Seasons & episodes

Mary learns of Howard's latency and craves some popcorn and a Slurpee. Martha's pa meets Martha's pa. Tom returns home in a stupor.

Mary has a perfectly normal, ordinary, typical morning for national TV. Loretty saves a sinful soul and gets second billing. Mary's kitchen is out of sync.

Mary and Tom promise to start fresh. Grandpa Twelvetrees performs some miracle cures. Mary wants to help Tom - she kicks him out of the house.

Betty talks about straightening Howard out. One of Martha's left feet is Native American. Mary feels guilty about "helping" Tom. Jimmy Joe Jeeter is promised a new mother.

S1 · E125Episode 125 1976-06-25 · 22 min＋

Betty wants Mary to open doors for the truth. Mary has water in her eighth house and may have Howard there, too. Cathy goes to be converted, but Father DeMarco can't do the job.

Mary gets a non-obscene call from David Susskind. Cathy tells Clete to have is own children. Ed takes a walk. The Help Line gets cut off and it's all Mary's fault.

Martha vows to squat for fishing rights. Howard says yes to living the truth. Loretta wants to expose herself in Chicago and Charlie says yes.

Tom slurs "good luck" to Mary. Mary browses with an eye to buy. Frank visits Cathy with something he just has to tell her. Martha returns to a tragedy with a tragedy.

Merle gets ready for Loretta's visit. Mary has a dream of what might have been and makes her live television debut.

Mary finds coping with life as "America's Typical Consumer Housewife" beyond her grasp. An incomparable performance in an unforgettable episode.

Andrew Ackerman feels that Mary's appearance on The David Susskind Show will bring attention -and more money- to the psychiatric ward at Fernwood Receiving. Mary meets Wanda Rittenhouse on the ward, and Wanda thanks Mary for making "BDs" respectable. Mary tells Dr. Williams that she'd rather be a plant than a person, but he reassures her that she's stronger than she thinks. Charlie and Loretta wonder exactly what injuries were inflicted by the gunshot in Merle's motel room. Mary is welcomed into her new Nielsen family at the hospital.

Mary becomes better acquainted with her hospital family. Cathy is confused by the results of a pregnancy test. Not knowing the extent of his injuries frustrates Charlie. Merle calls the hospital to make amends. Tom finds Heather with a new look and taking good care of herself at home. Ackerman and Dr. Williams reach an impasse over the length of Mary's stay.

Dr. Williams reveals to Mary that Tom signed her commitment papers. Grandpa Larkin suggests that Cathy turn go to George with news of her pregnancy. Charlie begs Nurse Nugent to tell him if he lost his manhood. Fletch realizes Chester stole the missing plutonium, which Chester says can level all of southern Ohio. Wanda asks Mary to be in charge of the ward while she's out on a weekend furlough.

Dr. Fermin has answers for Charlie, but it doesn't put the patient's mind to rest. Martha explains to Grandpa Larkin the facts surrounding George's mysterious disappearance. Merle attempts to buy Jimmy Joe's forgiveness with a television set. Wanda leaves the ward in Mary's capable hands

Loretta and Merle come face to face for the first time since the shooting. Chester confides to Mary that he hid a nuclear device in the hospital and plans to blast his way out. Charlie hides his condition from Tom. Martha swoons when Cathy reveals George disappeared because of her pregnancy. Watching the 6:30 newscast proves an electrifying experience for the Reverend Jimmy Joe.

Mary and Tom are happily reunited at Fernwood Receiving, but the visit takes an unfortunate turn when she confesses she thinks Chester is dangerous. Cathy wants to have a talk with Clete, who interviews Merle about the most recent tragedy in his motel room. Charlie insists that Loretta pledge not to tell a soul about the exact nature of his injuries.

News of Jimmy Joe distresses Mary. Cathy's pregnancy delights Clete until he realizes that she's three months along. Martha and Heather discuss death. Tom reassures Heather that Mary's condition is improving. Loretta secretly phones Merle and agrees to meet him at the Capri. Mary questions Nurse Gimble about her latest injury in a series of injuries.

Merle announces his plan to leave Fernwood, but first, a bowler at the Capri Lounge wonders if he might run for public office. Dr. Williams attempts to assuage Mary's fears about Chester's plan to level Ohio with a nuclear device. Ackerman fights to keep Mary institutionalized as long as possible because she's "money in the bank." Mary receives a stack of fan mail from TV viewers and talks to Gore Vidal on the phone.

Dr. Williams confirms Mary's chat with Gore Vidal when Mary requests an overnight pass to go home and clean her kitchen for his visit. Mary wonders if she'll be required to have sex with Dr. Medwick, the sex therapist Dr. Williams recommends for her treatment. Martha reports George's disappearance to Detective Sergeant Johnson, Heather's former bodyguard during the Davey Jessup saga. Dr. Medwick explains to Mary how the bible encourages healthy sex for pleasure.

Loretta eases Charlie's mind by telling him that Merle's leaving Fernwood. Dr. Williams promises to give Mary an overnight pass from the ward. Tom discusses his new job with Heather. Charlie is released from the hospital but has performance anxiety when he and Loretta get home.

Charlie's up in the night, but not the way Loretta dreamed, so she works on the song "Moanin' in the Night." At the Bide-a-Wee Inn, Cathy meets Mrs. Delorean who's moonlighting as a hotel clerk, and convinces her to see the guest register in hope of finding The Armenian's last name. Merle visits the Haggers house and tells an ambivalent Loretta that he's been reborn by the Lord as a politician. Mary arrives home to find her kitchen trashed, Heather in platform shoes, and lots of drama in the family.

Tom arrives home from his white collar job, and Mary is stunned at how much he looks like the husband she imagined in her doll house. Detective Johnson informs Martha that George may have led a double life and doesn't want to be found, leading him to ask her to accompany him to a dance. Martha receives a phone call from the mysterious Jack and Jill, who claim that George has been abducted on a UFO. In the bedroom, Mary tells Tom what she learned about the bible and sex from Dr. Medwick. At first Tom is disgusted by the sight of his and Mary's reflection in the bedroom mirror, but as they begin to make love, he becomes aroused by it.

Martha explains George's disappearance to Mary. Loretta confides to Mary the exact nature of Charlie's injuries and how it affects her marriage. Merle attempts to make amends to Charlie, but Mary interrupts and accidentally reveals Charlie's impotence. Charlie rages at Loretta for her betrayal. Heather and Mary discuss going crazy.

Tom gives Mary the choice of returning to the psychiatric ward when her overnight pass ends. Dr. Williams tells Ackerman that nothing short of induced psychosis will prevent Mary from successfully completing treatment soon. Mary enjoys a reunion and marble swirl cake with her Fernwood Receiving family. Merle meets with Commissioner Rittenhouse, Fernwood's zoning commissioner, to discuss tax exempt status on the Condos for Christ property, but Rittenhouse wants green papers in exchange. Loretta attempts to tell Merle why she can't talk to him ever again. Mary, Wanda, and Nurse Gimble chat about their husbands, and Mary notices that Nurse Gimble has added another injury to her body.