”The Dog Story”

Felix kidnaps a famous acting dog after witnessing poor treatment during a photo shoot in S5E5 The Dog Story.  We discuss among other topics: 1) the return of guest star John Fiedler 2) Odd Couple writer Bill Idelson who plays the judge, replacing Curt Conway, 3) the many Sanford and Son spin-offs which ties into the episode’s writers 4) how much the studio audience loves the episode, 5) the appearance of Rona Barrett, 6) the multiple returning bit players in the courtroom scene, 7) the 70s being the era of the animal-as-hero in family movies, 8) the use of a flashback in the episode, 9) and the odd Central Park scenes set in the dark and the light which were cut for TV.