Rob is commissioned by Richie's school to write a comedic bulletin for the PTA. His son struggles to explain to his friends what his father's occupation is, resulting in embarrassment. Laura suggests that Richie accompany Rob to his workplace.

Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), Sally Rogers (Rose Marie), Buddy Sorell (Morey Amsterdam), and Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon) are part of the staff of The Alan Brady Show. In the Season 1 premiere, Rob talks his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) into leaving their sick son Richie (Larry Mathews) with a babysitter while they attend a party at the home of TV star Alan Brady (unseen and unheard in this episode, later played by Carl Reiner). While at the party Rob, Buddy and Sally are asked to entertain. When Rob and Laura come home they find Dr. Miller (Stacy Keach Sr.) there. It turns out Janie (Mary Lee Dearring), the babysitter, hit her head on the freezer door, but Ritchie is perfectly fine. Eleanor Audley as Party Goer. Fred Sherman as Party Goer. George DeNormand as Party Goer.

Laura finds Rob's old Army coat and combat boots in their closet. Rob tells Ritchie that he broke Laura's toes with those boots. Laura used to dance with a USO show. Rob tells Ricthie how he met Laura. Flashback to when Rob was in the Army. Rob tells his Army buddy Sol Pomeroy (Marty Ingels) that he'll be the MC for the show that night. Rob sees Laura and is infatuated with her. He learns she's a dancer with the show and her name is Laura Meeker. Rob asks her out, but she wants nothing to do with him. Rob tells Sol that he's going to marry Laura. That night, Rob pays Laura's dance partner, Mark Mullen, to let him dance with Laura. Rob winds up stepping on her foot and breaking her toes. Back to the present. Laura tells Ritchie that Rob would visit her in the hospital every day. That is when she learned what a great guy he was.

Laura calls the office and invites Buddy and Sally over for dinner. She wants Buddy to bring Pickles (Barbara Perry). Laura has a date for Sally, Ted Harris (Paul Tripp). He's the brother of a friend. That night, Laura notices how Buddy and Rob treat Sally as "one of the guys". And they do it in front of Ted. After everyone is gone, Laura tells Rob that he needs to treat Sally more like a lady. Rob realizes that Laura is right. The next day at the office, Sally wonders what's going on when Rob is so nice and flattering to her. After a week of this, Buddy tells Mel that he thinks Rob and Sally are having an affair. Buddy confronts Sally and tells her she has to give Rob up. He says that Rob has a crush on her. When Buddy finally confronts Rob, he makes Rob believe that Sally is in love with him. At home, Rob tells Laura about Sally and that she kissed him. Sally comes by with Ted. Sally knew what Rob was up to the whole time. Jamie Farr as Delivery Boy.

Rob is a little uncomfortable when Ritchie asks "Where did I come from?". Rob starts to tell the story. Flashback to days before Ritchie was born. Rob and Laura are in bed and Rob asks her how she feels. She tells him to go to sleep. Laura finds out that Rob is sleeping in his suit. The next morning, Millie calls Laura. Rob thinks Laura took a cab to the hospital when she isn't in the bedroom. He finds her in the kitchen. Several days later, Millie finds Rob's car running with no one in it. He wanted to have it ready in case it was time. Laura wants Rob to go to work. He is still a nervous wreck. At the office, Sally and Buddy remind Rob there's a staff conference today. Rob is worried because he's wearing a wrinkled suit. Sally calls the cleaners. Mel wants to talk to Rob about the show. Willie the coffee man (Herbie Faye) comes by. Then the Dry Cleaning Man. Laura calls and Rob hits his eye with the phone. A Cabbie (Tiny Brauer) comes to the house. Rob comes home and locks bumpers with the cab. Charlie (Jerry Hausner), the driver of the laundry truck, takes Laura and Rob to the hospital. Back to the present, Ritchie laughs about Rob getting a black eye and losing his pants.

Laura finds a note in Ritchie's pants that states Rob is "Father of the Week" for Ritchie's class. Rob's supposed to be at school the next afternoon. Laura calls Rob and tells him the news. Rob tells her that he'll rearrange things at work. Ritchie tells Laura that he doesn't want Rob to go. Rob will talk about being a comedy writer and Ritchie doesn't think that is interesting. Plus he won't have anything to show the class. When Rob gets home, Laura tells him how Ritchie feels. Laura still thinks Rob should go. Rob talks to Ritchie and realizes that he wouldn't know what to say to the class. Rob tells Laura he's not going. Rob does wind up going. Mrs. Given (Isabel Randolph), Ritchie's teacher, introduces Rob to the class. At first, Rob isn't doing too well. Rob winds up entertaining the children and is a big hit.

