S01.E13: Valentine's Day

[Whimsy]

To inspire Timmy to take better care of his personal hygiene, Peggy decides to take matters into her own hands and tricks him in hopes of solving the problem. Meanwhile, a concerned Mike fears that Peggy's meddling is causing Timmy to develop insecurities and robbing him of his passion for performance. At school, Timmy receives a Valentine's Day card from a secret admirer and becomes unnerved by the possibility of having a mystery suitor. Elsewhere, Eddie reports a recurring incident to Wendi's boss in an attempt to be helpful, but his chivalrous deed backfires.

[Phebemarie]

Will this be aired tomorrow due to the State of the Union address?  

[Bteam]

Actually they switched the order and Vietnam comes first- or that’s what I’ve read on various sites. Shoot I hope it’s on!  I’ve been looking forward to a new episode and can’t wait to see Vietnam because it’s a Lawrence/Eddie episode. 

[LBS]

Will there be a Vietnam thread?  It was a really sweet episode 

 

NVM: it’s up! 

Edited February 6, 2019 by LBS

[AnnaRose]

Somebody else started a Vietnam thread. (Two actually - it looks like it posted twice.)  I was going to start the new thread for tonight's episode Sunday night... but TVguide and IMDB were both listing Vietnam as the next episode, while both ABC and TitanTV were listing Valentine's Day.  While looking into the discrepancy, I realized that the episode numbering of the last several episodes I had started had been wrong.  (I just got the descriptions and episode numbers from TVGuide.)  So I flagged one of my posts to have them corrected.  I'm not surprised the Mod went with ABC's schedule listing for this thread - one would think ABC would know what they were planning to broadcast and have their website listings accurate.  It's kind of ridiculous that you can't count on the network to get the episode schedule right.

Edited February 6, 2019 by AnnaRose

[StatisticalOutlier]

14 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

one would think ABC would know what they were planning to broadcast and have their website listings accurate.  It's kind of ridiculous that you can't count on the network to get the episode schedule right.

Never mind an episode schedule--what about the actual schedule a few hours in advance?

On the date of the cancelled state of the union address, my DirecTV onscreen guide was still showing the state of the union address in that time slot, so I thought, "Well then fine, I'll go to the source."  But the schedule on ABC's website was also still showing the state of the union address as being shown--in just a few hours.

What good does having all the information in the world at your fingertips do if even the most obvious stuff isn't right?  Sheeeeesh.

[slcskp]

Interesting article in The Hollywood Reporter this morning.

Looks like "Valentine's Day" was written by Ellen Doyle, wife of Tim Doyle, the showrunner for TKAA (and the grown-up Timmy Cleary). From the previews that have aired this week, it looks like another hilarious episode, so I'm looking forward to their team effort tonight.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/i-left-tv-business-raise-my-family-now-cant-get-back-guest-column-1185645

[festivus]

I swear I love this show. The water fight was absolutely hilarious and when Eddie fell off the roof and Peggy just turned around and walked back in the house, I lost it. I was also cracking up at all the jokes as much as Mike was. Whatevs, that shit was funny. "My wife and I were happy for twenty years. And then we met!"

[mojoween]

Now I was born in 1973 so I wasn’t there, but Wendi’s “I am woman hear me roar” speech sounded more 2019 than 1972.  

I laughed that Mike was more irritated that the porch was damaged rather than be concerned about Eddie’s blurry vision.

[Snow Apple]

Peggy gives Eddie a bag of Halloween candy, "Watch for razer blades. Your father's running out." Loved her delivery.

[LBS]

Peggy’s line about Timmy smelling like better cheese than they had in the house had me roaring.  This episode was amazingly funny!

[Carmel Cub]

On 2/12/2019 at 9:18 PM, mojoween said:

Now I was born in 1973 so I wasn’t there, but Wendi’s “I am woman hear me roar” speech sounded more 2019 than 1972.  

