My World and Welcome to It — Season 1, Episode 5: The Night the House Caught Fire

Episode synopsis

When Lydia comes down with a bad cold, John takes the opportunity to try to show her that people with vivid imaginations are better off than those who approach life from a more ""realistic"" point of view. The story of ""The Unicorn in the Garden"" doesn't seem to work, so John relates the story of his great-grandfather, who not only was a prolific storyteller but managed to get the fire department called out when he was trying to attend to young John's sniffles.

About My World and Welcome to It

My World and Welcome to It is an American half-hour television sitcom based on the humor and cartoons of James Thurber. It starred William Windom as John Monroe, a Thurber-like writer and cartoonist who works for a magazine closely resembling The New Yorker called The Manhattanite. Wry, fanciful and curmudgeonly, Monroe observes and comments on life, to the bemusement of his rather sensible wife Ellen and intelligent, questioning daughter Lydia. Monroe's frequent daydreams and fantasies are usually based on Thurber material. My World — And Welcome To It is the name of a book of illustrated stories and essays, also by James Thurber. The series ran one season on NBC 1969-1970. It was created by Mel Shavelson, who wrote and directed the pilot episode and was one of the show's principal writers. Sheldon Leonard was executive producer. The show's producer, Danny Arnold, co-wrote or directed numerous episodes, and even appeared as Santa Claus in "Rally Round the Flag."

More episodes from Season 1

• E1Man Against the World (Pilot)
• E2The Disenchanted
• E3Little Girls Are Sugar & Spice - And Not Always Nice!
• E4Christabel
• E6The Ghost and Mr. Monroe
• E7Nobody Ever Kills Dragons Anymore
• E8Seal in the Bedroom
• E9The Saga of Dimity Ann
• E10A Friend of the Earth
• E11Maid in Connecticut
• E12Native Wit
• E13The Shrike and the Chipmunks