Weird media.
Ni, mister.
You see that guy with it now?
He's an actor at the phone.
I'm a driver and the only camp driver in his place.
Good evening and welcome to night, mister Walters the Taxi Podcast. I'm HP your co host and with me as always is my co host, Father Malone. Father Malone, How are you this evening, HP.
I'm a huge fan of Foo.
Foo Naughty Naughty? Wasn't that a John Parr song? Naughty naughty? The guy who did say it? Almost fire?
Please me? No? Yeah, now.
We're talking taxis. In three, episode fifteen, Bobby's roommate, ooh mystery. Who's going to be the roommate? This is written by Earl Pomerants. I wish that that sweet basement apartment he's got.
Man, Yeah, man, I would squat in there. I'd lie change the locks. When he was gone. It would be mine. It's say here, here's your stupid Gemini poster.
So it's written by Earl Pomerants and directed, of course by James Burrows. Reminder, we're doing these shows in broadcast order and not in order of filming. By the way, this is this episode. Fatherlone is one of the earliest produced for this season right this This episode was produced before the episode even with Tony's Sister, which I believe was the second broadcast episode of this season, but it wasn't broadcast until much later in the season.
What were they hoping that they didn't have to air this one?
Again? I get people, certain people saying to me, why do you have to always talk about the broadcast order? This is why this was one of the earlier episodes, yet it came very late in the sea. So there you go. We cut inside the garage as Tony and Alex and Elaine are pouring over newspapers. Jim ambles over asks what's going on In the typical Jim fashion. Elaine tells Jim that she can't find the apartment, that she's
lost her apartment. This leads to a very predictable joke about how Jim sometimes can find his apartment for days.
You look in Brooklyn because that's usually where mine turns up. It's a good joke.
Actually, as usual, I can't do these jokes.
Apartment is in Brooklyn. Again.
I don't want to make it sound like Christopher Lloyd doesn't kick ass as always as Jim, because he does.
For him here because this is the best part of this episode.
I disagree. We'll proceed here. Elaine and Alex correct him that they're apparently turning Elaine's apartment into a co op, which she can't afford, so she's looking for a new apartment.
It's crazy. Has she lost her apartment and her kids?
Yeah, because they never come up at all. I guess we just one time. It's a little odd, like we have to presume that maybe because of this issue, maybe they went to live with her ex husband. I would assume. I don't know.
I assumed that as well, but shame on the show that I had to.
Yeah, And here's the thing. It's not as if you can make the excuse that this is summer vacation and the kids are are not around, because it's made very clear that this is happening in the winter because there's snow and ice involved. So you're right, I don't know what happened to the kids this episode.
Maybe they're at boarding school because Elaine can afford that, right, I think their kids are her kids are hanging out with that kid from the Bad News Banners who shut up. In season one, when Louis was bragging about how we put one over on that kid. Remember Tanner showed up.
In one episode, Alex tells Elane, don't worry. If you need, you can crash on my couch for a couple of nights. She says, thanks, but the couch isn't that comfortable, And eventually it comes out that both Tony and Elaine fell asleep on Alex's couch while he was showing slides of his ski trip. Now side note here father alone. Remember when slides were a thing? Did you ever have to sit through a bad slide show of like a family member on a trip?
I did. I don't think a family member ever did, but I'm friends and neighbors slide shows. I certainly had to sit there. The funny thing is it's always portrayed in every movie and television show as this, as this sort of put upon moment of you know, I met with a huge sigh. Oh my god, we're gonna have to sit through their goddamn vacation photos. I loved it.
I couldn't get enough of it. Oh my god, we're gonna turn off the lights, We're gonna draw down this screen, We're gonna turn on this fucking machine that whirrs and it's gonna drop in and look. I eventually became a projectionist, so maybe this is just me.
