The Assignment: The episodes our babies watched: Ann’s Decision (S1E1), All the Way (S1E8), Father David (S1E13), Ann’s Out of Town Client (S3E5), Schneider’s Helper (S4E5), Yes Sir, That’s My Baby (S4E6), plus extra credit episodes: The Runaways (S2E1), Schneider’s Pride and Joy (S2E9, with a pre-Star Wars Mark Hamill), The Older Man (S3E1), Miracle of Birth (S8E8–9), and the bonus-bonus Indianapolis Story (S6E21). Bonus clip: Julie and Barbara spoofing Elton John and Kiki Dee’s “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.”

•       The Assignment: The episodes our babies watched: Ann’s Decision (S1E1), All the Way (S1E8), Father David (S1E13), Ann’s Out of Town Client (S3E5), Schneider’s Helper (S4E5), Yes Sir, That’s My Baby (S4E6), plus extra credit episodes: The Runaways (S2E1), Schneider’s Pride and Joy (S2E9, with a pre-Star Wars Mark Hamill), The Older Man (S3E1), Miracle of Birth (S8E8–9), and the bonus-bonus Indianapolis Story (S6E21). Bonus clip: Julie and Barbara spoofing Elton John and Kiki Dee’s “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.”

•       Meet the Babies: Sailor and Spenser introduce themselves, plus Susan on how Smokey and the Bandit and the 1970s CB radio craze led straight to Schneider’s “Super Stud” handle.

•       A Hoosier Reacts: Kokomo, Logansport, Fort Wayne, and a lawnmower CEO who says “Terry Hot” (it’s Terre Haute, and Sailor will defend it!), plus driving I-65 from the couch. Sharon shares the Lyft driver who waxed poetic about the Indianapolis sitcom, and the ladies explain why a show set in Indiana was filmed in Hollywood.

•       Wait, There Was a Reboot? The 2017–2020 One Day at a Time reboot starring Justina Machado and Rita Moreno with a Latina cast, and why neither baby knew it existed.

•       First Impressions: The very 70s live studio audience, the fabulous costumes and bell bottoms, Julie’s sharp wit, Bonnie Franklin’s ever-present smile, and why they had to remind themselves that this was “the blueprint” of a sitcom, not a parody of one.

•       David the Lawyer & the Age Gap: Ann’s younger boyfriend (who was also her divorce lawyer!), why he’s the nicest man on the show by a mile, and why actor Richard Masur left the show early in season two.

•       Schneider’s Evolution: From creepy boundary-pusher (aka stalker?) in the early seasons to beloved goofball with a heart. The ladies and babies agree he’s a proto-Kramer, and Susan reminds us: no Schneider, no Kramer.

•       Ann Romano’s Feminism: One of TV’s first leading divorced moms, a woman who kept her last name in 1975, and Susan’s personal story of seeing her own divorced mom and two daughters reflected on screen in Georgia circa 1977.

•       How TV Reflected (and Led) Culture: Divorce, single parenting, and women in the workforce were changing American life, and television was the way new ideas spread. Sailor connects it to the kids she works with today.

•       Teen Sex, Consent & Saying No: All the Way Julie’s getting pressured by boyfriend Chuck. The Babies on the great sex talk Ann gave her girls, why it’s frustrating that it takes David to get through to Chuck, and why Julie’s final “no” is the right message.

•       Workplace Harassment, with Laughs: Ann’s Out of Town Client and how a very funny episode delivered a serious message. Ann wins by standing up for her value, though the group debates how realistic that ending was in 1977.

•       Disability, Language & Representation: Schneider’s Helper and Jackie’s powerful line about never being allowed to try, plus the group’s honest take on outdated language and what the show missed on race.

•       Lightning Round: Favorite characters, which character each baby is most like, favorite scenes (hello, beer bucket brigade!), and Sailor’s most-disappointing-episode rant about Indianapolis Story.

•       Why So Many Cast Changes? Characters who come and go, Mackenzie Phillips’s absences during her struggles with addiction, and a series that spans nine seasons and a Carter-to-Reagan transition.

•       Sibling Rivalry Done Right: Barbara and Julie’s fighting-while-helping dynamic, and why the sisters felt true to life even for both Babies who grew up without sisters!

•       Last Thoughts: The hair, the applauding live audience that left Spenser confused, one very persistent audience cougher, and Sharon and Susan on why Norman Lear’s “very special episode” approach was a signature of his shows, not every 70s and 80s sitcom.

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NEXT EPISODE TEASER

Don’t miss our next episode, when the ladies are back with our favorite Halloween and spooky episodes of 80s television! Grab your candy, your Punky Brester blanket, and your remote. It’s boooooo-tiful fun.

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