Episode Report Card Deborah: A+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT No Goofs
By Deborah | Season 2 | Episode 8 | Aired on 11.11.2004
At school, Joan complains to Judith, who's juggling away, "Can't we just…microwave popcorn and watch The Shining? I'll scream, he'll hold me…" Judith replies, "He's spending his bonus from work on you instead of an X-Box. You know how deep that is?" As Grace walks in front of them, blowing bubbles (gum, not soap), Joan says she doesn't need a fancy date: "We're fine the way we are." Judith sneers, "Yeah, real fine. You thought Adam and me were hooking up." Joan admits: "All right. Occasionally, not so fine…but…" Grace turns around and walks backward in front of them. Joan worries: "What if he looks across the table and realizes that…I'm not worth it?" Grace: "Could happen. The whole dating ritual is barbaric. It's all about compromise, the slow death of self…" Joan: "Way to make my first date special, Grace." Grace replies, "I'm going to have to start another women's movement. First one obviously didn't take." Hee! I'm afraid she's probably right. She takes off, and Joan continues fretting, saying she's going to break out: "He's going to be at dinner with a zit in a dress." Judith encourages Joan to try the balls: "Better than Prozac. You turn off your mind, all the crapola goes away. Very Zen-y." She hands them to Joan, who says, "Yeah. I have to catch what's coming at me, right?" Joan manages one cycle of tossing the three balls. Judith's pleased. Joan tries again and fumbles, but Judith says that was better.
Suddenly Adam's there: "Hey, Jane." Joan's all stammery and Adam seems kind of breathless and nervous: "Uh, so, tomorrow night…" Joan: "Yeah, tomorrow night!" Judith just stands between them with various expressions of pleasure, wistfulness, and concern passing fluidly over her face. Joan and Adam finally kiss, quickly, and Joan takes off. Judith: "Dude!" Adam turns to her: "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Judith: "Oh, a night she'll never forget? Girls kinda go for that." Adam: "So why can't I breathe?" Friedman, who's wearing a brown velour shirt with beige and orange horizontal stripes that Topher Grace's stylist rejected for That 70's Show -- and an orange dickie -- zooms up, throws his arm around Adam's shoulder, and says, more to Judith than Adam, "'Where love is great, the littlest doubts are fear. When little fears grow great, great love grows there.' It's Hamlet. Act 3, Scene 2." Adam shakes his head slightly and wanders off. Judith calls out after him, "Get flowers!" She and Friedman are left looking at each other. He wiggles his eyebrows at her slightly and she says, "Don't lurk, dude." She hustles off. He follows her, saying, "I'm almost done. Just two more pages." Judith stops: "You memorized the whole play?" He doesn't say anything, and in profile, it's hard to read his expression. She touches him on the arm and says gently, "It was just a goof, Friedman." She walks away. Friedman catches up with her: "When Alexander Fleming found penicillin on a moldy plate, he saved untold millions. There are no goofs. Soon I will bathe you in sweet poetry, and you will know the true Friedman. Soon." He backs away into a classroom. Judith looks concerned. Probably because they're using the word "goof" two different ways. Speaking of words, I got curious about the etymology of the word "juggle" (because I am just that sort of person, that's why) and looked it up: it's actually related to the Latin word for joke. Which is sort of amusing, considering how sad this episode is.