Season two for the Britain-derived ABC sitcom Too Close for Comfort finds newspaper cartoonist Henry Rush (Ted Knight) still fretting over the welfare and virtue of his toothsome young daughters Jackie (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) and Sara (Lydia Cornell) who live in the lower apartment of the two-story San Francisco townhouse owned by Henry and his wife Muriel (Nancy Dussault). Also still on hand is Sara's college chum Monroe Ficus (Jim J. Bullock), who, since following Sara home one day in his typical moonstruck fashion, has been a semi-permanent house guest of Henry and Sara. New to the series this season is Henry's hippie niece April Rush (Deena Freeman), who has left her Delaware home town to swing in Frisco -- and to "crash" at the home of Henry and Muriel. Additionally, the episode "My Unfavorite Martin" introduces Audrey Meadows in the role of Muriel's mother Iris Martin, who upholds the tradition of all sitcom mothers-in-law with her ill-concealed contempt for the long-suffering Henry. Halfway through the season, 42-year-old Muriel unexpectedly announces that she is pregnant. This paves the way for the obligatory "going into labor" series finale, with poor Henry enduring even more labor pains than his wife. Still stuck between two of ABC's most popular Tuesday night attractions, Three's Company and Hart to Hart, Too Close for Comfort emerged from its second season as the 6th most popular program on American network television, sharing this honor with CBS' The Dukes of Hazzard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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