James Beach

When Alice the elephant breaks out of her wagon, Ponch and Jon have to keep the pachyderm and motorists under control. Meanwhile, a robber stealing motorcycles turns out to be Jon's former football teammate.

Ralph's unusual new student creates international chaos when his class project of building a radio telescope for tracking orbiting satellites brings the CIA and KGB down on the school.

In the middle of the night, a Hell's Angel-type biker named Snake zooms up on his motorcycle and rings the Partridges' doorbell. Irritated at being awakened, Shirley and the rest of the family feel obligated to listen to this friend of Laurie's tale of woe. He wants to commit suicide because after breaking all convention by proposing to his girlfriend Penny, she has the audacity to hang up on him. When Shirley realizes that Snake's proposal took place over the phone, she patiently explains to him that a marriage proposal, being the most important event in a girl's life, should not take place over a telephone. She suggests that he dress in a tie and jacket and go to propose in person. But Penny again refuses, for she feels that Snake is making fun of her by having donned such fancy clothes. Laurie goes to visit Penny and tells her that Snake will kill himself if she does not accept his proposal. Finally convinced that Snake truly loves her, Penny rushes to the Partridge house, where he has temporarily taken residence, and falls into her lover's arms. Shirley generously offers to hold the ceremony at her house, where everything goes without a hitch...and afterwards the newlyweds mount their bikes and zoom off.

Jody is kidnapped when Colt refuses to be pressured into persuading Terri to post bail for conniving con-woman Sue Jackson. The kidnapper, Sue's boyfriend Jeff, is holding Jody hostage and sporadically phone Terri and Colt to warn them of the consequences if Sue is not freed. Fearing for Jody's safety, Terri ultimately posts bail while Colt and Howie attempt to trail the slippery Sue back to Jeff's hideout.