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Buddy is sure that the visitor from the IRS is an actor, hired by Rob. (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)
Buddy is sure that the visitor from the IRS is an actor, hired by Rob. Buddy and Sally quickly convince him otherwise. Has he put himself in real trouble with the IRS? (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)

Season 4, Episode 16: “The Impractical Joke”
Directed by Jerry Paris
Written by Bill Persky and Sam Denoff
Originally aired January 13, 1965
Recap: Buddy plays a practical joke on Rob and it doesn’t exactly go over well. Buddy, as a result, becomes paranoid that Rob is planning a big retaliation.
Reaction: This is a pretty great installment in the series. The light “feud” between Buddy and Rob is great, and the scenes in which Buddy refuses to believe anything Rob says (because he thinks it’s retaliation time) are hilarious. But the best parts of the episode are the scenes with the IRS investigator!
Favorite quote/moment: “Say, sir, you sure know your telephone!” + the big reveal at the end

Rob and Laura try to give shy Stacey advice about dating. (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)
Rob and Laura try to give shy Stacey advice about dating. (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)

Season 4, Episode 17: “Stacey Petrie – Part I”
Directed by Jerry Paris
Written by Carl Reiner
Originally aired January 20, 1965
Recap: Stacey’s back! Rob’s brother shows up and shares some very exciting news with Rob and Laura: he’s engaged to be married!
Reaction: Usually I find “Aw shucks, poor me, shy guy” characters to be a little bit obnoxious, but Jerry Van Dyke plays the character in a very endearing way throughout most of the episode. And then we find out he’s pulling the 1960s version of catfishing on his bride-to-be! Kind of funny, kind of creepy (less creepy once he explains himself). A decent episode, and it’s nice to see more of the extended Petrie family.
Favorite quote/moment: Stacey’s bumbling way of talking about his bride-to-be + Stacey’s fight with Herman

Stacey's meeting with Julie doesn't go quite as well as he hoped. (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)
Stacey’s meeting with Julie doesn’t go quite as well as he hoped. (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)

Season 4, Episode 18: “Stacey Petrie – Part II”
Directed by Jerry Paris
Written by Carl Reiner, Bill Persky and Sam Denoff
Originally aired January 27, 1965
Recap: Rob and Laura help Stacey keep his club running while he spends time attempting to impress his fiancee.
Reaction: A continuation of the previous episode, this one has Stacey opening up his nightclub and finally meeting the woman he’s been writing letters to. The episodes pair well together and are very similar in tone and pace. Jerry Van Dyke’s scenes with Jane Wald (who plays letter-writer Julie) are quite good. Wald is very charismatic, Van Dyke is as awkward as ever in the Stacey character. The brief subplot of Rob and Laura doing their best to make Stacey’s club a success is nice to watch, and by the end of the episode, Stacey and Julie as a couple win the viewer over.
Favorite quote/moment: Stacey’s description of his club as a coffee house/cheese restaurant/banjo-concert venue + Stacey and Julie bumbling at each other

Millie and Laura go a little bit crazy in their attempts to turn their sons into stars. (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)
Millie and Laura go a little bit crazy in their attempts to turn their sons into stars. (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)

Season 4, Episode 19: “Boy #1, Boy #2”
Directed by Jerry Parris
Written by Martin A. Ragaway
Originally aired February 3, 1965
Recap: Richie follows in his dad’s showbiz footsteps when he and Freddie Helper compete for a role in a TV commercial. Very proud of their sons and desperate for the commercial to go well, Laura and Millie transform into overbearing stage mothers.
Reaction: This episode is very amusing. Millie lets Freddie’s marginal success go to her head immediately, with hilarious results. (Great performance by Ann Morgan Guilbert here!) And Laura is very defensive of young Richie. I love the ending of the episode, where both kids get fired for being bad actors!
Favorite quote/moment: Richie asking Rob for $140,000 + Sally saying that Buddy has an “eight-year-old mind” + CARY GRANT REFERENCE

Rob attempts to keep the fangirls under control. (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)
Rob attempts to keep the fangirls under control. (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)

Season 4, Episode 20: “The Redcoats Are Coming”
Directed by Jerry Paris
Written by Bill Persky and Sam Denoff
Originally aired Feburary 10, 1965
Recap: British rock band The Redcoats are in town to perform on The Alan Brady Show. There’s just one problem: their fans are all crazy for them, willing to do anything to meet the band. Rob and Laura must keep The Redcoats in hiding.
Reaction: This episode reminds me a lot of “The Twizzle” from season one, which focused on a dance craze. This one focuses on floppy-haired, young British men who make music and have very… devoted fans. “The Twizzle” is one of my favorite episodes, and this one is a heck of a lot of fun, too (though not quite “Twizzle”-level of good). The tunes sung by “The Redcoats” (portrayed by musical duo Chad and Jeremy) are fun, and perfectly-crafted parodies of the popular music of the time.
Favorite quote/moment: “I remember when I was a kid, I stepped on my cousin to get a better look at Marlon Brando.”