Pirouette

Supertrain is abuzz with activity and gossip aplenty: millionaire heiress Natalie Smithburne is aboard, with a security detail in tow thanks to rumors of an impending kidnapping attempt. Reba, the caretaker of Natalie’s late father, is also aboard, as is a nosy reporter named Snelling who’s trying to get an exclusive interview with Natalie. The only person who seems completely unaware of Natalie’s presence or the potential danger to her is meek gynecologist Dr. Marshall Fossberg, who can deliver a baby without breaking a sweat but can’t land a date. When the rumored kidnapping attempt finally happens, it’s to Fossberg that Natalie runs for safety…but who is trying to snatch both her and her fortune?

written by Jeff Wilhelm
directed by Barry Crane
music by Bob Cobert

Cast: Edward Andrews (Harry Flood), Patrick Collins (David Noonan), Harrison Page (George Boone), Robert Alda (Dr. Lewis), Tony Danza (Snelling), Jamie Farr (Peters), James Gregory (Griswald), Bernie Kopell (Marshall), Mako (Kirby), Isabel Sanford (Reba Beeson), Vic Tayback (Tuttle), Joyce DeWitt (Natalie)

Notes: This episode marks a major rethink of the series’ format, with shorter opening titles over a montage of previous episodes’ footage, heavily solarized, and a virtual who’s-who of late ’70s TV stars, including Joyce DeWitt (Three’s Company), Jamie Farr (M*A*S*H), Isobel Sanford (The Jeffersons), Bernie Kopell (The Love Boat) and such future household names as Vic Tayback (Alice), Mako and Tony Danza (Who’s The Boss?). This was only Danza’s second appearance on TV. Nearly two thirds of the show’s regular cast, many of whom had seldom appeared since the pilot movie, have been jettisoned from the opening credits and from the show itself. Supertrain!