I laughed that Mike was more irritated that the porch was damaged rather than be concerned about Eddie’s blurry vision.

Edited February 14, 2019 by Carmel Cub
Recorded in 1971

[biakbiak]

I don’t think I will ever recover from the fact that she stretched the sloppy joes with a can of tuna. 

[sheetmoss]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

Now I was born in 1973 so I wasn’t there, but Wendi’s “I am woman hear me roar” speech sounded more 2019 than 1972.  

I laughed that Mike was more irritated that the porch was damaged rather than be concerned about Eddie’s blurry vision.

Gloria on All In The Family had  some good  feminist opinions,, and that was in that time period.

 See Maude & daughter Carole too.

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, sheetmoss said:

Gloria on All In The Family had  some good  feminist opinions,, and that was in that time period.

 See Maude & daughter Carole too.

Not to mention the early 70s were when a lot of pro-female legislation was being passed. Title XI in 1971 and 1972 was all about getting the E.R.A which was passed by Congress to be brought to all the state legislatures so it was at the height of discussions. Add in several landmark court cases etc. it didn’t seem that out of place to me.

[possibilities]

6 hours ago, mojoween said:

“I am woman hear me roar”

Helen Reddy's "I am Woman" (song) was a major hit in 1972:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Woman

The 1970s were a hotbed of feminism. This show strikes me more like the 1950s than the 1970s, to be honest.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Since everyone else was accounted for at the talent show except Eddie, who was with Wendi, where was baby Andy?

And where did Pat get the popsicle? Props to Lawrence for going with him this time.

[2727]

I can understand that Wendi appreciates Eddie's kind and empathetic heart, but gurl. You have taken on a project.

[Phebemarie]

The actor who plays Timmy looks like he's recently had a major growth spurt.  It usually happens between 8th and 9th grade (as a middle/high school teacher, I know these things).  

[Yeah No]

Never mind the feminist talk, I'm pretty sure that no one outside of the band's local area knew who Lynrd Skynrd was until 1973 at the earliest, much less would own a t-shirt.

And while it's true that 1972 was in the middle of a strong feminist movement, I don't recall pretty much any high school aged girls talking about it in the way presented here, and I was in that age bracket back then myself and grew up in NYC where we saw a lot of demonstrations  going on regularly.  Despite that I've grown to accept that this series engages in revisionist history, especially in the last scene, in which Timmy pretty much admitted was how he remembered it, not how it happened.

[Cowgirl]

Okay, it's gross and sexual harassment, make no mistake -- but I had to laugh that they featured a flasher.  We hear about flashers all the time in the 70's.  Now I never hear about them (which really is fine with me).  Is this still a thing in big cities?  This flasher had a variation on the ole raincoat - and Eddie liked his style.  Streaking was a big thing then too. 

My favorite line of the night was when Peg was informed about the bad smell and that William suspected that Pat's hamster had resurfaced, she mumbles, "If that were true, it would be Hamster Easter."  

[libgirl2]

I was all set to watch it last night and we lost our power. I'll have to catch it on demand. 

[Yeah No]

49 minutes ago, Cowgirl said:

Okay, it's gross and sexual harassment, make no mistake -- but I had to laugh that they featured a flasher.  We hear about flashers all the time in the 70's.  Now I never hear about them (which really is fine with me).  Is this still a thing in big cities?  This flasher had a variation on the ole raincoat - and Eddie liked his style.  Streaking was a big thing then too.

Come to think of it I haven't heard of flashers in a long time either even in the city.  They seem to have gone the way of the streaker, which was also a "thing" in the '70s.

[AnnaRose]

4 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I was all set to watch it last night and we lost our power. I'll have to catch it on demand. 

Perhaps you can watch it here?

[libgirl2]

2 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

Perhaps you can watch it here?

Thanks for the link. I'll use it if its not on demand but it usually is the next day. 

