BENSON (1979 - 1986)

 

Created by: Susan Harris

Starring: Robert Guillaume, James Noble, Inga Swenson, Missy Gold, Rene Auberjonois, Didi Conn, Ethan Phillips, Lewis J. Stadlen, Caroline McWilliams, Billie Bird, David Hedison, Brandon Adams, Lillian Adams, Terry Alexander, Marty Allen, Phillip R. Allen, Ernie Anderson, John Apicella, Remy Auberjonois, Tessa Auberjonois, Luis Avalos, Barbara Babcock, G.W. Bailey, Penny Baker, Philip Baker Hall, Pete Barbutti, Joanna Barnes, Norman Bartold, Jeanne Bates, John C. Becher, Michael Bell, Fran Bennett, Gregg Berger, Jason Bernard, Tom Biener, Bernadette Birkett, Donald Bishop, Earl Boen, Sandra Bogan, William Bogert, Nora Boland, Sudie Bond, Don Bovingloh, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Joel Brooks, Martin E. Brooks, Timothy Brown, Vivian Brown, Roscoe Lee Browne, Courtney Burr, Burke Byrnes, Don Calfa, James T. Callahan, Michelle Callahan, Mae E. Campbell, Delores Cantu, Ron Carey, Adam Carl, Cynthia Carle, Victoria Carroll, Julius J. Carry III, Rosalind Cash, David S. Cass Sr, Frank Catalano, Freddye Chapman, Jordan Charney, Anthony Charnota, Annazette Chase, Linden Chiles, James H. Chow, Christie Claridge, Carolyn Coates, Pat Colbert, Michael Constantine, Murphy Cross, Scatman Crothers, Richard Cummings Jr, Rusty Cundieff, Keene Curtis, Charles Cyphers, Rob Dames, Ted Danson, Henry Darrow, Bob Delegall, Jack Dodson, Dani Douthette, Ralph Drischell, Starletta DuPois, Bill Duke, Murphy Dunne, Mitchell Edmonds, Gail Edwards, Peter Elbling, Dana Elcar, Judyann Elder, Stephen Elliott, Shawn Ora Engemann, Rene Enriquez, Michael Ensign, Norman Epperson, Cheryl Epps, Bruno Falcon, Al Fann, Judy Farrell, Laurie Faso, Efrain Figueroa, Greg Finley, Rick Fitts, Fionnula Flanagan, Bette Ford, Jineane Ford, Ken Foree, Kevin Foster, David Fox-Brenton, Ivor Francis, Bob Fraser, Elizabeth Lyn Fraser, Bruce French, Loutz Gage, James Gallery, Charley J. Garrett, Joy Garrett, Lynda Day George, Anne Gerety, Louis Giambalvo, Donald Gibb, Hugh Gillin, Ray Girardin, John Gladstein, Bruce Glover, Mark Goddard, Jesse D. Goins, Tracey Gold, Arlene Golonka, Hugh Gorrian, Bill Gratton, Dorothy Green, William Griffis, Mitchell Group, Kevin Guillaume, Jim Hackett, Laurence Haddon, Paul Hampton, John Hancock, Anne Haney, Larry Hankin, Mike Hanks, Malika Haqq, Jerry Hardin, Cynthia Harris, Julius Harris, Lowell Harris, Gracie Harrison, Fay Hauser, Katherine Helmond, Anthony Henderson, Bill Henderson, Alex Henteloff, Melissa Hill Guillaume, David Ho, Kene Holiday, Hillary A. Holland, Bobby Hosea, Jerry Houser, Dennis Howard, Zero Hubbard, David Huddleston, Brenda Huggins, Vic Hunsberger, Tab Hunter, Alvin Ing, Ivan Iverson, Brion James, Jim Jansen, Jill Jaress, Billy Jayne, Ron