S01.E06: Behind the Counter

[Whimsy]

Mike comes to the conclusion that Eddie is being sexually active and takes it upon himself to give him enough advice to work things out. Later, Peggy disagrees with how Mike handled the situation and they argue over how much they should interfere in their children's lives. Elsewhere, Joey and Timmy attempt to disrupt Frank's plan to do free yardwork so that they can go back to getting paid.

[anna0852]

Did Peggy lose a pregnancy? I thought that was pretty heavily implied tonight. And would explain part of that gap between the two youngest. 

[2727]

I adore this show! I've taken to watching it twice so I don't miss all the throwaway lines. "Was that petition for Persian people or Persian cats?"

The Pamela Sue Martin reference made me snort-laugh, just because it was so specific. I looked up to see if "Dancing On Thin Ice" was an actual After School Special episode (ON ABC) , but no. Makes the line funnier, really.

Wendi is one smart young woman. (Although she's so high-waisted that seeing her stand next to Eddie is a amusing.) She even managed to get Peg to think about women and sex in a slightly different light. Peg and Mike's mouthwash come-on killed me.

Eddie's disinclination to say the word sex was another highlight. "Making love" is the worst one!

I'm glad Frank is proving to be more than just a suck up Eddie Haskell type.

I like a mix of kid stories and adult stories and feel like the children have been a little short-changed lately so was glad to see the split be more even this time.

Edited November 29, 2018 by 2727

[possibilities]

Liked this episode a lot. I still don't know the name of any of the kids, but I'm starting to remember their personalities at least. And I thought the parents took on a little more complexity, as did their relationship. I love Wendi.

[CountryGirl]

Peggy continues to slay. The aforementioned mouthwash sex invite and zingers like this:

Pat's line about why Frank didn't get mad or cry about the sabotaged yard being like the Whos down in Whoville who didn't get presents still singing made me LOL. I rewound it a few times.

 

Frank and Billy singing as they put the yard to rights, contrived as it might have been, made me smile and I'm glad we're fleshing out both characters more.

Edited November 28, 2018 by CountryGirl

[Janie430]

Why is Peggy always so down on Eddie?

[hoodooznoodooz]

The kids on this show are so much more interesting and believable than the kids on “Single Parents” and “The Connors.”

[Rockstar99435]

I love that they're letting each of the kids have the A-storyline and not just focusing on Timmy. Frank was great this episode. He really did just want to help out the neighbor because she was nice to him. 

The Dad's "they sell condoms at Phil's Pharmacy...they're behind the counter...you have to ask for them...have fun in confession" conversation was great.

[LBS]

I think my favorite throw away line is when Frank cries out "she got that on her sabbatical" when the lawn ornament broke and one the three in the tree house yells out "how do you even know that".     I love this show so much!

[AnnaRose]

Oh man, I think this may be my favorite episode yet.  I LOVE this show!!   So many funny lines and bits throughout, and the Whoville thing was inspired and hilarious.  And the mouthwash stuff, haha!   Plus everything that happened in the treehouse, including Pat not understanding what was going on but being so happy because they're his "best friends!", and later when he was hanging from the tree limb while his parents had their conversation... Divine Providence - plop, kid falls right into dad's arms... while they never missed a beat in their discussion.  All of the condom stuff was funny too, including the bit with the pharmacist calling.

I finally found out the name of one of the two boys I didn't know. (Well, three if you include the baby.)  William is the blonde kid.

Eddie is the one with the girlfriend; Frank is the goody-goody one; Timmy is the red-haired kid who is the narrator; Pat is the little one with glasses; and Joey is the devious, conniving one.  I think that's right.  I don't know the name of the oldest son who returned from the seminary though.

ABC should rerun this show and try to get more viewers to sample it.  It's so enjoyable and funny.  It's also exceptionally well-cast, and the only other show that has such great child actors, IMO, is Young Sheldon (which is interesting in that it is also set in the past - started in 1989 - with a voiceover.)

Edited November 28, 2018 by AnnaRose
Added description of Eddie the narrator.

