Interestingly, the idea of Lou Grant supplementing his responsibilities at the Los Angeles "Tribune" with part-time teaching at the university seems like a good preview of the sixth season. Oh, if only Paley hadn't been such a fan of Reagan! I would like to have seen the storylines to develop from those episodes. This makes the very next episode seem especially rushed. Without question, Billie demonstrated in this episode that she was ready for a managerial position. Instead, in the very next episode (the series finale), she and Ted move to Sacramento. Another possible storyline from this episode is the prospect of Lou taking Mrs. Pynchon's suggestion and going to therapy. That would have shown that even people like Lou Grant need a sounding board, a professional to help them deal with a traumatic experience such as he had in this episode. All things considered, this episode is chock full of ideas for the sixth season, and possibly beyond. It is one of my deepest regrets of the Reagan era, as it's emblematic of what "we, the people", lost politically and socially when Ronaldus Minimus was sworn in. In short, we lost our ability-and, possibly, our willingness- to delve into serious topics, not merely in entertainment, but in general. Nowadays, it's all about pursuing the lowest common denominator, instead of considering what can actually build up society.

Great show. I can’t remember another character from a sitcom being spun off into a drama

This story brings to mind Barbara Colby, an actress who appeared in two episodes of the "Mary Tyler Moore" show during the 1974-75 season, then played Cloris Leachman's boss in the spinoff series "Phyllis." Ms. Colby had completed only three "Phyllis" episodes when she and a fellow actor were killed in a random shooting in a Los Angeles parking lot on July 24, 1975. Colby was 36. Liz Torres replaced her on "Phyllis."

At 31:41 it's the 1980s 'Growing Pains' star, *Kirk Cameron* ; AKA 'Mike Seaver'.

Kirk Cameron as the officer’s kid

Billie should have been more cordial when Lou was calling her; anyways....great episode to a great show~!

19:16 - DRINK! another boom mic in the frame on an episode of Lou Grant

The Halberstam book must have been The Breaks of the Game from 1981.

I'm with Lou...What did he do that for? Lou gave him everything. There was no need to shoot him 😡😡😡

I develo ed sciatic pain as a young man ....only intense weight lifting regimen and stretching routines alleviated it . Here now in my 50s I still get twinges

I'm surprised they're wasn't at least a reference to Mary or Lou's other friends from Minneapolis being contacted. This is a pretty serious event in Lou's life.

7:45 Barry Primus (the cop) Only reason I know this is because he was in a FMV video game for the Sega CD call "Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine". The game was made by Rocket Science Games and has none other than Elon Musk in the credits. (This was 1994 or so)

6:29 Wow, didn't even try to hide the huge white actors mark.

So many low life's out there, that's why I keep to myself & steer clear of ppl. The widow has the nerve to sue?! The lowlife deserved what he got! Vince's son, Joey, is a very young Kirk Cameron.

That cop part seemed like a backdoor pilot. I could have done without that part, and perhaps had a more in-depth part with Lou and all of his daughters, perhaps stretching out the uncertainty of Lou's condition, creating a bit more tension.

The Tie Guy. Is that the Drunk that Arm wrestles Lou at the Bar on the MTM show?

Donavan gets on my nerves ...he is almost always just a caricature