Today's Special
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Today's Special
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Today's Special was a Canadian children's television show produced by Clive VanderBurgh at TVOntario from 1981 to 1987. It also ran on Nickelodeon and the Faith and Values Channel/Odyssey as well as many PBS stations throughout the United States. It was set in a department store, based on the flagship location of the now defunct Simpson's in Toronto. Many sequences for it were shot at the Queen Street West and Yonge Street store after hours.

Seasons & Episodes

Mrs. Pennypacker must stay home during the day in order to rest her feet so she can go mountain climbing next year. Problem is, she'll have nothing to do. So the others try and think of a job she can do at home, but she isn't very good at becoming an advice columnist, or a fashion designer, But will do great at writing a book of her memoirs and all her great adventures.

Sam has just baked a piecrust and needs 2-dozen (4 and 20) blackbirds that sing to finish the pie (a la ""Sing a Song of Sixpence), which gets everyone on the subject of nursery rhyme food. But unexpectedly, The Queen of Hearts shows up in the store in search for the tarts she baked and the Knave who stole them. While the others are helping the 'demanding' queen for the tarts, Jeff found them and the queen thinks Jeff was the thief. Jodie was able to convince her that it could not have been good old Jeff and manages to make friends with the queen. When they finally catch the knave, he admits that he was going to give the tarts to, get this, Old Mother Hubbard.

Sam is practicing his magic trick that won't seem to work. So TXL is able to help him, thanks to the magic circuits that Waldo programmed into her. But after Sam left the magic circuits on, A magic spell runs loose in the store that changes everyone into storybook characters from King Arthur, to Captain Hook, to Alice in Wonderland, to Little Red Riding Rood, to the Big Bad Wolf, etc. But when they finally figure out what's going on, the must catch the magic spell and mail it back to Waldo.

While Jodie is preparing for a giant ""ribbon-sale"", Mrs. Pennypacker is about to go to the opera. Then Mort shows up with two tickets to go to the opera with Muffy. Also, Waldo shows up with a machine that will allow Jeff to go outside the store for a few hours without turning into a mannequin. But while they're gone Jodie and Sam must hold on to the machine and follow special instructions or Jeff will be a mannequin forever. Sam and Jodie are happy to do it for Jeff who is about to go to the opera with Waldo but when Harvey Hardcassel from head office shows up to inspect the store, Jodie and Sam may be in trouble so the others - including Jeff - decides to stay and help Jodie and Sam. Jodie and Sam show up an opera they imagine called ""The Rainmakers"" where they are two Apple Farmers who travel to the clouds and request rain. The rainmakers include Jeff as lightning, Mrs. P as the wind, Muffy and Mort as pitter and patter, and Mr. Hardcassel as thunder.

The new night manager, Crandall J. Crummington, III, a very sly fellow, convinced Sam that they needed a younger, stronger Security Guard. So he quit his job. However, when Sam finds an old robot named Bleep in the dumpster behind the store, who has been thrown away too by Mr. Crummington, Sam and the robot come back into the store to stand up to Mr. Crummington. In order for Sam to get his job back, he must pass a physical and do five chin-ups. So everyone helps him train for it - and tries to retrain Bleep.

Waldo's wife, Mattie is in the store shrunk on a shelf (a little trick she picked up) and is upset because Waldo forgot their 30th wedding anniversary. Waldo shows up in the store claiming that he didn't forget but lost track of time, He tries apologizing to Mattie without much success. The others decide to help him after having to listen to him play an awful tune on the saxophone.

Sam is attempting to get in the world record books by knitting the longest without stopping because he wants his name to mean something. Muffy however, is trying to get rich in advertising Cereal with broken toys, adjustable beds, and plastic lips without much success. Jeff and Jodie try and get them to stop the nonsense by convincing them that their special for who they are. When that doesn't work, they stage a gimmick of their own by pretending to enter a race of riding a bicycle blindfolded and handcuffed.

Flora Frimble, the sister of the storeowner is in the store checking for any mistakes and has a big list. Meanwhile, Jodie set up her display of an old fashion ice cream parlor for the customers and will have all sorts of flavors. But Mrs. Frimble wants them to come up with something new and since Sam is the only one who ever made ice cream, they ask him. But the only new flavor he picks is... Sardine.

It's almost morning in the store and the day staff will be in soon, that means it's time for Sam, Jodie and Mrs. P to go home, Jeff to be a mannequin, and it's Muffy's bedtime. Muffy's not very sleepy so she sees Jodie for a bedtime story: The teeny-tiny mouse, After that, she sees Sam for another bedtime story: The shoemaker and the elves, After that she sees Jeff for yet another bedtime story that they make up about a statue and a dancing mouse. After all this he goes to bed, and Jodie and Sam go home after getting Jeff in the store window where he becomes a mannequin.

The store got a new security system with different kinds of locks with illuminators, cards, and very high tech. But when Jeff, Jodie and Mrs. P. take the box of old locks to the stock room, Sam is trying to figure out how his system works and accidentally locks them in the stockroom for a while. Muffy has another problem; she lost the key to her diary, but finds it in the end.

