Episode Report Card Couch Baron: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT My Left Foot…
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 6 | Aired on 09.20.2009
Joan gives Hildy some terse orders, and Hildy asks if she's being short with her "because you think it will make parting easier? My mother used to do that." Heh. Before Joan can reply, Hooker comes up and makes an inappropriate remark about how "plain" most of the women on the floor are, and Joan tartly (heh) replies, "Well, we could hire some prostitutes. I know your Prime Minister enjoys their company!" Hooker, after a pause, corrects her that it was actually the Secretary of War, and by the way, she should refrain from bringing the subject up in front of the brass. Joan insincerely apologizes, but Hooker isn't done, suggesting that perhaps they should move her surprise party to after the holidays. Hildy, not one normally to snap at people, raises her voice as she asks why he did that, but Hooker replies, "Mrs. Harris knows everything! I'm sure she was expecting it." Joan, without bothering to confirm or deny that, announces that she's going to go home and make a celebratory dinner for her husband. She then turns to Hooker: "And when you wake up in the middle of the night and wonder what you forgot? Don't call me." She storms out, but her face does betray some hurt at the blown surprise after all as Hildy stares daggers at Hooker. It was probably an old trick even back in 1963, hon, but I'm sure no one would rat you out for putting a laxative into his tea.
Betty's sipping some red wine at the kitchen table when Don arrives home, and when he gives her a kiss, she notes the unusual closeness of his shave. Don smiles that he was ordered to the barber's, although he couches it in terms of the British visit rather than bring up Roger, and she smiles that he looks very successful. As she busies herself getting his dinner together, he asks if she picked up the nightlight, and Betty affirms that and tells him she read Sally to sleep, but she was still "clingy," which is on the list of Betty's Least Favorite Character Traits right under "fat." She goes on that she doesn't remember her being as resentful of Bobby when he was born, and when Don suggests that "resentful" might be too strong, she says that Sally won't go near the baby or even enter his room unless she makes her. After idly inquiring why the British are visiting, she smiles as she says Gene was perfect during the day. Don: "Would you ever want to live in London?" Abrupt change of subject, but Betty will allow it, as after ascertaining that he's serious, she smiles that she would, of course. "I could get a pram and a real nanny." Sure, but all the singing might get on your nerves after a while. Smiling in anticipation, she asks what he knows, but he too-innocently replies, "Nothing." Unfortunately, I have the feeling he may be right.
In the dark, Joan's asleep with a record still spinning uselessly on the turntable, so apparently Greg didn't make it home for the celebratory meal. Which, I'm guessing, is just as well. He bumps into something, waking her up, and she asks where he was. He slurs that he called her at work to tell her he was going out for drinks, but she replies that he's lying. However, being far kinder than he deserves now or ever, she has him come sit next to her, telling him she knows he's soused and it's okay, and asking what happened. He tells her he didn't get the Chief Residency, which I'm guessing she had just possibly figured out already, but that's not the really bad news -- he ran into Ettinger shortly before he got the official notification, and he could tell something was wrong by the way he wouldn't look him in the eye. "He sat me down in his office, and he poured a drink and he said...he said I had no brains in my fingers." I'd be laughing pretty hard if not for what this is going to mean for Joan. Joan's confused for a moment, as Ettinger wrote Greg a lot of nice evaluations, but Greg forlornly informs her that doctors don't write bad things about each other. She tries to put a brave face on, saying he can go to another hospital, but Greg tells her being a surgeon, at least in New York, is no longer an option for him. Joan tries to wrap her head around the implications, asking if this all means he's fired, but Greg doesn't want to talk about it any more. "I have another year of residency. You're not going to be able to leave your job." Joan tries to steer the situation out of nightmare territory, saying that ship has already sailed, but he simply tells her to get another one. He starts to exit the room, but she calls him back and tells him he's a doctor, and she married him for his heart, not his hands. That sounds like an even worse deal to me. He tells her he couldn't fake it and go out to celebrate with the others: "I've been sitting in the Dublin House since two." This is enough to get Joan a little misty, and she sends him in to lie down, saying she'll be in to undress him in a moment. Poor Joan. Not only does she have to go back and mother everyone at SC, she has to mother her own fool husband as well.
Don lies awake in bed, an uncharacteristically goofy smile on his face at the prospect of moving to the land of bangers and mash. On the other hand, his five o'clock shadow has reappeared with a vengeance...
...while Sally lies awake as well, looking terrified. The nightlight is like, "This is going to be a barrel of laughs."
After a shot of the main floor, Joan brightly appears next to Hooker, who's just been greeting the British ambassadors. He tells them that Joan was the office manager before he (oh, Lord, he's taking her place?) but she's "off to greener pastures." The three men, one of whom is of course Saint John Powell, or Mistah Sheffield if you prefer, the other two being "Mr. Harold Ford" and the youngest, "Guy MacEndrick," greet Joan, and then Hooker takes them on a walking tour of the sights of SC as Joan surreptitiously whispers to one of the girls to let everyone know the Brits are there. Soon, Pete accosts the group, and Powell certainly greets him warmly enough, which suggests to me that he did in fact take notice of his coup with Bronzo, again making last week all the more bizarre in retrospect. MacEndrick is similarly warm, saying he's very impressive and he knows everything about him, but given that he repeats the same greeting to Peggy almost verbatim I'm not completely convinced of his sincerity. Olive, however, is like, "Sincerity be damned -- that dude is fiiine," and while I'm guessing it's been a while for the old girl it's still not like I disagree. I mean, he was on The Tudors. They don't cast ugly.
Cut to the group entering Bertram's office, in which handshakes are exchanged and MacEndrick displays extreme enthusiasm for meeting Don. Probably wants to get a handle on Don's particular American genius at picking up women, not that he needs the help. Powell proceeds to give MacEndrick a verbal tongue bath about both his education (Cambridge and the LSE) and post-graduate career before the group withdraws to have a chat with Pryce, but not before plans for lunch at one in the conference room are confirmed, and MacEndrick undresses Don's brain a bit more with his eyes before leaving. Bertram seems utterly befuddled by the whole interaction, while Roger playfully, and astutely, notes that the suspense is killing Don...
...and speaking of people being killed, the group comes in to see a very nervous Pryce, but not before Hooker enters first and somewhat endearingly reminds him to lose the glasses. Pryce is delighted when Powell and Ford shower him with compliments on his performance, but when he removes the contents of a large box they brought in for him, he finds a large stuffed cobra. I'm going to guess on general principles that that's not a good thing. Indeed, Powell answers his question: "It's for our snake charmer. We're sending you to Bombay." He explains they're hoping he'll work his magic