[sheetmoss]

16 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I don’t think I will ever recover from the fact that she stretched the sloppy joes with a can of tuna. 

"Surf & Turf"! hehe

My favorite sight gag was Pat  running from the ice cream truck whenever he heard 'Turkey in the straw(?) played'...  then coming home with a popsicle from a stranger  and later, Lawrence  following  him when he bolted again.

Edited February 13, 2019 by sheetmoss

[Cowgirl]

William was so cute, lugging that giant accordian case into the church.  

Um...where did Joey get the motorcycle?  I like how they fudged and said that maybe it's not the way it happened but it's the way Timmy remembers it. I laughed when Peg said she thought the church owned the death cage.  

I wondered if the girl Joey gave a ride to (and who was his asssistant in the act) was the infamous Kathy Petrullo (Sp?) of pew footsie joy and tube top disappointment?  I loved her shirt with the red and blue stripes she wore during Joey's act.  I think I had one like that in the 70's.  Evil Kinevil was huge in the 70's. 

[cleo]

If you mean guys exposing themselves when you say flashers, then yes it still happens, especially in subways. Usually to women, sometimes kids unfortunately. They're not completely naked though like a stereotypical flasher. They just expose their junk.

[StatisticalOutlier]

23 hours ago, festivus said:

I swear I love this show. The water fight was absolutely hilarious and when Eddie fell off the roof and Peggy just turned around and walked back in the house, I lost it.

She also muttered, "Idiot."  Because of course she would.

.

9 hours ago, Cowgirl said:

We hear about flashers all the time in the 70's.  Now I never hear about them (which really is fine with me).  Is this still a thing in big cities? 

I saw one on the mall in Washington, DC, probably 10 years or so ago.  Classic type, with the raincoat.

.

17 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Not to mention the early 70s were when a lot of pro-female legislation was being passed. Title XI in 1971

Small but important correction--it's Title IX.

But speaking of XI, and completely off topic--a newscaster in India was fired for referring to XI JINPING as ELEVEN JINPING.    Oh my god, that makes me laugh almost as much as this show does.

.

10 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Never mind the feminist talk, I'm pretty sure that no one outside of the band's local area knew who Lynrd Skynrd was until 1973 at the earliest, much less would own a t-shirt.

I'm not troubled by that because it's close, and Lynyrd Skynyrd was perfect for the role.

.

Edited February 14, 2019 by StatisticalOutlier
Formatting

[SoMuchTV]

23 hours ago, festivus said:

... and when Eddie fell off the roof and Peggy just turned around and walked back in the house, I lost it.

Oh ouch! I know, everything 's  exaggerated, and unreliable narrator and all, but falling from several feet into a brick step would have to have some more serious consequences!

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

20 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I don’t think I will ever recover from the fact that she stretched the sloppy joes with a can of tuna. 

Surf and turf! 

[2727]

56 minutes ago, One4Sorrow2TooBad said:

Surf and turf! 

"Maybe that's why your hamburger isn't clumping,"

[hoodooznoodooz]

Yay! A Wacky Packs reference!!!

[xander874]

On 2/12/2019 at 9:18 PM, mojoween said:

I laughed that Mike was more irritated that the porch was damaged rather than be concerned about Eddie’s blurry vision

I liked it too although it didn't land for me as well as it could because between those scenes we had a scene with Eddie acting very normal with Wendi. But, I do love that the parents seem to care about EVERYTHING else before their kids.

And again a shout out for Pat and his cuteness. He took that throw away line about the popsicle and made me laugh and go "awwww" at the same time.

Agreed that Timmy has grown a bit since this show started. Like how they are addressing how gross teen boys can be. Between the rotten milk and Timmy's funk, that house must be a delight to live in. 

[Ilovepie]

On 2/12/2019 at 11:50 PM, biakbiak said:

Not to mention the early 70s were when a lot of pro-female legislation was being passed. Title XI in 1971 and 1972 was all about getting the E.R.A which was passed by Congress to be brought to all the state legislatures so it was at the height of discussions. Add in several landmark court cases etc. it didn’t seem that out of place to me.

