Hazel the Early Years: "What'll We Watch Tonight?" Part 2

Last week we gave some context for this, the sixth episode of season 1 of Hazel and the only one broadcast in color that season. Now let's get into the story itself. After a cold open in which Hazel tells off a floorwalker at the department store for having the GALL to ask her if she needs help while looking at--GASP--ladies' apparel, we join the Baxters at the dinner table.

George and Hazel have plans to watch the fight together on the living room set, and wouldn't you know, Mr. B.  wants to raise their standard bet from 1 dollar to 5 because he thinks he has a sure thing with his favored guy Davis against Hazel's Tiger Burleson. He has 'inside info" and wants to sucker Hazel into a bigger bet.

Of course, Hazel has inside info of her own--by calling Tiger himself right before the fight! Turns out one of her homemade remedies has helped the injured hand George thinks he has the scoop about. Hazel actually suggests the bet tonight because she has even insidier info. Yep, this is normal behavior between a man and his maid.

(Incidentally, they make reference to George's bandaged hand but don't explain how it happened.)

We get a fun bit of trash talking between Hazel and George as the fight (shown in black and white) unfolds on the Baxters' TV (not to be confused with the puny 10-incher Hazel has in her room).

Do you need me to tell you who wins the bet?

"Now what'll we watch?" Hazel wants to watch TV Courtroom, but George isn't a fan. He wants to see The Caine Mutiny. I have to agree with him on this one. Sure, everyone's seen it several times, but so what? It's a Bogart movie.

Hazel makes a passive-aggressive comment about her small TV before retiring to her quarters to watch TV Courtroom. See, she's afraid the roller derby would be ruined on her set because she couldn't see the "infighting." She also gets flopovers and static and whatnot. George admits it's not even worth fixing:

So they head downtown to get a new set. Check out Walter Kisnella as Mr. Thornton, the slick operator pushing the fancy sets:

Baxter offers to buy the least expensive one in the store, and Hazel maneuvers into getting a color unit by offering to pay the difference between what he was willing to pay.

Hazel's room becomes the place where the action is. Hey, you know what I mean! She has friends over to unveil the new color set by screening Perry Como's show. Even Mr. Thornton from the store comes over.

Here George enters a mini-swoon as he hears Perry singing Dream Along with Me on the snazzy new set in Hazel's quarters:

The show ends with the Baxters enjoying THEIR new set--George was tired of his family watching TV in Hazel's room--and as Missy and Junior decline invites to watch the special in her room, Hazel starts slinking off...until George invites her to sit down and join them. It's a nice note to end the episode.

The novelty of the color makes this stand out in season 1, but it's a solid installment in other ways, with plenty of the light but sometimes slightly sort of resembling edgy confrontations between Baxter and Hazel that we know and love. Not only is it one of the more memorable episodes of Hazel, it sure beats the average episode of TV Courtroom.