History Series / TooCloseForComfort

* BlackComedyRape: In the episode "For Every Man, There's Two Women" from season five, Monroe fails to come home one night. When he does return that morning, he tells the family that he was approached and abducted by two women, who take him to their apartment and have their way with him the entire night. When an officer tries to convince Monroe not to press charges in order to avoid the spectacle such a case would make, Henry and Monroe proceed to find and capture the women themselves. [[spoiler:When they go to the scene of the crime and see one of the women, Monroe runs off to call the police, leaving Henry behind; she tries to have her way with him, but Henry escapes her advances and the woman is taken into police custody]].
* {{Blackmail}}: The episode "Miss Marin Bugler" (from the final season, when the series was known as ''The Ted Knight Show'') involved a man named Ed Hugo, who threatened to release nude pictures of the winner of a beauty pageant (taken when she was only 17) that was organized by Henry to drum up publicity in the ''Marin Bugler'' newspaper. Henry is blackmailed by Hugo – who calls it a [[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord "business proposition"]] – to paying money ([[spoiler: ultimately doing so, acing him out of the opportunity to purchase a sailboat]]) in exchange for preventing the photos from being released.[[note]]Interestingly, the episode fails to acknowledge that taking and distributing nude photographs of anyone under 18 constitutes as felony child pornography in the United States. The fact the photos were in the possession of Henry and his boss Hope (who both own and are editor/publisher of a newspaper, respectively) makes it very problematic (they do find the photos scandalous though, and dislike the fact that the young woman was exploited like that at such a young age). The photographer who took the photos and the person who blackmailed Henry into paying him off to prevent the photos from being released could have also faced charges as well (the photographer for taking the photos, and the blackmailer for extortion, and possession and distribution of child pornography).[[/note]] The plot appears to be a nod to the 1984 Music/VanessaWilliams ''Penthouse'' photo scandal (which also involved nude photos voluntarily taken of a pageant winner) that resulted in Williams resigning as Miss America.[[note]]The infamous September 1984 issue Williams appeared in also featured a nude pictorial of Traci Lords, rendering the issue itself illegal following the revelation that Lords lied about being over 18 when she posed for the pictures and performed in all but one of the pornographic films she starred in between 1984 and 1986. (Lords’s ''Penthouse'' shoot occurred and her porn career began when she was 15.)[[/note]]

** Jackie gets a job as an intern at a fashion design company in Milan in season five's "Arrivederci, Jackie", [[spoiler: though almost doesn't get the job because Henry misinterprets her potential new boss's offer to have her work for him to be a marriage proposal due to his imperfect English (besides the language barrier, the fact that Jackie didn't tell her dad that she was going to be working in Milan didn't help, either). After losing the job for his daughter, Henry eventually fixes things and Jackie gets the job, being sent off by her family with a going away party.]]

** After that though, he suffers chest pains ([[spoiler: that turn out to be the result of gas]]) and is sent to the hospital.

* WeakWilled: Monroe has moments like this, such as thinking an idea is great one minute and then giving up on it the minute someone says it is a bad idea. Henry will often do this to him, just by giving him a stare.

** DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Addressed in season five’s "For Every Man, There's Two Women". After Monroe reveals he was raped by two women who kidnapped him as he was leaving his mall security job the previous night, Henry is the only character to take Monroe's assault seriously. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome He calls out Jackie, Sara and Muriel]] when they not only express skepticism that the police will take Monroe’s case seriously since the sexual assault victim was a man, ''they outright suggest'' that men can’t be assaulted by a woman and must be a willing participant in the encounter, and that it’s a less serious offense than sexual assaults against a female victim. Dismayed when a police officer tries to convince Monroe not to press charges to avoid the kind of spectacle the cop thinks such a case would make, Henry sets in motion a plot to find and capture the women (described and shown as a short overweight blonde, and a very husky, taller brunette) with Monroe’s help.

** DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Addressed in season five’s "For Every Man, There's Two Women". After Monroe reveals he was raped by two women who kidnapped him as he was leaving his mall security job the previous night, Henry is the only character to take Monroe's assault seriously. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome He calls out Jackie, Sara and Muriel]] when they not only express skepticism that the police will take Monroe’s case seriously since the sexual assault victim was a man, ''they outright suggest'' that men can’t be assaulted by a woman and must be a willing participant in the encounter. Dismayed when a police officer tries to convince Monroe not to press charges to avoid the kind of spectacle the cop thinks such a case would make, Henry sets in motion a plot to find and capture the women (described and shown as a short overweight blonde, and a very husky, taller brunette) with Monroe’s help.

