Benson

Jessica Tate's sharp-tongued former butler, Benson DuBois, moves up in the world, becoming first the governor's "director of household affairs," then the state's budget director, then lieutenant governor and candidate for the executive mansion.

Director: Susan Harris ,

Cast:Robert Guillaume , James Noble , Inga Swenson , Missy Gold , Rene Auberjonois , Ethan Phillips , Didi Conn , Caroline McWilliams , Billie Bird , Lewis J. Stadlen , Bob Fraser , Jim Hackett , Ed Peck , Donna LaBrie , Percy Rodrigues , Kevin Guillaume , Jack Dodson , Ben Piazza

1Season 1

S1.E1 ∙ Pilot

Wed, Sep 12, 1979

Benson arrives to help the Governor with his transition to the mansion, meanwhile he helps prevent the deportation of beavers from the state that would inhibit the building of a multi-billion dollar industry.

2Season 1

S1.E2 ∙ Trust Me

Wed, Sep 19, 1979

Katie is forbidden from attending a KISS concert which she attends by deceit.

3Season 1

S1.E3 ∙ The President's Double

Wed, Sep 26, 1979

Benson stands in for the poisoned president of a newly formed African nation, meanwhile a fourth assassin comes looking for him.

4Season 1

S1.E4 ∙ Benson in Love

Wed, Oct 3, 1979

Benson falls in love with, and later proposes to, a senator who isn't too keen on the idea of being married.

5Season 1

S1.E5 ∙ Conflict of Interest

Wed, Oct 17, 1979

The governor must decide between attending a political hearing, or attending his daughter's school play. He had promised Katie he would be there to see her on the stage.

6Season 1

S1.E6 ∙ The Layoff

Wed, Oct 24, 1979

Benson has to layoff some of the staff and among the ones he has on the block is the kindly pastry chef.

7Season 1

S1.E7 ∙ Snowbound

Wed, Oct 31, 1979

The governor and his staff go on a retreat to a cabin in the mountains. They get trapped in the cabin by a snow storm and emotions run rough.

8Season 1

S1.E8 ∙ Jessica

Wed, Nov 7, 1979

While a Baron visits the state and has meetings with the governor, he meets Jessica Tate. The two start an affair, and the Baron is later found dead in her hotel room.

9Season 1

S1.E9 ∙ Don't Quote Me

Wed, Nov 21, 1979

Problems arise for the governor when a Senator friend of his is connected to a scandal and the information is released to the media.

10Season 1

S1.E10 ∙ War Stories

Wed, Nov 28, 1979

Marcy starts dating an army friend of Benson's, not knowing that he is married.

11Season 1

S1.E11 ∙ Ghost Story

Wed, Dec 5, 1979

Now that the governor, his family and staff are settled in the mansion, strange things begin to happen that cannot be explained. Stores surface about a 19th century governor who was murdered in office, and his ghost is haunting the mansion.

12Season 1

S1.E12 ∙ Taylor's Bid

Wed, Dec 12, 1979

Taylor runs for public office...and turns his back on a proffered endorsement from Governor Gatling.

13Season 1

S1.E13 ∙ One Strike, You're Out

Wed, Dec 26, 1979

A dinner party at the governor's home is at risk of chaos when the domestic staff goes on strike.

14Season 1

S1.E14 ∙ Just Friends

Wed, Jan 2, 1980

The governor tries to convince a business owner to move his operation into the state so that more jobs are available. When Benson meets the business man and his wife, he is uncomfortable because he used to date the wife when she was single.

15Season 1

S1.E15 ∙ Chain of Command

Wed, Jan 9, 1980

The lieutenant governor takes over the governor's office for a few days when Governor Gatling is sick. Ed Sherman tries to get a bill passed into law, knowing that the governor opposes the bill.

16Season 1

S1.E16 ∙ Bugging the Governor

Wed, Jan 23, 1980

Benson finds out that the governor's mansion is bugged. Someone is trying to find information that will harm the governor.

17Season 1

S1.E17 ∙ Kraus Affair

Wed, Jan 30, 1980

Kraus has a crush on the butcher.

18Season 1

S1.E18 ∙ Checkmate

Wed, Feb 6, 1980

An eleven-year-old prodigy in chess visits the governor's mansion. The young Russian is tired of being show-cased everywhere, so he asks Katie to hide him from his caregivers. When he is missed, the Soviets threaten war.

19Season 1

S1.E19 ∙ Cold Storage

Wed, Feb 27, 1980

Kraus asks Benson to help her get some items from the basement. The door locks behind them and they are trapped in the basement together.

20Season 1

S1.E20 ∙ Old Man Gatlin'

Wed, Mar 5, 1980

The Governor's father visits, and is not hesitant to share his opinions on everything.

21Season 1

S1.E21 ∙ Power Play

Wed, Mar 19, 1980

An environmentalist visits the governor's mansion in protest of the waste that is being allowed in the state. He refuses to leave until he his heard.

22Season 1

S1.E22 ∙ Takin' It to the Streets

Wed, Mar 26, 1980

The Governor and Benson visit a bar and listen to the conversations among the other patrons. They learn what others think of the politics in the state.

23Season 1

S1.E23 ∙ The Army Wants You

Wed, Apr 30, 1980

Benson learns that while he was in the Army he may have been a test subject as part of a top-secret experiment in germ warfare without his knowledge.

24Season 1

S1.E24 ∙ Marcy's Vacation

Wed, May 7, 1980

Marcy is hesitant to take a vacation because there is a lot of work to do at the mansion and she is needed. When she does take a vacation, she worries someone else will do her job better.