Kapra, Robert Karnes, Carole Kean, George Kennedy, Jayne Kennedy, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Clare Klaren, Gladys Knight, Mina Kolb, Alex Kubik, Clyde Kusatsu, Danny Kwan, Katie La Bourdette, Donna LaBrie, Art LaFleur, John LaMotta, Archie Lang, Les Lannom, Donna Lynn Leavy, Ruta Lee, Ken Lerner, Ketty Lester, Dennis Lipscomb, Joyce Little, Tawny Little, Tony Longo, Sal Lopez, John Louie, Ysabel MacCloskey, Philip Charles MacKenzie, Peter Macpherson, Rosie Malek-Yonan, Ralph Manza, Paul Marin, Richard Marion, William Marshall, Barney Martin, Helen Martin, James Martinez, Joaquín Martínez, Pierrino Mascarino, John Matuszak, Peter Matz, Terence McGovern, Richard McKenzie, David McKnight, Allyn Ann McLerie, Sandy McPeak, Joseph G. Medalis, John Medici, Julio Medina, Sonny Melendrez, Ernestine Mercer, Marian Mercer, Art Metrano, Terence Monk, Lynne Moody, Belita Moreno, Warren Munson, George Murdock, Myron Natwick, Christopher Neame, Toni Nero, James Newell, Denise Nicholas, Hope North, Bryan O'Byrne, Jack O'Leary, John O'Leary, Ken Olfson, Harrison Page, Judy Palumbo, Michael Palumbo, Stuart Pankin, Julie Payne, Barry Pearl, Stephen Pearlman, Ed Peck, Meeno Peluce, George Pentecost, Barbara Perry, Steven Peterman, Alva L. Petway, Robert Phalen, Ben Piazza, Robert Picardo, Deborah Pratt, Shirley Prestia, Logan Ramsey, Lina Raymond, Marie-Alise Recasner, Tracy Reed, Paul Regina, Tim Reid, John Reilly, Dale Reynolds, Kathryn Reynolds, Beah Richards, Carlos Rivas, Victor Rivas, Louis A. Rivera, Daryl Keith Roach, Dennis Robertson, Robert Rockwell, Percy Rodrigues, Arthur Rosenberg, Shavar Ross, Ted Ross, David Ruprecht, Susan Ruttan, Fran Ryan, Kathy Ryan, Ann Ryerson, Ernie Sabella, Barbara Sammeth, Guillermo San Juan, Anna Marie Sanchez, Brad Sanders, Dick Sargent, Vincent Schiavelli, Dawan Scott, Larry B. Scott, Sheila Scott-Wilkinson, Jerry Seinfeld, S. Pearl Sharp, Wendy Sherman, Bea Silvern, Raymond Singer, Millie Slavin, Lionel Mark Smith, R. David Smith, William Smith, Fred Smoot, Dick Smothers, Tom Smothers, Arlen Dean Snyder, Maura Soden, Timothy Stack, Richard Stahl, James Staley, Mel Stewart, Ray Stewart, Robert Symonds, Dennis Tate, Arthur Taxier, Max Thayer, Danny Thomas, Marshall Thompson, Mic Thompson, Roger Til, Beverly Todd, Alan Toy, Tom Tully, Bob Tzudiker, Peter Van Norden, Richard Venture, Bobby Vinton, Charles Walker, Royce Wallace, Perla Walter, Matthew Waterson, Mills Watson, Vernee Watson-Johnson, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Vernon Weddle, David Wells, Rachel Wells, John Wesley, James A. Williams, Noble Willingham, Edward Willkie, Melanie Workhoven, Nicholas Worth, Max Wright, Wendell Wright, Gretchen Wyler, Meg Wyllie, Joe Yu, Del Zamora