* DitzySecretary: In “The Graduates”, Henry decides to take pity on Monroe (who’s looking for work as he’s graduating college) and hires him, at the latter’s suggestion, to be his assistant. In only one morning on the job, Monroe accidentally oversharpens Henry’s pencils down to mere stubs (and destroys the pencil sharpener trying to sharpen a ''ballpoint pen''), runs a hole in one of Henry’s ''Cosmic Cow'' storyboards while trying to erase the pencil lines, and noisily eats his lunch (including banging a hardboiled egg against his metal lunchbox) while Henry is trying to concentrate on another ''Cosmic Cow'' strip. This turns out how you’d expect:

-->'''Henry''' (to Sara, after Henry tells the family he hired Monroe the next day): “I hired him yesterday morning.”

--->'''Henry''' (to Sara, after Henry tells the family he hired Monroe the next day): “I hired him yesterday morning.”
--->'''Muriel:''' “How’d he do?”
--->'''Henry:''' “I ''fired'' him yesterday morning.”

--->'''Henry''' (to Sara, after Henry tells the family he hired Monroe): “I hired him yesterday morning.”

* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity:
** Subverted in the episode "Cosmic Cow vs. the Oval Office", [[spoiler: when Henry is fired by Mr. Wainwright when he refuses to publish an apology for a recent Cosmic Cow comic strip that pokes fun at President UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan. He goes to file for unemployment compensation, but doesn't go through with it; he then decides to pursue his passion for painting (which doesn't go well when Monroe accidentally destroys the picture he painted of him as a Roman warrior). Wainwright sends his female limousine driver Regis (whom he sent earlier in the episode to inform him of his firing) to the house to tell him he is rehired after learning that President Reagan liked the piece for its satire.]]
** Played straight in “The Graduates”, when Henry takes pity on Monroe (who’s looking for work as he’s graduating college) and hires him, at the latter’s suggestion, to be his assistant. In only one morning on the job, Monroe accidentally oversharpens Henry’s pencils (and destroys the pencil sharpener trying to sharpen a ''ballpoint pen''), runs a hole in one of Henry’s ''Cosmic Cow'' storyboards while trying to erase the pencil lines, and noisily eats his lunch (including banging a hardboiled egg against his metal lunchbox) while Henry is trying to concentrate on another ''Cosmic Cow'' strip. This turns out how you’d expect:
--->'''Henry''' (to Sara, after Henry tells the family he hired Monroe): “I hired him yesterday morning.”
--->'''Muriel:''' “How’d he do?”
--->'''Henry:''' “I ''fired'' him yesterday morning.”

** Played straight in “The Graduates”, when Henry takes pity on Monroe (who’s looking for work as he’s graduating college) and hires him, at the latter’s suggestion, to be his assistant. In only one morning on the job, Monroe accidentally oversharpens Henry’s pencils (and destroys the pencil sharpener trying to sharpen a ''ballpoint pen''), runs a hole in one of Henry’s Cosmic Cow storyboards while trying to erase the pencil lines, and noisily eats his lunch (including banging a hardboiled egg against his metal lunchbox) while Henry is trying to concentrate on another Cosmic Cow strip. This turns out how you’d expect:

** Played straight in “The Graduates”, when Henry takes pity on Monroe (who’s looking for work as he’s graduating college) and hires him, at the latter’s suggestion, to be his assistant. In only one morning on the job, Monroe accidentally oversharpens Henry’s pencils (and destroys the pencil sharpener trying to sharpen a ''ballpoint pen''), runs a hole in one of Henry’s Cosmic Cow storyboards while trying to erase the pencil lines, and noisily eats his lunch (including banging a hardboiled egg against his metal lunchbox) while Henry is drawing another Cosmic Cow strip. This turns out how you’d expect:

** Played straight in “The Graduates”, when Henry takes pity on Monroe (who’s looking for work as he’s graduating college) and hires him, at the latter’s suggestion, to be his assistant. In only one morning on the job, Monroe accidentally oversharpens Henry’s pencils (and destroys the pencil sharpener trying to sharpen a ''ballpoint pen''), runs a hole in one of Henry’s Cosmic Cow storyboards while trying to erase the pencil lines, and noisily eats his lunch (including banging a hardboiled egg against his metal lunchbox). This turns out how you’d expect:

-->'''Henry''' (to Sara, after Henry tells the family he hired Monroe): “I hired him yesterday morning.”
-->'''Muriel:''' “How’d he do?”
-->'''Henry:''' “I ''fired'' him yesterday morning.”

