SARAH COLE'S FAVORITE EPISODES

Vic and Sade is a program about which no one is indifferent. People either love it or hate it. When my mother listened to it as a child in the hospital, she thought it was the funniest thing she had ever heard. Yet, a co-worker once complained that, if he was sick at home and had to listen to Vic and Sade, he'd get up and go to school. It is, in fact, a very funny program. The trouble is that it isn't an obviously funny program. It includes a lot of geographical allusions to actual Illinois locations, which aren't quite so amusing to "out-of-staters." The action is verbal, rather than physical, and based on single, uninterrupted conversations. The characters seldom so much as leave their seats in the course of an episode. The humor is absurd and gently satirical, and so dry that a casual listener might not catch it. Culturally, a lot has changed in the United States since the 1930s and 40s, so some of the social inter-relationships are not as clear now as they were then. However, enough of the basic social structure remains to make the program's setting understandable. The humor is not dependent on anything as ephemeral as situation, but on personalities and elemental human nature. We know people like Vic and Sade, young Rush, and Uncle Fletcher. In fact, if we are circumspect, we may find that they are us!

Not all episodes were funny, and not all will make sense to an uninitiated listener. Some may need to be introduced to the program gradually. To that end, we have compiled a top-ten list of the Essential Vic and Sade episodes. Two top-ten lists, in fact! Through them, we hope you will start to enjoy and appreciate the Crazy World of Vic and Sade.

1. : Official Host (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/06/38-03-03-official-host.html)

This episode gives one of the clearest pictures of Rush's nature: eager and ambitious. To a kid in high school, his grandiose plans for a house party may seem magnificent, but his sage father Vic points out the problems in bringing them off, yet without deflating Rush's enthusiasm in the process.

Alternate: A Gross of Gravels: (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/12/42-07-16-gross-of-gravels.html)

This episode best captures essence of each of the three leading characters, and their relationship. Sade is the confident housewife and president of a local ladies' organization, yet so limited in her experience that she persists in calling a gavel a "gravel." Vic is the artistic professional man, who genuinely knows his wife, and therefore knows when forbearance is the best policy. Their son Rush, a young man starting high school, and eager to demonstrate his maturity, is still trusting in such inconvenient trifles as facts. He tries in vain to convince his mother of her malapropism.

2. Sade Wants to Buy Vic a Hat (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/06/38-11-30-vics-new-hat.html)

This episode establishes Vic's repressed flamboyance, and Sade's determined conventionality, as they debate the kind of hat Vic should wear. Rush's thwarted attempts to take his place in the adult conversation serves to reinforce Sade's desire for status quo.

2. Alternate: Uncle Fletcher's Easy Chair: (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/10/41-07-01-easy-chair.html) Here, we see the facets of Uncle Fletcher's character. He is generous (giving the Gooks his chair), focused and stubborn (oblivious and deaf to any objections), and happy in his own quirky world (the memories surrounding the chair are as important to him as the chair itself). But the family cares about him, so they tolerate his whimsey as much as possible.

3. Wildflowers (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/06/39-09-22-sade-provides-names-of.html)  Rush helps Sade fulfill her obligations to provide information about wildflower to members of her women's club. The fact that they make up the information is less important then that Sade is able to save face with her social set by keeping her promises to the members.

3. Alternate: Reading a Letter from Aunt Bess: (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2012/02/44-06-15-letter-from-bess-listen-please.html) A running joke in the Vic and Sade programs was the letters Sade would receive from her sister Bess. They invariably began "We are fine, and Walter's kneecap has let up definitely on the twinges." They would go on to relate the forgettable news of her own small town. In this episode, we see Sade's loyalty to her sister, and the respect Sade's own family has for her. She tries to read the letter to Vic, Uncle Fletcher, and Russell (a replacement for Rush while the actor playing Rush was in college), amid their ramblings and distractions.

4. Teaching Cigar Smoking to Chinbunny (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2012/02/44-06-02-mr-chinbunny-wants-to-smoke.html) As James Mason, webmaster of The Crazy World of Vic and Sade, says, "To me, this is one of the most delightful episodes in the Vic and Sade series. The ridiculous premise: the young, insecure high school principal wants to learn how to smoke cigars in order to make himself look older, and chooses Vic to teach him."

Remember, the Vic and Sade program only has four speaking parts, yet listeners gradually discover the unexpectedly large community of characters in which the program is set.

4. Alternate: Sacred Stars of the Milky Way Vacation Trips: (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2012/02/44-05-01-lodge-holiday-visits.html) Vic describes a scheme his lodge has worked out to save members the cost of a hotel while traveling. The lodge will route members to each other's houses. Vic is taken with the idea, until he sees the caravans that could be routed to their little bungalow. This episode is an example of plausible wackiness Paul Rhymer could inject into a program, and of the incongruous lists of things he would occasionally include. (Incidentally, this program became especially funny to my family when a cousin suggested our extended family work out the same scheme!)

5. The All-Star Marching Team (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/09/vic-416ths-of-second-elapses-rapidly.html) We know about Kinet and virtual meetings: this episode anticipates the modern trend toward group participation, individually. Vic is a member of his lodge's marching team, along with several other members. The other members, however, are scattered about the United States; consequently, they can't practice together. So they each practice their routines by themselves. Sound familiar?

5. Alternate: Phone call from Y.Y. Flirch: (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/06/39-06-05-yy-flirch-tries-to-phone-vic.html)  The world of Vic and Sade does tend to be crazy, but there's a logic to it. Here, we can see how that craziness is, when it is studied in context, is not really so crazy after all, One of Vic's lodge brothers has telephoned him while in town between trains, and although seven people have given Vic the message, no one can tell him how to get in touch with this friend.

