife, and decides to get
them back together.
45. Audrey's New Life- Audrey, feeling useless, gets a job
at an antique store. Johnathon is not happy with her situation.
46. The Elopement- Bess runs away with Dan's nephew and gets
married.
47. The Appartment- Bess and her new husband buy a run-down
apartment.
48. And Baby Makes Six- Bess announces she is going to have
a baby.