by Hal Erickson
synopsis
Mel (Vic Tayback) battens down the hatches and gets ready for a big-business bonanza when a busload of hungry customers are slated to arrive at the diner. But the event turns into something less than festive when the bus driver speeds off, leaving his passengers stranded. Contrary to several published reports, this episode was not originally telecast on March 26, 1978; on that occasion, CBS was running the first part of a week-long network retrospective. The actual debut date has been obscured by the fact that "The Bus" is shown out of sequence in the current Alice syndication package (it might have been seen on March 28, as a last-minute replacement for the cancelled variety series Shields and Yarnell).