In the last episode, the store is holding a favorite memories contest for all the employees and whoever has the best one wins. Mrs. Pennypacker's favorite memory is when she helped a jungle man find a king's treasure; Jodie's favorite memory is her date at her prom with Gerald; Sam's favorite memory is when he save the life of Captain Cooperthuate at sea; Muffy's favorite memory is when she got the mozzarella award at her school graduation. But since Jeff didn't have any memories before he was in the store, the others put together a photo album to help him choose his favorite memory - which came from all his friends.

With stuffies everywhere for the big sale, everyone is into the cuddling mood until a real gorilla comes to the store. It turns out to be Waldo who used a spell that backfired and changed him into a gorilla, and When Jodie tries to fix it, It changes everyone into part-animals. So Muffy, Jeff, Jodie, Sam and Mrs. Pennypacker search for the missing page of Waldo's magic book in order to change the spell.

Jeff, Jodie, Sam and Muffy are planning a special ""bon voyage"" party for Mrs. P, who is going on a cruise. But when they are trying to plan the party, Muffy keeps being late and everyone gets annoyed with her, even Mort, who was invited to the party. But when she's late for the final meeting, it's because while taking a shortcut through the walls, a pipe broke and fell on her. So after they find her, Mort muct climb through the wall and get her out.

Emily, A blue cow from Waldo's magic book comes to visit the store while Waldo's house is being painted. But she is very clumsy so Jeff volunteers to be the boss of her, which isn't easy. Jodie is upset because Emily keeps knocking down her displays, Sam is upset because she keeps eating his donuts, and Muffy is upset because Jeff hasn't got time to play with her. So Mrs. Pennypacker tries to convince them that they should never look a gift-horse, or cow in the face.

Sam got a call from an old high-school sweetheart Geraldine and he has a date with her the next night. But he is so nervous because he has never dated since he lost his wife. So Jeff, Jodie and Muffy try to help prepare him without much success. But he ends up having a great time.

It's national tooth week in the store and Jodie has Jeff and Sam help her film a video for dental hygiene. Sam however, has a toothache and goes to the dentist, even though he's afraid but ends up doing well. Muffy has another problem; she must wear dental braces and feels embarrassed, thinking that Jodie will laugh at her.

Max Dumphey, the new night janitor has a powerful vacuum that makes a loud noise, and great suction. It keeps sucking up people's hats, and other unwanted things. Meanwhile, Jodie is excited when she finally gets a ticket to see Valdy at a concert but Max's vacuum cleaner sucked it up and by the time they realize it, He'd already taken it to the trash. So they end up searching the dumpster for the ticket without much success. So Max decides to make it up to Jodie by arranging for Valdy to meet Jodie.

While in the park, Sam and Muffy find a rare coin that Sam discovers will grant him three wishes when he rubs it. So he wishes all his friends could have a wish to make it fair, Then they decide to think about it and meet back at the children's department at midnight. Jeff is most excited because he knows what he wants - He wants to be allowed to leave the store - But Jeff is forced to use his wish when everyone else wished by accident and created chaos.

Phil Phenelli, One of the best photographers around, and an old friend of Sam's from the Merchant Marines is in the store to photograph Jodie's display. Phil also asks Jeff and Jodie to be in all the shots and asks Muffy - who likes to take pictures - to be his assistant. But Phil has a drinking problem and keeps sneaking drinks right after Sam told him not to drink in the store. Muffy caught him drinking, but decides not to tell just yet, But right after Phil got a little too drunk, He wrecked Jodie's display and hurt Muffy's feelings and she told Sam. Sam was angry with Phil and he threw him out of the store after he apologized to everyone.

The storeowner's nephew, Junior, comes to the store for his birthday to get everything he wants for his birthday - But he gets a little too greedy and wants to take Muffy too. So the other play tricks on him until he let Muffy stay.

It's Jodie and Sam's 5th anniversary, at midnight, since the time they met and got each other jobs, and Sam made a cake for Jodie, He showed it to Muffy who must keep it a secret. Also, Jodie bought Sam a new bowtie; She showed it to Jeff who also must keep it a secret. But in a little confusion between Jeff and Muffy, they think the secret was discovered, so they decide to make a secret of their own for Jodie and Sam.

Waldo comes to the store in a bad mood, which isn't just an ordinary case of the blues. He has a case of the ""grumples"" which only magicians get. And if he lets the grumples have the best of him, he'll lose all his magic powers. He has remedies written on cards that the others search the store to find certain things like a stuffed bear, a rubber chicken, a string puppet, and a robot and must dance the ""Go-away-grumples Gavotte"" before Waldo is better.

Mort comes to the store for another visit, but this time he's very cold and everything that Muffy tries to warm him up doesn't really work. Meanwhile, Jodie is having a hard time thinking about an idea for a display. Also, Sam is very alert and is watching for fire hazards in the store after visiting the fire academy. In all this, As a last resort, Mort starts a fire in Muffy's place that goes out of control, no one was hurt but Sam put the fire out in time. After this is over, Jeff suggests Jodie do her display on fire prevention.