Sally comes by and introduces singer Randy Twizzle to Rob and Laura. Randy also invented a new dance called the Twizzle. Sally wants to get Randy on Alan's show. Randy says the dance and song are nothing special. Sally has Buddy and Mel come by. They all go to the bowling alley where Randy performs. There's a large crowd of people dancing while Randy sings. Mel immediately signs him to the show. Rob notices that Randy doesn't seem that excited. It's two days before the show. Sally and Buddy come to Rob's for dinner. Mel calls and tells them that Randy said he doesn't think he can do the show and Mel hasn't seen him since. Rob thinks Randy's holding out for more money. Randy shows up with his manager father, Mr. Eisenbauer (Jack Albertson). Mr. Eisenbauer says they're not interested in money. Randy would like to perform another song along with the Twizzle. Randy's afraid that if the Twizzle catches on, he'll be stuck only performing that type of music. He has other musical ambitions. Freddie Blassie as himself. Robert Banas as Twizzle Dancer.

Laura calls Rob at the office and tells him he got a telegram from his brother Stacey (Jerry Van Dyke). Stacey has a two week furlough and is coming for a visit. Stacey asks to have Rob book him a hotel room. Laura learns that Stacey calls Rob "Burford". Laura wants Stacey to stay in the guest room. At home, Rob tells Laura how shy Stacey is. Just then Stacey shows up and he's anything but shy. Rob explains to Laura that his shy brother has a problem. He is a sleepwalker who's the life of the party, when he's sound asleep. Shy Stacey comes out of his room. He says he hasn't been sleep walking since he was fourteen. It started again last week. The doctors thinks it may be his uncertainty about what he'll do after he's discharged. Stacey tells them he'd like to be a banjo playing comedian. Stacey tries to do a routine for them, but it isn't going well. Later that night, Rob is throwing a party for Stacey. The fun Stacy entertains the guests then falls asleep. Mel would like to have Stacey audition for the show. After everyone leaves, Rob and Laura tell Stacey how much fun he was.

Rob and Laura come home to find Stacey entertaining Jerry Helper. Rob tells Jerry that Stacey is a sleepwalker. Something Jerry says gives Rob the idea to record Stacey while he's entertaining so he can hear what he's like. After he wakes up, Rob plays Stacey the tape. Stacey can't come up with that same energy. Stacey thinks Rob should call off the audition. Rob wants to have another party and have Alan Brady over. Rob remembers that Saturday is Alan's poker night. At the office, Mel helps Rob to get Alan to come to the party. It's party time and Sally is performing. Then it's Buddy turn. In the kitchen, Stacey tells Rob that he won't be able to perform and goes to his room. Rob and Laura perform. An energetic Stacey comes out of his room and entertains. Rob knows he's asleep. Alan loves it and wants Stacey on the show. Turns out Stacey was actually awake. He tells Rob he listened to the tape again and got the courage.

Songs: Jerry performs "(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey". Rose Marie sings "Crying My Heart Out for You". Mary and Dick sing "Mountain Greenery".

Rob is expecting Henry Bermont (Roy Roberts) and his wife Martha (Isabel Randolph) for dinner. Henry is an important sponsor of the show. Rob's old Army buddy, Sol Pomeroy (Marty Ingels), unexpectedly stops by. Sol is passing through on his way to Connecticut. Rob would love for Sol to spend the weekend. Rob is worried because he doesn't think that Sol and Henry are very compatible. Sol is excited when he hears about the dinner party. Sol misunderstands Rob when he tries to subtly tell him he would make the dinner awkward. Sol invites Arlene Johnson to come to dinner to be his date. It's almost time for dinner. Rob and Laura think Sol went out on a date. They have mixed feelings about getting Sol to go out that evening. Henry and Martha arrive and they are very reserved. Rob is stunned when Sol and Arlene show up. Henry gets upset when Sol insults his car. They get into an argument and go outside to settle it. Turns out they went outside to look over Henry's car. Sol adjusts things on the motor and Henry says it's never run smoother.

