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Showing posts with label A. J. Spence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A. J. Spence. Show all posts

37-02-04 Smelly Clark to Change His Age from 16 to 21

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON 
Rush practically demands his parent's attention.  He has big news: Smelly Clark wants to change his age from 16 to 21 so that he can become a barber.

Smelly is disappointed that all he can currently do around the shop are menial tasks, such as sweep up.  If he could legally change his age - like people change their names - he could become a barber.

SEE THE SCRIPT
HEAR A READING OF THE SCRIPT (by Shambles Constant) 
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I'm guessing that Smelly failed to legally change his age since instead of acting grown up in future episodes, he remains a 15 to 16 year old kid.

Smelly's ambition to be a barber would later lead him to butchering Rush's hair.  Perhaps it's a good thing he didn't get his age changed.

41-04-xx Company Coming, 13 People

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, BILL IDELSON AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Sade: As Uncle Fletcher would say, "Fine!" 
Uncle Fletcher: Fine!
At the last minute, Vic tells Sade he's got company coming. Steve Chestbutter and A. J. Spence are coming over for a lodge meeting.  Sade has company too, as she has invited over Mis' Brighton and her brother, Willard. Of course, things get more complicated from there as Mis' Donahue calls and says she has company and Mr. Donahue needs to sleep and asks if he can come over and catch some nap time at the Gooks. Immediately after the telephone call, Uncle Fletcher shows up and has news that he invited Mis' Keller's daughter and husband over to meet Sade.

But that's not all. Rush arrives and reminds Sade he had invited Blue Tooth Johnson, Leland Richards and Vernon Peggles to study algebra. Sade had completely forgotten about that. Not only does that make more guests at the house, it also creates a dilemna as to where Mr. Donahue is going to sleep (Sade had planned on him sleeping in Rush's bed.)

Sade then finds out that Fred and Ruthie Stembottom have decided to come over under the impression that they will be playing, "500" with the Gooks.

So how many is that? {{{HEAR}}}
WHAT MIS' CROWE SAYS:
The Gooks’ residence is the most happening place in town tonight. 
Since we usually see it with just 3 or 4 people in it, it’s fun to imagine Vic and Sade’s little house so crowded with guests. I like how none of the family seems put out by any of this, even though the crowd is totally unexpected. They’re just ready to have a good time.

One notable bit in this script is the concept of “people who are company” vs. “people who are not company.” Mis’ Brighton and Willard don’t count as “company” because they’re “comfortable old friends,” and Chestbutter and Spence don’t count as “company” because they’re frequent visitors on Lodge business and are “as common as old shoes”. Fletcher doesn’t count as company because he’s part of the family. I’m guessing that Rush’s pals don’t count, either, and certainly not Donahue, who frequently visits to nap in Rush’s bed, or Fred and Ruthie, who are over at the Gooks’ to play cards almost every night. The definition of “company” must be “someone entering your house for whom you have to change your ordinary behavior.” Florence and Emmett Upscutch, strangers to the Gooks, are probably the only ones of these 13 guests whom Vic and Sade consider “company." 

There’s a hidden little joke in this script that the characters do not acknowledge: the reason Donahue is coming over to sleep at Vic and Sade’s in the first place is because there is company at his house – Mis’ Donahue’s sister and several of her children. I wonder what kind of sleep Donahue will get in Vic and Sade’s bed, with 15 other people in the house!
 SEE THE SCRIPT (transcribed by Lydia Crowe)
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This fun show ends in the best way possible!

Trivia:

+ We find out that "Mr. Spence" (of former episodes and a roomer of Mis' Harris) is actually named, A.J. Spence. We also find out also he is a lodge member in the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way. I have gone back to previous episodes he was in now and changed "Mr." to "A.J." to reflect our new-found knowledge.

+ Sade calls Willard an "old, comfortable, easy friend." Until this episode, Willard had only been mentioned once in the surviving episodes, as a guest at Ruthie Stembottom's party. Why Mis' Brighton's brother is a big deal to Sade, we may never know.

+ Mrs. Keller's daughter and her husband are Emmett and Florence Upskutch.

+ When Sade is contemplating where Mr. Donahue can sleep, she says, "He generally balks at sleeping in our (Sade and Vic's) bed." Since she used the word, "generally" doesn't that lead us to believe that Mr. Donahue has been over a number of times to sleep at the Gook house? While not completely absurd, it seems that the Donahues put quite an imposition on the Gooks at times.

+ Evan was mentioned for the first time. All we know about him is that Ruthie was over at his house.

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40-04-10 Nicer to Sleep Over for Two Weeks

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

It's April but Nicer Scott has told Rush that his traveling salesman uncle will be in town in August for two whole weeks. Nicer (who somewhere in the lost episodes is now Rush's enemy) makes it plain to Rush that he plans on taking over Rush's bed and bedroom.

Even though the visit is months away, Rush is already brooding about it. For one thing, Nicer is bigger and older than Rush and can easily bully him around and for another, who wants to give up their bedroom to an enemy? To top if off, Rush knows his mother will give in to Mis' Scott's request of letting Nicer sleep over.

By some miracle, Nicer's uncle shows up this same day in April rather than August and it isn't long before Mis' Scott calls and makes a prophet out of Rush.
MIS' CROWE SAYS:
Utter disaster strikes Rush Gook…or is scheduled to strike, the last two weeks in August.

Nicer really is a little menace. To take such joy in inflicting yourself upon somebody who openly despises you, to take advantage of the unwritten laws of good neighborly hospitality, is truly rotten. The kid ain’t right. We know that Mis’ Scott isn’t a terribly pleasant person to be around, either. But do you think Sade would ever, for a moment, let her think that Nicer sleeping over at their house was the tiniest bit of an imposition? Never! And thus Midwestern Niceness claims another victim on peaceful Virginia Avenue.
 SEE THE SCRIPT (transcribed by Lydia Crowe)
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Despite the fact that she caves in and Nicer will be allowed to sleep over, Sade is just doing the neighborly thing. You can't really fault her for being kind. She may talk about people behind their backs but she is nice to most everyone to their face.

Who hasn't had to give their bedrooms to people they didn't know or people they didn't like? I certainly was put into that same situation when I was a kid many times.

What luck for Rush though that the uncle of Nicer Scott just happens to drop in this day...

Trivia:

+ Rush called Nicer a "reptile" 3 different times in this episode.

+ Vic was playing indoor horseshoes at Ike Kneesuffer's before he came home. He won 5 games. He took on Ike, Charlie Razorscum, Steve Chestbutter and Mr. Spence. This is the first time Mr. Spence has been mentioned. He is a roomer at Mis' Harris' house.

+ Sade asks to play rummy 3 different times.

+ We may never know what caused Nicer and Rush to become enemies...

Rush knows what Sade will say...(edited): {{{HEAR}}}

Download the complete commercial-free, sound-improved episode!