The store is having a song-writing contest and the prize is $1000. So Jeff, Jodie, Sam and Muffy decide to each write their own song to enter the contest. But after Sam's loud-speaker goes out of control, The whole store can hear the ""Yo Hee Ho"" playing. Muffy thinks that Sam did that on purpose to distract the others. So She distracts him by playing a tape of the ""Rockin' Rodents"" using a huge speaker, and this escalates. But problems get worse when Muffy tries one of Waldo's magic spells that make everyone exchange voices, and in the end they decide to work together in writing a song.

Jeff and Jodie receive the daisies for the display. But Greedy O'Grady, a thief wants to get those daisies so he can ransom them back to everyone. So Sam lets him in the store after O'Grady tells him he's from Frankfurter's flowers but Mrs. P knows who he is and locks him in a box. He manages to escape, steals Sam's uniform and the daisies and hides them on the roof. When he is pegged, he decided to change and be nice from now on.

The store is having big sale for jeans and Jeff seems to be into the style of wearing them, but Muffy will only wear the fashionable ""Mr. Mouster's"" jeans, but the store hasn't ordered any. She is even more upset when she learns that her cousin Mort is coming for a visit and Muffy thinks he won't play with her if she isn't wearing Mr. Mouster's jeans. But Mrs. Pennypacker and the other try and convince her that ""It's what's inside that counts."" Later on, the director of Mr. Mouster's jeans commercial comes to the store and wants to use Muffy, Jodie, Sam and Jim. I mean Jeff in his commercial, until he has a look at Mort's new jeans that may put Mr. Mouster out of style.

A friend of Jodie's, Levy, a handicap who can't walk and only speaks in ""Bliss symbols"" visits the store. We learn about Blyss symbols but when Jeff, Jodie and Muffy get trapped in the elevator, Levy manages to send a message to Sam to get them out.

Waldo the Magnificent arrives at the store but gets trapped in his own hat after his rabbit stole his wand and bewitched his hat, and anyone who touches it falls in. Jeff has already fallen in the hat but TXL warns the others not to touch the hat. Now, Jodie, Muffy and Sam search the store until they find the rabbit, which turns into a kangaroo and old shoe, and manage to get Waldo's wand back and break the spell.

Jeff is writing a letter to Wanda Willoby about stuff that has happened the last few days. Muffy got popcorn all in her mouse hole, after all that was straightened out, they end up chasing toads around the store.

Muffy is upset when she can't help the others with their work since she is small and she begins to hate being small. But after the other tell her a story about a mouse named Androcles who helped a fierce lion in distress, So she decides to becomes ""Mega Mouse"" and tries doing heroic things - but also dangerous things to show everybody that she can be important.

Muffy's 88 year old Granny Sweet visits the store and is quite a surprise: She can ride a motorcycle like a wild mouse, she plays the bagpipes and she likes hot-chili pepper. But she's a true grandmother underneath. The gang later does a play for her: ""Little 'blue' riding hood.""

Jeff is alone in the store when Jodie is off to her nephew's birthday party, Sam goes fishing, and Muffy goes golfing. Jeff is a bit afraid but gets better. However, Jodie, Sam and Muffy get worried about him and decide to return to the store.

While playing catch with Jeff, Muffy hurts her toe after Jeff throws the ball. So after getting back from the doctor, Jeff volunteers to do anything for Muffy and becomes her servant - but ends up taking advantage of him, when he could be helping Jodie move a whole bunch of boxes.

Waldo shows up in the store with his latest ""wishing machine"", and with the touch of a button, Jeff, Jodie, Sam, Muffy and Waldo take a whirl to a monkey maze, the moon, a clay castle, Storybook Land, and a button factory before cracking the code of the wishing machine that Waldo hadn't completely perfected.

Sam has been chosen to give a speech at the Royal Naval Academy and he must do it the next day. So he has a hard time figuring out what to say and remembering. So the other try and help him. The Academy turns out to be just children.

Jeff and Jodie got some new tap-shoes and practice tap dancing in the Children's Department. But Sam and Muffy are tired and annoyed with all the tapping noise so Jeff and Jodie try tapping in the stock room, but Mrs. P is busy hammering off beat. They then try the roof, but it starts raining. Finally they go back to the children's department but Sam and Muffy have had quite enough. So they lock Jeff and Jodie's feet in a giant boot but end up feeling too guilty about it.

Waldo shows up in the store looking for a ""Robin Hood"" storybook that has a terrible spell in it. Muffy happens to be reading it and accidentally activates the magic spell and ends up in the land of make-believe thinking she's Robin Hood. So Jeff, Jodie, Sam and Waldo go to the land of make believe to protect her until the spell wore off facing the evil sheriff.

When Jeff and Muffy hear about Jodie going to a dance with some prince, they fear that she will become a princess and leave the store to live in a palace. So When Jodie need a dance lesson from Jeff, He shows her a dance that will make a fool out of her so that they will laugh at her, But he later feels guilty about it and Sam tells him that she may leave the store one day and that they have to let her do what makes her happy. But it turns out that Jodie is only going to a costume dance with a young boy.