It didn't seem out of place to me either the way it was presented, coupled with the fact that Wendy kind of shrugged off that the boys at the theater are earning $1 an hour more than her......

The motor cycle thing was so funny, but I kind of wish they had flashed to what was actually happening vs. how Timmy remembers it. I'm guessing it was just Joey popping wheelies on his bicycle........

It's not just boys that are gross - I live with a 14 year old girl, and at 11/12 she was also guilty of suspect hygiene. Let's just say the hair was frequently dirty and stringy, and if not explicitly told to brush teeth and put on deodorant it would not happen.......

I liked Eddie trying to cover his eyes as he picked up his change while the girls were walking by at the end......

Who knew 7-11 would sound much cooler when called "The Sev".....Ha!

[mojito]

Quote

They're not completely naked though like a stereotypical flasher. They just expose their junk.

That's naked enough. During those years, before people got incredibly sensitive about everything, a teenage girl in my world might find a flasher worth an eye roll, maybe an object of disgust,  maybe even chuckle-worthy. I don't think I equated a flasher with someone who was dangerous in those days. There was a boy who groped some girls in a kind of hit-and-run on our campus (middle and high school). The two girls I knew who were his victims (they were friends, victimized separately) didn't like it at all, but I also recall them laughing a bit about it, too (turns out, he was around 4 years younger, in middle school)....He's probably a surgeon now.  It was a different time.

The women's lib stuff...my brother and I graduated from high school in 1972. I have memories of the women's lib movement, but in my world, it wasn't something most of us were giving much  thought to. We were heading off to college in the Fall, and at least for the first semester of freshman year, Viet Nam still loomed over us (especially my brother). In my memory, Reddy's song was big during that Fall semester of 1972. Most of the women's lib stuff I heard about came from our teachers. Our heads just weren't  wrapped around that yet as a pressing issue as we were still teenagers, supported by our parents. focusing on our immediate still-sheltered lives.

Sometimes, when I think Peggy is too caustic, I remind myself that this show is playing things up for laughs. Sometimes she says the kind of things that mothers might think, so it's funny to hear someone say it aloud. This show is a comedy, and it's the wicked things that are the funniest.

I got several chuckles on this episode. The pre-adolescent teens telling middle-aged men jokes; Timmy even tried to imitate the accents common on the borscht circuit. Pat reacting to the "Turkey in the Straw" song (thank you, closed circuit, for that info) and even somehow scoring ice cream from a man in a truck. Peggy's agreement that going to "Seven" was, at least, a way of not being home.

I am learning that I enjoy Lawrence (the voice of self-righteous reason), and Mike. Lawrence is the responsible person and I see his presence is there to view the parents through 2019 eyes.  Yet, his wisdom is a little out of place in that family, and that's what makes him humorous. Joey is the character that wears thin on me.

Edited February 15, 2019 by mojito

[possibilities]

Lawrence sure got over his broken legs quickly.

I think a flasher who's in middle school would be way less threatening than one who's an adult.

[mojito]

Quote

I think a flasher who's in middle school would be way less threatening than one who's an adult.

And an adult groper would've scared the crap out of people.

[dargosmydaddy]

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

Lawrence sure got over his broken legs quickly.

I think they aired the episodes out of order, and this was originally supposed to be before "Vietnam." Will be interesting to see if the cast makes a reappearance, or if it really is completely forgotten, sitcom-style.

[libgirl2]

20 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

It didn't seem out of place to me either the way it was presented, coupled with the fact that Wendy kind of shrugged off that the boys at the theater are earning $1 an hour more than her......

The motor cycle thing was so funny, but I kind of wish they had flashed to what was actually happening vs. how Timmy remembers it. I'm guessing it was just Joey popping wheelies on his bicycle........