158 episodes

(TV-G - some adult themes)

PLOT:
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.

season 1 - 

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. Katie is forbidden from attending a KISS concert which she attends by deceit. Benson stands in for the poisoned president of a newly formed African nation, meanwhile a fourth assassin comes looking for him. Benson falls in love with, and later proposes to, a senator who isn't too keen on the idea of being married. 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. Benson has to layoff some of the staff and among the ones he has on the block is the kindly pastry chef. 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. 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 his hotel room. Problems arise for the governor when a Senator friend of his is connected to a scandal and the information is released to the media. Marcy starts dating an army friend of Benson's, not knowing that he is married. 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. Taylor runs for public office. A dinner party at the governor's home is at risk of chaos when the domestic staff goes on strike. 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. 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. Benson finds out that the governor's mansion is bugged. Someone is trying to find information that will harm the governor. Kraus has a crush on the butcher. 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. 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. The Governor's father visits, and is not hesitant to share his opinions on everything. 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. 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. 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. 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. 

season 2 - 

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. While on a Carribbean 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. 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. The Governor's sister convinces him to send Katie to boarding school, a decision that Katie and the staff do not agree with. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Benson's mother makes an unexpected but welcome visit. 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. 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. 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. Someone is sending the Governor death threats. 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. While Benson and Clayton search for something in the storage room, an earthquake hits the area. Benson and Clayton are trapped. Gretchen chokes on a piece of food and Benson performs the Heimlich maneuver to save her. 

season 3 - 

The governor sticks his neck out to appoint Benson the state budget director, a job requiring the state senate's confirmation. The governor is shown a report on the problems with the prison. The conditions are bad, and he needs to decide to increase the budget. The governor sends Benson in as an undercover agent to find out what is really going on. A conductor goes to city hall to request funding for the music program, taking the orchestra with him so they can play music until they get their funds. Benson is trying to conduct interviews for a new secretary. A business man who runs a company wants political favors from the governor. An FBI agent visits Benson and asks him to help trap the business man in bribery to ensure his request. Benson's lobbyist girlfriend has a proposal for available land in the area; a company she represents wants to build on the land. As budget director, he agrees to the plan, but then it backfires on him. Nothing seems to go right for Benson and everyone is upset with him. Benson encounters a former girlfriend. He takes it hard to learn that she is now disabled. Clayton is assaulted after an interview by someone in a car park. The Governor tells Capt. McDermott he has to improve the security at the governor's mansion. Kraus is acting suspiciously happy and everyone wonders why. Kraus has fallen in love with a man who turns out not to be quite honest. Everyone learns a hard lesson when they realize that even a "sure fire hit" in the stock market is not always a sure thing. Benson takes Kraus to a doctor's appointment for a checkup. The doctor tells Benson about his race horse that is sick and dying. Kraus overhears part of the conversation and thinks the doctor is saying she has only months to live. The former Governor Mulligan visits and brings his niece Rose, and Clayton is attracted to her. Kraus decides to write a story about her life. Benson tries to find jobs for some boys in a poor section of town to help them stay out of gangs. The governor gets an image makeover. Katie develops a crush on Pete. Benson is elected president of his condo's tenant association committee. He has to ask the landlord to make repairs to the apartments. Benson finds out Clayton is the owner of the building and his landlord. No one on the governor's staff likes Mr McFadden who has dealings with the staff. He blackmails Denise into going on a date with him. After a disastrous date, Benson and the others plan an elaborate trick on Mr McFadden. Pete borrows Benson's car and foils a robbery when he crashes it into the robbers getaway car. Benson's car's been totaled. Now the insurance company won't pay for a new car because Pete was driving it and the insurance company decides to cancel Benson's insurance because of his negative profile. Benson's being audited by the IRS. The IRS agent handling him disallows most of the exemptions puts on his form because Benson lost his records. The Governor and his teammates attend a charity golf event. It turns into a big competition between the men. The Governor has competition in getting on the ticket for reelection. The political party is not supporting the governor for another term on the election ticket. The governor and his staff take a vacation to a cabin to work out a strategic plan. The governor decides to run for reelection as an independent party on the election ticket. He gets a mortgage on his mill in order to support his campaign. It does not go well. 