They were kind of like the original PowerPoint when you think about it, right, because you'd be projecting the sequence of slide. I mean, that's why they call them slides in a PowerPoint presentation. But I can, like you, I can still smell the light bulb, the smell of a light bulb morning God, yes, right, the hum of the machine, the carousel of slides that you'd see go around.
It was.
This is something that has gone and will never come back. But something was lost, I think, and it not being being around anymore.
And if you haven't seen the final episode of season one of Madmen called the Carousel, which is about the very first carousel slide machine, you shall check that out.
I didn't know that. Okay, that's interesting.
It's not a slide machine, HP, it's a time machine. You can go back and forth in time.
Tony also offers his couch to a Lane, but she refuses to impose on either of them. Another side note for the this to me is peak a lane right here. Not only does she look great in a maroon blouse and dark slacks, but her hair is styled as beautifully as it ever has been.
Look, she's just a beautiful creature. I can't I can't judge one look over another. I just know that you shouldn't dress her in red, that's all.
Well, no, but she looks good here. She's got this maroon dark blouse.
She looks maroon.
She looks good.
They worked out their problems with the Red with Elaine over the seasons. They figured out what didn't work and what does they did?
They did so. Tony asks Elaine if she could just sleep on her latest boyfriend, Steve's couch. She says it's a little too early in the relationship and she doesn't want to scare Steve off. Of course, this leads to Tony making a joke about how bad she must look in the morning. I'm not going to rehash it, but it's kind of a lame joke. Just then, an excited Bobby runs into the garage.
Which can be only one thing.
What is it? What does it mean? He's got a role, He's got the job, That's what he keeps saying. He's going to be performing a whole month on tour, performing in the play under the Yum Yum Tree, which I told you before this episode was recorded. I said, I thought that was just a silly play on desire under the Elms, which they make a joke about, but apparently Father Malone. Under the Yum Young Tree is an actual Broadway play.
And a feature film with Jack Lemon.
It was described by Wikipedia as a quote American sex comedy.
It was.
It was a play in nineteen sixty was adapted as a film in nineteen sixty three.
Like you saipeaking of mad Men, this is prime Madmen territory because this type of First of all, Robert I'm surprised Robert Morse isn't in the film. Okay, mister how to Get Ahead and Advocate has an advertising how to get ahead in business without really trying to go ahead in Advertising US with Richard E. Grant, and it's a
very bitter, cynical take advertising. Anyway. Yeah, I watched Under the Tree just it just so happened to come on after I watched this episode, I went, this is what it is because the title made it seem like it was going to be something at least very serious or not what it is, which is are you professor women
lack sex too. It's like one of these situations. Like it's like Carol Linley moves into into a building that's like a swinger's pad that like the landlord is Jack Lemon, who's like the king of the swingers, and but swingers by the way, meaning nineteen sixty three's version of it. Yeah, they're all listening to, you know, Dean Martin on the turntable and drinking martiniz and shit together.
Wearing Nehru jackets. Probably in some some capacity.
Man, it seems like such hell, to be honest with you.
But he Jack Lemon's like a little Thario in this right, He's he's on the make. He wants to sleep with the tenants in his building. I think that's that's the plot, right.
Yeah, it's a play set in Hugh Hefner's world. You know, the playboy revolution that was occurring is the direct forebear of Under Them Young Dream.
Sure. So this is the play that Bobby's going to be acting in. And because Bobby's going to be on tour for an entire month, this means that Elaine can crash in his apartment while he's away. So everybody, everybody wins. Tony asks what Bobby's going to do to celebrate, and without even thinking, Bobby says He's going to rub Louie's nose in it. And this I liked because this is again prime Louie. Here. Bobby goes over very smugly and tells Louie that he just got a real acting job.
But Louie, Louie's so perceptive, he knows where this is going to go, so he says, like Bobby, that's great. He seems very happy. He says, I would have announce it over the PA.
I owe it to you for.
