History Series / Alice1976

* ThematicThemeTune: "There's a New Girl in Town", sung by Linda Lavin.

'''Flo''' [''flatly'']: Good, Vera.

* CelebrityParadox: In Season 7's "The Secret of Mel's Diner", Mel and the waitresses find $50,000 and Jolene plans to buy a souped-up stock car "just like the General Lee" and specifically mentions Bo Duke. While she doesn't actually mention 'Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'' or that she was talking about a TV show, it was implied in the joke and since no one ever asks "what are Bo Duke and the General Lee?" it can be assumed the show exists in-universe. Yet, the very next season, Boss Hogg and Enos arrive in character as part of a {{Crossover}} (see below) and Boss is revealed as Jolene's distant cousin. Maybe Boss has regaled her with tales about "them Dukes!" and she, in turn, shared those stories with her co-workers alongside stories about "Granny Gums" and others in her family?

* CelebrityParadox: In Season 7's "The Secret of Mel's Diner", Mel and the waitresses find $50,000 and Jolene plans to buy a souped-up stock car "just like the General Lee" and specifically mentions Bo Duke. While she doesn't actually mention TheDukesOfHazzard or that she was talking about a TV show, it was implied in the joke and since no one ever asks "what are Bo Duke and the General Lee?" it can be assumed the show exists in-universe. Yet, the very next season, Boss Hogg and Enos arrive in character as part of a crossover and Boss is revealed as Jolene's distant cousin. Maybe Boss has regaled her with tales about "them Dukes!" and she, in turn, shared those stories with her co-workers alongside stories about "Granny Gums" and others in her family?

* RottonRoboticReplacement: In "The Robot Wore Pink", Mel replaces Alice, Jolene and Vera with a robot named Blanche. Unfortunately, the glitchy robot works too slowly, and when put on high breaks the dishes and tables while frightening away the customers.

Alice Hyatt was a widowed mother and aspiring singer whose car broke down in Phoenix, Arizona while she and her son Tommy (Philip [=McKeon=]) were en route from New Jersey to California. Her waitressing job at Mel's Diner was meant to be temporary while she got her singing career moving, but it stretched out to nine seasons. During that time, we met penny-pinching hothead Mel Sharples (Vic Tayback), the diner's owner; ditzy {{Cloudcuckoolander}} waitress Vera Gorman (Beth Howland); and wise-cracking, slightly over-the-hill, good-time-girl waitress Flo Castleberry (Polly Holliday). In the midst of all the schemes and hilarity that ensued at the diner, it was always Alice who remained level-headed and somehow always came up with a solution.

The series became quite popular, particularly because of Flo, who left for her own {{spinoff}} a few years in. In her place came a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, Belle Dupree, who was basically a blond version of the character. Although they (re)cast the actress who played Flo in the original movie (Diane Ladd), Belle didn't last long, and was replaced by Jolene Hunnicutt (Celia Weston). Jolene had a similar outspoken temperament to her predecessors, but was younger and less obviously promiscuous.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Mel. Despite his already mentioned BadBoss, {{Jerkass}}, and TheScrooge tendencies, he still takes great pride in serving as a ParentalSubstitute for Tommy, who, as mentioned above in DisappearedDad, lost his father in a trucking accident.

* ThematicThemeTune / DoItYourselfThemeTune: "There's a New Girl in Town", sung by Linda Lavin.

A WorkCom on Creator/{{CBS}} that straddled TheSeventies and TheEighties, set in a diner and starring Creator/LindaLavin as Alice Hyatt. Loosely adapted from Creator/MartinScorsese's 1973 dramedy film ''Film/AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore'' -- no, really! -- the series ran from 1976 to 1985, a total of 202 episodes in nine seasons.

A WorkCom on Creator/{{CBS}} that straddled TheSeventies and TheEighties, set in a diner and starring Linda Lavin as Alice Hyatt. Loosely adapted from Creator/MartinScorsese's 1973 dramedy film ''Film/AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore'' -- no, really! -- the series ran from 1976 to 1985, a total of 202 episodes in nine seasons.

* GrowingTheBeard: The first dozen episodes of ''Alice'' were almost an attempt to recycle ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' in a Phoenix diner (with the notable exception of "The Last Review"). The characters were more serious, and almost every single episode was a VerySpecialEpisode dealing with a finger-wagging moral of the day.
** For example, one episode dealt with Sex Education, the teacher being portrayed by Adam West. Mel Sharples, in a stunning example of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, was very much opposed - in that one episode being portrayed as a religious conservative. He even bemoaned the end of school prayer.
** About the fifteenth episode, "The Accident," the series turns definitively to screwball comedy. This move was solidified in the second season, when ''Series/ILoveLucy'' writers Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr. were brought in as producers. Regular customers Henry Beesmeyer and Earl Hicks were added to bring even more humour to the series. Finally, Mel himself went through some {{Flanderization}} to become laughably cheap and short-tempered.

* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity: Mel's toughness as a boss drove many of the plots, as did his waitresses – especially Vera and Flo – always seeming to be on the firing line for whatever offense was the main plot of the week. On several occasions, he did follow through with threats to fire them, but he always hired them back as he realized Vera and Flo (and later waitresses Belle and Jolene) were members of his extended family. Interestingly, Alice never seemed to be on the firing line, although she and Mel at times had heated moments.

* TheDitz: Vera

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: The "third waitress", Vera, generally caught all the "dumb" lines, but was also weird enough to qualify as this trope.

** In "Block Those Kicks", Alice, Vera, and Flo suddenly gain addictions to chocolate, smoking, and coffee respectively, and, along with any mention of them, vanish as soon as the episode is over.

* DiggingYourselfDeeper: Alice is once arrested for being a prostitute when she was doing her singing lounge act. When asked what song she was singing, she sheepishly admits "Love For Sale".

** About the fifteenth episode, "The Accident", the series turns definitively to screwball comedy. This move was solidified in the second season, when ''Series/ILoveLucy'' writers Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr. were brought in as producers. Regular customers Henry Beesmeyer and Earl Hicks were added to bring even more humour to the series. Finally, Mel himself went through some {{Flanderization}} to become laughably cheap and short-tempered.

* ReallyGetsAround: Flo

** One memorable episode featured Creator/GeorgeBurns visiting the restaurant. Vera thought he was God ([[CannotTellFictionFromReality having starred in the ''Oh, God!'' movies]].) Vera realizes he's just George Burns when she finds out he's going on a date with Vera, saying he couldn't be that holy if he did.

* For example, one episode dealt with Sex Education, the teacher being portrayed by Adam West. Mel Sharples, in a stunning example of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, was very much opposed - in that one episode being portrayed as a religious conservative. He even bemoaned the end of school prayer.
* About the fifteenth episode, "The Accident", the series turns definitively to screwball comedy. This move was solidified in the second season, when ''Series/ILoveLucy'' writers Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr. were brought in as producers. Regular customers Henry Beesmeyer and Earl Hicks were added to bring even more humour to the series. Finally, Mel himself went through some {{Flanderization}} to become laughably cheap and short-tempered.

* IAmSpartacus: In Season 1's "Mel's Cup", when Alice accidentally gives away Mel's navy souvenir loving cup for a church rummage sale when Mel suspects it was stolen, Alice, Flo and Vera take turns admitting they stole the cup, and even Mel jokes about having stolen it before he goes on a quest to find the alleged thief.

* YetAnotherChristmasCarol: In "Mel's Christmas Carol", Mel fires the waitresses after they refuse to work until midnight on Christmas Eve. He's visited by the ghost of his (never before or again mentioned) Brooklyn business partner, Jake Farley, who is chained to a number of kitchen utensils. Jake warns Mel that if he's been bad enough in life to, among other things, end up chained to an Amana side-by-side refrigerator when he dies.
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* For example, one episode dealt Sex Education teacher. Mel Sharples, in a stunning example of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, was very much opposed - in that episode being portrayed as a religious conservative. He even bemoaned the end of school prayer.
* About the fifteenth episode, "The Accident", the series turns definitively to screwball comedy. This move was solidified in the second season, when ''Series/ILoveLucy'' writers Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr. were brought in as producers. Regular customers Henry Beesmeyer and Earl Hicks were added to bring even mour humour to the series. Finally, Mel himself went through some {{Flanderization}} to become laughably cheap and short-tempered.

* ''Series/{{Alice|1976}}'': Mel and his waitresses seemed to know several famous people. Guests included Creator/GeorgeBurns, Creator/TellySavalas, Jerry Reed, Creator/DinahShore, and Art Carney.

For example, one episode dealt with Adam West as a Sex Education teacher. Mel Sharples, in a stunning example of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, was very much opposed - in that episode being portrayed as a religious conservative. He even bemoaned the end of school prayer.

About the fifteenth episode, "The Accident", the series turns definitively to screwball comedy. This move was solidified in the second season, when ''Series/ILoveLucy'' writers Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr. were brought in as producers. Regular customers Henry Beesmeyer and Earl Hicks were added to bring even mour humour to the series. Finally, Mel himself went through some {{Flanderization}} to become laughably cheap and short-tempered.