season 4 - 

The Governor is invited by a businessman to join him on his yacht. So he brings the whole staff. They discover that he has invited some other people. When they're out to sea, the host is killed. So until they make it back, they're all wondering who could have done it. Until that is they learn that everyone on the man's guestlist has a grudge against him. Benson and Pete are taken hostages by revolutionaries in Latin America when they were supposed to be at a conference. Benson's brother an orthodontist comes for a visit. And he can't help but act like a snob. Eventually some long pent up resentment comes out and the brothers have a fight that threatens their relationship. The state has a mandatory retirement age, and the gardener for the governor's mansion is now being told he has to retire. He does not want to retire, so he asks Benson to help him keep his job. Benson asks Kraus for her household expenditures so he can work on the governor's budget plan. He learns she does not know how to keep a ledger to track expenses. She has to take an economics class to continue her job. Benson is the teacher. Benson's army buddies get together for a reunion. Also attending is one of their POW's who had become a friend, even if the enemy. When they find out the POW is now a wealthy business man, Scotty finds it hard to accept him as a friend. Benson buys a condo apartment based on the model. When he moves in, Benson finds there is no electricity, the doors are not all attached, the stove does not work, and more problems. He moves into the demo home until all repairs are done. Benson returns from home from a dinner out and finds he has been burglarized. When he reports it to the police, he is enraged that the police do not want to investigate the crime. The governor's home prepares for the Christmas holiday. As Benson talks to friends, he finds a cook is struggling to keep her foster children. Kraus is nervous when she learns her prison pen-pal is released from prison. She is even more nervous when he reminds her that she promised to help him get a job. Gretchen's fiancé can't be present for their wedding, so Benson stands in for the fellow as proxy - or so he and Gretchen assume. The governor and Benson go golfing and spend the day on the greens. When searching for a ball lost in the woods, a beam of light appears and Benson disappears, but reappears in seconds. The governor is sure Benson was captured by aliens. The Pentagon wants to move the air force base to another city, and the governor is concerned because of the loss of revenue for Hamilton County. Katie has a boyfriend and goes on her first date. In preparation for a royal visitor, Kraus hires street kids to paint the governor's mansion. Benson has the guys over to his apartment for dinner, stories, TV, and card games. They talk about former girlfriends whom they loved and lost. Benson is dismayed to find out he might be related to Clayton. When a large business owner makes plan to move his company out of state, the governor and staff are worried since the company provides a lot of jobs and revenue to the state. A wealthy woman, who looks a lot like Kraus, says she can help. Benson hosts a fund-raising telethon and has to announce the performers. When one of the performers does not show up, Kraus steps in to sing on television. Benson's nephew visits. He is heading for college where he is going to be a star basketball player. Benson finds out he cannot read or write; the nephew says he is going to be famous and does not need to know anything expect basketball. Benson and the Governor get trapped on the roof without means of getting down. Kraus sets up the ladder and climbs to the roof, but then is startled when she hears the others and the ladder again falls to the ground. Benson is none too pleased when he learns his girlfriend wants to date other men - specifically, her former boyfriend. 