Giving you all hard time all those years. So he takes the microphone down and he announces. Bobby, of course, is trying to keep him from doing that because he knows this isn't a big deal, but Louie insists he's going to make up for all the times he stuck it to Bobby. Louis makes a long speech where he paints Bobby as having the lead in a major Broadway production. Bobby corrects him that it's just a tour, so Louis corrects his announcement to say that it's a major part
in one of the greatest tours in theatrical history. Like I said, Louis obviously knows Bobby's part is Penny Ante, and it's awesome to see him patronize Bobby like this. Eventually, Bobby sheepishly corrects him again, and Louie's final correction mentions that he's got a tiny part and a sleazy production in three trailer parks, which is awesome. And then that infuriates Bobby and he starts reaching through the cage and what have you. As we cut to Bobby, you were
talking about slanky bachelor pads. We cut to Bobby's basement apartment, which we've seen before, and Tony, Alex, and Elaine are living the sweet life. They're all sipping wine. They're talking about what a great job Elaine has done fixing the apartment up side. Note Elaine, here, father Malone. I don't know if you notice. She is dressed like a sexy ghostbuster. She's got an olive jumpsuit with red sleeve accents. Only thing missing is a proton pack.
And that is a very good description of what she's wearing. Here's how I would describe it. What the fuck is she wearing? Oh wait, she's cleaning, so maybe this is just her cleaning jumpsuit. Oh no, this is actually what she would walk out of the house wearing. This is what they think that she would wear. That's what I thought.
The jumpsuit is almost like something kind of New Wavy. If you put Blondie or Debbie Harry in this same jumpsuit, it's a party. It totally fits. But it is a little weird that she's just trumping around the apartment in this very exaggerated looking jumpsuit with red sleeves.
Elaine's not hanging out at the mud club.
Alex Is, like I said, very impressed with how nice Bobby's apartment looks after she's been there a week. It's been a week. I have to that bear mentioning. As she's puttering around, who walks in but Bobby. He's toting a suitcase. And by the way, Bobby is wearing a fleece jacket with the highest collar I've ever seen in my life. When it's zipped up all the way, it completely covers his neck, it's all the way up to his chin.
It's Blade Runner twenty forty nine.
And what was his name, Ryan Gosling was a k Was that his name?
In that movie?
Yeah, it's something that comes right out of the future. It's very odd. They're all like, Bobby, what are you doing home? I thought you were going to be out a month. And Bobby initially tries to play off his early return, but it turns out that he was kicked off the tour in Florida because he was messing around with the costume girl on the bus ride down to Florida.
And that's the director's daughter.
I mean, it's very much in character with Bobby, and I kind of like the fact that this is a return to the lothario, the ne'er do well Bobby. The only thing missing is the mane of hair that he used to have. This is the loveman leaving Bobby and I'm here for it. Turns out he was only in Florida for a day, but it took him three more days to get home, so he basically just he was three days down, got kicked off the three days back.
That's why he was gone only a week. Elane brings up the fact that she still doesn't found an apartment, so it might be a little problematic, but Bobby is totally cool. He says, you know what, you can have the bedroom and I'll take the sofa, no problem. But then Tony and Alex looked very askants at this arrangement, suspecting that Bobby, being the hound dog that he is, might take advantage of a lane, which is not truthfully, not out of character for Bobby.
Yeah, okay, yeah, okay, you're not buying this.
I can already tell father alone. I'm a little bothered by your reaction.
Here we go. This is fucking flipped a switch as soon as he as soon as Bobby walked in, he should have said, it's gonna be a sitcom from here on out. Everybody, I think you're.
Being too hard, but we'll get into it. Bobby does his best to convince both Tony and Alex that, hey, you know, Elaine's my friend. She's going to stay here. But and even Elaine is a little annoyed at the inference that something might happen between the two of them. Tony and Alex leave, but they keep talking outside of the apartment, just behind like a shade, and Bobby goes over and kind of flips it. It's awesome physical comedy.
