By Kathryn Ware
Our tribute to the 35th anniversary of the debut of Maude continues.
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Season 1, Episode 2
Episode Title: Doctor, Doctor
Original airdate: 19 Sept 1972
Plot: Carol’s eight-year-old son Phillip is caught playing doctor behind the garage with the next-door-neighbor’s granddaughter. Series regular Conrad Bain makes his first appearance as Maude’s ultra-conservative neighbor Arthur. It’s quickly established that he’s the bane of Maude’s existence. Arthur is disgusted by the boy’s behavior and demands that Phillip be punished. Carol and Maude refuse, calling it “adorable” and defend it as lovely expression of the human body. Arthur becomes incensed and drags homosexuality, wife swapping, and sex education in schools into his argument that this is just another example of how “This country is going to hell on a toboggan!” He storms out.
Later, Arthur and Walter get shit-faced in a bar where Arthur confesses to his best friend that he’s got a bit of a hang-up about sex. Too much information! Walter orders another round before heading home. At home, Walter makes a beeline for the minibar. He and Maude get into an argument when she claims to be free of sexual and physical hang-ups and he calls her on it by stripping down to his underwear in front of his wife and stepdaughter. As Maude and Carol attempt to get Walter’s pants back on, Arthur walks in on them in a compromising menage-a-trois and proclaims them all degenerates.
Hot button social issue: Sexual “hang-ups” vs. a permissive society
Fashion statement: Mother and daughter argue over the length of Carol’s mini-dress.
Neckerchief count: Two, including one worn by Arthur. I wonder if he and Maude swap.
Decorating tip: Wow, I’ve paused the DVD and captured a frame that has Maude standing in front of two walls, each with a clashing style of wallpaper, one gold and olive plaid, the other a silver reflective lace pattern. The gold foil lampshade in front clashes perfectly. This was such a heinous decade for domestic decor.
Cocktail hour: Vodka and lots of it.
Welcome back to 1972 pop culture reference: What’s that noise? Is a smoke detector going off? No, it’s Arthur’s new-fangled electronic bleeper. When a patient needs him, his answering service “bleeps him.”
Number of times Maude looses her cool: 4
Memorable quotes: Two gems from daughter Carol to her mother:
* “Maybe you’d feel better if you went upstairs and put your face on.”
* “With my generation, it’s peace, love, and back to nature. No hang-ups here.”
References to Nixon: Maude answers a question from Arthur with “No, and let me make that . . . perfectly clear.”
Wow, did they just say that? Maude fondly recalls buying Carol her first bottle of Midol.
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Previously:
Season 1, Episode 1: Maude’s Problem
Posted on August 29, 2007