# Any old TV shows where you are conversant with the show but literally can only remember one ep **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2020, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790 "2020-08-23T01:57:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/21 "2020-08-24T02:35:24Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > Brady Bunch… The one I remember is where they were supposed to sing a song and one of the boys (Peter?) voice was changing. I only know the one where the house was settling and they thought the house was haunted. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/22 "2020-08-24T02:46:39Z")
I’m pretty sure I watched the entirety of _Becker_, but couldn’t tell you anything about a specific episode. I remember the cast; there was grumpy doctor, sassy nurse, kooky receptionist, smart alec bartender, blind magazine seller, and creepy regular patron. Wait, was it a bar or a coffee shop? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/23 "2020-08-24T02:47:47Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Funny, I was just thinking about this the other day with “Wings”. I watched it a lot both first run and reruns, but the only one that really sticks in my mind is the Christmas episode where they all get together for dinner at Faye’s house. My sole Wings memory was an episode where the brothers were transporting a really annoying guy on some charity mission (he was sick and wanted to see his brother one last time or something). Even that, I only really remember one exchange (courtesy of IMDB)… > Carlton Blanchard: Hey, if a monkey were to bite ya, what kinda drugs would they make ya take? > Antonio Scarpacci: I don’t know… maybe Joe knows… > Joe Montgomery Hackett : You sure ask a lotta questions, don’t you, Carlton? > Carlton Blanchard : Well, my mother always told me ‘There’s no such thing as a stupid question’. > Brian Hackett : Run that one about the monkey past her sometime. That show was on USA like five times a day when I was in college and we had it on constantly but that’s all I remember for a plot. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/24 "2020-08-24T04:37:57Z")
I think I only watched one episode of All in the Family. Archie and Meathead argued over how to put on their shoes (sock sock shoe shoe? Or sock shoe sock shoe?). It was a funny bit anyway. I know I must have seen some other episodes even though I wasn’t a big TV watcher in those days (or now, really), but that’s the only one I remember. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/25 "2020-08-24T04:58:16Z")
I’ve seen many episodes of Frasier, but the only episode plot that comes to mind at the moment was some kind of sex farce in a ski lodge. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/26 "2020-08-24T05:14:17Z")
I know that I watched every single episode when they aired but for the life of me I can’t remember any individual episodes of **Newhart** except for the last one. I remember that one show vividly tho and still think it is the single greatest ending of a TV show in history. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/27 "2020-08-24T05:44:57Z")
_ **Friends** _: The one where Paget Brewster was lounging around the apartment wearing nothing but a jersey and sports socks. (No way I could forget that! 🥰 ) _ **The Brady Bunch** _: The one where Cindy (I think) lost her necklace while leaning out the window to look at the Little Bear (Ursa Minor). IIRC, this is the only one I ever watched all the way through. _ **The Man from UNCLE** _: The one where Barbara Feldon was a Portuguese translator who lost her contact lens, which (I think) had a microdot in it. (IIRC, she also took Mr Waverly’s humidor with her for some reason.) _ **Newhart** _: The one where Bob becomes a local celebrity by appearing on morning talk shows. If I ever saw the finale, I have absolutely no recollection of it. (Though I do know how it ends.) _ **All in the Family** _: The one with Sammy Davis, Jr, which _everybody_ remembers. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/28 "2020-08-24T06:09:07Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I’m pretty sure I watched the entirety of _Becker_ , but couldn’t tell you anything about a specific episode. I remember the cast; there was grumpy doctor, sassy nurse, kooky receptionist, smart alec bartender, blind magazine seller, and creepy regular patron. Wait, was it a bar or a coffee shop? _Becker_ was all of the above, but no single episode ever stood out. Dr. Becker read the newspaper at the coffee shop, trading barbs with the shop’s owner; his nurse insulted him at every opportunity; the newsstand owner did likewise. There were no _WKRP_ “Turkey Drop” episodes, no _Frasier_ “Niles and Daphne Elope” episodes, no _Happy Days_ “Fonzie Jumps the Shark” episodes. No, _Becker_ was just a half-hour of completely forgettable entertainment. Just like _Sex and the City_. Well, maybe not entirely, because one episode stands out. Carrie is invited to a gathering at an old friend’s, who insists that she take off her shoes to enter the apartment. She reluctantly does so (she was very proud of her Manolo Blahnik shoes, and wanted to show them off), and when she leaves, her shoes are missing. The rest of the episode deals with whether Carrie should sue her friend for the cost of the shoes, or just let it go. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/29 "2020-08-24T06:17:04Z")
_ **The Bob Newhart Show** _: The one where Bob and Emily play host to a French couple who are thrilled to find there _is_ toilet paper in America. _ **The New Dick van Dyke Show** _: The one where Dick is stranded in a mountain cabin and delivers a soliloquy on the many functions a can of peas can have… Going way, way back: _ **The Cara Williams Show** _, which we watched every week in my home. The only episode I can remember is the finale, where the rule forbidding employees to be married to each other was rescinded, and there was much rejoicing. ---