When all the nighttime work is done, Jeff, Sam, Jodie and Muffy decide to have some fun. Mort arrives too, and they play a lot of tricks, they sing songs, and Sam makes donuts that keep mysteriously disappearing. And they think there is a ""donut thief"" in the store who turns out to be Mrs. Pennypacker.

Jeff is alone in the store and he talks with us as we see clips from when he first came to the store, going to the haunted castle and learning to roller skate. But the local trouble happens when the balls he is playing with end up in front of the store window and he has trouble getting them back without being seen by pretending to be a mannequin, which he is, more or less.

On Jodie's day off, We join her at her apartment and take a trip to the laundromat. She has been offered a better job as a store manager somewhere else and is debating on whether or not to take it. She keep remembering all the good times such as visiting the laundromat with Sam, when she saved the store from being torn down. She ends up turning down the new job because she is happy where she is.

Muffy is visiting Mort's farm and is trying to write her life story ""The Story of Muffy."" She writes about how she came to the store, when she met the alien from space, having her tonsils out, and being captured by Herman T. Horrible. As she is writing, she is having trouble finding a quite place to write.

On Sam's day off, he is on his friend Kevin O'Reilly's houseboat fishing. Kevin wants Sam to retire and stay with him on the boat. But he starts remembering old times like when him, Jeff, Jodie and Muffy dressed up in costumes, His donut incident with Mrs. P, the ""Three Bears"" opera, and when he went flying. As Sam goes through a boat loch, he figures he can't retire.

Jodie, Sam and Muffy are getting ready to leave for the theatre for the ""Today's Special"" live on stage performance. Jeff can't go since he can't leave the store, but he decides to take a chance and hides in a box that is about to be sent to the theatre. When the others arrive to the theatre, they go on stage and the costume box arrives with Jeff in it - but he's a mannequin and his magic hat won't work. So they call Waldo who arrives to help Jeff on this occasion. When Jeff comes to life, they have a great performance.

The store is undergoing a lot of changes and the designer Madame Melba comes to the store to design all the changes. She has Muffy's place changed: The entrance is no longer just a hole in the wall. It now has a fancy entrance, a flashing sign and an elevator. But She tries to convince Sam to let her make changes in his computer room. Eventually, his computer room is changed to an automatic system and everyone loved the changes.

Jeff woke up thinking that the floor was going to cave in. So everyone goes up to the roof. After he explains what he saw, they realize it was just a dream and since Jeff doesn't sleep much - being a mannequin and all - he doesn't know what dreams are. So they all reveal some dreams they had. Muffy tells about a dream where Jeff and Jodie were ""mouse-catchers"" until Sam came to her rescue; and Jodie tell about a dream where she was Cinderella, Sam and Muffy were the ugly stepsisters, and Jeff was Prince Charming.

Muffy's cousin Mort returns to the store for another visit, but Muffy is lost. After searching the store for her they discover she has been captured by Herman T. Horrible, an intruder, who plans on using Muffy in his carnival of weird animals. So everyone tries to rescue her by pretending to be mannequins but they must be careful of his magic gas that makes anyone who breathes it compliant (that's how he caught Muffy). After they rescue her, they give him a taste of his own gas and tie him up until the police arrive.

There is a new branch of the store opening up across town and the stockroom manager, Mrs. Pennypacker (Cheryl Wagner) has a list of six mannequins to go there and Jeff is one of them. So They try and show and explain Mrs. P about Jeff's magic hat but she just thinks that Jeff is pretending. Later on, when Mrs. P tries out the hat herself, she eventually is convinced and sends another mannequin in his place.

Muffy is sick, her throat is sore so Sam takes her to the hospital where Dr. Bennet treats her - even though she has never treated a mouse. She then discovers that she has ""mouse-tonsillitis"" and she must have surgery to get her tonsils out. Jeff, back at the store is worried about her and yells at Mrs. P, unintentionally. But in the end everything turns out all right.

A monarch butterfly named Hazel visits the store and as everyone learns a bit about butterflies, Muffy learns that Hazel is 2 years old (which is old for a monarch butterfly) and eventually dies. Muffy is very sad, so they bury her on the roof.

Muffy's cousin Mort comes for yet another visit and they are having a good time-sharing. But later a fight breaks out between them and they don't want to speak to each other. So Muffy uses a magic spell to get a new friend who suddenly appears, a mouse named Lucille. But it makes Muffy madder when she becomes friend with Mort. Eventually Muffy and Mort fight over Lucille until she disappears and Muffy and Mort finally make up and agree to share from now on.

It's a stormy night and Jeff loves the rain, but he doesn't like thunder, in fact, he's afraid of it. Jodie tells him to snap, clap and chuckle and then he won't be afraid. To make matters worse, there's a leak in the roof and Sam must call Mitch the repairman to fix it before she is short-circuited. When Mitch arrives, Jeff helps him fix the roof and gets over his fear of thunder.

