Episode Report Card Cate: C | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Choices
By Cate | Season 1 | Episode 17 | Aired on 04.13.1997
Over at the CamPound, Ruthie is trying to convince SuperMom to get her a pet. She tries for a goldfish, claiming it "won't be no trouble." When Annie corrects the troll's grammar by saying, "Any-- 'a goldfish won't be any trouble,'" Ruthie misunderstands and says, "I know, so can I have one?" The arrival of Dopey, Lucy, and Simon saves us from another sidesplitting Family Circus-style bon mot. SuperMom immediately asks where Mary is, and Dopey replies that she is at basketball practice. Annie's a little surprised, since it's the off season. Dopey answers, "You know how those chicks are. They're fanatics." And Dopey, of course, is the leading authority on the ways of "chicks." By the way, writers, if I ever hear Matt use the word "chicks" again, I'm going to cash in my life insurance, book a flight to California, and personally kick his teeth out the back of his head. Lucy is incredibly nervous. She looks like she's afraid that she'll go to hell just for being in the same room while her sibling tells a lie. At least Lucy's hair looks good for a change. She should wear bangs more often. Lucy becomes even more nervous when SuperMom tells her that RevCam wants to see her in his office. Lucy whines, "Am I in trouble?" which prompts Annie to ask, "Why do you guys always think you're in trouble if one of us wants to talk to you?" Well, aren't they always in some sort of trouble? Except Lucy, of course, who doesn't have enough gumption to get into trouble.
Who would have thought Glenoak had its very own taxicab company? Not me. But here a cab pulls up to the CamPound and discharges a highly clean-cut guy carrying a duffel bag. He unknowingly drops a folded fifty-dollar bill on the ground while paying the driver. I wonder what plot delights that will lead to later in the show. Mr. Clean rings the doorbell of the CamPound. When Annie answers the door, she's so ecstatic to see this guy that I start to wonder if he's an old flame. She gives him a social kiss on the mouth, which seems pretty outre for this show. Mind you, I kiss a good number of my friends socially -- and heck, even my ninety-something grandmother used to give me a peck on the mouth whenever I saw her -- but for some reason I'm shocked when I see Annie doing this. And call me shallow, but it makes me like her a little better. She calls this guy Tom and starts feeling up his hunky arms. RevCam walks out of his office to see who the visitor is. Maybe the sight of his wife all over Tom doesn't sit well with him, because he looks furious as he goes back into his office.