He flips the shade up and it goes up perfectly like it, you know, goes all the way up, exposing Tony and Alex, who smile and look in and they're like, do you think they hurt us? Hell yeah? As we fade the commercial, see I do. Here's the thing. I know where you're going with this, father Malone. I know you're you're Your main gripe is going to be the tired premise of you know, oh, something's going to happen, like like a Three's Company episode.
For lack of a better term, This isn't threes Company. These are adults on taxi on season three, and they're what worried about her virginity. Here's here's how this episode happens in the real world. I don't know, leaving you two alone the way you are, Bobby, Oh, give me a fucking break. Yeah, give us a fucking break, you two, And what happens if we do? Fuck? What are you gonna do about it? Who gives a shit? Shut the fuck up and go back to the garage. Thanks guys.
When it comes time to grade this episode, fall and you and I are going to have very different opinions. But again, let's let's let's soldier forward. Here we fade in on the same wintry. We've seen this b roll before.
We saw this in a in a fucking Randall Carver episode.
That's right, it was. It was from season one where there's like a plow taking snow off the sidewalk.
It's ange and I remember saying to you, then it's nice to see a winter bit of b roll not connected to a Christmas episode, like because there is there inclement what there in New York. That's a nice touch. It's no longer a nice touch.
Yeah, So anyway, this is our clue that winter is returned to Sunshine Cab. We cut inside the garage where Jim and Tony are hanging out. They're hanging around that center cement pole where the phone is. Tony is still yes, I'm actually gonna I'm absolutely gonna mention it. There they're still grousing about Tony's grousing about how he doesn't trust Bobby. Jim starts in on a lament about the changing times, how he talks about orgies, naked people in public places,
but in vaudeville fashion. He's actually wistful for the sixties and not describing how soulless, you know, society has become nowadays. Whatever side. Note, this is what you're talking about. Tony gets from gets up from his seat he's sitting on, like a trash barrel or something.
Yeah, he's doing a tough guy Tony bullshit move here he is, but he's sitting sitting every Wherever there's a flat surface, Tony's ass will eventually land.
So he gets up from whatever he's sitting on, an oil can or something. And the thing is, it took me years to notice this, but I'm now I can't unsee it. He he bumps the cement pole, the supposedly cement pole, as he's walking over to Alex. The thing shakes, Father Malone. Is that what you're talking about?
Oh? Absolutely? And you know what, speaking of things pointed out in previous episodes, if any of you want to go back to the pilot episode and listen to my description of how awesome this set is, I point out that fucking column and specifically and how fucking realistic it looks and how it grounds the entire set. Leave it to Tony Danza to fuck that shit up. VERI similitude, no, thank you.
It instantly takes you from the garage to this is just the this is this may as well be a play that you're watching in a theater somewhere, because it's so jarring. It's almost like a glitch in the matrix when you see because it still looks to all observers like a cement pole with graffiti all over it and a fucking phone attached to it. But no, Tony's gonna shatter that, that illusion that we've grown so accustomed to.
So although let's really blame James Burrows, who should have known better to cut away right, yeah, maybe cut to anything.
It basically destroyed the whole illusion. But what are you gonna do? Alex tries to talk to Tony and give Bobby the benefit of the doubt, and just then Bobby hustles in from from outside into the garage. He I talked about this in the last episode. He's got a newspaper over his head because it's snowing outside. And what I loved about this is that the newspaper is actually wet.
When he shakes the snow off of it, it looked so realistic, like it wasn't like the you know, your typical a it's just you know, painted flakes of something that's supposed to represent snow. This looked like real snow that he's sloughing off into the garage.
I love that. I did too. I was surprised Tony Banta didn't come walking in with a snow machine that was making the props backstage, just to point out that that's fake too.
He's gonna ruin every illusion in the episode.
I would love that actually if later on Tony just sort of like comes walking up and like moves the camera to like point it at the audience.
That's right, Yeah, you see, this isn't a garage. Tony goes over to Bobby and he basically says to Bobby, look, you tell me that you're not doing anything with the Lane or you got no no intentions with Lane. I'll believe you. And Bobby assures him that I'm telling you nothing's happening, and Louis pokes some fun at Tony's gullibility.
Elaine comes in and tells Alex that she and Bobby have really been bonding over the past week or so, but the sounds of it, it's ma built around her asking Bobby about himself again in typical egotistical Bobby fashion, but they're enjoying each other's company as She continues to crash there.
As anyone would you know, like hanging out with somebody and never really hung out with them before you know, and you know what, Oh my god, they are adults who aren't just going to start fucking for no reason.
They are they are so the phone rings, Jim goes over to answer it. It's evidently Elaine's new boyfriend, Steve. She goes over to talk to him while she's on the phone. And this is another warning signs that Laca isn't quite as sweet and innocent as you think he is. Laca relates to Alex that in his country, what Elene and Bobby are doing is actually common. He says, a man and a woman shacking up is no big deal.
He says that they make love in every possible way to see if they still want to get married after that, and Alex replies, that's a very sensible tradition Latka, and Laca says, now, if we only we could get the women to buy it. This is so dark. It makes him seem like this lonely, sad, sex starved, sex obsessed, a little man working, you know, living in this odd place called New York.
Well, they do say that on shows, writers tend to write to the actor.
That's well. What we know of any Andy Kaufman is that he was an odd character, no question, And I'm sure he was probably delighted with this twist.
I bet he loved all the weird bullshit they kept giving him this season. You know. Yeah, I'm sure if he didn't instigate it himself, it's it's great.
So then Elaine hangs up the phone. She's shaken, and I think we all know where this is going to go. Alex goes over and asks her, and she replies that Steve essentially broke up with her over the phone. Alex goes into caring Alex mode, and he says, they're all going to be let's all go to Marios and we'll talk it out. But Elaine says she just wants to go home, which begs the question, by the way, why would she come in to work a shift, get this call and then just say fuck it, I'm going home?
Did she not? Yeah, but she's got to work, she's got to earn money.
No, she does. She doesn't have any responsibility.
It's not like she has no kids, no kids anymore. Alex says he isn't sure that she should go home and be alone right now, and Elaine corrects him, I'm not going to be alone. Bobby will be there. That sets off another warning done.
Dum Pole's company. Uh oh, what did mister Furley hear?
Oh you're being so harsh, she says. Bobby can be really understanding about stuff like this. Bobby, now you know Alex's warning bells are going off. You can see it in his face. Bobby walks past Alex, and Alex cautions Bobby that Elaine is feeling very vulnerable after her breakup and he's concerned that she might come on to Bobby, and this alarms Bobby, who assures that he's going to
be on the lookout tonight. And as a final button to the scene and a final bit of this, just when you think Laca can't get any more perverse, he goes over to Alex, and Locke says he worries that Elaine might drown her problems in a shameful night of lust and passion with the first man that she comes across, and he says, if it's not Bobby, could you give her my phone number? Wow, Loca was such a fucking creep before simca entered the picture. We fade into Bobby's
apartment at night. All the lights are off.
L no, no, not my turn. Like here's where she finally realizes reason.
Sure, reason, calm, cool, reasoning. Yes, that's from do you remember what that that shows? Brady?
Wait, I was going to say, oh, okay, there you got it.
So we we fade into Bobby's apartment. It's night, it's all the lights are off, it's dark. Elaine walks in.
She's wearing sexy and sexy pajamas just just you know, these shiftless real flannel jum.
Yeah. She walks in. She she's asking Bobby if he's awake. Bobby kind of snaps awake and he goes, oh, and he's already on his guard about this whole situation. Elaine says that she can't sleep. She asks if there's any more wine. Boy, they're drinking a little wine in this episode. I've never seen so many people drink so much wine in the course of a sitcom episode.
Anyway, Well, you qualified it with sitcom, but I was just about to say, we did watch the four seasons, that's.
But there was so much more there. They were eating bread by the handful, like eating it, like it's like a piece of fruit. Just ah, just loving that bread.
Sure nobody really gets drunk in that movie.
I thought they got high, but I guess they really didn't. They were just high on life ultimately. But anyways, Bobby is kind of panicked a little bit. He gets up, he gets he gets fully dressed. He even tells Elane to wear robe over that neglige. I mean, it's a pair of flannel pajamas. There's nothing over at least sexual about them at all.
Yeah, I know. And at the same time, it's you know, it's Marilyhanna in fucking pajamas, So it's automatically sexy. But that's not because of anything she's trying to do or put out put out.
Sure, it's a fair point. She's just a very attractive person. So she says to Bobby that this whole Steve thing has hit her pretty hard, and she asks if they can talk about it. Bobby, after initially trying to speed through the conversation, he tells Elaine that Steve, obviously, if he's gonna break up with her over the phone, it just proves that he didn't deserve her in the first place. And Elaine is touched and she goes over to hug Bobby, tell him how sweet he is, and I love he
gets this comical revulsion on us. He recoils in horror.
Simpsons fans will get this reference think on sexy thoughts.
Part of the reason I love this episode so much is I feel like it's it's been forever since Jeff Conaway had anything to do on a Taxi episode except be the guy at the card table who says, yeah, go talk to Louis or something inane like, not really having any real purpose in an episode. In this, we're getting vintage Bobby here.
And I love that. I totally agree he's been really absent this is and I think that's a I think that's a conscious choice by the producers at this point. But clearly, if this episode was early enough, then you know it sort of evaded capture.
I love Jeff Conaway in this. It really feels like a return to form. Although even though I know that he's on his way out effectively from Taxi, Delady says that she has a special bottle of wine that she wants to share with him on this occasion. She's feeling very close to Bobby again before she disappears into the bedroom. She kind of looks lovingly at Bobby and says, I'm so glad you're here, and again he gets this look on his face like, uh, he's anything but excited about
this prospect. So when she disappears, Bobby hardly calls up Alex on the phone and has enough time before she comes back to say Alex, Elaine is all over me. And then he's got to hang up because she walks back in and she asks him, you know who are you talking to? And he makes a joke about how oh, it's just my dad, and she says, this is your dad dead, and he says, well that maybe that makes up for all the times I never called him when he was alive. It's a bad joke, but he's trying
to think on his feet. He's very worried about the situation, try to protect her.
I think how funny this scene could have been if it was just Jeff Conaway and Marilyn Henter, where he thinks she wants to fuck him and she knows he doesn't, and then it's just comedy of manners between the two of them. Oh my god, how that could have been anyway.
I still think it's funny. So finally Bobby comes clean to her and says they shouldn't do this, and she says, well, what do you mean? What do what? He says, come on now, look like he points out the wine, the soft lights, and he even says that flimsy flannel thing that you're wearing, and Elaine just scoffs at the idea. Then here's where the old Bobby really comes out. He says, almost word for word, he says, hey, babe, I've been around, I have had a lot of experience, and you and
I were on the road to naughty naughty. Elaine is like naughty naughty, and he says, look, you and I were that close to doing fu fu, Which it's funny. I mean, you could admit that it's funny that he's he's trying to It would be easy for him to say, look, we were this close to fucking.
But you know, this part of the episode I enjoyed.
It's funny that he's coming up with these euphemisms for sex.
Try to this scenario where he thinks she wants to fuck him, and she's just like, are you nuts? I'm just it's appreciating you as a friend here you dummy.
So she yeah, So she gets angry and she says to Bobby, look, we've had a great relationship these past few weeks, and then when I come to you for a little bit of friendship and a little sympathy, you give me this. And he finally he apologizes and he says, oh, man, I lay, I feel like a jerk. And he basically asks her, look, can we just forget this all happened? And she says all right. She kind of lightens up,
and she says, all right, well, where's that wine? And then with a laugh, they agree, and just as she starts opening the wine, Alex comes barrowing down those steps. You can see that it's snowing outside. By the way, it's no longer a dribble dribble draft situation. It actually is coming down steadily right, So it looked great. So Alex bursts in and literally breaks the whole door down
as he's great stunt. It is an awesome stunt, and apparently, according to the Lovey's book, it wasn't supposed to break the way it did. He was just supposed to open the door. And you know, he literally breaks the door off of the hinges or off the gym. You can see it.
Looks like the chain lock splinters off the doors. What it looks like.
Yeah, it's a great stunt. And the audience loves it. They're they're they're laughing like crazy. Alex comes in, he's he's wearing he's in pajamas. He's got no shoes, no socks, no slippers, nothing, He's in bare feet and he just has he clearly had just enough time to throw on like a big wool coat and just over his pajamas, and his hair's all wet because it's been snowing.
It's a great Yeah, you're correct. Throughout this entire episode, whoever's work in physical effects is doing a fucking fantastic job, because everything looks great except when Banta kicked that fucking Columny.
That's the one thing that kind of they lost. It's true. He basically ran twenty six blocks to Bobby's apartment. He lost his slippers in a snow bank, and he keeps him playing that he's got frostbite. He say ask Bobby do you have anything in your medicine cabinet for frostbite? And he goes, oh, I got some socks school, so
he goes off to get some socks for Alex. Elaine figures out that the phone call that Bobby made just a few moments ago was to Alex, and Alex and Bobby both say they're only looking out for a lane, which makes her even more mad, and justifiably so.
I love this.
You can't really call it like a monologue, but what she says back to them really encapsulates everything that's wrong with what they've been doing. She points out the double standard to them that she resents, the implication that, you know, she's an emotional female, so of course, in their eyes, she's going to lose control, but men are always on top of things. She really lets them have it deservedly so, and all they can do is sit there, sheepishly and take it.
She should have thrown them out at this point, by the.
Way, Well she's not heartless.
I just think it would have been funny that it's not her apartment and she throws them out.
That would have been funny, but it wouldn't have been in character, because, as we'll see, she's aware of how how heartless that would be. Alex points out that he wouldn't have even come if not for the call that Bobby made. And Bobby says, I wouldn't have called if you didn't tell me that she was going to come on to me like a mack truck in the garage.
That's right. I never said anything about truck. So there's more arguing back and forth between Alex and Bobby, and Elaine finally just says, look, Alex, why don't you just stay Because Alex finally says, I guess I'm gonna go. I should go, and she says, no, don't go out. Stay here. It's ridiculous. You're not dressed for the weather and spend the night.
You know, could give him a ride back to his apartment.
Well, I don't think they don't. I don't think they have cars. I mean maybe Elaine does.
No, if only they knew somebody who worked it it.
A taxi service.
Suit wasn't like that. That would be weird.
He's complaining a lot about how cold his feet are and how much he doesn't want to go back. I think she's just like, look, it's late, it's three in the morning, for God's sake, Like that's it's ridiculous. Don't go out, stay here. Whatever, Alex finally just says, look, Elaine, the only reason we would have done any of this is because we care about you, and they all three
of them sit down for a glass of wine. She opens the bottle of line up and they all agree to each other that they've had a really rough week. Elaine says she lost the boyfriend, Bobby says he lost the job, and Alex says he lost feeling in eight of his toes. End of episode. That is Bobby's roommate. Now we're going to talk about yellow lights.
What does a yellow light meant?
Reminder, we're scoring on a scale of one to five yellow lights. One is the worst a taxi episode can be. In five is the best that it can be. And as further as is our custom father alone, we're going to kick it to you. What do you give Bobby's roommate two yellow lights? Two?
It's not the worst, but god damn it, it's bordering. It's only saved by the performances here and the amazing practical effects. If we had half lights, it would get a half light, maybe a turn signal or something. But this episode, everyone's motivations here is super fucking Season one. I don't know their relationships are well beyond this kind of nonsense. This absolute fucking sitcomery usually fallom alone.
It seems like lately you'll give a score and I'll say something like, oh, we're not that far off, you know, two and between two and three yellow lights. In this case, we could not be more diametrically opposed. I gave this five yellow lights. Father alone proudly gave it five yellow lights.
I'm red, I'm giving this one yellow light.
Well, that's unfortunate, because to me, this is a stellar ensemble episode. Everybody has laughs in this Everybody has something to do. Even Louis has few good jabs that he gives it. Some of the Caves locup, pops up doing
his weird perverse thing that he's into these days. The thing of it is, ultimately, I hear what you're saying that this is a bit cliched of a sitcom plot, But what I took from this is that this episode has a lot of great things to say about this paternalism that the Caves obviously feel towards a Lane, and how unwarranted it is, and how it makes them ultimately act foolishly in the face of all of this because
you're right. They should have known better. They should have trusted a Lane to not be this crazy emotional being that they paint her out to be, and they should have trusted Bobby. Maybe he would have grown a little bit of a conscience and not taken advantage of a Lane or assumed that he would. To me, this is as good. This is one of the episodes that I
returned to fairly often because it's got great laughs. Not every episode has to be to have some sort of heaviness attached to it has to be some groundbreaking piece of television writing it. Sometimes you just want a burger from McDonald's and you don't need a steak from Ruth's, Chris. Sometimes I just want something fun that's going to make me laugh and that I can appreciate on that level. And that's this episode for me, Five yellow lights for me.
So what you're saying is you've had occasion where you've had a hamburger from McDonald's that you would say that was a perfect hamburger. No burger could be better than that hamburger I just received at the drive through at McDonald's.
Not at all. I'm saying that sometimes that's what you're in the mood for and that is the best thing that you could have at that moment. It doesn't make it the best meal I've ever had. It means I was in the mood for a McDonald's hamburger, and fuck yeah, that thing was the best thing I ate that day. I loved it. Yes, if i'd gone.
To Danza kicked a column in this episode and we had a conversation about it that was as long as the episode itself, tell me it's a perfect episode. Again, Look, that's.
That's regrettable, and I wish I could unsee that, but I can't.
HB is giving four yellow lights for this one, everybody.
From HP, I'm sticking with five. Someone hopefully got reprimanded for that because it was a It was a shame on that episode. But again, sometimes you just want something nice and easy and fun. This episode gave it to me in spades, Father Malone. Five yellow lights for me, one yellow light from you. I rarely do we have such a gulf between our scores, Father Malone. It's been a long time since this has happened.
Well, it's been a long time since we've had an episode this bad that you're so wrong about.
Five yellow lights for myself, one yellow light from Father Malone. This is gonna do it for this episode of Night Mister Walter's Father Alone. We're can folks find you when you're not clocked into the garage?
Check out my show Midnight Viewing. It's on twice a week Mondays and Fridays. Maybe sometimes it's Sundays and Thursdays. It's whenever I finish it. Or go check out my Patreon channel where you can get everything Wicked Early. That's right, I said Wicked Early for myself.
You can find me elsewhere in the weirding Way Network. I am in the midst of one of Father Malone's patented fests. I'm talking about Yaucha Fest. This is a festival of critiquing the Predator film franchise. I also host the Noise Junkies music podcast, and I'm an occasional guest on The Culture Cast with Chris Dastute. Last, but not least, I have a bandcamsitehpmusicplace dot bandcamp dot com. Thanks again for listening. Please feel free to subscribe to this podcast,
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