Wanda Willoby, a possum form Possom Ridge visits Muffy in the store because her mother is having a new baby and Wanda doesn't feel important. Everyone agrees to let her stay for a while, But she keeps Muffy up all night, She wrecks Muffy's display, and sets off the alarm in Sam's computer room. Eventually they convince her to go back home.

Mrs. Pennypacker is throwing a tea party for everyone, but Sam is excited when he thinks she said ""sea party"". After he learns different, he is disappointed. So Mrs. P suggests that they throw him a real sea party and they do.

Muffy has eaten over 20 boxes of Breakfast Buttons cereal in order to win a vacation by sending an enrty form on the back of the box. She doesn't win the trip, but she does win a truckload of Breakfast Buttons, which she doesn't want. So Jeff, Sam and Jodie decide to give her her vacation in the store by setting up her ""Tropical Island.""

Sam has had his old car named Gertrude for so long and it was time to get a new car. But Gertrude is special and he is sad that he has to give it up. So he goes to Smiling Jack's used car dealer to buy a new car. And Muffy over heard Smiling Jack say that Gertrude was going to the junkyard crusher. When Sam tries to get it back, He learns that Jodie bought it back for him.

Sam brings his treasure chest to the store that contains a treasure hunt map and a gold coin that produces a wonderful surprise when Jeff rubs it. Pirate Pete appears in search for his treasure that is marked on the map. So Jodie, Sam and Muffy are in for a treasure hunt at first light while Jeff gets his own treasure hunt in the store. Everyone learns how to read maps and look for clues as two treasure hunts get underway.

Today's Special is wheels, and Mrs. P has been assigned to count all the wheels in the store. After counting all of them in the stock room, she doesn't realize she is supposed to count all of them. So Jeff, Jodie, Muffy and Sam volunteer to help her but she doesn't think she needs help. Jodie tries to get her to accept help from friends. They eventually succeed in counting all the wheels in the store.

Sam seems to have a hearing problem after he misunderstands everyone that talks to him, and Jodie takes him to an ear-specialist. But it turns out that he had cotton in his ears the whole time to help him sleep through the noise outside his house. In all the confusion, though, Muffy gets locked out on the roof.

Muffy gets a visit from her cousin Mort from the farm but they can't seem to agree on anything: First they have an argument about which life is better, country or city. This starts a rift between them and they don't want to speak to each other. So the others try to get them to make up.

Jodie receives a box of safety tips and mannequins from the police station. And after her display is mysteriously ruined, and other departments are messes, they all think there is an intruder in the store. After Sam plays detective without much luck, they call the police, and Officer Hardy comes to the store to solve the case and gets very confused when he sees Muffy's mouse hole and discovers that Jeff is a mannequin. Finally they catch the crook who turns out to be the police station's mascot who stowed away in the box from the police station.

The store has a new visitor, Karen (Jennifer VanderBurgh), a young girl whom Jodie is looking after while her parents are busy moving their stuff out of their house to a new city. Karen is very sad about moving away because she will miss all her friends but Jeff, Jodie, Sam and Muffy cheer her up.

Jeff has never cried a real tear before and goes to great lengths to cry: from pretending, to smelling onions, to Sam and Muffy tickling his face, without much luck. Jodie explains to Jeff that crying is a feeling and is more that tears. Finally Jodie tells a story that is so sad it makes Jeff cry.

On Christmas Eve, Jeff was brought to life because he didn't want to miss Christmas. But Sam, Muffy and Jodie knew that he was going to be alone in the store. So after leaving him, Jeff decides to decorate the biggest Christmas tree. Jodie returns and so does Muffy. Sam tries to get in but he left his wallet and keys in the store. So after trying to call Jeff to let him in, he is taken away by the police. Meanwhile, two of Santa's elves are loose in the store and Muffy tries to catch one (since everyone knows if you catch one and let it go, they give you a wish) but the elves out smart them and deliver Sam's wallet and keys to the police station and after proving who he is, the police let him go and he gets back to the store in time to spend Christmas with Jeff.

The store is being torn down the next day, and Jeff, Jodie, Sam and Muffy are spending their last day in the store packing, and feeling a bit sad that they'll have to go their separate ways. They then start reliving old memories and we hear how Muffy came to the store: after her old house was torn down. We also see how Sam came to the store: When he retired from the merchant marines, he met Jodie in the park and they ended up getting jobs in the store. In all this, Jodie discovers that the only way to save the store is to find a historic plaque to see how old it is, but there aren't any records of it and TXL doesn't even know where it is.

The plaque is behind Muffy's wall but she didn't notice. Meanwhile, They still relive old memories and we see how Jeff came to the store: Waldo the Magnificent was practicing magic on a magic hat that flew away to a mannequin factory and landed on a mannequin that had a matching vest, That mannequin was taken to the store for Jodie's display and Waldo brought it to life and named him Jeff. Meanwhile, Muffy found the plaque and took a picture of it, and Jodie only had 30 minutes to run to head office to give it to her boss, and just made it. The store was saved.

