Episode Report Card Deborah: C+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Grace Under Pressure
By Deborah | Season 1 | Episode 14 | Aired on 02.05.2004
Kevin wheels in, wondering if Helen knows where his blue shirt is. She says it's in the laundry, and that she'll wash it tomorrow. Joan: "Don't worry, it'll be ready for your date." Kevin plays dumb: "Who said anything about a date?" Luke: "Oh, Rebecca called. Wanted you to bring some dessert." Will: "You and Rebecca have a date?" I would have thought this is the place where someone in his family -- most likely his law-and-order father -- would finally say something about the issues involved in dating his boss, but no. Luke says Rebecca's cooking dinner for her and Kevin. Kevin: "So's Mom. Doesn't mean I'm dating her." Joan: "That's a disgusting analogy." Will asks if other people are going to be there, or just Rebecca. Joan: "Ju-u-u-u-st them." Will pulls out his Fat Tony voice: "Oh, yeah, that's a date." Luke smirks. Joan: "Mom, don't look -- the men are leering."
Kevin mentions the arrest of a suspect in the Yardley assault. Helen: "Attempted murder: that's one way to change the subject." Will says it's getting more complicated. Kevin: "I heard he accused the Reverend of abusing his son." Man, that got out quickly. Will: "No comment." Joan, referring to her textbook, lectures: "There's always a grey area in every situation, Dad. That's what a 'reasoned verbal exchange tries to explore. And logic can provide proof, even when there is no evidence.' What does that even mean?" Will wonders: "What's she doing now?" Luke says she joined the debate team. Helen: "As if she weren't contrary enough." Luke: "She has to argue in support of the draconian security measures instituted by the school." Joan adds, in her father's direction: "Assisted by you." He tells her to spend a day in his shoes: "You'd ask for more." Grace and Adam suddenly arrive, and Joan says, "We're going to study. Assuming we still have the right to assemble." As they wander off to another room, Helen tells Adam that she has lots of applicants for the art teacher position. Adam: "Cool."
Grace says, "We have to determine the heat of a solution of an ionic compound in water." Grace flops on one side of a large leather chair-and-a-half while Adam clambers over the back -- instead of just sitting in it normally -- and ends up beside her. Joan sits on the floor. Adam: "Okay, uh, O = Q heat + Q water + Q solution." Grace: "Yeah, but what does that mean?" Adam makes a wordless sound almost exactly like the one Homer Simpson makes when he's implying, "I don't know." Joan complains: "Can you believe what we have to learn to go to college to get away from our parents?" Adam's picked up a book: "Hey, this isn't chemistry, yo." Grace reads the titles of the books on the table: "The Necessity of Martial Law? Abdicating Civil Rights? Are you insane?" Joan says it's research. Grace bitterly remarks, "You really are the daughter of a cop, aren't you?" Joan says she just joined a club, and that it doesn't mean anything. Grace: "Words have power! You're giving power to this." Joan looks slightly bewildered. Adam: "Understanding and Controlling Stuttering?" Grace: "Oh, great, so she's helping someone stop stuttering so they [sic] can spout this repressive propaganda!" Grace certainly put that together quickly. Joan: "If I can help Scott speak in front of a crowd, don't you think that's a good thing?" Grace: "Not if you're turning him into a mouthpiece for tyranny!" Grace grabs her stuff and starts to run out. Joan stands up and says, "Waitwaitwaitwait...okay, I understand that we disagree about debate, but you're doing this whole seething, smoke-coming- out-of-your-ears-thing. We can disagree and still be friends!" Grace: "This is fundamental. This is basic human rights." Joan's taken aback. Grace adds, "Friend." Joan shouts after her, "I'm doing this to help Scott!" Adam raises his eyebrows: "Guess we're not going to study tonight, are we?" Guess not. So let's see those Iron Maiden boxers.