This Season Nine episode had Steve become one-episode co-workers with the bombastic but lovable lug Harry Palmer (Don DeFore) who played it like he was "Ozzie and Harriet's Neighbor Thorny's longlost twin! He definitely seemed to enjoy playing a part like that which, by so many accounts, was somewhat near to his own persona. Anyway, in no time flat, he not only does his best to try to 'help' Steve's golf game but when he finds out Steve's two younger sons are still unmarried and the same ages as his own offspring, he decides it would be the perfect time to get the two motherless families together to have sparks fly (and Steve is too polite to try to back out of it). Well, at the picnic his younger child Frankie takes an instant dislike to Ernie's attempts to befriend him and tags him a creep while his elder child Laurie accuses Chip of being too competitive in the three-legged race and insensitive to her foot being stomped in the process! Still, Thorny. . .er Harry is sure the Palmer and Douglas kids are set to be registering China and become BFF's! All of the four younger Palmers and Douglases spell out their resulting dislike of the others but Steve passively requests Chip consider going on a date with Laure while Harry virtually commands Laurie to have Chip to take her to the hockey game she'd expressed interest in. So, by the time Laurie 'spontaneously' has invited Chip to accompany her Robbie, Katie and Uncle Charley have all piled on the guilts on Chip claiming he OWES Steve for all HIS sacrifices on Chip's behalf (though I can't imagine Robbie in Bryant Park having gone for a something like this without at least voicing an angry objection). Yep, Chip caves in so he and Laurie go on this double date to get their respective families off their backs. Evidently, the hockey game did nothing to warm their bond but it DID cause Laurie's friends Gary and Joan (who drove them) to park them all to a Muholland Drive backdrop but then ditched them to 'go for a walk' to possibly play tonsil hockey,etc. on their own. 1 AM rolls around with the driving duo nowhere in sight and both Chip and Laurie getting rather annoyed and frantic- unable to communicate with the outside world much less call their dads or get a cab in that pre-cell era. A cop shows up and corrals them for curfew violations (even though Chip and Laurie are clearly faultless). At the police station, Gary's mother shows up in her curlers and bathrobe (not a nightgown wrap) fit to be tied saying that Joan's parents have authorized her to bail the two of them out AND that Gary's father has grounded him for SIX MONTHS (I think it was THEIR car he used). I can't imagine what was more humiliating for Gary- having a six-month home curfew or having his date see his mother in her bathrobe. Oh, the mother was played by onetime child star Marcia Mae Jones to frowsy and scolding perfection!
Harry and Steve show up and thankfully believe their offspring's accounts but are rather cold to each other the next day at work until Steve says they just need to learn to accept if not like their kids not having hit it off (and Harry admits Frankie still thinks Ernie's a creep). Before things get too chummy, Harry breaks a statue on Steve's guest desk while trying to 'help' him with his swing then Chip and Laurie call them saying they're going on a date on their own. Evidently, the shared humiliation and fury at her friends' stunt threw them together.

I have to say this was one of my fave later ones!

I like this episode too especially since it has Mr. B in it. There was an episode of Ellery Queen (w/Jim Hutton) that had an older Mr. B in it too!

I liked reading of your reaction to the show.

But this also makes me mad at this board that keeps these stupid insipid "games" playing at the top which then supersedes any genuine comments on TV sitcoms like yours. I didn't discover your comment till a day later thanks to the lousy game playing posts that always seem to top any relevant messages posted. When I see those idiot game messages I don't bother to open the TV show's messages at all thinking there are no new genuine messages, just the stupid games. Many times I never knew of any new messages posted due to these 1/2 wit game posts constantly topping off the message board.

These idiot waste of space games should not be allowed on these TV show subjects messages. If you have to have them at all then there should be a whole category to itself called Idiot Games then people could post there till there heart's delight their game playing and I could actually see when there is a REAL message posted for a TV show. These games have overrun this board that was SUPPOSED to be about TV shows not mindless games.

Hazel Anyday,

I'm glad you liked my episode commentary here. Yes, I always liked Don DeFore as a performer but even though I grew up watching "Hazel" and saw
and liked him as 'Mr. B.', having seen a good number of "Ozzie and Harriet" shows, I got the impression that he had more fun playing the bombastic, boisterous Thorny than he did playing the constantly put upon Mr B. and I think he may have been grateful to do one last Thorny-esque character on a sitcom.

