Buddy wants to leave the show to become Head Writer of another show. Mel can't release Buddy from his contract, so he helps Rob and Sally write a memo to Alan to encourage him to fire Buddy.
Rob's old Army buddy Sol shows up just as the Petries are preparing for dinner with an important sponsor. Gregarious, hyper and obnoxious, Sol insults the sponsor's taste.
Rob is invited to talk to Richie's class about what he does for a living. However, Richie hates the idea, thinking the other kids will be bored listening to his dad talk about comedy writing.
Rob convinces his old mentor, Happy Spangler, to join the writing staff of The Alan Brady Show; but Happy seems more interested in telling about his life than in doing any work.
To prove a theory that a wife can't always recognize her husband on the phone, Rob call Laura and disguises his voice, but he becomes obsessed with whether she's playing along with the joke.
Rob and Laura assume Richie's claims of being pecked by a giant woodpecker are just a way of getting attention - until Millie says she's seen the woodpecker herself.
Dreading the thought of being forced to direct a fund-raising show by Mrs. Billings of the PTA, Rob remembers the previous year's show when he tried to cast the role of Cleopatra.
In this classic, Rob has a dream - inspired by a late-night horror movie on TV - involving walnuts, missing thumbs, and a space alien who looks like Danny Thomas.
Rob and Laura are invited to a dinner party for all the top writers in various fields, but Rob is the only writer in comedy, and is lost in the others' intellectual conversations.
Rob needs an idea for a sketch for the show; Richie gives him an idea for a talking bowling pin - unfortunately, Rob doesn't ask where he got the idea.
All about about the day Richie came home from the hospital. With so much stuff to take home, and so many mix ups with the items of the Peters (a couple in another hospital room), Rob begins to wonder what else could have gotten mixed up.
Rob, Buddy, Laura & Sally go to an auction. Rob shows Buddy & Sally how people use different gestures to make bids - unfortunately, while bidding is actually going on.
Laura & Rob have to decide when to have Richie's birthday party, and what to do for it, because most weekends are already booked with other kids' extravagant parties.
Rob has to find a replacement for Sally while she's away. Each replacement they try is worse than the last ... but Rob would rather try anyone than follow Laura's suggestion that she fill in.
Another classic; in this episode, Rob finds a hair or two in his brush; of course he assumes he's going bald. His barber (Ned Glass) tells him to use a concoction on his head, right before bed. The fact that it smells alot like salad dressing has an interesting effect on Rob's dreams that night.
In a flashback to when they were first married, Laura is nervous about meeting Rob's parents. Millie gives her some pills that could help her relax, but Laura doesn't really want to try them.
Rob,Buddy, & Sally have just spent 11 hours finishing a script, but on his way home, Rob is so tired, that he leaves the only copy at Grand Central Station.
In a flashback episode, Rob does a stunt on his radio show where he tries to stay awake for 100 hours - right before being asked to interview with Alan Brady.
While Rob and Laura are attending a wedding in Albany, Rob is asked by Alan to watch a fashion show to assess a possible guest star - but finding a TV proves to be difficult.
Alan humiliates Mel after Mel forgets to tell him about a change in this week's script. Rob tries to get Mel to stick up for himself, but his efforts backfire.
In another flashback episode, Rob and Laura take a romantic trip across the border to Mexico only to find out that the hotel they are staying in is where couples go to get divorced.
Sally needs some material for her guest spot on "The Stevie Parsons Show", so she decides to "advertise" for a husband, but the results are unexpected.
Jerry & Millie are having their anniversary party, on the same day that Alan Brady wants Rob to appear in his documentary, so Alan invites himself to the party.
Rob finally finishes his memoire after 5 years. As Laura begins to read it, we see flashbacks from all the previous shows, starting from when Rob met Laura.