Jeff, Sam and Jodie are waiting for Jodie to get back from her aunt Margaret's. She took a shortcut and got lost and her car broke down. So she went to a service station for help. Meanwhile, Jeff has his usual blues about not being able to leave the store, and Muffy tries to enter the store's contest to win a trip around the world. But store employees can't enter the contest.

Coop Scoop, a newspaper reporter comes to the store to do a story about the night staff. And Sam is very eager to have Coop look at his diary from when he was at sea to do a story about it. But Coop explains that the newspaper is about what's going on in the present, not the past. Meanwhile, Muffy is disgusted about what is written about mice and wants retraction. Also, Coop came very close to finding out about Jeff's magic hat, which could be dangerous if the word got out.

Jodie has prepared a special dinner for everyone and has brought it to the store along with a big bag of cookies she is taking to her nephew Davy's birthday party. But when she takes the dinner up to the roof with Muffy, Sam and Jeff thinks that the bag on the counter, the bag of cookies, is their dinner. So after eating all the cookies, Sam and Jeff don't feel too well and Jodie is a little upset about it, but isn't angry. So the others decide to make it up for her by giving and making some cookies to take with her.

The store is having a dinosaur-coloring contest and the prize is 2 free museum tickets and $100. The gang decides to enter but since there aren't enough poster boards, Jeff and Jodie team up, and Sam and Muffy team up. Muffy is so eager to win, that she is mean to Sam, insults his drawing and attempts to cheat. But her better judgment eventually comes through and everything turns out all right.

Waldo the Magnificent arrives in the store with a bad case of shrinkitis - whenever he sneezes, he shrinks. He needs a special potion to cure him that can only be gotten in ""potion land"". So while Muffy takes care of Waldo in the store, a magic genie sends Jeff, Jodie and Sam to potion land where they face a giant lizard, and go to a haunted castle. Everything scares Jodie and Sam but Jeff will not give up since he owes his life to Waldo. They eventually get the potion in the castle dungeon and make it back just in time.

With very much talk of imagination, everyone uses some of theirs, but Sam discovers that there is someone on the roof and the camera up there is broken and TXL can't show him what's up there. So they later go see what it is, and discover it's the ""Elephant Show's"" singing group, Sharon, Lois and Bram who were practicing.

It's a cold night in the store and just as Sam's about to turn on the heat (using TXL, who controls the heat), Muffy accidentally spills Sam's hot chocolate on TXL's keyboard and now Sam can't turn the heat on. So everyone must ""think warm"" to stay warm.

Sam's friend Sour Puss Sal, who hasn't smiled in almost 20 years, is coming to visit him in the store. Everyone goes to great lengths to make her smile without much success until Jeff has a foolproof plan.

Sam comes into the Children's Department with a piece of string tied around his finger to remember something - but forgot. He forgot to pick up Jodie's display racks and Jodie gets angry and snaps at Sam. So Sam, Jeff and Muffy decide to make her display out of string to surprise her and so Sam could apologize. But Jodie felt guilty already for snapping at Sam.

Jodie's display of the old-wild west sets off a lot on this subject as Jeff is dressed as a cowboy for the next day, Muffy challenges Penelope to a showdown, and Sam receives a note from Big Killer Jake saying that he'll be there at midnight.

While Jodie is setting up her display on space and the sky, Muffy is on the roof star-gazing when all of the sudden, a spaceship land there with an alien who is a mouse like Muffy. His name is XL7Z Fred from Squeakonia who is looking for cheddar cheese. But when Sam, Jeff and Muffy meet him, they think it's Muffy playing a trick on them. Fred wants to take Muffy back to Squeakonia with her but she couldn't leave her friends. Later, when Jeff, Sam and Muffy discover that there really is a Fred, they think that Muffy is leaving them.

Jodie and Sam are practicing playing the piano for a show they're suppose to do and Muffy is upset when she is not included. So she tries some of Waldo's magic spells on cheese and says the words backwards she is impressed when the cheese grow big. But when she tries another one, she freezes Sam and Jodie (like mannequins) and Jeff finds out. But they must work together to break the spell by playing a group of musical notes on the piano to unfreeze them.

Everyone is back for Christmas but the elves play another trick: they hide all the presents so they all go on a gift hunt to find them. Jodie's present is found first under a tree in the hall; Sam's present is found under the tree in his own computer room; Muffy's present appears in the children's department; and Jeff's present is found on the roof; Jodie got a pop-up-book of ""A Christmas Present for Jack Frost"" which they turn into an opera; Sam got new underwear; Muffy got a big statue of a mouse-elf made of cheese; and Jeff got a new telescope.

There's a lot of dancing going on as Jodie is practicing for her exam in dance class and is very nervous about it and Muffy is no help when she uses a magic spell from Waldo's book and spells like crazy, But then helps Jodie along with everyone else.

Muffy took a movie of everyone in the store and is eager to show it. But it rolls away and gets lost, So she tries to make another one which isn't easy this time.

Jeff has been practicing his juggling and has gotten good. And since he will never see a real circus, they decide to have one in the store with Jeff and Jodie as clowns, Muffy as a lion (or cat in this case) tamer, and Sam as the ringmaster.