**Author:** ![Acerbic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acerbic/32/3695_2.png) [@Acerbic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acerbic)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/30 "2020-08-24T11:48:11Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > Brady Bunch… The one I remember is where they were supposed to sing a song and one of the boys (Peter?) voice was changing. I have never seen a single episode of The Brady Bunch but it’s such a big part of the cultural zeitgeist that I can recount several famous scenes such as Greg attempting to smoke, Marsha getting hit in the face by the football, the singing one, and I’m even familiar with cousin Oliver. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/31 "2020-08-24T16:41:49Z")
I remember watching **Just Shoot Me** back when it was on, but the only thing I remember about it now is “turkey pot, turkey pot, turkey pot piiie.” ETA: evidently it’s chicken, not turkey. So didn’t remember it that well. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/32 "2020-08-24T18:18:40Z")
The original Sailor Moon. I must have watched at least one episode, but I know the basic plots as well as most of the characters names. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/33 "2020-08-24T18:30:59Z")
I watched _Home Improvement_ regularly when it was on, at least for the first few seasons. But the only plot line I really remember was one where Tim’s wife (I don’t even remember her name anymore) wanted to get a classic car of her own, that would be just her car, without any help from Tim. Tim tries to push her into getting an American muscle car because that’s what _he_ likes, but she buys an old British sports car (an Austin Healey, IIRC). Of course Tim hates it at first, but then he takes it for a drive without his wife’s permission, and discovers he likes it. The wife is mad when she finds out he drove it, because the agreement was that it was it was supposed to be solely her car that he would never drive. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/34 "2020-08-24T20:01:33Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > I have watched “Gilligan’s Island” but the only episode I can remember is one where the castaways were about to get off island and Gilligan managed to mess it up. You missed some good ones. The one where they make a silent film, the one where they perform Hamlet as a musical to the music from Carmen, the Rashomon episode. Gilligan didn’t ruin rescues in any of them. As for the OP, I know I saw every episode of dozens of shows and I can’t even remember a single episode! Not a one! Family Affair, Room 222, Angie, On the Rocks, CPO Sharkey, Chico and the man, Baretta, Toma, Cool Million, Search, Chase, etc etc. Did anything happen in them at all? As for Rockford Files, I remember a few, but for how many years it was on, it surprises me I can’t remember more. I do remember how much I hate Angel! Every time MeTV or whatever shows a RF when I can watch, it always features Angel. Hated him on his one Magnum epsiode, too! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/35 "2020-08-24T20:07:21Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I know that I watched every single episode when they aired but for the life of me I can’t remember any individual episodes of **Newhart** except for the last one. I remember the first one. The first appearance of Larry, Darryl and Darryl. “Hi, I’m Larry, this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl.” In the last epoisode, they used the exact same line. It both bookends the show, and reminds me why I don’t remember anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/36 "2020-08-24T20:08:56Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > On a side note, this thread brings to mind the television viewing law that states, “If you watch a TV series only twice, the second time will be a rerun of the episode you saw the first time you watched the show.” It’s true! I’ve only seen The Cosby Show twice, ever. But I’ve only seen one episode. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/37 "2020-08-24T20:24:54Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > In the last epoisode, they used the exact same line. It both bookends the show, and reminds me why I don’t remember anything else. I think they used that line in pretty much all of the episodes… ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/38 "2020-08-24T20:45:42Z")
I remember two episodes of _ **Family Affair** _: The one where Jody snips off a lock of French’s beard on a dare, and the one where Bill and Buffy go slumming. The latter is especially memorable because Jackie Coogan (“Uncle Fester”) was the guest star. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/39 "2020-08-24T21:00:14Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > I have watched “Gilligan’s Island” but the only episode I can remember is one where the castaways were about to get off island and Gilligan managed to mess it up. I only remember the one where everyone _but_ Gilligan messed it up. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/40 "2020-08-24T21:18:33Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > You missed some good ones. The one where they make a silent film, the one where they perform Hamlet as a musical to the music from Carmen, the Rashomon episode. Gilligan didn’t ruin rescues in any of them. My actual memory of the show is that Gilligan saved the day at least twice, and no real memory of him fouling up a rescue (although I’m certain he did). Spoilers below! Once there was a hurricane and not everyone would fit in the cave, so Gilligan lashed himself to a tree(?). Everyone felt guilty and joined him, and then a lightning strike caused the cave to be destroyed. In the other, the Professor (presumably) comes up with glue to fix the Minnow with. My memory is that Gilligan figured out it lost its stick and prevent everyone from climbing on board. The entire hull comes apart (for reasons). Amazingly, the Minnow was back to its intact with a hole in it state by the next episode. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790.md?page=3)