Dave finds out that his agent, Irving Bloom, has died and that Bloom's widow, Mel, is taking over the client list, much to his surprise. Bea Arthur plays Mel Bloom, the new agent, in the first of three guest-starring appearances. Talk show host Wink Martindale appears as himself. Dave finds himself missing his old agent when Mel goes into overdrive promoting Dave scheduling him with publicity interviews, talk shows and book fairs to publicize Barry Picking, his new book. Dave, however, didn't have a clue that he wrote a new book

Mel, Dave's aggressive new agent, has the Barry household spinning both physically and mentally when she sends Dave into New York for a PR tour and lands Willie a television commercial much to Beth's chagrin. Bea Arthur plays Mel Bloom, the new agent, in the second of three guest-starring appearances. Talk show host Roy Firestone appears as himself, as does singer Pat Boone, who has recently released a new heavy metal CD, In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy. In the green room prior to his appearance on the Roy Firestone talk show, Dave is anxious and nervous and decides to try joke material out on fellow guest Pat Boone. The situation becomes even more nerve-racking when Pat, who goes on the air first, then aces Dave by using the jokes. Meanwhile, Beth, who was reluctant to have Willie do the commercial, becomes angry with Mel when it backfires.

A publishing party at the Barrys' home, coordinated by Dave's new agent, Mel, links Dave to a dead mobster and thrusts him into the seedy world of tabloid publicity. After a photo of Dave with Carlo ""The Body Bag"" Lorenz, which was taken at the party, appears on the front page of the Miami newspapers when Carlo is found dead the next day, the Barry household gets a taste of life in the public eye. Meanwhile, the bad publicity rubs off on Shel when the bookmobile he sponsored is highjacked and taken on a crime spree.