It's Halloween but since Sam and Jodie had to work, they are a bit upset because they will miss out on all the fun on Halloween with the children they usually take out. So Jeff and Muffy decide to help them out: Jeff dresses up, and Muffy goes out and gather some children to come to the store to ""trick or treat"".

The store is about to have a guest: the famous opera singer Riki Turfoski whom Sam idolizes. While they're waiting, They do their own opera: The Three Bears. But when the time comes and Riki shows up, Sam is taking a nap, and the others must stall her before he gets there.

Jodie, Sam and Muffy have been chosen to sing on TV. So they go to a studio where they sing ""Yo hee ho"" on a sailor's commercial while Jeff feels upset because he can't go.

Jeff atempts to become an expert chef for a surprise restaurant that Sam and Muffy have started called the ""Starlight Cafe"" on the roof of the store. Jodie becomes their practice customer and notices a problem: they forgot the food. So Sam and Muffy race to the grocery store before it closes which did them no good when Sam forgot his wallet.

Muffy is do to go away to summer camp the next day, and Jodie, Jeff and Sam throw a farewell party for her. But they discover that she doesn't want to go and they all think that she's afraid. So they set up a practice camp in the basement but Muffy still doesn't want to go. Finally Jeff discovers that she's afraid that they'll forget about her. So Jeff makes her feel important.

Jeff lives in the store, But doesn't have a place of his own - like Muffy does. So he attempts to build his own ""clubhouse"" without much luck. So Sam tries to build it for him but leaves Jeff out of the work. They finally make a building for him out of a big cardboard box. Meanwhile, Muffy tries to break a world record by building a 23-block tower.

Waldo the Magnifficent, the magician who brought Jeff to life, Comes to the store and gives everyone a wishing mirror that will let them be anything they want to be - but only temporarily. Jodie becomes a farmer and a mother; Jeff becomes a professional dancer, and Sam and Muffy become cowboys, doctors, and baseball players. But when the mirror gets broken, Waldo reminds them that they all have their own magic - and they can be anything they want to be.

Sam has trouble seeing and goes to the eye doctor and ends up needing glasses.

A big sale of records puts records on the subject with Sam showing an old Victrola gramophone, Muffy's new favorite record, the Rockin' Rodents, and Jodie who is about to show us the record she recorded.

With a display of homes, Jeff decides that he wants to leave the store and find a home of his own. So Jodie leave a message with Waldo asking him to change the spell for Jeff. In all this, Jeff tries to decide what kind of home he wants: A castle is too dangerous, a tent is too hard, and an igloo is too cold. Finally he decides he wants to stay in the store with all his friends.

Today's Special is plays, and since Jeff is a mannequin during the day, he will not be able to see the play the next day. So Jodie decides that they could have a play right then - with everybody in it. So they do ""The Boy Who Cried Wolf"" with Jeff as the boy, Jodie as the wolf, Sam as the grandfather, and Muffy as the sheep. However, Muffy is not happy with her part and decides to quit, But Jodie convinces her that every part is important.

Jodie tell Jeff about a birthday party, He wonders what a Birthday is, and since Jeff wasn't born, he realizes he doesn't have a real birthday and he really wants one. Jodie catches sight of what's going on and her, Sam and Muffy decide to give him a birthday - since they can't remember the date that Jeff was given his magic hat. So they pick that day and try and throw him a surprise birthday party.

Something strange is going on in the store: Muffy's mouse hole is blocked, Jeff slips on a soapy wet floor, Sam's computer room is clean, and Jodie's garbage mysteriously disappears and is emptied and returned. Since Today's Special is soap, it gets everyone on the topic and Jodie tells the story of when her and Sam went to the laundromat. Still, they have to find out what's going on. So they investigate and discover that the store's new cleaning lady, Soapy Sue has been cleaning.

Sam has just built a model of the ""Tradewind Tramp"" ship that he once sailed on. And asked Muffy to look after it until he show it to the others. But after Muffy is spooked by Sam's cat Penelope, she accidentally breaks it and Sam is so mad that he won't speak to her and won't be her friend. So Jodie tries to convince Sam that it was just an accident and that he should apologize. Meanwhile, Jodie's friend Gus Seymore is in the store building shelves and is fixing things and ends up fixing Sam's boat - It turns out that Gus and Sam sailed on the Tradewind Tramp together.

Jodie set up her music display, which has everyone on the topic. And everybody is hearing a strange music coming from somewhere but can't figure it out. It reminds Jodie of her Aunt Millie and it reminds Sam of his late wife Maud. It turns out to be Muffy playing a tick by using a music box.

Muffy has a visitor for the night: Terry Termite, and being a termite, he eats wood and chews on Muffy's furniture and Muffy gets mad. Terry of course can't help it and talks to Jodie about it and she says that Muffy should understand.

Jodie is using a radio-controlled airplane for Muffy to ride in - which gets everyone on the topic of flight except Sam. Sam doesn't seem to want to talk about it so Jodie figures it's because he never got to fly before so she arranges to go up in a plane with Sam the next day. Although she was wrong, Sam is afraid of flying. So Jodie helps him get over his fear by being with him.