Rob, Buddy and Sally are having a hard time coming up with a sketch. The Deli Man (Herbie Faye) comes by and gets involved. Rob comes up the idea that a guy wants to play poker, but his wife has a dinner party planned. The guy calls his wife, disguises his voice and claims that her husband has to work late. Sally and Buddy think that a wife would recognize her husband's voice, even if he tried to disguise it. To prove he's right, Rob calls Laura, disguises his voice, and pretends to be Italian Dr. Benno Benelli. Rob starts flirting with Laura and she flirts back. Now Rob wonders if Laura knew it was him or actually flirted with a stranger. When Rob gets home, there's a romantic table set and Laura is dressed up. Laura says she was inspired to make an Italian dinner. The phone rings and Laura races to answer it. It's Millie. The next day, Rob still believes Laura was flirting with a stranger. Buddy thinks Rob should call Laura as Dr. Benelli and ask her for a date at a restaurant. Rob does and Laura accepts the date. Millie is there and Laura tells her it was Rob. That night Rob comes home and no ones there. Laura comes home and asks Rob why he didn't show up. Rob apologizes and explains everything.

At the office, Rob, Sally and Buddy are working on a sketch. Mel comes by and wants Rob and Sally to present it to Alan. Buddy is not happy when his kid brother Blackie (Phil Leeds) shows up. Blackie says he's in a legitimate real estate business now and hasn't played pool in five years. Buddy doesn't believe Blackie and wants him to leave. Blackie says he'll prove he's changed and leaves. Later after Sally and Buddy go home, Blackie comes back and meets Rob. Blackie wanted to show Buddy something. Rob invites him to his house for dinner. Not knowing of his past as a pool hustler, Rob mentions he has a pool table. After dinner, Rob shows Blackie the pool table in the basement. Rob makes out like he's a great player and Blackie pretends he doesn't know much about pool. They start betting on the games and Blackie winds up owing Rob $300. Rob agrees to another bet. Buddy comes by the house. Not knowing Blackie is there, he tells Laura he feels bad about how he treated his brother. Rob learns that Blackie is a pool hustler. Buddy finds out that Blackie is there. Blackie wins the last game and Rob writes him a check. Blackie goes on to prove to Rob and Buddy that he has gone legit by tearing up the check.

Mel comes in the office and says there's been a change to the show. Instead of Sophia Loren, singer Ric Vallone (Vic Damone) will be the guest and Mel introduces him. Sally volunteers to go to dinner with Ric to discuss the show. At home, Rob mentions to Laura that he's not worried about Sally because Ric is a confirmed bachelor. Sally and Ric come by and ask if Laura has any homemade lasagna, which she doesn't. Sally and Ric continue their search and leave. Laura tells Rob that she can tell Sally is falling for Ric. Sally and Ric spend a lot of time together and Rob is getting concerned. Sally jokes to Rob that she might propose to Ric. Rob asks Ric how he feels about Sally. While he likes her and she's fun to be with, there's nothing serious. The two come up with a way to get Sally to forget him by having Ric pretend to be an abusive drunk. Ric and Sally are over for dinner at Rob's and Ric starts acting drunk. Sally is getting disgusted with Ric and is about to leave. Ric and Rob pretend to fight and Rob knocks Ric down. Now Sally feels sorry for Ric and wants to drive him home. Ric and Sally wind up going out again.

Rob is beginning to feel that Buddy and Sally are avoiding him. They haven't done anything socially in over a month. Sally and Buddy even turned down a barbecue invitation. At the office, Mel asks Rob, Buddy and Sally to give up their weekend. Alan is doing a benefit this Sunday and he needs some material. When Rob tells Buddy and Sally that they can work and have a barbecue at his house, they say they are busy. Rob overhears Buddy tell Sally that what they do on their own time is none of Rob's business. Rob tells Laura that Buddy and Sally may be moonlighting for another comedy show, which could get them fired. Rob calls Pickles and is told Buddy is away for the weekend. Rob now thinks Buddy and Sally may be having an affair. At the office, Rob asks Buddy and Sally if they are writing for another show, but they say no. Rob overhears Buddy and Sally talk about Herbie's Hiawatha Lodge and what a great weekend they had. Rob talks Laura into going to the Lodge with him. They discover that Buddy and Sally are entertaining there. Buddy and Sally see Rob and Laura and get them to do a number. Phil Arnold as Band Leader. Shep Houghton as Club Patron. Grant Tinker, Mary Tyler Moore's husband at the time, as Club Patron.