1Season 2

S2.E1 ∙ Thick as Thieves

Thu, Oct 30, 1980

Benson and Kraus are taken hostage during a convenience store stickup, and it takes all of Benson's diplomacy to keep her from goading the gunmen into shooting them.

2Season 2

S2.E2 ∙ Benson in the Hospital

Thu, Nov 6, 1980

After recovering from flu symptoms, Benson collapses while talking to Kraus and is hospitalized for tests. Clayton starts looking to replace him as Head of Household Staff. A visitor hold the key to what his ailment is.

3Season 2

S2.E3 ∙ Fool's Gold

Thu, Nov 13, 1980

Benson and Kraus find a secret compartment in the mansion's fireplace hearth. Inside is a letter written by a past governor telling about a stash of gold hidden in the mansion and everyone wants it for themselves.

4Season 2

S2.E4 ∙ Masquerade

Thu, Nov 20, 1980

The Governor is having a $100 per plate dinner to raise money for a hospital in a third world country. Clayton puts out a memo telling the entire staff to attend in costume. Among the guests is the Ambassador of the country who is bringing The Golden Monkey which is made of solid gold and some revolutionaries wanting to steal the monkey.

5Season 2

S2.E5 ∙ First Lady

Thu, Nov 27, 1980

The Governor has a female escort for a special reception and Katie is afraid that it means that he will be getting married. The Guest of Honor for the reception owns an air conditioning company and comments on how bad the mansion's air conditioning system is. He's yet to find out who manufactured it.

6Season 2

S2.E6 ∙ Citizen Kraus

Thu, Dec 11, 1980

Kraus' aunt dies and she is given her aunt's Bavarian inn. The only catch is that in order to inherit it, she must live in it meaning she has to move to Bavaria or let it go to her cousin. Kraus decides that since she really considers the United States her country, she wants to become a US citizen, but she fails the citizenship test.

7Season 2

S2.E7 ∙ Benson's Groupie

Thu, Dec 18, 1980

While on a Caribbean vacation, Benson meets a woman who wants to stay with him. To his dismay, she follows him back home and arrives at the mansion where she refuses to leave him.

8Season 2

S2.E8 ∙ In High Places

Thu, Jan 8, 1981

On the way to a Solar Energy Conference in Albuquerque, the pilot of the plane flying Benson, Marcie, Clayton and the Governor becomes ill and it is up to the Governor and Benson to fly the plane.

9Season 2

S2.E9 ∙ Old School Ties

Thu, Jan 15, 1981

The Governor's sister convinces him to send Katie to boarding school, a decision that Katie and the staff do not agree with.

10Season 2

S2.E10 ∙ The Apartment

Thu, Jan 22, 1981

Benson moves into an apartment which is intended to give him a place to live on weekends so that he can get away from the mansion. As he is trying to renew and old friendship with a pretty girl, he finds that getting away from the Staff isn't as easy as he would like.

11Season 2

S2.E11 ∙ Big Buddy

Thu, Feb 5, 1981

Benson becomes the 'Big Buddy' to a nine year old boy who is hard to handle. When the boy and Katie get caught shoplifting, Benson tries to figure out why the boy is the way he is.

12Season 2

S2.E12 ∙ Fireside Chat

Thu, Feb 12, 1981

Marcy's boyfriend Dan, is the producer of the Governor's fireside chat. Just when she believes he is going to propose, he breaks up with her and wants them to reevaluate their relationship.

13Season 2

S2.E13 ∙ Marcy's Wedding

Thu, Feb 19, 1981

It's Marcy's wedding. And when her father is unable to attend, Marcy wants Benson to walk her down the aisle. But her mother prefers someone from the family.

14Season 2

S2.E14 ∙ Rivals

Thu, Feb 26, 1981

Kraus is in a state: her childhood rival, whose boasting she has endured for years, is on her way to America, expecting to find the cook married to the governor.

15Season 2

S2.E15 ∙ No Sad Songs

Thu, Mar 5, 1981

Benson's mother makes an unexpected but welcome visit.

16Season 2

S2.E16 ∙ Clayton, Go Home

Thu, Mar 12, 1981

A representative from an airline which opposes a noise abatement bill attempts to bribe Clayton. When Clayton intends to testify against the airline, he begins to receive threats and break-ins.

17Season 2

S2.E17 ∙ Easy Kid Stuff

Thu, Mar 19, 1981

A neighborhood boy wanders onto the governor's property, and breaks his arm when he falls out of a tree. As the boy is missing a strong role-model in his life, Benson considers becoming a father figure to the boy.

18Season 2

S2.E18 ∙ Homework

Thu, Apr 2, 1981

Katie's school assignment is to write a paper about her family. In addition to her father, she includes Benson, Kraus, and the others whom she considers part of her family.

19Season 2

S2.E19 ∙ Handwriting on the Wall

Thu, Apr 9, 1981

Someone is sending the Governor death threats.

20Season 2

S2.E20 ∙ The Governor's House Call

Thu, May 7, 1981

On his way to a Navy reunion, the Governor, along with Benson and Clayton, stop off at a bordello to visit a sick friend. When a fire breaks out across the street, they are afraid to be seen by the crowd when they exit the bordello.

21Season 2

S2.E21 ∙ All Shook Up

Thu, May 14, 1981

While Benson and Clayton search for something in the storage room, an earthquake hits the area. Benson and Clayton are trapped.

22Season 2

S2.E22 ∙ Lifesaver

Thu, May 21, 1981

Kraus chokes on a piece of food and Benson performs the Heimlich maneuver to save her.