Before I get started, I just want to say this: Greg, I just saw "Three Miners From Everwood," and as long as you're casting people from The Broken Hearts Club, how about having Zach Braff or Justin Theroux on the show? Come to think of it, I don't think Timothy Olyphant's done anything in a while. Ooh, or you could cast Kerr Smith as Shutup Carl's new boyfriend! I have a million ideas, Greg. Call me.
Kathy Bates directed this episode. Yay!
Irv tells us that family doctors are an icon of the American experience, and that Treat was a great example of the "doctor" part, but was a bit "rough around the edges" in the "family" department. Illustrating Irv's point, Treat serves Delia and Ephram "dinner," the main course of which is an offering that -- well, I hate to use a pedestrian expression like "looks like shit," but I'm going for the literal meaning here, so my choices are limited. Treat tells them that he found their mother's recipe book, and Ephram asks if he cooked it. That would probably be more appetizing than the slop he's serving you, actually. Ephram tries to stall by asking if they can say grace, and Treat promises that they can eat out the night. Ephram: "If we're not still in the hospital." Thanks for saving me the trouble, Ephram. Delia shows Treat the movie she's picked out for the evening, which is Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory. Ephram counsels Treat not to let her watch it, because apparently it always scares her, although she claims it doesn't anymore. Don't believe her, Treat -- those Oompa Loompas still scare me. Ephram claims she's like a junkie begging for more smack. Delia: "I'm not a junkie; you're a junkie!" Ah, the elevated discourse of siblings. It won't get any more mature, either, kids, if my sister and I are any indication. The phone rings, interrupting the debate, and it's a nice touch that Ephram is pouring a Dead Sea-level of salt on his food. Treat tells the person on the other end of the phone that they're just finishing dinner, earning a baleful look from the kids, and gets the caller's address and says he'll be right over. He tells the kids that he's got his first house call. Ephram snarkily repeats back that they're "just finishing dinner," but Treat, as is his wont, ignores the undercurrent and cheerfully says that it wouldn't be "country doctorly" of him to make his patient feel guilty about summoning him, and besides, he won't be long. Delia points out that the knapsack Treat's sporting isn't country doctorly, and Treat wonders if an umbrella would help the image. Ephram: "That says 'singing English nanny.'" Hee. Ephram, you're a recapper's dream. Oh, don't say it. Treat leaves, and Ephram conspiratorially tells Delia that he'll order pizza. Delia: "Half cheese, half pepperoni." Aw.