Laura tells Rob that Mrs. Billings (Eleanor Audley) of the PTA is coming by. Rob says there's no way he's going to write and direct another fund-raising variety show for her. Flashback to last year and Mrs. Billings is holding a meeting in Rob's living room. Rob learns that he was made chairman. The meeting was to find a way to raise some money. Mrs. Billings suggests a variety show, but Rob says they're not easy to put on. Everyone votes Rob to run the show. Later, they are rehearsing and Rob wants to work on the Cleopatra sketch. Harry Rogers (Bob Crane) is playing Mark Antony and Millie is Cleopatra. Jerry doesn't like it when Harry has to kiss Millie. Jerry tells Rob he doesn't want Millie playing the part. Rob says he's not afraid to let Laura play the part. The two kissing does bother Rob. Rob tries to talk Laura out of the part and she knows he's jealous. They ask beautiful kindergarten teacher Cynthia Harding to play Cleopatra. Shirley (Shirley Mitchell), Harry's wife, comes by. Shirley is not happy about Harry being with Cynthia and makes him go home. Rob winds up playing Mark Antony with Jerry as Cleopatra. Back to the present and Mrs. Billings comes by. She says she won't need Rob this year, but Rob unknowingly talks his way into doing it again.

Jane Leighton (Joan O'Brien) comes to the house to see Rob, but he is not home yet. Jane tells Laura that Rob had proposed to her. She then clears the air by saying it was part of a high school play that her and Rob were in. Rob comes home and mistaking Jane for Laura, he kisses her. Jane tells Rob that back home she is a singing weather girl at a local TV station. Jane came to New York hoping that Rob could get her some auditions. Rob says he will help her in any way he can. After she leaves, Laura tells Rob she trusts him, but she does not trust Jane. Rob brings Jane to the office and has her meet Sally and Buddy. Mel would like to hear Jane sing, but Rob says he still needs to work with her. After Jane leaves, Sally wonders what Laura thinks about Rob spending every night coaching Jane. Rob admits Laura is not happy about it. It's finally time for Jane's singing audition. Mel is very impressed and wants to set up an appearance on the show. Jane now hangs on Mel and they leave together. Rob's plan worked because now she won't bother him anymore.

Rob is watching a scary sci-fi movie on TV. To try to avoid hearing it, Laura hides under her bed covers. After it's over, Rob describes the movie to her. Kolak, a visitor from the planet Twilo, is using walnuts filled with absorb-a-tron to steal Earthlings' thumbs and imaginations. Rob says that Kolak looked like Danny Thomas, but had two eyes in the front and two eyes in the back. Laura doesn't want to hear anymore about the film and turns off the light. But Rob keeps telling her about it. The next morning, there are walnuts all over the living room floor. Laura denies putting them there. Ritchie's lunch for school is a bag of walnuts. Laura is scrambling walnuts for Rob's breakfast, but he says he'll grab something at the office. Rob tells Buddy and Sally that Laura is getting even with him for scaring her last night. Sally says that Kolak is real and Buddy starts eating walnuts. Rob asks if Laura put them up to this. They tell Rob that Danny Thomas is the guest star this week. Mel comes by and mentions Kolak. Mel and Buddy are friendly to each other. Rob wonders if he's dreaming or is Laura having her revenge. Rob notices he still has his thumbs. He opens a walnut and there is a glowing orb in it. Kolak (Danny Thomas) comes in the office and tells Rob he is the last Earth person. Suddenly Rob's thumbs are gone and he heads home. Laura comes out of a closet full of walnuts and acts as though she's from Twilo. Rob wakes up from his nightmare.

Rob and Laura are driving home from a night out and Laura is not speaking to Rob. Rob tries to guess what he did wrong. Laura says that it's terrible that they won't be able to send Ritchie to college. Rob recounts what happened at the restaurant. Rob and Laura join Buddy, Pickles (Joan Shawlee), Sally and Herman Glimscher (Bill Idelson). Sally introduces Herman to Laura and Rob. Anatole (Phil Arnold) takes their order. There is a discussion about living in the city versus the suburbs. Rob picks up the check and tips Anatole. Buddy and Herman were going to pay and say that tomorrow night will be on them. Back to the present, Rob realizes that Laura is mad about him picking up the check. Laura says that Buddy invited them. The others had dinner and Rob and Laura only had coffee. Rob and Laura have a little bit of an argument. The next morning Jerry comes by and asks Rob why Laura is mad at him. Rob says that Laura thinks he's trying to buy people's love and affection. Rob says he's going to continue to pick up checks. That night, Rob lets Buddy and Herman pick up the check. On the ride home, Laura gives Rob a kiss. Rob tells Laura that it was Ritchie that got him to change. Ritchie tried to get friends to play with him by giving them some of his stuff.