[possibilities]

Two of the younger boys are really hard for me to tell apart. One of them is the musical theater guy. Which is that? And is there a way to easily tell him apart from the one closest to his age and looks, when they are not specifically talking about musical theater? I don't even think I realized there were two in that age range until this week when they both appeared in the same scene.

[anna0852]

Lawrence - oldest, changed his mind about priesthood

Eddie - Wendi's boyfriend

Frank - kiss up, good neighbor, family fink

Joey - wannabe bachelor pad in treehouse, will end up President or in prison

Tim - narrator, red head, aspiring musical theater nerd

William - nose in book, nicer version of Frank

Pat - glasses, a bit spacey, possible growth issues

Andy - baby

[possibilities]

Thanks for the list-- it's very helpful!!

I need either a new tv or to get my eyes checked, because I didn't even realize Tim/William had different color hair!

[AnnaRose]

On 11/28/2018 at 2:59 PM, possibilities said:

Two of the younger boys are really hard for me to tell apart. One of them is the musical theater guy. Which is that? And is there a way to easily tell him apart from the one closest to his age and looks, when they are not specifically talking about musical theater? I don't even think I realized there were two in that age range until this week when they both appeared in the same scene.

Well, Timmy is the musical theater kid who is also the narrator, and he has red hair and freckles which makes him easy to pick out of the crowd.  The other one closest to his age, William, has blonde/strawberry blonde hair and looks just like Ralph in A Christmas Story... it turns out he played Ralph in A Christmas Story Live.  Well, his hair looks very red in this photo, but I think they may have made it more blonde so he is more easily distinguished from Timmy.

In looking for photos of the actor who plays Timmy, I noticed that he was in the movie Billions with the actor who plays Joey (Christopher Paul Richards) - photo, photo, photo.

On 11/28/2018 at 3:23 PM, possibilities said:

Thanks for the list-- it's very helpful!!

I need either a new tv or to get my eyes checked, because I didn't even realize Tim/William had different color hair!

In (William) Andy Walken's earlier photos on IMDB, he looks a lot like red-head Jack Gore who plays Timmy. 

Edited November 30, 2018 by AnnaRose
William's hair is more strawberry blonde than 'very blonde'.

[sheetmoss]

Didn't one of the boys say he's a "D" -- maybe about  suckup Frank, which I'm assuming meant douche or D-bag

    Was that an insult used back then - if so, I don't remember it,

Edited November 28, 2018 by sheetmoss

[Yeah No]

OK, I guess I'm going to get a reputation as a nitpicker, but in this episode Wendi said the model in the white suit looked like "The Charlie Girl".  Unless they've moved the show ahead a year, she was a year too early to know about that because the perfume wasn't released until 1973.

I loved some of the references, though.  Pamela Sue Martin, Binaca, LOL.  And the fashion show, too!

[biakbiak]

5 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

Didn't one of the boys say he's a "D" -- maybe about  suckup Frank, which I'm assuming meant douche or D-bag

    Was that an insult used back then - if so, I don't remember it,

I assumed it meant dick.

[hoodooznoodooz]

I love this show.

 

You’ll be getting a wheelchair for Christmas, instead of a Big Wheel.

Does that mean I’m getting a Big Wheel?

No.

 

It is the ‘70s.

I suppose.

 

What was it that aroused your interest? Is it because I asked about your day earlier?

[2727]

The show's Twitter feed with all the memes/clips is great! I forgot William's resigned sigh about telling himself that the booger bits in library books were bugs.

[sheetmoss]

17 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Quote

Didn't one of the boys say he's a "D" -- maybe about  suckup Frank, which I'm assuming meant douche or D-bag

    Was that an insult used back then - if so, I don't remember it,

I assumed it meant dick.

That would make sense for the time,period, but I re-watched the episode, Joey says to Frank, don't be a d-bag for not taking the $ from the neighbor.

Edited November 29, 2018 by sheetmoss

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, sheetmoss said:

That would make sense for the time,period, but I re-watched the episode, Joey says to Frank, don't be a d-bag for not taking the $ from the neighbor.

Apparently it’s been used in that context since WWII, maybe the learned it from their dad. 

[sheetmoss]

biakbiak = Tks, learned something new - yes, they could have learned it from their dad.

