The Courtship of Eddie's Father

- Season 2

(1970)

Eddie breaks open his piggy bank - it's actually a rocket-shaped bank - as he wants to buy a "just because I love you Dad" or what Eddie coins an "unbirthday" present for Tom with his $3.04. Mrs. Livingston comes up with standard ideas like a tie or socks or after shave, but Eddie wants something more special. Norman comes up with a perfect idea: a home movie showing Eddie on a typical day. Norman can film it as he has a new sound movie camera. It's going to cost exactly $3.04! Mrs. Livingston and Tina are in on the surprise. They film the movie on a Saturday under ...

Household items slowly go missing from the Corbett household. Initially unbeknownst to Tom and Mrs. Livingston, Eddie is the one taking the items because he and Joey Kelly are planning on running away to Mexico. Eddie wants to just because it would be a fun kid thing to do. Joey, on the other hand, has more pressing reasons: her father, Joe, is planning on getting remarried to a woman named Sherry Dornen, and Joey doesn't like the idea of another woman - any woman - replacing the memory of her real mother. Joe thinks that Joey is fine with the idea. Eddie, not fully ...

Tom Corbett and his son Eddie join a group called Indian Pals, organized to bring fathers and sons closer by involving them in projects on which they work together.

Eddie thinks Mrs. Livingston and Norman are in love with each other. He comes to this conclusion since Mrs. Livingston has been wearing new dresses when she knows Norman is coming over, she cooked a special meal when he did come over and Norman gave her a gift of love beads. Although he thinks the idea far fetched, Tom begins to think so as well and tells Norman of his and Eddie's thoughts. Norman is nervous about the idea and now nervous around Mrs. Livingston. Norman has an exploratory chat with Mrs. Livingston, after which he thinks Tom and Eddie have it all wrong ...

Tom and Norman need to go on a business trip to Las Vegas. Unfortunately this trip coincides with Eddie's performance as Abe Lincoln. Eddie is excited about being in the school play, and excited to have Tom, Norman and Mrs. Livingston in the audience. When Eddie finds out that Tom and Norman can't make it, Eddie is so disappointed that he no longer wants to eat his dessert, be social or be in the play, so much so he throws away his Abe Lincoln beard. Mrs. Livingston explains to Eddie that Tom needs to go to Las Vegas to operate his business, and although Eddie is ...

Talk of the law and a book on law from Tom's bookcase gets Eddie thinking about preparing his will. He is so intent on it that he puts off his homework which he promised to do, completion of which is necessary for him to go to a Japanese fair with Mrs. Livingston the following day. When Tom tells Mrs. Livingston about Eddie probably not being able to go to the fair and the importance of discipline of children, Mrs. Livingston tells Tom how much she really does understand despite not having a traditional family of her own. She, for the first time ever, tells Tom about ...

There is a mutual attraction between Tom and upstairs neighbor, Valerie Bessinger, but he is equally exasperated by her as well. Tom first meets her when Eddie, who is part of her experimental play group, comes back from one of her sessions with a toy bear made out of a cut up American flag. Tom is offended by that act. But Valerie wanted the children to experience the flag in a different and more meaningful way to them. Valerie is somewhat of a free spirit, philanthropic and socially political with many political connections. She also has a zest for life. Her latest ...

Tom thinks that perhaps he has created too cozy a world for Eddie, one where Tom has no one to give to but Eddie, and visa versa. Norman suggests exposing Eddie to one of the children in his homeless native Indian story, so Tom brings home Bobby Brownbear, an Apache Indian, for a visit before Bobby is permanently placed. Although Bobby breaks Eddie's new model airplane, Eddie does like Bobby, but quickly gets jealous of him when he seems to be taking Tom's attention, attention that used to be solely reserved for Eddie. Eddie needs to talk to someone about his feelings...

Eddie's globe trotting grandfather wants to take him on a trip down the Amazon, but Tom is not sure if he will let him go.

Tom encounters Cynthia Kurland of the Female Freedom Foundation, a women's liberation organization. An extremist, Cynthia is bold, forthright, direct, pushy, and also very beautiful. Compliments and pampering she sees as condescension. Cynthia wants Tom to do a story on women's lib for the magazine, which he considers. Mutually attracted to each other, they decide to mix business and pleasure, with Cynthia taking on the traditionally male role of paying for checks, pulling out seats, opening doors and sending gifts. Tom doesn't mind the role reversal, but admittedly ...

Elsie, Eddie's friend from the building, has sneaked into his room looking for refuge. She asks Eddie not to tell anyone she's there, and to be helpful to his friend, he tries to keep everyone out of his room to protect Elsie's sanctuary. Eddie figures that Elsie needs help, so with some hints, Eddie infers to Tom that Elsie is hiding in his room. After Tom talks to her, she tells him the reason for her running away: she found out that she's adopted, and her parents do not yet know that she knows. She found out by prying open her father's "secret box" where he keeps ...

During the middle of the night, Mrs. Livingston swears that she saw a ghost in Eddie's room. Tom thinks she just had a bad dream, but does attribute his and her difference in opinion on their respective cultures. Mrs. Livingston tells Eddie of a mythical creature called Baku, which is an eater of dreams. Eddie draws one for her to eat her bad dream. Despite Baku, Mrs. Livingston sees the ghost again in Eddie's room the next time she stays overnight. Since Tom is convinced there is a logical explanation for what Mrs. Livingston saw, Norman suggests they have a ghost ...