In a department store at night, display designer Jodie is working on a display of Hats for the sale the next day. Jeff, a mannequin that comes to life at night - and is learning about the world, is learning about hats, along with Muffy, a mouse that lives in a hole in the wall in the store, and talks in rhyme. Also, Sam Crenshaw, the night watchman is doing his duty rounds with the help of his talking computer TXL and reveals a secret wish about wanting to be a cowboy. The rest of this episode focuses mostly on hats as the ""Today's Special"" gang gets together for the first time.

As Jodie is working on her display of snow, Jeff learns about snow as we all wait for the first snowfall that is due that night.

Jodie sets up her flower display and is glad to have a nose to smell the flowers. Sam, However, is allergic to some of them and keeps clear. Muffy has a cold and is in bed in this episode. And Jeff mysteriously puts a cup on his nose and Jodie and Sam try to figure out why but Jeff won't tell them. They thought it was because he hurt it, or he doesn't like it, But Jodie discovers that Jeff thought his nose was going to fall off when his toy soldier's nose did.

Jodie couldn't go to her family picnic at her Aunt Millie's because she had to work. She was a little sad, and Sam cheered her up by taking her to the hospital to see all the newborn babies during meal break. But Jodie is later in for a surprise when her Aunt Millie shows up at the store to see her instead. Meanwhile, Jeff is feeling a little sad because he doesn't have a family. But Aunt Millie shows him that his special family are the ones who care about him: Jodie, Sam and Muffy.

Jodie needs help setting up her camping display and Sam and Muffy have a lot of experience, but they both want to be in charge, so Jodie flips a coin for it and Sam win the toss. After everything is set up, they have a little camp-out in the store, since Jeff can never go outside. During their cam-out, they discover a skunk, which turns out to be a fake. Sam teaches Jeff to fish in a wading pool and ends up catching a toy fish, and they end up hearing sounds of a mountain lion. It turns out to be Muffy playing tricks on them after feeling left out.

Jodie brought her dog, Chipper into the store for the pet show the next day, and Jeff learns about what pets are. He is so impressed that he wants to get a pet of his own. But after wanting to pet a goldfish, take a perakee for a walk, and give a mouse a bone, he concludes that he can't get a pet if he can't take care of it. Finally, he finds a pet he can take care of - a plant named Rachel.

Jeff is too tired to do his exercises because he hasn't been sleeping. He didn't know that he was supposed to sleep, since he's a mannequin most of the time. So Jodie sets up a bed for him to sleep in until the store opens. But it isn't that easy. He can't sleep, and tries everything to get to sleep including hanging upside down like a possum, Jodie tries singing him a lullaby, but that doesn't work. Finally they decide to just leave him alone. Meanwhile, Sam and Jodie show us the time they visited a radio station.

The store is celebrating its own birthday and there are balloons everywhere. But Jodie's special balloons, that her nephew Davy gave her, fly out the window and get stuck on an antenna. When Sam and TXL find them, they decide to get them down and surprise Jodie.

Jodie has a cold and is home in bed. So Jeff and Muffy set up her display of soup, while Sam tends Jodie at her apartment.

With costumes everywhere, the gang decides to try on all sorts of costumes, and they tell a witch story.

Jeff wants to learn ""everything"" since he can never go to school and Muffy claims to know everything even though she never went to school. Meanwhile, Sam is chasing the Canadian Brass around the store.

Today's Special is games the next day, and Jodie setting up her display for the sale has everyone on the subject of games.

Muffy doesn't feel important and want to leave the store by train. So the other think of a plan to convince her to stay.

Jodie sets up her display of water supplies, which puts water on the subject.

With book displays, everyone is reading something. Muffy is reading a picture book, Sam is reading a book about Cam the Detective and gets tips on solving mysteries; Jeff is reading a book of knowledge and thinks that he should look different when he's smarter; Jodie however, has a hard time getting work done because she can't set up a book display without reading fairytales.

The display of fruit has everyone on the topic of fruit.

Jodie sets up her garden display, which has everyone on the topic of flowers and gardens.

Sam's shoes are worn out and he must have new shoes. But he's very sensitive about that. Meanwhile, Jeff is having fun with his new running shoes.

Today's Special is hair and Jeff helping her with the display has him learning about hair and puts hair on the day's subject.

Jodie hurt her hand roller-skating and it is in a bandage. So the others help her out with the display, which puts the topic of this episode on hands.

Since the big sale the day before, the store is a mess. Jeff and Jodie must clean up the children's department as Jeff learns about brushes, Sam cleans up the computer room, and Muffy cleans up her place. Sam and Muffy finish their jobs first and decide to surprise Jeff and Jodie and finishes cleaning the children's department for them.

With everyone on the topic night, displays and everything, They discover paw prints meaning that a raccoon may be loose in the store - and it's Sam's responsibility to find it.

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Details Of TV
Location
Language English
Release 1982-09-14
Producer