In the Season 3 premiere, Rob tells Mel about the time he thought he brought home the wrong baby from the hospital. The hospital staff kept mistaking Laura's room (208) with that of a Mrs. Peters (203) who also had a baby boy that same day. Rob begins to believe that the Peters' baby and theirs were mixed up. Not wanting to concern Laura, Rob tried to find evidence of the mix-up and talks to the Peters on the phone. Only after meeting the Peters does Rob become certain that they had the correct baby all along. Amzie Strickland appears as the nurse. Greg Morris appears as Mr. Peters.

Alan's annual Christmas show is airing. He has had many critics state that what his Christmas shows lack is heart. Alan rejects the funny script Rob, Buddy and Sally submit in favor of an idea he believes has heart. He'll have his staff, who entertain at many of his social functions, be the headliners of the show. Carl Reiner appears as Alan Brady, but as was the custom at this juncture of the series, his face is not seen, but is instead hidden behind an outsized Santa Claus beard.

Laura interferes in an interview between Rob and magazine reporter Diane Moseby regarding The Alan Brady Show. This results in Rob getting most of the credit for the comic success of the show. Rob blames both Laura and himself for the article's tone, and he must figure out a way to make it up to Alan, Buddy, and Sally. But Rob's plan to set things straight backfires. Although he is still shot only from behind, this episode represents the first time Carl Reiner has a significant amount of dialog in the role of Alan Brady.

Laura once commissioned artist Sergei Carpetna for a fully clothed portrait of herself. Sergei, taking artistic license, rendered her nude. Laura threw paint on it, thinking she ruined it. But now the painting is standing in an art gallery for all to see. She tells Rob about it and he reassures Laura that he's not upset, but he really is. Laura remembers that she paid for the painting. Rob comes up with a way for Sergei to sell the painting and make Rob and Laura happy.

Notes:

• The title and plot of this episode are an allusion to the controversial oil painting September Morn (1911). ^[14]
• This episode was colorized and shown on CBS-TV on December 22, 2017. ^[15] and again on July 3, 2020 to mark the passing of Carl Reiner as it was one of his favorite episodes of the series.

The Alan Brady Show crew come to prison to put on a show for Lyle Delp (Don Rickles) and his fellow inmates. Rob and Laura unwisely choose to wear prison uniforms for the show. Rob gets mistaken for a real prisoner and is thrown in the slammer. Rob has to figure a way to convince the disbelieving guard (Allan Melvin) that he is who he says he is. Ken Lynch appears as Warden Walter Jackson. Robert Strauss and Arthur Batanides appear as two trouble making inmates. (Part 2 of 2)

Rob gets Alan Brady to host a television documentary about comedy that Rob wrote, even though Alan is against it. Laura believes that if Alan gets enough positive fan mail, he'll consider it a success. Millie writes fourteen letters to Alan praising the program, but everything goes awry when the program is pre-empted and is not shown. Laura and Millie have to figure out what to do, hopefully to keep Rob from standing in the unemployment line after Alan reads the letters. Turns out Mel saves the day.

On learning they're not the highest paid writers for their highest rated show, Sally and Buddy go on strike. Rob, speaking on their behalf for raises, gets a bewildering introduction to Alan's convoluted corporate structure. Because of this befuddling structure, Rob winds up getting a raise and Buddy and Sally still get nothing. Rob has to figure how to tell the others. But, in the end, they all get raises in another convoluted way. Roger C. Carmel plays Alan Brady's accountant, Doug Wesley.

Rob discovers he received no credit for a song, called Bupkis, that he co-wrote years ago. He wrote the lyrics to the song written by a colleague named Buzzy Potter back when the two were in the army. Buzzy came by a couple months ago and asked about peddling their old songs. Rob verbally gave him outright ownership of them. When Rob goes to confront Buzzy, he runs into another old army pal named 'Sticks' Mandalay (Greg Morris). Turns out that Sticks actually wrote the music to the song, with Buzzy contributing nothing except his name on the music sheet. Tim Herbert appears as another Songwriter.