It's not just boys that are gross - I live with a 14 year old girl, and at 11/12 she was also guilty of suspect hygiene. Let's just say the hair was frequently dirty and stringy, and if not explicitly told to brush teeth and put on deodorant it would not happen.......

I liked Eddie trying to cover his eyes as he picked up his change while the girls were walking by at the end......

Who knew 7-11 would sound much cooler when called "The Sev".....Ha!

I went through a stage at about 11/12 where I hated taking a shower. Things finally turned around when a female classmate wrote me a note saying I was very pretty but would look better if I washed my hair (which was greasy all the time)..... I have bathed daily ever since! So yes, girls too. 

As for hanging out at "The Sev", I grew up in a small town (at the time), I remember hanging out at White Hen sometimes. 

Edited February 15, 2019 by libgirl2

[slcskp]

2 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

I think they aired the episodes out of order, and this was originally supposed to be before "Vietnam."

The bulk of the episodes take place in the summer of 1972. This episode and "Christmas 1972" are deliberately out of sequence with the others. Tim Doyle mentioned in an interview that ABC had mandated a Christmas episode, since every other ABC sitcom that aired the same night also had a Christmas theme.

https://variety.com/2018/scene/events/the-kids-are-alright-tim-doyle-michael-cudlitz-family-dynamics-christmas-episode-1202933790/

I suspect the network did the same thing for Valentine's Day, and that the series will resume with summer 1972 next week, and Lawrence will be back to wearing his cast.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

6 minutes ago, slcskp said:

The bulk of the episodes take place in the summer of 1972. This episode and "Christmas 1972" are deliberately out of sequence with the others. Tim Doyle mentioned in an interview that ABC had mandated a Christmas episode, since every other ABC sitcom that aired the same night also had a Christmas theme.

https://variety.com/2018/scene/events/the-kids-are-alright-tim-doyle-michael-cudlitz-family-dynamics-christmas-episode-1202933790/

I suspect the network did the same thing for Valentine's Day, and that the series will resume with summer 1972 next week, and Lawrence will be back to wearing his cast.

Right; it was Valentine's Day and Timmy had gone to school that day.  It definitely wasn't the summer.

[Ilovepie]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

As for hanging out at "The Sev", I grew up in a small town (at the time), I remember hanging out at White Hen sometimes.  

Ha! I liked when Peg asked why and Joey said "it's not here". It reminded me of the movie Say Anything when John Cusack asks the guys why if they know so much about women they are spending Friday night hanging at the Gas N Sip. "By Choice, Man!"

[StatisticalOutlier]

19 hours ago, mojito said:

During those years, before people got incredibly sensitive about everything, a teenage girl in my world might find a flasher worth an eye roll, maybe an object of disgust,  maybe even chuckle-worthy. I don't think I equated a flasher with someone who was dangerous in those days.

Yeah, I think Wendi handled it pretty realistically for the time. 

.

Quote

Most of the women's lib stuff I heard about came from our teachers. Our heads just weren't  wrapped around that yet as a pressing issue as we were still teenagers, supported by our parents. focusing on our immediate still-sheltered lives.

And if you were looking for a job, you'd be looking at "Help Wanted - Male" and "Help Wanted - Female" sections in the want ads, so you'd have to make an effort to get outside what was standard operating procedure at the time and look in.

.

Quote

Sometimes, when I think Peggy is too caustic, I remind myself that this show is playing things up for laughs. Sometimes she says the kind of things that mothers might think, so it's funny to hear someone say it aloud. This show is a comedy, and it's the wicked things that are the funniest.

That's an excellent point.  I roll my eyes when people criticize sitcoms for not being realistic, or when one character gets treated poorly.  I've always, thought, "Well, it's not advertised as a documentary." 

But as you pointed out, in Peggy's case, it's actually hearing out loud what a mother might think, so it's actually more than just taking the funny route.

.