-->'''Henry (after Sara asks how Monroe did):''' “I hired him yesterday morning.”

* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity: Subverted in the episode "Cosmic Cow vs. the Oval Office", [[spoiler: when Henry is fired by Mr. Wainwright when he refuses to publish an apology for a recent Cosmic Cow comic strip that pokes fun at President UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan. He goes to file for unemployment compensation, but doesn't go through with it; he then decides to pursue his passion for painting (which doesn't go well when Monroe accidentally destroys the picture he painted of him as a Roman warrior). Wainwright sends his female limousine driver Regis (whom he sent earlier in the episode to inform him of his firing) to the house to tell him he is rehired after learning that President Reagan liked the piece for its satire.]]

* DoubleStandard: Pointed out and justifiably balked at by Jackie, Sara and April in the episode "Where There's a Will", Henry does a videotaped will (an idea given to him by Monroe after Henry had a nightmare about how the family would end up, if he didn't have a will) and states that in the event that Henry, Muriel or both should die, if his and Muriel's third child is born a boy, he'll get his inheritance at age 21, if it is born a girl, she won't get the inheritance until she's ''25!''
* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Addressed in season five’s "For Every Man, There's Two Women". After Monroe reveals he was raped by two women who kidnapped him as he was leaving his mall security job the previous night, Henry is the only character to take Monroe's assault seriously. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome He calls out Jackie, Sara and Muriel]] when they not only express skepticism that the police will take Monroe’s case seriously since the sexual assault victim was a man, ''they outright suggest'' that men can’t be assaulted by a woman and must be a willing participant in the encounter. Dismayed when a police officer tries to convince Monroe not to press charges to avoid the kind of spectacle the cop thinks such a case would make, Henry sets in motion a plot to find and capture the women (described and shown as a short overweight blonde, and a very husky, taller brunette) with Monroe’s help.

** The 1982 episode "Monroe's Secret Love's Secret" involves Monroe trying to woo a co-worker named Pat who turns out to be a [[AttractiveBentGender man in drag]][[note]]played by actor Christopher Morley; who seemed to specialize in AttractiveBentGender spots during the 1970s and 1980s.[[/note]]

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Addressed in season five’s "For Every Man, There's Two Women". After Monroe reveals he was raped by two women who kidnap him as he was leaving his mall security job the previous night, Henry is the only character to take Monroe's assault seriously. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome He calls out Jackie, Sara and Muriel]] when they not only express skepticism that the police will take Monroe’s case seriously since the sexual assault victim was a man, ''they outright suggest'' that men can’t be assaulted by a woman and must be a willing participant in the encounter. Dismayed when a police officer tries to convince Monroe not to press charges to avoid the kind of spectacle the cop thinks such a case would make, Henry sets in motion a plot to find and capture the women (described and shown as a short overweight blonde, and a very husky, taller brunette) with Monroe’s help.

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Addressed in season five’s "For Every Man, There's Two Women". After Monroe reveals he was raped by two women who kidnap him as he was leaving his mall security job the previous night, Henry is the only character to take Monroe's assault seriously. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome He calls out Jackie, Sara and Muriel]] when they not only express skepticism that the police will take Monroe’s case seriously since the sexual assault victim was a man, ''they outright suggest'' that men can’t be assaulted and must be a willing participant in the encounter. Dismayed when a police officer tries to convince Monroe not to press charges to avoid the kind of spectacle the cop thinks such a case would make, Henry sets in motion a plot to find and capture the women (described and shown as a short overweight blonde, and a very husky, taller brunette) with Monroe’s help.

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Addressed in season five’s "For Every Man, There's Two Women". After Monroe reveals he was raped by two women who kidnap him as he was leaving his mall security job the previous night, Henry is the only character to take Monroe's assault seriously. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome He calls out Jackie, Sara and Muriel]] when they not only express skepticism that the police will take Monroe’s case seriously since the sexual assault victim was a man, they outright suggest that men can’t really be assaulted and must be a willing participant in the encounter. Dismayed when a police officer tries to convince Monroe not to press charges to avoid the kind of spectacle the cop thinks such a case would make, Henry sets in motion a plot to find and capture the women (described and shown as a short overweight blonde, and a very husky, taller brunette) with Monroe’s help.