Rob and Laura explain to Millie why they cut their romantic getaway so short. Laura got her toe stuck in a hotel bathtub faucet and Rob couldn't get through the locked bathroom door to free her. Rob has to contend with a wisecracking hotel staff, including a surly maid (Kathleen Freeman), a detective (Bernard Fox), a waiter (Johnny Silver) and a bellboy (Bill Idelson, outside of his usual role as Herman Glimscher.) It finally takes a gunshot to the bathroom door lock and an Engineer (Arthur Malet) to extricate Laura from her predicament.

Alan Brady asks Rob to doctor the play of noted playwright Harper Worthington Yates (Strother Martin) that Alan is supposed to perform on Broadway. Alan doesn't want Yates or anyone else to know. Rob is tired of writing in the shadows and wants credit for his help. Rob and Alan discuss it with Harper, who winds up hiring another writer to help. Sandy Kenyon appears as Lionel Dann, the director of the play. Richard Erdman appears as Buck Brown, clothing designer of the play.

In the Season 5 premiere, Laura and Millie attend the taping of the nationally broadcast "Pay as You Go!" game show, whose host is notorious for getting his guests flustered. Laura becomes a contestant and is tricked into revealing on the air that Alan Brady is bald. After she tells Rob what happened, they both futilely hope for a miracle that Alan doesn't find out. Later, certain that he already knows- which he does, Laura secretly visits Alan's office in an attempt to apologize and keep Rob from being fired.

Rob and Laura attend the reading of the will left by Rob's elderly Uncle Hezekiah. Rob and Laura are shown a short film of Hezekiah informing Rob that he's left him his old roll-top desk. Hezekiah then sings him a chorus of "Me and My Shadow," which is supposed to be a clue to a "treasure" Hezekiah claims is hidden in the desk. Rob finds some old coins in the desk. He has Mr. Harlow (Forrest Lewis), a coin expert, look at them, but there's no treasure there. After a little more searching, Rob finds what his Uncle wanted him to have. Dan Tobin appears as Leland Ferguson, the lawyer. Elvia Allman, Herb Vigran, Amzie Strickland, Howard Wendell, and Tiny Brauer appear as people who attended the reading of the will.

When he speaks out against the development of a new shopping center, Rob is asked to run for city councilman by his friend Doug (George Tyne) and businessman Mr. Howard (Philip Ober). Flattered, Rob considers it but soon finds his life under their complete management. Both he and Laura also discover that everyone in New Rochelle wants something from their local politicians, whether it be big, small or crazy. Rob has reasons he wants to run and also reasons not to. Arte Johnson appears as Bill Schermerhorn, campaign manager. Howard Wendell appears as John Gerber. Peter Brocco appears as Lionel, a citizen. (This plot is similar to episode 197 of The Andy Griffith Show, and episode 72 of The Partridge Family show).

While running for New Rochelle city councilman, Rob realizes his opponent Lincoln Goodheart (Wally Cox) is much more knowledgeable about local issues than he is. Rob's strengths: a winning smile and physical height. Does the public want a well-informed leader or a charming figurehead? Lorna Thayer appears as Samantha Meriweather, a reporter. (This storyline was also used in episode 197 of The Andy Griffith Show, and later in episode 72 of The Partridge Family Show).

Rob encourages Mel Cooley to stand up to Alan Brady after the TV star yells at the producer for a tiny mistake, but Mel is promptly fired. Rob, Sally and Buddy try to figure out how else they can support Mel in this battle without jeopardizing their own jobs. They convince Alan that Mel's annoying traits are actually his positives.

While Rob is under anesthesia, he dreams of being in a western setting with his family and friends, going up against "Big Bad Brady". Rob hears from Killer Cooley that Big Bad Brady is coming to town and wants to see a show. He vows to kill anyone associated with it if he doesn't like it, but if the show doesn't go on, he'll just kill Rob instead. Rob can't convince the cowboys of the town to perform, so he must decide whether to face Big Bad Brady or go on the run. As Sheriff Rob resolves to make a stand, wife Laura thinks she has the answer to save him. But, when that doesn't work, Rob has to shoot it out with Brady. Allan Melvin appears as a gun salesman.

In the series finale, Rob finishes his first book called Untitled: A Series of Terribly Important Events in the Fairly Unimportant Life of Robert S. Petrie. As Laura starts reading, she is excited to learn that the book is the story of their life from marriage proposal to a point shortly after Richie's birth. She begins to reminisce about the situations written. Regardless of Laura's reaction, Rob wonders about the reaction of the publisher to whom he sent the manuscript. The publisher hates it, but Alan decides to buy the rights to the manuscript and turn it into a TV series with him as the star.