Michael (Jeff Bridges) drops out of college with the intention of finding himself. When his parents (Carl Betz and Vera Miles) balk, he talks them into joining him in traveling the country and educating themselves about the state of things. They, along with Grandma (Ruth McDevitt) trick out an old Greyhound bus and hit the road. The picaresque plotline brings the family into contact with a variety of colorful characters. The producers of In Search of America never declared outright that the made-for-TV film was intended as a series pilot, but it ends on an ambiguous note with plenty of loose plot ends. In Search of America was first telecast March 23, 1971.

A young doctor fresh out of medical school takes a job at a big-city hospital, and on his first day finds himself making life-and-death decisions.

Three young women who posed as the daughters of an elderly homesteader find out that he has been falsely accused of murder, convicted, and sentenced to hang. They hatch a plot to smuggle him out of prison.

A tightly-knit family headed by a beleaguered Chicago widow rallies behind the eldest son when he is charged with bribing a city health department inspector in this pilot for a possible series.

Ghosts and a young cadet try to save a military academy from being closed.

This film describes Navy Commander Jeremiah Denton's 7-and-a-half years as a prisoner of war. Held in numerous, brutal POW camps, he faced starvation, torture and terrible living conditions brought on by his North Vietnamese captors in an effort to keep communication alive between the prisoners. His wife, Jane, is also arranging a POW wives league in the U.S. in order to popularize their plight.

When a rich man dies, some items from a collection of his are stolen- an ancient Egyptian gold amulet and the mummy that was wearing it. The police consult scholars from the local University to help with the investigation, which is taking a more serious turn as people connected with the case are killed by wounds that seem to be from a housecat.