season 5 - 

Denise and Pete have their dream wedding in a forest. Everything goes as planned, until it is time to leave the forest. A robot is brought in to help the staff. Eventually everyone feels threatened. And it isn't long before it starts taking over and advising the Governor to make decisions based on logic without any regard for how it affects people. Benson's working hard working with the public utilities office and everyone is worried about him, especially when he claims he has visions of his former boss's ghost. Jessica Tate needs to do a good deed in order to get into heaven. While Benson is on vacation, Kraus house-sits for him. Kraus' mother visits and wants to see her husband. When Benson returns home early, he has to pretend to be Arnold. Then, Kraus pretends to be pregnant. Katie interviews Benson for her school paper and overhears Benson and Clayton arguing about expenses. Benson tells Clayton he is a crook. Katie's story is printed and spreads to the main press papers. Denise finds out she is pregnant. The plumber who fixes the plumbing problems at the Governor's Mansion is a crotchety old man. Benson asks him to fix the sink at his own place that day before a party. When people show up for the party, the plumber is still there - but dead. Kraus has her hands full when a visiting sheik is infatuated with her. The sheik says he will provide financial help to the state but wants Kraus to return with him to his country. Pete gets Benson an interview on a talk show to discuss some of his political stands. It is a cooking show with a bubbly host. They talk about the state lottery and she gets him to say if he won, he would give away the money. He wins. Benson has to testify in court against some rough criminals who threaten anyone who speaks out against them. Also, Katie has to sell cookies for a fund raiser for her group. Benson meets with union management to work on a new contract. That night a friend asks Benson to babysit for a few hours. Due to a snow storm, the parents cannot pick up the baby; Benson has to take the baby to work and the contract signing. The governor and team are upset that Senator Tyler is appointed to the appropriations committee. To make the best of it, they host a cocktail party. When Tyler makes an offensive comment to the governor's date, she dumps her drink on him. A man from the government tells the Governor he has to go to a important and confidential meeting. After he leaves, the man brings in a man who's a dead ringer for the Governor and he assumes the Governor's duties. Eventually some of the staff notices some changes in the Governor, especially Krauss. So when the double learns of this, he tells the man who then tells him to fire Krauss which he does. That's when Krauss and Benson work together to find out what's going on. And when the real Governor returns, things get complicated. Pete's alma mater is giving Benson an honorary degree, so they travel to Florida with the governor. While there, Pete has memories of his carefree days of bachelorhood and begins to think he won't make a good father. Gladys Knight and the Pips are in town, and Benson tells everyone he will get them to sing at a telethon the governor is holding for a fund raiser. The governor is getting the Rats and Cats act. Katie and her friend Winston are planning the upcoming school dance. Winston gets the idea that Benson would be a perfect match for his widowed mother. Meanwhile, Kraus is on edge, thinking Clayton wants to kill her. Pete arranges for a photo shoot for Benson who has been voted Bachelor of the Month. At first reluctant, when Benson sees the photographer, he wants to spend more time with her. Benson is surprised when he is declared a security risk when the president is scheduled to visit the governor. Pete gets Benson a job as a judge for a local beauty pageant. Will he be influenced by others to pick a winner? Denise goes into labor while Pete is out of the office. Benson and the governor get Denise to the hospital, but only as far as the elevator. Clayton brags that his father is going to name him as the new manager of the family business. While his father is looking for a successor, it is not Clayton that he wants. Kraus talks Benson into helping her save an old historic hotel from destruction. Benson tries to get a doctor who works in an inner city clinic honored for his work but the man refuses. However Benson pushes and learns why he doesn't want it. 

season 6 - 

Benson learns that the lieutenant governor is accepting bribes. Benson inherits a men's magazine. Later he is sued by an associate of the owner who believes that she is entitled to the magazine. And wanting to be rid of the mag, Benson decides to get a lawyer who has never won a case--Clayton. Benson has his annual physical and has no worries about his health - until the doctor calls and wants to talk to Benson personally. Kraus and the others assume it means Benson is dying. Benson throws his hat in the political ring for lieutenant governor. He finds it easy to raise money for his campaign, but then realizes everyone who contributes is wanting something in return. Benson's campaign is running out on money and he is facing a political debate from his opponent. While visiting Hong Kong, Clayton is kidnapped in a case of mistaken identity. However, even upon learning the mistake, his captors don't let him go. The rest of the staff alert the police. The rescue attempts for Clayton do not go so well when the governor and Kraus end up being kidnapped also. Since the police think Benson is involved, he must evade the police and rescue the others. Benson has plans to ask Kraus to be his assistant in the political office, but he is forced by other parties to hire someone else. The new hire does not work out. Benson and Linda go on a double date with Clayton and Jill. Jill finds she cannot get away from the talkative Clayton. Benson's sister who just went through a rough break up stays with him. Max, the man who helped Benson get elected takes her out. And when Benson sees that after one date, they seem to be getting serious, he can't help but be worried and butt in. Benson goes home for a family reunion. And his brother wants his help to convince their uncle the head of the family to retire. But their aunt refuses to let them consider it. Benson unknowingly has two countries ready to declare war. It's Christmas time, and everyone is busy. In his rush, Benson falls and hits his head. While he is out, he dreams of holidays past with his mother. When their car breaks down on a country road, Benson and Kraus spend the night at a truck stop where Kraus fends off the advances of a burly truck driver. Benson finds out a mayor wants to have break-dancing declared illegal. Benson decides to talk to the mayor to prevent it. He finds it is a difficult task. Told in back-flashes and scene sequences, Benson and the others recall the many people in their lives who have influenced them in some way. There are plenty of guest stars in this episode about a trip to Las Vegas for a convention. Benson and Kraus perform in a stage show, and Clayton gambles away his money. Benson and the Governor are in hot water with President Reagan after Benson criticizes the President's proposed budget. As Benson and the Governor await their discipline, they become trapped in the Oval Office. The Governor decides to take a break and go to a Dude Ranch. He enjoys being a cowboy so much that he decides to stay and resigns as Governor. So Benson tries to talk him out of it. The staff is conducting an exercise on what would happen if there's a nuclear attack. But the computer plays out a scenario that is almost hopeless for anyone to survive. And that's when they realize that surviving a nuclear attack is not the answer but preventing it. While Gatling is away, Benson, as acting governor, vetoes a bill the governor would have signed. Missy Gold's real sister Tracy Gold plays a cousin who visits the mansion. Tracy's character talks Katie into lying to her father about where she is going out for the evening. Katie gets caught in a bar with her cousin. When the Governor chooses not to support a Senator's bid to have certain books removed from schools, the Senator lashes back at them. Passed over as Man of the Year in favor of Benson, Clayton, bested by Benson one too many times, suffers from the delusion that he is Benson. 