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Addressed in season five’s "For Every Man, There's Two Women". After Monroe reveals he was raped by two women who kidnap him as he was leaving his mall security job the previous night, Henry is the only character to take Monroe's assault seriously. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome He calls out Jackie, Sara and Muriel]] when they not only express skepticism that the police will take Monroe’s case seriously since the sexual assault victim was a man, they outright suggest that an men can’t really be assaulted and must be a willing participant. Dismayed when a police officer tries to convince Monroe not to press charges to avoid the kind of spectacle the cop thinks such a case would make, Henry sets in motion a plot to find and capture the women (described and shown as a short overweight blonde, and a very husky, taller brunette) with Monroe’s help.

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Addressed in season five’s "For Every Man, There's Two Women". After Monroe reveals he was raped by two women who kidnap him as he was leaving his mall security job the previous night, Henry is the only character to take Monroe's assault seriously. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome He calls out Jackie, Sara and Muriel when they not only express skepticism that the police will take Monroe’s case seriously since the sexual assault victim was a man, they outright suggest that an men can’t really be assaulted and must be a willing participant. Dismayed when a police officer tries to convince Monroe not to press charges to avoid the kind of spectacle the cop thinks such a case would make, Henry sets in motion a plot to find and capture the women (described and shown as a short overweight blonde, and a very husky, taller brunette) with Monroe’s help.

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Addressed in season five’s "For Every Man, There's Two Women". After Monroe reveals he was raped by two women who kidnap him as he was leaving his mall security job the previous night, Jackie, Sara and Muriel express skepticism that the police will take his story seriously since the sexual assault victim was a man… even suggesting that an assault against a man isn’t such, and a male victim must be a willing participant. Henry is the only character to take Monroe's complaint seriously: [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome he calls out his wife and daughters on their double standard]] and is dismayed when a police officer tries to convince Monroe not to press charges to avoid the kind of spectacle the cop thinks such a case would make. This sets in motion Henry and Monroe’s plot to find and capture the women (described and shown as a short overweight blonde, and a very husky, taller brunette).

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Addressed in season five’s "For Every Man, There's Two Women". After Monroe reveals he was raped by two women who kidnap him as he was leaving his mall security job the previous night, Jackie, Sara and Muriel express skepticism that the police will take his story seriously since the sexual assault victim was a man… even suggesting that an assault against a man isn’t such, and a male victim must be a willing participant. Henry is the only character to take Monroe's complaint seriously: [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome he calls out his wife and daughters on their double standard]] and is dismayed when a police officer tries to convince Monroe not to press charges to avoid the kind of spectacle the cop thinks such a case would make. This sets in motion Henry and Monroe’s plot to find and capture the women (described and shown as a short overweight blonde, and a very husky, taller brunette).

* BlackComedyRape: In the episode "For Every Man, There's Two Women" from season five, Monroe fails to come home one night. When he does return that morning, he tells the family that he was approached and abducted by two women, who take him to their apartment and have their way with him the entire night. When an officer tries to convince Monroe not to press charges in order to avoid the spectacle such a case would make, Henry and Monroe proceed to find and capture the women themselves. [[spoiler:When they go to the scene of the crime and see one of the women, Monroe runs off to call the police, leaving Henry behind; she tries to have her way with him, but Henry escapes her advances and the woman is taken into police custody]]. Also touches on Double Standard Rape: Female on Male, as Henry is the only other character to take Monroe's complaint seriously.

* IAteWhat?: "Brotherly Hate" from season two involves a reunion set up by April between Henry and his estranged brother Bill; for the occasion, Monroe makes Cheesecake Mischak, a dessert that unbeknownst to everybody until April, Jackie and Muriel learn from Mrs. Rafkin that the recipe contains arsenic and is intended to be used to exterminate rats. Bill eats a slice of the cake and gets taken to the hospital to have his stomach pumped, only to find out later that was for no reason, since Monroe baked the cake without the [[LethalChef lethal ingredient]].

