Air date: 1981-10-04

Runtime: 30 min

Mel borrows $10,000 against the diner to bet on a 90-to-1 nag.

Air date: 1981-10-11

Runtime: 30 min

Determined to leave her mark on the world, Vera sets out to break the tap dancing endurance record.

Air date: 1981-10-18

Runtime: 30 min

A towel boy from the Russian ballet takes refuge in Mel's storeroom.

Air date: 1981-10-25

Runtime: 30 min

On Halloween, Alice's latest heartthrob asks her to shepherd his four kids for the evening.

Air date: 1981-11-08

Runtime: 30 min

It's Alice's 40th birthday, and for the milestone she gets a millstone, a visit from her meddling mother.

Air date: 1981-11-15

Runtime: 30 min

Smooth operator Mel teaches his shy cousin, Wendell, how to score with Vera.

Air date: 1981-11-29

Runtime: 30 min

Against Mel's orders, Vera cashes a check for an old flame, who's nowhere to be found when it bounces.

Air date: 1981-12-06

Runtime: 30 min

Mel becomes despondent when he realizes he has no heirs.

Air date: 1981-12-20

Runtime: 30 min

The ghost of a partner past gives Mel the dickens on Christmas Eve after Mel fired Alice, Jolene and Vera.

Air date: 1981-12-27

Runtime: 30 min

Alice's spirit inspires a biker to recruit her as his ""old lady.""

Air date: 1982-01-03

Runtime: 30 min

Alice blows the whistle on Tommy's basketball playing when his grades start to slip.

Air date: 1982-01-17

Runtime: 30 min

Mel gives Tommy advice on how to charm the ladies, which Tommy promptly applies to Mel's niece.

Air date: 1982-01-31

Runtime: 30 min

After getting hooked on soap operas, Vera becomes a washout at work and later quits.

Air date: 1982-02-07

Runtime: 30 min

Mel has a beef with his mother who wants to publish his secret chili recipe in her new cookbook.

Air date: 1982-02-14

Runtime: 30 min

Valentine's Day promises anything but hearts and flowers for the diner staff, who all quarrel with their dates.

Air date: 1982-02-21

Runtime: 30 min

A book on building self-confidence inspires Vera to become ""the best little waitress in the world!"" Later, Mel leaves a newly confident Vera in charge of the diner.

Air date: 1982-03-07

Runtime: 30 min

Alice is visited by a high-school chum who's still suffering from her teenage inferiority complex.

Air date: 1982-03-14

Runtime: 30 min

To help Jolene's exhausted good buddy, the girls drive his rig to a mining town, blissfully unaware that they're hauling dynamite.

Air date: 1982-03-21

Runtime: 30 min

Mel considers getting a nose job while undergoing surgery for a deviated septum.

Air date: 1982-04-04

Runtime: 30 min

Alice's actress friend from New York persuades Tommy that he has a brilliant future on Broadway.

Air date: 1982-04-11

Runtime: 30 min

Vera returns from her high-school reunion with stars in her eyes and a sparkler on her finger.

Air date: 1982-04-18

Runtime: 30 min

A jilted acquaintance flips for Alice on the first bounce and when she doesn't reciprocate his feelings he threatens to jump from the Mel's Diner sign.

Air date: 1982-05-02

Runtime: 30 min

To counter a competitor whose contest is drawing customers, Mel launches one too and ups the ante to $3000.

Air date: 1982-05-16

Runtime: 30 min

Mel happily envisions a rent-free future when his mother buys his apartment building but surprises him when she announces a $50 rent increase.