As for the games subheadings taking precedence over reviews? I agree that it's a bit much but I'm afraid that's out of our hands!

I used to think Ozzie & Harriet was dumb. But about 10 years ago when I started watching it on a regular basis when RTV USED to carry it I really began to enjoy the show. Even though Ozzie's wus personality was still annoying (Thorny always walked all over him) I really enjoyed watching this show. Now after all these years a Korean or Philippenes or I don't know what the heck it is, but this cable channel now instead of running mindless Korean/Japanese/whatever imitation MTV videos they now run Ozzie & Harriet in 2 hour blocks starting at midnight either once or twice a week (their schedule still changes weekly:crazy:) and I'm now once again enjoying this show and seeing so many more episodes I never saw before when RTV ran the same 90 episodes over and over again.

You are very observant to notice DeFore's character as Thorny was just like his character in My3 Sons. I was just pleased to see Don and didn't think about his different style personalities from Ozzie to Hazel to 3 Sons. Good pick up of this detail.

I used to think Ozzie & Harriet was dumb. But about 10 years ago when I started watching it on a regular basis when RTV USED to carry it I really began to enjoy the show. Even though Ozzie's wus personality was still annoying (Thorny always walked all over him) I really enjoyed watching this show. Now after all these years a Korean or Philippenes or I don't know what the heck it is, but this cable channel now instead of running mindless Korean/Japanese/whatever imitation MTV videos they now run Ozzie & Harriet in 2 hour blocks starting at midnight either once or twice a week (their schedule still changes weekly:crazy:) and I'm now once again enjoying this show and seeing so many more episodes I never saw before when RTV ran the same 90 episodes over and over again.

You are very observant to notice DeFore's character as Thorny was just like his character in My3 Sons. I was just pleased to see Don and didn't think about his different style personalities from Ozzie to Hazel to 3 Sons. Good pick up of this detail.

And if you ever tried Burns and Allen you'd probably enjoy the unique features of that show.

Even though I participate in those games, you've brought up a really good point about them. I'd never really thought about your angle before.

Ad yes, this is one of the better later episodes. Totally unlike George Baxter and very much like Thorny Thornberry.

HA, if you see this, question: do you actually go to the (e.g.) M3S forum and see the game thread at the top and possibly miss other good posts, or do you go to 60s Sitcoms and see the game posts, and then you don't even go to M3S , and therefore miss good posts?

I ask, because I put a sticky on the games (I can only do this on forums I moderate), which will separate them from other posts. But for this to help, one has to actually open the particular sitcoms forum.

I really only go to 2 or sometimes 3 topics here, first "60's then to '50's and then sometimes to Trading Post. So once I go to a, say '60's, subject heading then I look down the list of all the different shows to see where the current date's posts are. If those current date posts show some stupid game playing I don't bother opening that whole show, say My 3 Sons. If a game is the latest post shown on the different shows "messages" then I don't bother opening that show messages, assuming there are no new genuine messages about the show, just that incessant game posting.

So that's how I miss genuine messages when the game posts top off the latest messages of the day for that show's subject.

Wow, this was an awful lot of explanation for what I thought was obvious.

I have seen Burns & Allen, used to hear their radio shows too, they're pretty funny, but I find George's superior attitude over everyone to be too annoying to make me want to collect it. Now the Jack Benny SHow is another thing, that show is very funny and no attitude there.

OK, sorry for the inconvenience. Then what I tried won't help, but it was worth a shot. I separated out the games by "sticking" them, but a more-recent game post would still show up on the 50s, 60s, etc. categories. Unfortunately you'd have to call up M3S, LITB, etc. to see any other posts that might have been earlier. At least they look a little cleaner now.

The games should probably have some other home on the forums, but that's for higher-ups to decide. I can refer it though.

Good point about Burns vs. Benny. Benny sometimes has attitude but it's obvious that's all part of the comedy.

Trying to collect Benny's programs would be an exercise in futility. Many of them aren't in syndication, were done live, etc. Only a few of the 50s episodes are in circulation--most of the episodes available are the later episodes for Revue/Universal.