     Reminds me of the origins  behind scumbag

          For those not aware....it's a used filled condom

[anna0852]

I actually thought Joey and Tim had a good point. That neighborhood chore money is probably their only discretionary cash and Timmy at least is working to earn it. This doesn't strike me as a family that does allowances. If Frank decides he's going to be a good neighbor and starts doing stuff for free, that's a real impact on his younger brothers.

[methodwriter85]

On 11/28/2018 at 1:04 AM, 2727 said:

The Pamela Sue Martin reference made me snort-laugh, just because it was so specific. I looked up to see if "Dancing On Thin Ice" was an actual After School Special episode (ON ABC) , but no. Makes the line funnier, really.

At first I thought it was going to be a reference to Ice Castles, but she goes blind instead of pregnant, and that's from 1978. A bit late. It does sound exactly like an After School Special from the 70's, though.

5 hours ago, anna0852 said:

Frank decides he's going to be a good neighbor and starts doing stuff for free, that's a real impact on his younger brothers.

He really is the killer of joy, isn't he? He should be a principal when he grows up. LOL.

 

Quote

I love that they're letting each of the kids have the A-storyline and not just focusing on Timmy. Frank was great this episode. He really did just want to help out the neighbor because she was nice to him. 

The Grinch reference felt pretty timely. Anyway, I agree- the kids feel realistic and the sibling dynamics of a large family also feels realistic.

Edited November 30, 2018 by methodwriter85

[hoodooznoodooz]

On 11/27/2018 at 9:12 PM, anna0852 said:

Did Peggy lose a pregnancy? I thought that was pretty heavily implied tonight. And would explain part of that gap between the two youngest. 

She called Wendi a full-term pregnancy daughter, I think.

[festivus]

I liked that this one gave Frank a bit more of a personality than the uptight tattletale brother. The Grinch thing was inspired and I laughed all the way through it. By the time they were slinging lemons I just lost it.

[anna0852]

12 hours ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

She called Wendi a full-term pregnancy daughter, I think.

She said 'daughter I always wanted that made it to full term.' I heard that as an allusion to a lost pregnancy. 

[Ilovepie]

On 11/28/2018 at 1:11 PM, Yeah No said:

I loved some of the references, though.  Pamela Sue Martin, Binaca, LOL.  And the fashion show, too!

Ha yes! We were watching with my 9 year old (which was slightly awkward due to the A storyline) but he asked what Binaca was and I explained it by saying it was that era's version of altoids (and yes I know it's a spray but it's what he would understand as breath freshener). ;-p

My husband and I were cracking up at the mouthwash as a signal for sex, mostly because it somewhat mirrors what happens in our house. It's so married with kids real life!

The Grinch stuff what perfect. I love that it wasn't a true holiday episode but just enough, and that it went sideways when Joey's heart shrunk instead!

Eddy and Lawrence's conversation was so funny - "making love" is the worst for sure! Although spelling out S-E-X probably means you are not really ready for that anyway :-)

[festivus]

58 minutes ago, Ilovepie said:

Eddy and Lawrence's conversation was so funny - "making love" is the worst for sure!

It totally is. I don't know why but ew. (said in Summer from the OC's voice)

 

Yeah I cracked up about the Binaca. I was just a kid and I wasn't kissing anybody but I had to have me some Binaca because all the teens in my neighborhood had it.

*I just googled it for the hell of it and holy shit they still make it. I had no idea!

[txhorns79]

Quote

She said 'daughter I always wanted that made it to full term.' I heard that as an allusion to a lost pregnancy. 

I wouldn't be shocked if she had at least one.  My great grandmother had eight living children and at least two miscarriages.  Pregnancy is very hard on the body, and having so many kids takes its toll. 

And I knew I knew that neighbor's voice.  For those old enough to remember, she played Pearl, the Drummond's housekeeper, during the last few seasons of Diff'rent Strokes. 

Edited December 1, 2018 by txhorns79

[lh25]

On 11/30/2018 at 5:17 PM, txhorns79 said:

And I knew I knew that neighbor's voice.  For those old enough to remember, she played Pearl, the Drummond's housekeeper, during the last few seasons of Diff'rent Strokes

Thank you!  I was wondering but hadn't looked it up yet.