Post by William T. Goat, Esq. on Mar 9, 2014 17:36:23 GMT -5
Season 1, Episode 7: The Best Desk Scenario
Original airdate: May 13, 1981
Written when it was unsure that the show would be renewed for a full season, this episode sees the main characters at crossroads in their lives. The students at Ralph's school have voted for him to be (temporary) assistant vice principal. Pam is asked to become a junior partner at her law firm. And Bill Maxwell… well, he's not in a good place. He's having some kind of midlife crisis; spending his spare time reading the obituaries, getting a new young hotshot boss fresh out of Princeton, feeling like he's losing his instincts and needs to retire. It's kind of surprising to me how often this show seems to be more about Bill's story than Ralph's.
We get introduced to another new superpower which may or may not come in handy in the future: pyrokinesis. Bill and Ralph are having a "training session" in the desert, and it's Bill's idea for Ralph to try to set fire to a nearby shrub using only the power of his mind. His aim is off; he blows up Bill's government-issued car. "That's three this year."
Pam is having lunch at a restaurant with Clarence Carter, her boss at the law firm. After he offers Pam her promotion, he gives her a ride back to the office in his limo. They're pulled over by the villains of the week: two men in ski masks with guns, warning Carter "don't try to buy off the Commission." It's just a warning, and Carter tells Pam not to "read too much into this," but Pam is having second thoughts about her promotion.
I'm not sure I understand the intricacies of the crime here; it sounds like they're talking about bribery, which would mean criminals are ordering him not to commit a crime? Anyway, the crime is just a Maguffin which will be revealed when the main trio investigates. But the important thing that happens in the confrontation scene is that the gunmen assume that Pam is Carter's daughter. When they later find out that she isn't, she becomes a loose end that needs to be taken care of, if you know what I mean.
The main trio snoops around the law offices at night, and Ralph easily thwarts the two masked men's attempt to kidnap Pam. But when Carter picks up Pam at her house the next day, apparently just to talk, he delivers her to the villains' boss. She tells everyone that Ralph knows about the plot too, so Carter phones Ralph and invites him to meet at a junkyard, planning to let the villains kill both Ralph and Pam. But of course Ralph brings Bill and the suit, for a final showdown.
The final scene functions as a cliffhanger that could end the series. Ralph gets a new position and a new office. (The nameplate says "Ralph Hanley, Asst. Principal". There's that Hinkley/Hanely switch again.) Pam keeps her new promotion; the senior partners all agreed to it, and weren't involved in Carter's crime. And Bill, by solving this case--going with his instincts when nobody else thought the case was important--has impressed his skeptical new boss, and been offered a new position assisting him in Washington. But wouldn't taking that position mean breaking up the team? The trio argues about it as the camera pulls back and the music swells.
-A couple of callbacks to previous episodes. About Palmer Bradshaw, Bill's hip young new boss: "his father runs Technitron."
-Bradshaw wants to assign Bill's case to someone else. At first, he chooses Carlisle, but then remembers he's on vacation.
…And that's about it for me. I said I would stick it out through season 1, and I did, but I think I'm done. Writing these recaps/reviews wasn't as easy as I thought. It was a struggle coming up with interesting things to say, and just sticking to a schedule. I need a lot more practice if I want to do this on a regular basis. How do the AV Club writers do it?
Original airdate: May 13, 1981
Written when it was unsure that the show would be renewed for a full season, this episode sees the main characters at crossroads in their lives. The students at Ralph's school have voted for him to be (temporary) assistant vice principal. Pam is asked to become a junior partner at her law firm. And Bill Maxwell… well, he's not in a good place. He's having some kind of midlife crisis; spending his spare time reading the obituaries, getting a new young hotshot boss fresh out of Princeton, feeling like he's losing his instincts and needs to retire. It's kind of surprising to me how often this show seems to be more about Bill's story than Ralph's.
We get introduced to another new superpower which may or may not come in handy in the future: pyrokinesis. Bill and Ralph are having a "training session" in the desert, and it's Bill's idea for Ralph to try to set fire to a nearby shrub using only the power of his mind. His aim is off; he blows up Bill's government-issued car. "That's three this year."
Pam is having lunch at a restaurant with Clarence Carter, her boss at the law firm. After he offers Pam her promotion, he gives her a ride back to the office in his limo. They're pulled over by the villains of the week: two men in ski masks with guns, warning Carter "don't try to buy off the Commission." It's just a warning, and Carter tells Pam not to "read too much into this," but Pam is having second thoughts about her promotion.
I'm not sure I understand the intricacies of the crime here; it sounds like they're talking about bribery, which would mean criminals are ordering him not to commit a crime? Anyway, the crime is just a Maguffin which will be revealed when the main trio investigates. But the important thing that happens in the confrontation scene is that the gunmen assume that Pam is Carter's daughter. When they later find out that she isn't, she becomes a loose end that needs to be taken care of, if you know what I mean.
The main trio snoops around the law offices at night, and Ralph easily thwarts the two masked men's attempt to kidnap Pam. But when Carter picks up Pam at her house the next day, apparently just to talk, he delivers her to the villains' boss. She tells everyone that Ralph knows about the plot too, so Carter phones Ralph and invites him to meet at a junkyard, planning to let the villains kill both Ralph and Pam. But of course Ralph brings Bill and the suit, for a final showdown.
The final scene functions as a cliffhanger that could end the series. Ralph gets a new position and a new office. (The nameplate says "Ralph Hanley, Asst. Principal". There's that Hinkley/Hanely switch again.) Pam keeps her new promotion; the senior partners all agreed to it, and weren't involved in Carter's crime. And Bill, by solving this case--going with his instincts when nobody else thought the case was important--has impressed his skeptical new boss, and been offered a new position assisting him in Washington. But wouldn't taking that position mean breaking up the team? The trio argues about it as the camera pulls back and the music swells.
-A couple of callbacks to previous episodes. About Palmer Bradshaw, Bill's hip young new boss: "his father runs Technitron."
-Bradshaw wants to assign Bill's case to someone else. At first, he chooses Carlisle, but then remembers he's on vacation.
…And that's about it for me. I said I would stick it out through season 1, and I did, but I think I'm done. Writing these recaps/reviews wasn't as easy as I thought. It was a struggle coming up with interesting things to say, and just sticking to a schedule. I need a lot more practice if I want to do this on a regular basis. How do the AV Club writers do it?