S1 · E1 — Fly the Unfriendly Skies
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It's Vocation Day in Emily's class, and Bob feels left out when he's not invited. At the last minute, he's asked to fill in, but Emily's worst fears are confirmed when Bob fails to excite the kids' interest.
Now playingBob invites Emily to join his fear of flying group on a trip to New York City. Much to Bob's surprise he finds that Emily also has a fear of flying and refuses to go. After a conversation with Howard she decides to go only to back out after boarding the plane.
It's Vocation Day in Emily's class, and Bob feels left out when he's not invited. At the last minute, he's asked to fill in, but Emily's worst fears are confirmed when Bob fails to excite the kids' interest.
Bob experiences pangs of jealousy when Emily's handsome new tennis instructor comes to see him with an emotional problem, namely, his inability to turn down the women who are all uncontrollably attracted to him.
Bob finds it extremely difficult to tell his mother that he loves her.
Bob's old girlfriend comes to Chicago with her husband and calls on Emily and Bob.
Carol tries to get Bob to approve her moving in with her new boyfriend Roger, who has just separated from his wife. Bob refuses, telling her she will have to make her own decision.
Bob's divorced neighbor, Howard Borden, is convinced that his son, Howie, doesn't really like him. Later, Howard's ex-wife convinces him that Howie thinks he is the greatest guy in the world.
Bob wants to watch football every Monday night. Emily feels this is unfair: their other activities allow the couple only two nights each week to be together, and she thinks they should do something that they both enjoy. This leads to an unresolved, all-night argument that ends only when the two participants become exhausted.
Bob and Emily have been trying for some time to have a child. When they attend a party where the conversation turns to the subject of children, they feel so left out that they decide to adopt a child.
As soon as Bob returns to the office from his vacation in Mexico, Jerry announces that he is about to be married to a girl he met nine days ago. Cynthia, a beautiful but domineering oral hygienist, becomes too much for Jerry, and he realizes that he has made a mistake.
Bob decides that for his own mental well-being, he needs some peace and quiet. He moves into a hotel room by himself, leaving a confused Howard Borden thinking that Bob and Emily have split up.
Howard "floats" into Bob's office on Cloud Nine after having a tooth pulled. He is so poetic that Carol tells Emily, "I want him." Emily agrees to help Carol get him, and the two have an up-and-down romance.
Jerry decides there is something wrong with him because he never becomes serious about any of the girls he dates. He asks Bob if he can become one of his patients. Bob agrees, but they have to abandon the plan when it begins to interfere with their friendship.
Christmas becomes a sad memory for Bob's group therapy session, and it's evident that "'tis not the season" for everyone to be jolly. Bob decides to invite the group over for Christmas Eve.
Bob and Emily travel to a ski lodge that's nearly deserted except for the annoying couple with whom they share a bathroom. After sitting through a disastrous dinner, the Hartleys decide to leave only to find themselves caught in the spotlight of the abominable floor show they're trying to escape.
Feeling unfulfilled as a woman, and having just passed her 29th birthday, Carol quits her job as Bob's receptionist. After having been gone for a while, Carol suddenly shows up at one of Bob's group-therapy sessions and creates a situation in which Bob finds himself more of a patient than a doctor.
Bob refuses to wear the beautiful gold watch Emily gave him for his 40th birthday after he learns just how expensive it was.
When one of his patients falls in love with him, Bob has problems at the office and at home.
Howard Borden's 22-year old sister Debbie arrives to spend the week with him. Emily arranges a blind date for her with Jerry Robinson and Howard suddenly turns into an overprotective big brother.
Bob and Emily try to decide if they should give up their apartment and buy a house.
Bob is upset when Emily takes a full-time job with the Board of Education. Emily explains that working full-time makes her feel wonderful, while quitting would make her miserable. Bob decides to leave well enough alone.
When a star pitcher for the Chicago Cubs credits Bob with saving his career, the endorsement brings Bob a new patient, Moose Washburn, a second-string player whose career is beyond a mere psychologist's help.
Afraid that his practice, as well as his patients, will fall apart if he leaves, Bob keeps resisting Emily's plans for a two-month European cruise.
Recovering from another broken romance, Jerry Robinson accepts Bob's invitation to spend a couple of days at his apartment. Bob soon comes to regret his kindness.