"A Friend in Need" shows that the series could still produce a serious episode along the lines of previous classics. With Florida away the offspring will play, throwing a party with music and refreshments but without adult supervision. The surprise guest is basketball star Robert Simpson (Ralph Wilcox), whose outlook on life has taken a downward spiral since he flunked out of school and was cut from the team the week before. He confides in JJ and doesn't want anyone else to know the truth, but when his girlfriend Ellen (Debbi Morgan) shows up with another date it's too much for him to have lost both his girl and his athletic dream. After the last guest leaves, Robert is found locked in the bathroom, having swallowed an entire bottle of pills in a desperate suicide attempt. Michael knows that the way to help such a case is to keep the victim alert and moving, while JJ has the answer to make him throw up: "Thelma, cook something!" The serious transformation of JJ found the perfect vehicle with this episode, one of the best from this fourth season. This was the second and final appearance of Ta-Ronce Allen as Michael's girlfriend Yvonne, introduced in "Michael's Great Romance."