Aired: 10/4/1981
Mel borrows $10,000 against the diner to bet on a 90-to-1 nag.
Aired: 10/11/1981
Determined to leave her mark on the world, Vera sets out to break the tap dancing endurance record.
Aired: 10/18/1981
A towel boy from the Russian ballet takes refuge in Mel's storeroom.
Aired: 10/25/1981
On Halloween, Alice's latest heartthrob asks her to shepherd his four kids for the evening.
Aired: 11/8/1981
It's Alice's 40th birthday, and for the milestone she gets a millstone, a visit from her meddling mother.
Aired: 11/15/1981
Smooth operator Mel teaches his shy cousin, Wendell, how to score with Vera.
Aired: 11/29/1981
Against Mel's orders, Vera cashes a check for an old flame, who's nowhere to be found when it bounces.
Aired: 12/6/1981
Mel becomes despondent when he realizes he has no heirs.
Aired: 12/20/1981
The ghost of a partner past gives Mel the dickens on Christmas Eve after Mel fired Alice, Jolene and Vera.
Aired: 12/27/1981
Alice's spirit inspires a biker to recruit her as his ""old lady.""
Aired: 1/3/1982
Alice blows the whistle on Tommy's basketball playing when his grades start to slip.
Aired: 1/17/1982
Mel gives Tommy advice on how to charm the ladies, which Tommy promptly applies to Mel's niece.
Aired: 1/31/1982
After getting hooked on soap operas, Vera becomes a washout at work and later quits.
Aired: 2/7/1982
Mel has a beef with his mother who wants to publish his secret chili recipe in her new cookbook.
Aired: 2/14/1982
Valentine's Day promises anything but hearts and flowers for the diner staff, who all quarrel with their dates.
Aired: 2/21/1982
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.
Aired: 3/7/1982
Alice is visited by a high-school chum who's still suffering from her teenage inferiority complex.
Aired: 3/14/1982
To help Jolene's exhausted good buddy, the girls drive his rig to a mining town, blissfully unaware that they're hauling dynamite.
Aired: 3/21/1982
Mel considers getting a nose job while undergoing surgery for a deviated septum.
Aired: 4/4/1982
Alice's actress friend from New York persuades Tommy that he has a brilliant future on Broadway.
Aired: 4/11/1982
Vera returns from her high-school reunion with stars in her eyes and a sparkler on her finger.
Aired: 4/18/1982
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.
Aired: 5/2/1982
To counter a competitor whose contest is drawing customers, Mel launches one too and ups the ante to $3000.
Aired: 5/16/1982
Mel happily envisions a rent-free future when his mother buys his apartment building but surprises him when she announces a $50 rent increase.