Quote

I am learning that I enjoy Lawrence (the voice of self-righteous reason), and Mike. Lawrence is the responsible person and I see his presence is there to view the parents through 2019 eyes.  Yet, his wisdom is a little out of place in that family, and that's what makes him humorous.

I've always liked Lawrence, and think he's nailing the oldest child role.  That's his job--to be the wisest one in the family, especially after being away and coming back.

I was particularly touched when he jumped up to follow Pat, saying something like, "I think I need to go with him."  He's paying attention.

.

Quote

Joey is the character that wears thin on me.

Perish the thought!  I was actually thinking about starting a thread about just him, so I could gush all in one place.  Similarly to how I see Lawrence nailing the oldest child role, Joey's nailing the middle child role, by using being ignored to his advantage.  We don't know if he actually likes it that way, but that's what he's given, and he's making it work for him.  Poor Timmy, on the other hand--being an ignored middle child most definitely does not suit him.

.

Edited February 15, 2019 by StatisticalOutlier
Conquering the default formatting, one period at a time.

[Thumper]

Wendi's hair looked more relaxed and typical 70's in this episode.  (Although I agree with a post elsewhere that it is similar to "That Girl" Marlo Thomas's flip.)

I also loved that Lawrence took off to check out Pat's "ice cream man."  Sweet. 

Frank is growing on me and becoming a favorite character for his total belief in how things "should" be!  The actor does a great job.

[Ilovepie]

7 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Perish the thought!  I was actually thinking about starting a thread about just him, so I could gush all in one place.  Similarly to how I see Lawrence nailing the oldest child role, Joey's nailing the middle child role, by using being ignored to his advantage.  We don't know if he actually likes it that way, but that's what he's given, and he's making it work for him. 

I love Joey too. I think in many ways he’s the most like Peg - snarky and devious, and the actor who plays him is nailing it.

I love Lawrence- he so effortlessly cool and mature. One thing is bothering me about him though- what is he doing since he quit seminary? Have they showed him having a job and I just missed it? It seems weird in some ways that he’s always there.....

[libgirl2]

On 2/16/2019 at 12:00 AM, Ilovepie said:

I love Joey too. I think in many ways he’s the most like Peg - snarky and devious, and the actor who plays him is nailing it.

I love Lawrence- he so effortlessly cool and mature. One thing is bothering me about him though- what is he doing since he quit seminary? Have they showed him having a job and I just missed it? It seems weird in some ways that he’s always there.....

Yesterday, I realized Joey reminds me of a guy I went to HS with. Same physically and same deviousness. He passed away in a car crash after graduation. 

[ErinV]

Idk...I still like this show but the mom's comments are wearing real thin.  We get it, they're lax 70s parents for whom money is tight.  Not EVERY comment she makes has to be something about that.  I mean, Eddie could've DIED from that fall.  

I don't buy Wendi's outlook on sexual harassment.  For girls her age even in the 80s and 90s, it was so ingrained in society that hardly anyone took a step back to look and analyze.  I mean, maybe I'm just projecting, ha, but it's hard to see a high school girl having that perspective.  More likely she just suffered through it and thought "this is how it is".

[dcalley]

The soccer player mentioned Title IX in the episode where Frank was helping out backstage. "I should've gone to public school. They have Title IX, pizza Fridays, and other black people." Wendi subscribes to Ms. Magazine, right? I'm pretty sure that was shown when Frank intercepted her mail.

On 2/15/2019 at 1:23 PM, Ilovepie said:

Ha! I liked when Peg asked why and Joey said "it's not here". It reminded me of the movie Say Anything when John Cusack asks the guys why if they know so much about women they are spending Friday night hanging at the Gas N Sip. "By Choice, Man!"

I also thought of the Gas N Sip!

[Ilovepie]

10 hours ago, dcalley said:

I also thought of the Gas N Sip!

Thanks for the video - I would have done that if I was more tech savvy!