Today was the day that made history. The telephone comes to Walnut Grove! The switchboard is set up at Nellie's hotel where Harriet has become the self-appointed operator. So after causing a lineman to fall off the pole, the telephone system was all set up and fully operational...though the same can't be said for the operator. Now, the first local business to get a telephone system was the bank, courtesy of the town's new banker, Bill Anderson (he replaced Sprague who left in Season 3.) Doc Baker wants one too. Yep, this strange newfangled telephone contraption is spreading like wildfire... wildfire or cancer? You be the judge. Even the Garveys got one! Jonathan surprised Alice with a telephone all their own. He had some extra cash due to Smith Pharmeceutical stock and he decided to put it back into another prominent investment, on which Alice can call her mother in Minneapolis. The conversation started out pleasantly, until her mother mentioned someone named Harold...rattling Alice's nerves. So while Anderson and the Garveys used their new phones, Harriet delighted in listening in on their conversations. A gossip such as herself could really use this telephone invention to her advantage. And brother, as soon as the fat bitch heard about Harold, she blabbed to Nellie who blabbed to Andrew who told his Pa, who thought it a filthy lie...until he confronted Alice. Harold was her ex. Jonathan never knew.
So while the Garveys' marriage hangs in the balance, Albert comes up with a brilliant scheme to get back at Harriet for eavesdropping. He and Laura have Anderson call his bookie in Mankato and gives him a faux stock tip regarding Smith Pharmecuticals. It was destined to reach sky high. Harriet fell for it like a ton of bricks. She emptied the cash from her stash box and rode like the wind to Mankato; meanwhile in Northville, after Charles and Jonathan delivered an order, the Garvey patriarch wanted to have a talk with Alice's mother and Minneapolis wasn't too far off so they head over and have a sit down with the old lady. She described Harold as a gambling drunk, yet she still thought the world of him, apparently. Way to rub salt in Jonathan's open wounds, Ma; Following supper, Jonathan ventured out to where Harold was said to be working: The Good Times Saloon. Sure enough, Harold tended bar. He accepted an invite from Jonathan to drink with him, and they got to talking. Seems Harold was a decent guy who had gambling problems, fell in with a bad crowd and did 18 years for bank robbery. He lost Alice through his dishonesty. Through it all, Jonathan learned just how lucky he was to have Alice and thus gave him a whole new perspective. So back in Walnut Grove, as Harriet pouts over all the money she foolishly lost, Jonathan went home and admitted he was wrong, and Alice...well, she forgave him, and they both promised never to talk on a telephone again.
Oh, the dangers of gossip. It was very gratifying in the end to see Nels get the last laugh on Harriet. But sadly, this was not the last Harriet would abuse her telephone operator privileges. She would continue to listen in on calls, as would Nellie, and later on, so would Nancy. Just goes to show what can happen if the telephone is in the wrong hands. Well, terrific episode. Merlin Olsen, Hersha Parady, Richard Bull and Katherine MacGregor were all superb, and the latter really adds to my reason for loving to hate Harriet. And Royal Dano did his cameo justice. He would come back in Season 7 as Sylvia's abusive father in "Sylvia". Pretty dramatic episode there, but that's another story. Though "Crossed Connections" has some funny moments, it's actually pretty heartfelt and dramatic. But see it anyway.
So while the Garveys' marriage hangs in the balance, Albert comes up with a brilliant scheme to get back at Harriet for eavesdropping. He and Laura have Anderson call his bookie in Mankato and gives him a faux stock tip regarding Smith Pharmecuticals. It was destined to reach sky high. Harriet fell for it like a ton of bricks. She emptied the cash from her stash box and rode like the wind to Mankato; meanwhile in Northville, after Charles and Jonathan delivered an order, the Garvey patriarch wanted to have a talk with Alice's mother and Minneapolis wasn't too far off so they head over and have a sit down with the old lady. She described Harold as a gambling drunk, yet she still thought the world of him, apparently. Way to rub salt in Jonathan's open wounds, Ma; Following supper, Jonathan ventured out to where Harold was said to be working: The Good Times Saloon. Sure enough, Harold tended bar. He accepted an invite from Jonathan to drink with him, and they got to talking. Seems Harold was a decent guy who had gambling problems, fell in with a bad crowd and did 18 years for bank robbery. He lost Alice through his dishonesty. Through it all, Jonathan learned just how lucky he was to have Alice and thus gave him a whole new perspective. So back in Walnut Grove, as Harriet pouts over all the money she foolishly lost, Jonathan went home and admitted he was wrong, and Alice...well, she forgave him, and they both promised never to talk on a telephone again.
Oh, the dangers of gossip. It was very gratifying in the end to see Nels get the last laugh on Harriet. But sadly, this was not the last Harriet would abuse her telephone operator privileges. She would continue to listen in on calls, as would Nellie, and later on, so would Nancy. Just goes to show what can happen if the telephone is in the wrong hands. Well, terrific episode. Merlin Olsen, Hersha Parady, Richard Bull and Katherine MacGregor were all superb, and the latter really adds to my reason for loving to hate Harriet. And Royal Dano did his cameo justice. He would come back in Season 7 as Sylvia's abusive father in "Sylvia". Pretty dramatic episode there, but that's another story. Though "Crossed Connections" has some funny moments, it's actually pretty heartfelt and dramatic. But see it anyway.
