Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976)
In the fictional town of Fernwood, Ohio, suburban housewife Mary Hartman seeks the kind of domestic perfection promised by Reader’s Digest and TV commercials. Instead she finds herself suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune: mass murders, low-flying airplanes and waxy yellow buildup on her kitchen floor.
Seasons & Episode
Dr. Fermin has answers for Charlie, but it doesn't put the patient's mind to rest. Martha explains to Grandpa Larkin the facts surrounding George's mysterious disappearance. Merle attempts to buy Jimmy Joe's forgiveness with a television set. Wanda leaves the ward in Mary's capable hands
Mary and Tom are happily reunited at Fernwood Receiving, but the visit takes an unfortunate turn when she confesses she thinks Chester is dangerous. Cathy wants to have a talk with Clete, who interviews Merle about the most recent tragedy in his motel room. Charlie insists that Loretta pledge not to tell a soul about the exact nature of his injuries.
News of Jimmy Joe distresses Mary. Cathy's pregnancy delights Clete until he realizes that she's three months along. Martha and Heather discuss death. Tom reassures Heather that Mary's condition is improving. Loretta secretly phones Merle and agrees to meet him at the Capri. Mary questions Nurse Gimble about her latest injury in a series of injuries.
Loretta eases Charlie's mind by telling him that Merle's leaving Fernwood. Dr. Williams promises to give Mary an overnight pass from the ward. Tom discusses his new job with Heather. Charlie is released from the hospital but has performance anxiety when he and Loretta get home.
Martha explains George's disappearance to Mary. Loretta confides to Mary the exact nature of Charlie's injuries and how it affects her marriage. Merle attempts to make amends to Charlie, but Mary interrupts and accidentally reveals Charlie's impotence. Charlie rages at Loretta for her betrayal. Heather and Mary discuss going crazy.
Tom visits Annie's trailer and accepts a dinner invitation from her. Dr. Fermin advises Cathy to sell her unborn baby to a needy, but wealthy, couple. Tom finds Mary's story about Chester's nuclear device difficult to believe.
At the Capri Lounge, Loretta sings "Moanin' in the Night."
Loretta foresees trouble for Mary and Tom when Annie decides to remain in Fernwood for an extended visit. Mary and Gore Vidal get to know one another. Charlie admits to Loretta his embarrassment over her new song. Loretta suggests hypnotherapy as a cure for Charlie's sexual dysfunction.
Mary is told that she'll select the items for the time capsule being buried by the Fernwood Chamber of Commerce. Grandpa visits Mary and recognizes Chester as a madman. Loretta tantalizes Dr. Medwick with her erotic dreams. Cathy considers aborting the baby. Martha receives a letter regarding George's disappearance.
Tom and Heather give Gore the brush off, so he interviews Martha. Mary is in a lather to get Heather's old Peanuts lunch box, which is identical to Chester's. Mary and Tom discuss their friendships with Gore and Annie. While Chester is distracted by playing a game with Heather, Mary switches the lunch boxes, but she might have been caught.
The Gimbles' excuses for Pat's injuries become more complex and less likely. Grandpa Larkin and Cathy discuss her deal with Brian and Christine Addams. Loretta persuades Jody to help her make Charlie jealous, but once they practice kissing, Jody forgets he's just acting. Charlie catches Loretta and Jody in a clinch, and threatens to mop the walls with Jody.
Dr. Fratkis informs Charlie that he has to find his own donor for the testicle transplant. Cathy moves into the Addams mansion, but is dismayed when Christine hides her in a secluded attic room. Merle needs to clear his name in the Condos for Christ disaster caused by the late Commissioner Rittenhouse's shoddy materials. Mary gives Annie a cake baked with aspirin.
Charlie and Dr. Fratkis agree to perform his transplant immediately. Loretta is hired to sing at the drag races and composes an impromptu song about making her man whole again. Wanda convinces Merle to build a political career as monument to Jimmy Joe, but she can't succeed in turning him on. Mary wants to get out of the house and into tomorrow by having a second child.
Garth escalates his abuse of Pat. Annie informs Merle that her gift to Wanda is to never be intimate with him again. Merle flirts with Big Honey on Annie's CB. While Charlie phones Loretta to say he's returning to her, Joe Sutonni is gunned down in a mob hit. Everyone congregates in the Hartman living room for Merle and Wanda's wedding, but where is the groom?
Mary and Pat cut up Tom's credit cards. Montgomery Monk uses a Ho-Ho to reprogram George. Merle feels that Wanda is spending more time on public life than married life. Garth admits to Charlie that his father was a wife beater. In her Lulu personality at Lou's diner, Loretta flirts with Mac and doesn't recognize a snapshot of Charlie.
Monk reaches a breakthrough with reprogramming George. Sikanda teaches Martha the Boga Zidi way. Mae Olinski visits Tom and Mary and reveals that she's behind the sexy skywriting over Fernwood. Christine experiences sympathy pains for Cathy. Garth and Tom discuss forgiving husbands. Pat confesses to Mary that she fantasizes killing Garth.
After admitting his own childhood abuse, Garth confines Pat to a closet. George barges into the Addams house and threatens to tell Mr. Addams the truth about Cathy's baby unless Brian tells him first. Tom agrees to return to the plant, and Mary has a special gift to mark the occasion. Loretta urges Lou to sell the diner and take her where the action is.
George loses his temper when a group of tourists invade his kitchen. Harold Clemens introduces his friend Howie Freeze to the Shumways. Mary interviews with Vernon Bales at the auto plant and gets the job. Charlie is surprised at Loretta's new role as the perfect housewife. Pat wants to turn herself in to the cops, but Cookie blackmails her into staying on the lam.
Mary and George convince Jess Davis to hire a depressed Martha as a part time bartender at the Capri. Cathy and Mary discover Martha's secret life as a thief. Wanda calls Lila's blackmail bluff, but Lila has a trump card: Wanda's personal diary. Vernon and Texas initiate Tom, Charlie, and Mac into the GGG.
As the GGG returns from their trip to stop school book delivery at the depot, Mary questions their actions. Merle and Wanda instigate their plan to drive Lila crazy. Mary confesses to Tom that she read part of Wanda's diary. George rigs an electric shock as aversion therapy for Martha's kleptomania.
George chooses a new path in life as an inventor. Loretta and Charlie ponder names for Wild Child, and Mary suggests Johnny Doe. Nat reassures Mary that he thinks Tom can't be proven guilty of murder. Texas accidentally turns the Capri into a drive-in lounge. Wanda visits Tom in jail, and her comfort turns to passion.
After Wild Child runs into the street and is nearly hit by a car, Ms. Finken isn't sure he's safe with Charlie and Loretta. Vernon and Texas promise Tom that Mary and Heather will be in danger if he implicates them in the murder. The courtroom is left stunned when Tom takes the witness stand and makes a shocking declaration.
Dennis deals with Heather like an adult when she admits she wants to date him. Mickey Moe, the younger brother Merle disowned, arrives in Fernwood to make Merle's life even more miserable. Going back to the wilderness with Johnny Doe proves heart wrenching for Loretta. Wanda inadvertently incites Tom's passion.
Friends and family gather at the Jeeter apartment for Wanda's unexpected political announcement and at the Capri where George demonstrates his Bug Massacre invention to investors. Loretta and Charlie bid a tearful goodbye to Johnny Doe who is Wild Child again.
Tom goes to the ring with Charlie, Dennis, and Mac at the Capri's wrestling round-robin. Merle and Wanda try to reassure Tom that he and Mary can survive their marital crisis. Mary decides to stand up Dennis, but he arrives before she can leave, and they end up in a romantic embrace.