The Van Dyke Show

Season

1988

USA

7

Matt and his retired Broadway star dad in a Pennsylvania playhouse. Matt's wife, Chris, mediates between them, alongside key characters like Doc Sterling, Jillian, and Eric.

Episode List

S1 • E1

Opening Night

S1 • E2

Dick Stops Smoking

S1 • E3

My Favorite Person

Matt is feeling jealous of his father's popularity with the theater staff. His jealousy boils over when he reads an essay his young son wrote for school called "My Favorite Person" which he assumes is about himself, but is about his grandfather. He then resolves to be more fun, and less serious...which proves to be a disaster when Al is left in charge of the theater during the next evening's show starring a french mime. For one thing Al oversells the available tickets, gives the usher the night off to go on a date so he has to show everyone to their seats himself, and introduce the mime's various acts onstage. Matt sees this and realizes that if "they were both fun, they'd both end up starving" so he goes back to being himself.

S1 • E4

Death Can Be Catching

S1 • E5

Fatal Condo

Dick mistakenly thinks that his son and daughter-in-law want him to move out when he over-hears them speculating as to whether he is happy living with them.