* {{Blackmail}}: The episode "Miss Marin Bugler" (from the final season, when the series was known as ''The Ted Knight Show'') involved a man named Ed Hugo, who threatened to release nude pictures of the winner of a beauty pageant (taken when she was only 17) that was organized by Henry to drum up publicity in the ''Marin Bugler'' newspaper. Henry is blackmailed by Hugo – who calls it a [[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord "business proposition"]] – to paying money ([[spoiler: ultimately doing so, acing him out of the opportunity to purchase a sailboat]]) in exchange for preventing the photos from being released.[[note]]Interestingly, the episode fails to acknowledge that taking and distributing nude photographs of anyone under 18 constitutes as felony child pornography in the United States. The fact the photos were in the possession of Henry and his boss Hope (who both own and are editor/publisher of a newspaper, respectively) makes it very problematic (they do find the photos scandalous though, and dislike the fact that the young woman was exploited like that at such a young age). The photographer who took the photos and the person who blackmailed Henry into paying him off to prevent the photos from being released could have also faced charges as well (the photographer for taking the photos, and the blackmailer for extortion, and possession and distribution of child pornography).[[/note]] The plot appears to be a nod to the 1984 Music/VanessaWilliams ''Penthouse'' photo scandal (which also involved nude photos voluntarily taken of a pageant winner) that resulted in Williams resigning as Miss America.[[note]]The infamous September 1984 issue Williams appeared in also featured a nude pictorial of Traci Lords, rendering the issue itself illegal following the revelation that Lords lied about being over 18 when she posed for the pictures and performed in all but one of the pornographic films she starred in between 1984 and 1988. (Lords’s ''Penthouse'' shoot occurred and her porn career began when she was 15.)[[/note]]

* {{Blackmail}}: The episode "Miss Marin Bugler" (from the final season, when the series was known as ''The Ted Knight Show'') involved a man named Ed Hugo, who threatened to release nude pictures of the winner of a beauty pageant (taken when she was only 17) that was organized by Henry to drum up publicity in the ''Marin Bugler'' newspaper. Henry is blackmailed by Hugo – who calls it a [[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord "business proposition"]] – to paying money ([[spoiler: ultimately doing so, acing him out of the opportunity to purchase a sailboat]]) in exchange for preventing the photos from being released.[[note]]Interestingly, the episode fails to acknowledge that taking and distributing nude photographs of anyone under 18 constitutes as felony child pornography in the United States. The fact the photos were in the possession of Henry and his boss Hope (who both own and are editor/publisher of a newspaper, respectively) makes it very problematic (they do find the photos scandalous though, and dislike the fact that the young woman was exploited like that at such a young age). The photographer who took the photos and the person who blackmailed Henry into paying him off to prevent the photos from being released could have also faced charges as well (the photographer for taking the photos, and the blackmailer for extortion, and possession and distribution of child pornography).[[/note]] The plot appears to be a nod to the 1984 Music/VanessaWilliams ''Penthouse'' photo scandal (which also involved nude photos voluntarily taken of a pageant winner) that resulted in Williams resigning as Miss America.[[note]]The infamous issue Williams appeared in also featured a nude pictorial of Traci Lords, rendering the issue itself illegal following the revelation that Lords lied about being over 18 when she posed for the pictures and performed in all but one of the pornographic films she starred in between 1984 and 1988. (Lords’s ''Penthouse'' shoot occurred and her porn career began when she was 15.)[[/note]]

* {{Blackmail}}: The episode "Miss Marin Bugler" (from the final season, when the series was known as ''The Ted Knight Show'') involved a man named Ed Hugo, who threatened to release nude pictures of the winner of a beauty pageant (taken when she was only 17) that was organized by Henry to drum up publicity in the ''Marin Bugler'' newspaper. Henry is blackmailed by Hugo – who calls it a [[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord "business proposition"]] – to paying money ([[spoiler: ultimately doing so, acing him out of the opportunity to purchase a sailboat]]) in exchange for preventing the photos from being released.[[note]]Interestingly, the episode fails to acknowledge that taking and distributing nude photographs of anyone under 18 constitutes as felony child pornography in the United States. The fact the photos were in the possession of Henry and his boss Hope (who both own and are editor/publisher of a newspaper, respectively) makes it very problematic (they do find the photos scandalous though, and dislike the fact that the young woman was exploited like that at such a young age). The photographer who took the photos and the person who blackmailed Henry into paying him off to prevent the photos from being released could have also faced charges as well (the photographer for taking the photos, and the blackmailer for extortion, and possession and distribution of child pornography).[[/note]] The plot appears to be a nod to the 1984 Music/VanessaWilliams ''Penthouse'' photo scandal (which also involved nude photos voluntarily taken of a pageant winner) that resulted in Williams resigning as Miss America.[[note]]The infamous issue Williams appeared in also featured a nude pictorial of Traci Lords, who had lied about being over 18 when she posed for the pictures, rendering the Williams/Lords issue illegal following the revelation that the pornographic films that Lords performed in from 1984 to 1988 were also largely done while she was underage (both the ''Penthouse'' shoot and the start of Lords’s porn career occurred when she was 15).[[/note]]

