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In this episode, Barnaby and J.R. investigate a jewel theft and find that it's linked to a kidnapping. They also find themselves working with two feisty newcomers to the sleuthing business, lawyer Alexander Street (Felton Perry) and investigator Stanley Donaldson (Sam Weisman). These two young men, who met while fighting in Vietnam, make a few rookie mistakes in the course of the story, generating some laughs, but they learn fast and their banter is fun. Given the prominence of these characters in the plot, and the detailed history that's revealed about them, it's clear that this episode was a backdoor pilot, a test run for a proposed TV series that never got made. Perhaps the concept of wisecracking buddies solving crimes and reminiscing about Vietnam was just slightly ahead of its time, or maybe the network bosses were slow to realize its potential. But Street and Donaldson were the forerunners of "Magnum" and related hits in the 1980s.

"Window on Main Street" is a fairly rare specimen from the early era of network television -- a true comedy-drama series. Back then, you seldom saw the two elements mixed in a single episode of a program. Sitcoms played everything for laughs, while dramatic series kept things serious 90% of the time, then ran the occasional humorous episode to break up the monotony.

This series went for the laugh and the lump in the throat simultaneously each week. It didn't catch on with the public, much to the disappointment of star Robert Young.

Young plays a middle-aged author, fairly successful in the literary world but not really famous. As the series begins, he has just lost his family in an accident. Trying to cope with this tragedy, he returns to the small hometown where his career began, determined to write about the lives of its ordinary people. It's writing as bereavement therapy. In each episode, in cooperation with the local newspaper, he uncovers a fairly interesting story, or at least meets an extraordinary person..

This series is a sentimental, low-key celebration of life in a small town. (It's sometimes reminiscent of the old Andy Hardy movies.) Maybe audiences at the time found it corny, or bittersweet. But I find it sort of interesting. I can't think of another show quite like it.

During the Great Depression, audiences liked to see the differences between rich and poor people played for laughs. This frothy romance from 1938 is in that vein. If you like mix-ups, silly situations and innocent fun in the classic Hollywood spirit, this should appeal to you.

Maureen O'Sullivan and Dennis O'Keefe play working-class folks in the big city who happen to meet under confusing circumstances. They quickly fall in love, but each gets the mistaken impression that the other is rich.

As the romance heats up, the two try harder and harder to impress each other with bogus details of their "privileged" lives. But each feels ashamed of being a phony, and each dreads the day when the truth comes out.

The girl's wacky relatives (including a younger brother played by Mickey Rooney) take her wealth charade to extraordinary lengths, and their antics supply most of the comedy in the film. Some of the gags are dated, but a few are still laugh-out-loud funny.

The main problem is with the leads. While O'Sullivan was perfectly cast in this movie, O'Keefe was not. He was more suited to tough guy roles than to this kind of gentle fluff. But he deserves credit for trying hard. The same could be said for the picture itself.