When ABC first promoed this show way back in 1977, I was nearly 10 and when the announcer said "Parental Discretion is Advised" at the end of that promo, my mom said it was a lousy show and that was probably enough for me and perhaps my brother and sisters from watching during that time. When Chicago station WGN reran the eps during 1983 when I was a teen, my curiosity got the best of me and I started watching during the middle run of the first season it was showing. I eventually watched the pilot some time after that having already known what would happen to the characters but still curious about how it all began. Some notes worth taking about this first ep: Butler Benson considers young Tate son Billy only one worth a damn but as the series goes on, he seems more fond of matriarch Jessica whose sweetness makes her scatterbrained demeanor appealing even this early in the run and which shows even during their (and the program's) first scene. That chemistry between Robert Guillaume and Katherine Helmond remained through their final performance with each other as those iconic characters on the spin-off "Benson" years later. Also, this wasn't the only series Robert Urich was in during this season-he was also in the "Bewitched" sequel "Tabitha" with Lisa Hartman which only ran several months. All I'll say now is this was a great beginning for this controversial yet hilarious series that was conceived-and mostly written-by Susan Harris whose Norman Lear roots are evident by the way she treats such topics as homosexuality and impotence with such humor and depth. I'll discuss much of the actual plot in the second episode...