* {{Blackmail}}: The episode "Miss Marin Bugler" (from the final season, when the series was known as ''The Ted Knight Show'') involved a man named Ed Hugo, who threatened to release nude pictures of the winner of a beauty pageant (taken when she was only 17) that was organized by Henry to drum up publicity in the ''Marin Bugler'' newspaper. Henry is blackmailed by Hugo – who calls it a [[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord "business proposition"]] – to paying money ([[spoiler: ultimately doing so, acing him out of the opportunity to purchase a sailboat]]) in exchange for preventing the photos from being released.[[note]]Interestingly, the episode fails to acknowledge that taking and distributing nude photographs of anyone under 18 constitutes as felony child pornography in the United States. The fact the photos were in the possession of Henry and his boss Hope (who both own and are editor/publisher of a newspaper, respectively) makes it very problematic (they do find the photos scandalous though, and dislike the fact that the young woman was exploited like that at such a young age). The photographer who took the photos and the person who blackmailed Henry into paying him off to prevent the photos from being released could have also faced charges as well (the photographer for taking the photos, and the blackmailer for extortion, and possession and distribution of child pornography).[[/note]] The plot appears to be a nod to the 1984 Music/VanessaWilliams ''Penthouse'' photo scandal (which also involved nude photos voluntarily taken of a pageant winner) that resulted in Williams resigning as Miss America.[[note]]The infamous issue Williams appeared in also featured a nude pictorial of Traci Lords, who had lied about being over 18 when she posed for the pictures (as she had done during her 1984-88 career as an pornographic film star, both occurred when she was 15), rendering the issue illegal.[[/note]]

* {{Blackmail}}: The episode "Miss Marin Bugler" (from the final season, when the series was known as ''The Ted Knight Show'') involved a man named Ed Hugo, who threatened to release nude pictures of the winner of a beauty pageant (taken when she was only 17) that was organized by Henry to drum up publicity in the ''Marin Bugler'' newspaper. Henry is blackmailed by Hugo – who calls it a [[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord "business proposition"]] – to paying money ([[spoiler: ultimately doing so, acing him out of the opportunity to purchase a sailboat]]) in exchange for preventing the photos from being released.[[note]]Interestingly, the episode fails to acknowledge that taking and distributing nude photographs of anyone under 18 constitutes as felony child pornography in the United States. The fact the photos were in the possession of Henry and his boss Hope (who both own and are editor/publisher of a newspaper, respectively) makes it very problematic (they do find the photos scandalous though, and dislike the fact that the young woman was exploited like that at such a young age). The photographer who took the photos and the person who blackmailed Henry into paying him off to prevent the photos from being released could have also faced charges as well (the photographer for taking the photos, and the blackmailer for extortion, and possession and distribution of child pornography).[[/note]] The plot appears to be a nod to the 1984 Music/VanessaWilliams ''Penthouse'' photo scandal (which also involved nude photos taken of a pageant winner while underage) that resulted in Williams resigning as Miss America.

* {{Blackmail}}: The episode "Miss Marin Bugler" (from the final season, when the series was known as ''The Ted Knight Show'') involved a man named Ed Hugo, who threatened to release nude pictures of the winner of a beauty pageant (taken when she was only 17) that was organized by Henry to drum up publicity in the ''Marin Bugler'' newspaper. Henry is blackmailed by Hugo – who calls it a [[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord "business proposition"]] – to paying money ([[spoiler: ultimately doing so, acing him out of the opportunity to purchase a sailboat]]) in exchange for preventing the photos from being released.[[note]]Interestingly, the episode fails to acknowledge that taking and distributing nude photographs of anyone under 18 constitutes as felony child pornography in the United States. The fact the photos were in the possession of Henry and his boss Hope (who both own and are editor/publisher of a newspaper, respectively) makes it very problematic (they do find the photos scandalous though, and dislike the fact that the young woman was exploited like that at such a young age). The photographer who took the photos and the person who blackmailed Henry into paying him off to prevent the photos from being released could have also faced charges as well (the photographer for taking the photos, and the blackmailer for extortion, and possession and distribution of child pornography).[[/note]] The plot appears to be a nod to the 1984 Creator/VanessaWilliams ''Creator/{{Penthouse}}'' photo scandal that cost Williams her Creator/MissAmerica crown.