Lou Grant: Season 1
 (1977)
TV Series  /  Drama
In Collection
#2861
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Seen ItNo
826663166316
1110 mins USA / English
DVD  Region 1
Edward Asner Lou Grant
Nancy Marchand Mrs. Pynchon
Robert Walden Joe Rossi
Mason Adams Charlie Hume
Jack Bannon Art Donovan
Daryl Anderson Dennis Animal Price
Linda Kelsey Billie Newman
Allen Williams Assistant Foreign Editor
Michael Irving Jayson
Bob Harks Reporter
Laurence Haddon Foreign Editor
Al Beaudine Reporter
Vivian Brown Waitress
Gordon Jump National Editor
Fred Stuthman Photo Editor
Norman Palmer Reporter
Wallace Rooney Tim Butterfield
Sidney Clute National Editor
Charles Bracy Copy Boy
Lewis Arquette Airline Official
Director
Mel Damski
Gene Reynolds
Charles S. Dubin
Alexander Singer
Producer Gene Reynolds
James L. Brooks
Allan Burns
Roger Young
Writer Leon Tokatyan
James L. Brooks
Allan Burns
Gene Reynolds
Cinematography Robert Caramico
William K. Jurgensen
Musician Patrick Williams

Lou Grant was a spinoff from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and premiered on CBS in September 1977. The series was a radical departure from its predecessor as it was a drama. It was the first successful one-hour show from MTM Enterprises. As the series began, Lou Grant had just been fired from his job at WJM-TV, and had moved to Los Angeles to work for a newspaper.
Episodes
 60 mins    9/20/1977  1.  Cophouse
After landing the city editor job at the Los Angeles Tribune, Lou Grant's first major story is a sex scandal concerning the LAPD and underage girls. However, in order to get it published he must deal with a reporter that is reluctant to bring down the police and Mrs. Pynchon who has a difference of opinion with him.
Director:  Gene Reynolds  Writer:  Leon Tokatyan 
Guest starring:  Peter HobbsNorman Bartold, George Cooper,  Paul LarsonWallace Rooney
 60 mins    9/27/1977  2.  Hostages
A gunman, upset with a story about his brother who was wrongfully shot by a store-owner during a robbery, holds the newspaper staff hostage demanding a new story.
Director:  Charles Dubin  Writer:  Seth Freeman 
Guest starring:  John Rubinstein, Patrick Tovatt, Joyce Jillson,  Robert Phalen, Rachel Bard
 60 mins    10/4/1977  3.  Hoax
When Lou gets a tip from a friend who claims to know the whereabouts of a missing millionaire, members of the staff initially have doubts about following it and dismiss it as a hoax. The man begins to gain credibility when he is able to retrieve information that only the missing man would know.
Director:  Jay Sandrich  Writer:  Gordon Dawson 
Guest starring:  Eugene RocheBooth ColmanDiana DouglasRod McCary, Fred Struthman
 60 mins    10/11/1977  4.  Henhouse
Director:  Richard Crenna  Writer:  Leonora Thuna 
Guest starring:  Claudette Nevins,  Geoffrey Lewis, Patty Mattick, David Starwalt, Ivy Bethune
 60 mins    10/18/1977  5.  Nazi
While investigating a group of Nazis, Billie comes upon information that one of their leaders used to be Jewish.
Director:  Alexander Singer  Writer:  Robert Schlitt 
Guest starring:  Peter WellerBrian Dennehy, Janet Brandt, Jack A. Lukes,  Lee WallaceNancy Parsons
 60 mins    10/25/1977  6.  Aftershock
When a member of the staff passes away, Lou does everything he can to comfort the widow which causes her to depend more on him and fall in love with him. After a small earthquake hits, Rossi interviews a scientist who claims that his insects are predicting a more serious one in the upcoming days.
Director:  Jud Taylor  Writer:  Del Reisman 
Guest starring:  Joyce Van Patten, Betty Anne Rees, Gary Pagett,  Noble WillinghamClyde Kusatsu
 60 mins    11/1/1977  7.  Barrio
Surprised by the paper's lack of coverage on the shooting of a Hispanic woman by a gang, Lou allows Billie to go into the Hispanic community to write a story. While in the community, she meets the victim's son who is fueled with anger and seems headed down the wrong path.
Director:  Mel Damski  Writer:  Seth Freeman 
Guest starring:  Guillermo San Juan, Phillip Antora,  Joe Santos, Kiki Quiralta, Edward Gallardo, Margarita Cordova
 60 mins    11/8/1977  8.  Scoop
Pressured to get the latest scoop at any cost, Lou ends up in hot water after running two of Rossi's exclusive stories which turn out to be false. So when Billie has information about a possible fake kidnapping, Lou is reluctant to run the story.
Director:  Harry Falk  Writer:  Gene Kearney 
Guest starring:  Bill Beck, Laurence Haddon, Michael Irving, Vivian Brown, Reni Santoni
 60 mins    11/15/1977  9.  Judge
When Lou goes to a courthouse to look into a report of inappropriate behavior by a senior judge, he angers the judge by trying to leave in the middle of a trial and is put in jail. Upset by this treatment, he gets the newspaper staff to further investigate the judge's erratic behavior.
Director:  Irving J. Moore  Writer:  Leon Tokatyan 
Guest starring:  Barnard Hughes, Phillip Pine,  Joe Mantell, Timothy Jerome,  Guy Raymond
 60 mins    11/22/1977  10.  Psychout
After Lou tells him that his stories are missing first-hand experience, Rossi checks into a mental institution as a patient under a made-up name to investigate reports of abuse. Lou clashes with a lawyer at the paper because he feels that censorship and fear of possible lawsuits are limiting what the paper can publish.
