Episode 1
Bet a Million, Mel
1981-10-04 • 30 min
Mel borrows $10,000 against the diner to bet on a 90-to-1 nag.
TV season
1981-10-04
Episode 1
1981-10-04 • 30 min
Mel borrows $10,000 against the diner to bet on a 90-to-1 nag.
Episode 2
1981-10-11 • 30 min
Determined to leave her mark on the world, Vera sets out to break the tap dancing endurance record.
Episode 3
1981-10-18 • 30 min
A towel boy from the Russian ballet takes refuge in Mel's storeroom.
Episode 4
1981-10-25 • 30 min
On Halloween, Alice's latest heartthrob asks her to shepherd his four kids for the evening.
Episode 5
1981-11-08 • 30 min
It's Alice's 40th birthday, and for the milestone she gets a millstone, a visit from her meddling mother.
Episode 6
1981-11-15 • 30 min
Smooth operator Mel teaches his shy cousin, Wendell, how to score with Vera.
Episode 7
1981-11-29 • 30 min
Against Mel's orders, Vera cashes a check for an old flame, who's nowhere to be found when it bounces.
Episode 8
1981-12-06 • 30 min
Mel becomes despondent when he realizes he has no heirs.
Episode 9
1981-12-20 • 30 min
The ghost of a partner past gives Mel the dickens on Christmas Eve after Mel fired Alice, Jolene and Vera.
Episode 10
1981-12-27 • 30 min
Alice's spirit inspires a biker to recruit her as his ""old lady.""
Episode 11
1982-01-03 • 30 min
Alice blows the whistle on Tommy's basketball playing when his grades start to slip.
Episode 12
1982-01-17 • 30 min
Mel gives Tommy advice on how to charm the ladies, which Tommy promptly applies to Mel's niece.
Episode 13
1982-01-31 • 30 min
After getting hooked on soap operas, Vera becomes a washout at work and later quits.
Episode 14
1982-02-07 • 30 min
Mel has a beef with his mother who wants to publish his secret chili recipe in her new cookbook.
Episode 15
1982-02-14 • 30 min
Valentine's Day promises anything but hearts and flowers for the diner staff, who all quarrel with their dates.
Episode 16
1982-02-21 • 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.
Episode 17
1982-03-07 • 30 min
Alice is visited by a high-school chum who's still suffering from her teenage inferiority complex.
Episode 18
1982-03-14 • 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.
Episode 19
1982-03-21 • 30 min
Mel considers getting a nose job while undergoing surgery for a deviated septum.
Episode 20
1982-04-04 • 30 min
Alice's actress friend from New York persuades Tommy that he has a brilliant future on Broadway.
Episode 21
1982-04-11 • 30 min
Vera returns from her high-school reunion with stars in her eyes and a sparkler on her finger.
Episode 22
1982-04-18 • 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.
Episode 23
1982-05-02 • 30 min
To counter a competitor whose contest is drawing customers, Mel launches one too and ups the ante to $3000.
Episode 24
1982-05-16 • 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.