Norman is over at the Corbett household one evening, and is feeling especially grateful for not only the hospitality but the dear friendship of Tom, Eddie and Mrs. Livingston. To show his appreciation, Norman gives Tom an irreplaceable medallion he always wears on a chain around his neck. Tom is overwhelmed by Norman's act of kindness, that of a gift Norman obviously treasures. That weekend, Joey Kelly stays with the Corbetts as her father, Joe, needs to be out of town. Eddie's not too happy as it postpones a camping trip he and Tom were going to take, and more ...

Cissy Drummond-Randolph, the Chairman of the Board at the magazine, has come back from her soul searching trip in the rain-forest, where she went to learn how "to get her hair wet". Despite the fact that Tina is still in nervous awe of her, Cissy did come back a changed woman. She reconciles with Norman as she too is now more of a free soul than she used to be. And she asks Tom to move to New York to work directly with her. Tom thinks she has ulterior motives of a personal nature: he thinks she's after him as a husband. She admits as much to Norman, who in turn tells ...

Tom and Norman are doing a story on the ghetto for the magazine. To put their money where their mouths are, Norman hires a girl from Helping Hand Incorporated, an organization that places former juvenile delinquents in jobs. Tom isn't sure about this idea, only because it is a busy time at the magazine. The person they get is Angustia Ferrero, Gus for short. Gus is tough, mouthy, sarcastic, suspicious of establishment and basically mad at the world for her lot in life. She first meets Tom while he is doing some filing. Without knowing who he is, and she mouths off ...

The insurance company sends Tom and Norman to the hospital for a couple of days of routine tests. Despite reassurances from his father Eddie is worried that something is wrong with him.

Although he really wants one, Eddie is OK when Tom won't buy him a horse. However when Tom refuses to let Eddie have a horse purchased by Norman, Eddie is mad. Norman and Tina figured they would do this good Samaritan gesture since Tom said that he wouldn't buy one due to cost, whereas Norman, a bachelor, can since he has no one to spend his money on. However, the expense is only one and least important in a long line of reasons why Tom won't buy Eddie a horse, the biggest reason being that Eddie is not yet old enough for the responsibility. Eddie is so mad, that he ...

Tina and Norman are dating again. Tina's encounter group thinks that Tina and Norman need an impartial but close third party to evaluate their relationship, that neutral party being Tom. So they hold one of the encounter group meetings at Tom's apartment. After meeting Tom and hearing about his and Tina's relationship, the group thinks that the problem with Tina and Norman's relationship is that Norman has an inferiority complex to and rivalry with Tom for Tina's affections. What's more, they think Tina is really in love with Tom. These statements are making Norman ...

Eddie receives a telegram from astronaut, Colonel Leroy Gordon Cooper. Cooper is responding positively to an invitation from Eddie to come to the Corbett household to have a quiet lunch, away from the media spotlight. Tom is a little skeptical that the telegram is really from Cooper - he thinks one of Eddie's friends is playing a joke. But it ends up really being from Cooper. Tom, despite being in the media business, does not want to capitalize on Eddie's quiet lunch, and thus decides not to do a story on it for the magazine. However, one of Eddie's classmates, Sammy ...

Tom uses the fact of Eddie going to camp to have a romantic weekend with his girlfriend, Brenda. Tom however does not anticipate the continual distractions. First, a work emergency occurs. Since it looks like it will take a long time to resolve, Brenda decides to go home and wait for Tom to finish. She's right as Tom needs to pull an all nighter. Once Tom finishes his work duties and gets some sleep, second, Mrs. Livingston decides to come in for the weekend to clean up the kitchen. As soon as Tom politely sends Mrs. Livingston home, third, Joey Kelly shows up on ...

Tina's mother is visiting from Sioux City. She believes in spiritualism and mysticism and possesses many charms and crystals, their magical powers in which she believes. Rational Tom isn't superstitious, but Mrs. Rickles wants to prove to Eddie that her beliefs are not bunk as Tom would have him believe. As such, she gives Eddie a special charm that she says will grant Eddie's deepest wishes. Tom is angry as he would rather have Eddie work at achieving his wishes rather than place faith in a magic charm. Eddie gets his wish - an A in his spelling test - and believes ...

Things go missing from the Corbett household: Tom's belt, his gold cuff-links and Mrs. Livingston's kitchen timer. Eddie admits that he took them, as he is somewhat proud to announce that he has joined a gang, led by older kid Mark, of whom Eddie is in awe. Mark dictates to the gang of younger kids that they steal things from stores, but since Eddie was uncomfortable doing that, he decided to take things from home, telling the other kids that he stole them from stores. Tom is obviously upset with Eddie's conduct, explaining that stealing is an illegal act and is ...

Eddie wants a brother. After Tom tells Eddie how long it took for him to come along after he first met Helen, Eddie is despondent as it's going to take a long time for his brother to materialize and Tom will be really old by then. Tom is worried by Eddie's fixation, especially after Eddie makes up an imaginary brother playmate, "Tommy". Tom does not approve of Tommy because it masks the reality of not really having what Eddie wants. Eddie decides to take matters into his own hands and negotiates with his friend Steve, of who Eddie is jealous since Steve has four ...

Tom gets Eddie a chemistry set as a gift. Mrs. Livingston wants Eddie only to play with it in the bathroom just in case he spills some chemicals on the carpet, this suggestion supported by Tom. Mrs. Livingston catches Eddie playing with it in his bedroom, at which she kindly reminds him to take things immediately into the bathroom. Not heeding the warning, Eddie immediately spills a dark blue tinted chemical onto his bedroom carpet. Eddie, trying to hide the accident, only makes things worse as the blue gets onto his shoes, tramped to other areas of the carpet, onto ...