"Marion Goes to Jail"

Weary sigh.  This has some of the weakest writing of the series, where almost everyone sounds like an idiot, plus, unlike episodes where Richie and Howard go to jail, Marion goes to prove something pointless to Howard and then cries about it, rather than coming off as noble like her son and husband.  I vaguely remember hating Howard yelling at Marion at the time, although I gotta say, Al is surprisingly non-ballistic about the damage to Arnold's.  (Arnold would've ranted, enjoyably.)  About the only thing I like here is the young people's concern for Marion.  So it's gotta be D+.

A few notes:

• This episode aired in early October, but there's a threat of snow all episode.  
• Marcia Lewis is a more sympathetic (but less imposing) authority figure here as the Matron than she was as (House) Mother Dunbar.  
• And the disappointing script is by Barbara Berkowitz, who had done one pretty good What's Happening!! episode and nothing else for television before, and not much since.