season 7 - 

Benson is cutting the ribbon at the mall. Suddenly someone cries out a robbery and when the robber passes Benson he knocks him out with the giant scissors he was holding. Later the man sues for battery. He retains Clayton as his lawyer who tells him it's a piece of cake. Till he learns who the opposing counsel is; Nevada Bob Walker a shark. Clayton suffers a breakdown, and Benson asks the judge what are his options. Either to let the judge give him a continuance which means they will pick it up in 18 months or proceed on his own. He chooses the latter. And it turns out that Walker is an expert at bending the truth. Benson and Senator Hartford are on opposite sides of a bill that Clayton supports. This makes a romantic connection a bit more difficult for them. The governor's brother visits the mansion. The governor and Jack have not talked to each other for 25 years. On a stormy Halloween night, a mysterious man who calls himself G. Reaper shows up. Later they learn that some children go missing. That's when the entire staff believe that the man is The Grim Reaper. Benson decides to go see him to find out who he is and why he is here. But his answers shock him. Benson and Kraus are accused of being spies while they are in Germany. As the fiscal year ends, Clayton realizes there is a large surplus of funds unused. The auditors tell him that he must use it now, or lose it to the budget in the following year. Benson and Clayton find ways to use the funds. Clayton decides to be the helicopter pilot for Benson and the governor to a golf course. Clayton loses control of the helicopter. Clayton talks Benson into investing in a dog breeding business. However, their mating dog is impotent. Kraus has a dream that she and Benson are the only remaining people on earth, and decide to be with each other. Clayton's about to be named Budget Director. But at the hearing a secret he's been keeping is revealed and might make his appointment unlikely. So he freaks out and runs out. Benson tries to encourage to stand up to them. When Benson's namesake nephew arrives for Summer, he not only changes his name from Benson to Clete, he is also irresponsible with Benson's home, car and the job Benson got him for the Summer. Benson investigates the Veterans Administration misuse of paying benefits to the veterans because the person he hired for remodeling his bathroom is a veteran. After a Hollywood director is found dead in the mansion, Benson and the others try to solve the crime. Benson is nominated to run for governor; he asks Diane to marry him. Clayton's father is getting married to a young woman, and Clayton sees his inheritance slipping through his fingers. The governor signs a pardon for a man in prison who was wrongly accused of a crime. However, the man has adjusted to jail life and is afraid of being set free. Kraus starts living a life in high society when a gossip columnist befriends her. The governor and Benson join forces for a double date. Benson finds himself campaigning against the Governor. Benson and Gov. Gatling have become opponents in the election for the Governor's job, which puts a dark cloud over their long standing friendship. 

INTRO: