#576259
"A Tale of Two Sweeties"
Original Air Date: January 5, 1993
Written by: Robin Jill Bernheim
Directed by: Christopher Hibler
Leap Date: February 25, 1958
This time: Sam leaps into a man greeting his loving family. His leapee, Marty Elroy is called to the courtesy desk where he is greeted by an entirely different but equally loving family. She is Rachel and sprung quite the surprise on Marty. Al is on the scene to provide lodgings and while he is still trying to sort things out, he tasks Sam with making sure the two never meet.
At dinner with Ellen and their kids, his son handicaps the dog races for a fee of three dollars and the gifts Marty has for his family are underwhelming courtesy items from the hotel. Ellen wants to go to the movies and Sam agrees to after he runs off to meet Rachel, who is happy to be with her husband. Their son, Josh, does a good job pilfering housekeeping’s cart over Sam’s protestations. Also, their daughter, Jessica, is oddly protective about money with Marty.
Al arrives giving a background of Rachel being Marty’s first wife, but he got married to Ellen on a dare. He has to choose one and Ziggy has the odds even between the two. Marty cannot commit either way, so it is up to Sam to make the determination.
Needing to spend time with both families, Sam takes both to the movies. Things start of well with Rachel but Sam leaves to purchase ‘some’ snacks (the kids name pretty much every item in the concession stand) and spend time with Ellen. After several seconds, he takes Marty Jr. to the restroom to get some snacks. He quickly runs into Jessica, sent by Ellen to see what is taking so long. He makes an excuse but no six (or sixty) year old will buy it. With a boatload of snacks, Marty Jr. comes out and the family pilfers through the snacks. After half the items are gone, Sam runs off to Rachel. Eventually, both women are fed up and rush off to confront Sam in the lobby.
Thankfully, Sam hides from the women but runs into a couple of burly types that gambler Marty owes money. They give him a punch in the gut and a twenty-four hour deadline to pay the two thousand dollars they are owed.
The next morning, he tries to meet Ellen, but Marty Jr. greets him instead. She is off at work, but Marty Jr. gives Sam some spare change lying around. Rachel is also out getting her hair done in the lobby. Josh gives him some money which Sam reluctantly accepts.
By an amazing coincidence, Rachel works at the solan in the lobby and is working on Ellen’s hair. Sam narrowly avoids being seen by them and has Al eavesdrop while he gets one away. He calls Rachel away to read a note on her car and makes a date with Ellen. Having sorted things out with a few hours to spare, the burly guys meet Sam.
The arbitrary deadline is shortened by a few hours. Sam goes to the phone in order to talk to Al. It seems that Jessica is running away so Al goes off to talk to her while Sam bets on a long shot with the meager money he has on hand. Both are successful!
The two Mrs. Elroys meet in the lobby and reject their husband. All three of them and their kids turn out fine; even Marty, who cleans up his act. Rachel and Ellen walk off arm in arm. A third woman comes to surprise her husband, Marty. Sam leaps …
… into a rally attendee at a bra-burning women’s liberation event.
Stop talking to yourself: Sam loves the irony of having two wives but still sleeping on a park bench.
Only Sam can see and hear: Al comes in in with a clutch having a nice hotel that Ellen and her two kids can stay at. Hopefully, this is a person Al in on good terms with, otherwise the proprietor would eventually stick Al with the bill. Also, we have another instance of a child seeing Al.
Mirror images that were not his own: After fobbing one family way and before meeting the other, Sam looks at the exacerbated Marty Elroy in the reflective surface of a cigarette machine.
It’s a science project: We have a literal science project as Marty Jr. did a project on static electricity.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow: Marty is a hero to Al, who could have had ten ex-wives instead of five.
Let’s up the rating: Marty and Rachel have a weekly naughty schoolgirl night. Marty and Ellen have a weekly Chambermaid night. They are on successive nights so does Marty regularly arrange his schedule as such?
One more time: “I decided honesty would be the best policy.” “For boy scouts, not bigamists.”
Sam and Al arguing over how to handle the situation.
The Rainbow Treknection: Shay Aster has a very small role, the smallest of all the kids, actually, as Mary. She was also Isabella in the eponymous episode.
Trivial Matters: Despite Al being a hologram, one extra in the hallway deliberately avoid him and looks at him directly.
While Al is with Rachel as the latter is on the phone, of course Sam can hear Al from the other end of the line. Amazingly, Al can hear Sam! Because he’s that awesome!
Put right what once went wrong: “Have fun with Ellen, but don’t be late for Rachel.” Let us start with the first forty-five minutes of this episode. We’ve seen Sam play a wide manner of people, but with the exceptions of this season where he played a killer, opened as an assassin and just last week held up a bank (plus a stint as a bad guy in a prior season), they have all been good people. Or at least good at heart.
Marty is kind of a louse. He has two wives, a gambling problem and no regrets. Everyone is tired of his antics from his wives to his kids to his bookie.
With all due respect to the actors involved, there really is no difference between the two families. There are differences but they are too few and far between. Robin Bernheim did herself no favors as it is hard to distinguish between the two wives even when they are right next to each other. That was the point and led to some fun moments in dialogue but in an episode where two thirds are to find the right wife, it is a problem.
It is sad because the script is written so well. It is a sliding doors comedy, but Mary Lou Childs plays the doting housewife from palm beach and Jill Tracy is good as a New Yorker. They have similar roles, but Ellen is more homely. The movie theatre scene has Sam running in and out of the theater with one on the left side and the other on the right and is absolutely hilarious and is right out of the Marx Brothers. The confrontation scene works as Childs and Tracy have fantastic chemistry both comedic and dramatic with each other.
The kids can be a mixed bag but all four are workable. Well, Shay Astar does not have much to do as Mary but J. D. Daniels’ Josh knows his father’s schtick and is not willing to put up with it for two much longer. Michael Bellisario is better in his fourth role in the series as Marty Jr. Both sons are resentful but love their father at the end of the day.
Ashley Peldon has a lot of work to do as a small child. The latest person who can see Al, the two share a great moment when Al convinces her not to run away. It is a cheap trick to get Al away from Sam during a critical moment, but it is smartly done and the two are great opposite each other. There is no time to get Dr. Beeks, so Al has to do it on his own. He calls back to his time being an orphan. It all works together and is touching.
The good will and work done is all destroyed in the end when a third wife shows up. After making the decision that Marty is best off without a wife and forced to clean up his act, a third wife is there to muddy the waters a bit further. It is almost as if someone thought that the hour needed a button of some sort and went with the worst possible option. It is a bad ending to an otherwise good hour that owes a lot to sitcom tropes of yore.
Original Air Date: January 5, 1993
Written by: Robin Jill Bernheim
Directed by: Christopher Hibler
Leap Date: February 25, 1958
This time: Sam leaps into a man greeting his loving family. His leapee, Marty Elroy is called to the courtesy desk where he is greeted by an entirely different but equally loving family. She is Rachel and sprung quite the surprise on Marty. Al is on the scene to provide lodgings and while he is still trying to sort things out, he tasks Sam with making sure the two never meet.
At dinner with Ellen and their kids, his son handicaps the dog races for a fee of three dollars and the gifts Marty has for his family are underwhelming courtesy items from the hotel. Ellen wants to go to the movies and Sam agrees to after he runs off to meet Rachel, who is happy to be with her husband. Their son, Josh, does a good job pilfering housekeeping’s cart over Sam’s protestations. Also, their daughter, Jessica, is oddly protective about money with Marty.
Al arrives giving a background of Rachel being Marty’s first wife, but he got married to Ellen on a dare. He has to choose one and Ziggy has the odds even between the two. Marty cannot commit either way, so it is up to Sam to make the determination.
Needing to spend time with both families, Sam takes both to the movies. Things start of well with Rachel but Sam leaves to purchase ‘some’ snacks (the kids name pretty much every item in the concession stand) and spend time with Ellen. After several seconds, he takes Marty Jr. to the restroom to get some snacks. He quickly runs into Jessica, sent by Ellen to see what is taking so long. He makes an excuse but no six (or sixty) year old will buy it. With a boatload of snacks, Marty Jr. comes out and the family pilfers through the snacks. After half the items are gone, Sam runs off to Rachel. Eventually, both women are fed up and rush off to confront Sam in the lobby.
Thankfully, Sam hides from the women but runs into a couple of burly types that gambler Marty owes money. They give him a punch in the gut and a twenty-four hour deadline to pay the two thousand dollars they are owed.
The next morning, he tries to meet Ellen, but Marty Jr. greets him instead. She is off at work, but Marty Jr. gives Sam some spare change lying around. Rachel is also out getting her hair done in the lobby. Josh gives him some money which Sam reluctantly accepts.
By an amazing coincidence, Rachel works at the solan in the lobby and is working on Ellen’s hair. Sam narrowly avoids being seen by them and has Al eavesdrop while he gets one away. He calls Rachel away to read a note on her car and makes a date with Ellen. Having sorted things out with a few hours to spare, the burly guys meet Sam.
The arbitrary deadline is shortened by a few hours. Sam goes to the phone in order to talk to Al. It seems that Jessica is running away so Al goes off to talk to her while Sam bets on a long shot with the meager money he has on hand. Both are successful!
The two Mrs. Elroys meet in the lobby and reject their husband. All three of them and their kids turn out fine; even Marty, who cleans up his act. Rachel and Ellen walk off arm in arm. A third woman comes to surprise her husband, Marty. Sam leaps …
… into a rally attendee at a bra-burning women’s liberation event.
Stop talking to yourself: Sam loves the irony of having two wives but still sleeping on a park bench.
Only Sam can see and hear: Al comes in in with a clutch having a nice hotel that Ellen and her two kids can stay at. Hopefully, this is a person Al in on good terms with, otherwise the proprietor would eventually stick Al with the bill. Also, we have another instance of a child seeing Al.
Mirror images that were not his own: After fobbing one family way and before meeting the other, Sam looks at the exacerbated Marty Elroy in the reflective surface of a cigarette machine.
It’s a science project: We have a literal science project as Marty Jr. did a project on static electricity.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow: Marty is a hero to Al, who could have had ten ex-wives instead of five.
Let’s up the rating: Marty and Rachel have a weekly naughty schoolgirl night. Marty and Ellen have a weekly Chambermaid night. They are on successive nights so does Marty regularly arrange his schedule as such?
One more time: “I decided honesty would be the best policy.” “For boy scouts, not bigamists.”
Sam and Al arguing over how to handle the situation.
The Rainbow Treknection: Shay Aster has a very small role, the smallest of all the kids, actually, as Mary. She was also Isabella in the eponymous episode.
Trivial Matters: Despite Al being a hologram, one extra in the hallway deliberately avoid him and looks at him directly.
While Al is with Rachel as the latter is on the phone, of course Sam can hear Al from the other end of the line. Amazingly, Al can hear Sam! Because he’s that awesome!
Put right what once went wrong: “Have fun with Ellen, but don’t be late for Rachel.” Let us start with the first forty-five minutes of this episode. We’ve seen Sam play a wide manner of people, but with the exceptions of this season where he played a killer, opened as an assassin and just last week held up a bank (plus a stint as a bad guy in a prior season), they have all been good people. Or at least good at heart.
Marty is kind of a louse. He has two wives, a gambling problem and no regrets. Everyone is tired of his antics from his wives to his kids to his bookie.
With all due respect to the actors involved, there really is no difference between the two families. There are differences but they are too few and far between. Robin Bernheim did herself no favors as it is hard to distinguish between the two wives even when they are right next to each other. That was the point and led to some fun moments in dialogue but in an episode where two thirds are to find the right wife, it is a problem.
It is sad because the script is written so well. It is a sliding doors comedy, but Mary Lou Childs plays the doting housewife from palm beach and Jill Tracy is good as a New Yorker. They have similar roles, but Ellen is more homely. The movie theatre scene has Sam running in and out of the theater with one on the left side and the other on the right and is absolutely hilarious and is right out of the Marx Brothers. The confrontation scene works as Childs and Tracy have fantastic chemistry both comedic and dramatic with each other.
The kids can be a mixed bag but all four are workable. Well, Shay Astar does not have much to do as Mary but J. D. Daniels’ Josh knows his father’s schtick and is not willing to put up with it for two much longer. Michael Bellisario is better in his fourth role in the series as Marty Jr. Both sons are resentful but love their father at the end of the day.
Ashley Peldon has a lot of work to do as a small child. The latest person who can see Al, the two share a great moment when Al convinces her not to run away. It is a cheap trick to get Al away from Sam during a critical moment, but it is smartly done and the two are great opposite each other. There is no time to get Dr. Beeks, so Al has to do it on his own. He calls back to his time being an orphan. It all works together and is touching.
The good will and work done is all destroyed in the end when a third wife shows up. After making the decision that Marty is best off without a wife and forced to clean up his act, a third wife is there to muddy the waters a bit further. It is almost as if someone thought that the hour needed a button of some sort and went with the worst possible option. It is a bad ending to an otherwise good hour that owes a lot to sitcom tropes of yore.
New places for old(er) keywords: Continuing Mission
Cardassians and Federation posturing it out: Showdown: Four Lights
Cardassians and Federation posturing it out: Showdown: Four Lights