6. Landlady's Photos Again (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/09/41-02-07-landladys-photos-again-debut.html) This episode says as much about how life was lived in the late 1930s as it does about familiar personality quirks. In those days, if people didn't listen to the radio, or go to the movies of an evening, they would have to entertain themselves. The Gook house appears to have no radio, and they only occasionally attended the Bijou movie theater. So, they entertained themselves with reading, conversation, card-playing, or whatever came along. On this evening, Uncle Fletcher came along, bringing a collection of pictures. Considering the difficulties of travel in those pre-interstate days, sights of new places could be interesting enough. But having to feign interest in snapshots of strangers does wear on one's patience. Uncle Fletcher does not even know who the people are, yet is certain he is doing the Gooks a service in amusing them. Listeners can hear the tension between the family members' public conduct toward Uncle Fletcher, and their private reaction to his efforts.

6. Alternate: Rush Humiliated on Thanksgiving: (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/10/41-11-20-rush-humiliated-on.html)  Rush is a generous-natured boy not given to fighting. But he does have two ongoing fights: one with a trouble-making neighbor kid, who is out to embarrass him, and one with his mother, who doesn't realize Rush growing up. Here, the two battles collide, when Rush reacts to the gossip the neighbor kid has spread, that he still eats with child-sized silverware.

7. Marching Team Pictures (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/09/41-03-14-marching-team-pictures.html) After learning that the members of the All Star Marching Team have never actually marched together, one might be curious to learn more about this sundered platoon, right? A feature in the lodge magazine would be the perfect vehicle, right? Of course it would. But writer Paul Rhymer, has a whimsical imagination, and a fondness for obscurity. So, naturally, printing errors would so confuse their pictures in the magazine article that the marchers remain as great a mystery as ever. Rhymer is at his absurdist best in this episode.

7. Alternate: Christmas Gift Money (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/10/41-11-xx-strictly-business-christmas.html)  This episode is comparatively serious, but it amplifies the growing man-to-man relationship between Vic and Rush. Although Sade clings to Rush the child, Vic goes out of his way to encourage his adult sensibilities. Here, we see generous Rush negotiating with an understanding Vic for funds in order to buy Christmas gifts for his family and friends.

8. Broken Alarm Clocks (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/10/41-10-31-broken-alarm-clocks.html) Vic is a man of imagination and curiosity, and an inflated view of his technical abilities. He has a fascination with clocks - and a fixed delusion that he can fix them with a hammer. In this episode, he hear the results of his unfortunate addition, and Rush's willingness to help get his father out of a jam. Sadly, we also find that Vic can be painfully slow to learn his lesson.

8. Alternate: Christmas Cards come C.O.D.: (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/12/sade-always-on-her-toes-to-deflect.html)  This is one of the most insightful extant episodes of the Vic and Sade series. Sade has been tricked into buying some bizarre Christmas cards, and Rush explains the logic behind them. We see Sade's family loyalty, Rush's worldly wisdom - and the strangest Christmas greetings you're ever likely to hear!

9. Little Tiny Petite Pheasant Feather Tea Shoppy (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/11/42-03-12-little-tiny-petite-pheasant.html) Vic is a company man, and will go to great lengths to accommodate himself to the needs of his superiors. In this episode, we see just how great those lengths are. A visiting executive is eager to lunch at this tiny restaurant, but its seating capacity is so small that Vic will be forced to sit outside and eat through an open window. Only Paul Rhymer could use Vic's loyalty to dignify that hilarious humiliation.

9. Last Day of School: (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/07/40-06-14-freedom-last-day-of-school.html)  A regular event in the Vic and Sade series is Vic working on invoices at home. In those episodes, in which he is frequently (and imaginatively) distracted from his work, generally end with an impatient outburst. In this episode, however, he recognizes that the annoying interruptions are more important than the timely completion of his office work.

10. Thunderstorm (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/12/42-07-xx-thunderstorm.html) In this gentle episode, Vic and Sade sit on the porch watching the approach of a summer thunderstorm. They chat on trivial matters, greet neighbors, and enjoy each others' company. Nothing happens, yet nothing needs to happen. Vic and Sade are a "couple:" they just fit together. This episode is a friendly reminder of what domestic fondness really sounds like.

10. Alternate: Honorary Titles: (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/12/43-01-04-honorary-titles-for-sale.html) Vic is proud of being chief accountant of a local factory, and he is proud of his position in his lodge. He is whimsical enough, though, to wish to be proud of more exotic things. While Sade tries to set up a card game with another couple, he describes the merits of some honorary titles the lodge is selling. The prospect of an evening with the prosaic Stembottoms holds less appeal than one spent dreaming of the prestige of appearing to hold some of those unique positions.

And a bonus or three:

Exalted Big Dipper Day: (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/10/41-05-12-exalted-big-dipper-day.html)  Vic loves his lodge, but sometimes even he is pushed too far. The unearthly requirements for an authorized celebration of Exalted Big Dipper Day cause him to hesitate to even broach the subject with Sade. But we also learn that, although Sade thinks the lodge ritual is silly, she doesn't think Vic is silly. In spite of the part she must play in this strange ritual, she agrees to play along.

Uncle Fletcher Telephones Aunt Bess: (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2012/07/41-06-01-uncle-fletcher-telephones-aunt.html) As you've gathered by now, Uncle Fletcher lives in a bygone world of memories, so convenient contraptions are sometimes a mystery to him. But explaining an everyday process can be a challenge even to those who perform it every day. Here, Vic, Sade, and Rush try to "help" him telephone Aunt Bess.

Telephone Call from the Hinks: (http://vicandsade.blogspot.com/2011/12/42-08-20-telephone-call-from-hinks.html)  Sade and Rush have to field a long-distance call from the entire Hink household while Vic is away.  Few things are funnier than this! - Sarah Cole