Director:  Alexander Singer  Writer:  Seth Freeman 
Guest starring:  Phillip Richard Allen, Michael Irving, Harry Townes, Michael Zslow, Ann Sweeny, Michael Zaslow
 60 mins    11/29/1977  11.  Housewarming
Billie uses a battered woman as a source for a story on spousal abuse but has trouble following through with it when the women's husband finds out. She later finds out that a co-worker has a problem with spousal abuse.
Director:  Mel Damski  Writer:  Leonora Thuna 
Guest starring:  Julie Kavner, Fredi Olster, Janice Kent,  Robert RothwellEdward Winter
 60 mins    12/6/1977  12.  Takeover
Staff members become nervous when a multi-millionaire with a penchant for ruining the credibility of newspapers makes an attempt to take over the Tribune.
Director:  Gene Reynolds  Writer:  Leon Tokatyan 
Guest starring:  John Anderson, Jerry Fogel,  Paul KentAllen WilliamsWilliam Bogert
 60 mins    12/13/1977  13.  Christmas
Lou gets homesick with Christmas approaching. Billie does a story on a family that is homeless for the holidays and public donations begin to pour in. After Rossi improperly uses a quote, Lou punishes him by assigning him to a boring story that turns out to be a juicy story.
Director:  James Burrows  Writer:  David Lloyd 
Guest starring:  Verna Bloom, Tim O'Connor, Ben Hayes, Carol O'Leary
 60 mins    1/3/1978  14.  Airliner
News breaks of an airplane carrying over 300 people that is unable to land. Members of the staff scour the list of passengers aboard and find out that Charlie's daughter is on that flight.
Director:  Mel Damski  Writer:  Charles Einstein 
Guest starring:  Jack Grapes,  Allan MillerLou CutellPenny Santon
 60 mins    1/10/1978  15.  Sports
The paper faces a public backlash after Lou runs a story about an NCAA investigation into the possible recruiting violations by a popular local college football team.
Director:  Harvey Laidman  Writer:  Bud Freeman 
Guest starring:  Vaughn Armstrong, Michael D. Henry, David Ackroyd, Elizabeth Herbert, Michael Morgan, John A. Randolph,  John Randolph
 60 mins    1/17/1978  16.  Hero
When a man saves the governor's life and then flees the scene, the paper launches a campaign to find his identity. When they find him and write a story revealing that he has a criminal record, he blames the paper for hurting his business and ruining his engagement. Billie is upset at the lack of support for a halfway house that is on the verge of closing due to lack of funding.
Director:  Mel Damski  Writer:  Seth Freeman 
Guest starring:  Marlene Warfield, Hazel Medina, Lola Mason, Jim McMullan,  Kerry Sherman
 60 mins    1/30/1978  17.  Renewal
The paper does a story on a senior citizen whose apartment, decorated with art that reflects his life's work, is in danger of being torn down.
Director:  Gene Reynolds  Writer:  Ken Trevey 
Guest starring:  Robert Earl Jones, Phillip Richard Allen,  James Karen
 60 mins    2/6/1978  18.  Sect
Charlie is devastated when his son joins a cult.
Director:  Alexander Singer  Writer:  Michele Gallery 
Guest starring:  James Beach,  William BoyettRichard Erdman, Melissa Newman
 60 mins    2/13/1978  19.  Scandal
Rossi gets upset when a new female reporter comes in and is given the story about a possibly corrupt politician that he had unsuccessfully been investigating.
Director:  Mel Damski  Writer:  Seth Freeman 
Guest starring:  Gail StricklandJames Olson, Brian Farrell, Paul Jenkins, Virginia Binham
 60 mins    2/27/1978  20.  Spies
When the paper finds out about the son of a wealthy businessman being secretly detained by authorities, Lou decides to have Rossi investigate. However, when a CIA agent thwarts the investigation before it begins, everyone begins to suspect there is a CIA informant working at the paper.
Director:  Charles Dubin  Writer:  Leon Tokatyan 
Guest starring:  Peter HobbsLaurette SpangMichael Strong, Jean Allison
 60 mins    3/6/1978  21.  Poison
After Rossi's friend reveals that he has damaging information about the unsafe conditions at a nuclear plant, he is "accidentally" struck and killed by a car. Eager to prove that it was no accident, Rossi continues the investigation into the nuclear plant.
Director:  Gene Reynolds  Writer:  Michele Gallery 
Guest starring:  Guy Boyd, Jennifer Rhodes, Belinda Montgomery
 60 mins    3/20/1978  22.  Physical
Lou reluctantly goes for a physical and finds out that he has a thyroid condition that requires surgery. At the paper, he offers advice to an intern who wants to become a reporter. Rossi learns that he has a good chance at a Pulitzer prize for his story on mental hospitals.
Director:  Charles Dubin  Writer:  David Lloyd 
Guest starring:  Fred Sadoff1, Leonard Ross, Thomas Carter, Laird Stuart
Edition Details
Series Lou Grant
Distributor Shout! Factory
Release Date 5/24/2016
Packaging Keep Case
Screen Ratio Fullscreen (4:3)
Audio Tracks Dolby Digital Mono [English]
Layers Single Side, Dual Layer
No. of Discs/Tapes 5
Personal Details
Links TheTvDb.com