0109  -  "Married...Without Children"  


"You see that redhead? Picture her in heat."  (Al)


This episode features possibly the best Steve moment that I have seen so far
- his reaction to Al passing on information about the Come-and-Go motel.
Even as Al is dropping him in it, his face is already screwing up - but his
method of getting out of the sticky situation, namely by barefacedly
pretending *she* has forgotten and not him, is priceless. This is the first
episode not to concentrate so directly upon Al and Peg, and it is much the
better for it. As might be expected the children don't get too much to do, but
Marcy and Steve get some considerably better lines than before. The series is
broadening its style.


"If you're negative, they'll be negative."  (Marcy)
"If I leave, will they leave?"  (Steve)


It's curious to see that Al is apparently still 'good', in this episode - by
the next two seasons (e.g. "The Lost Show") there's no mention of this. Peg
certainly seems to hold Al in esteem, if not admiration, especially after
his first performance. Their relationship is distinctly different. That of
Steve and Marcy is getting worse, on the other hand, as Steve begins to realise
that Marcy's psychobabble is useless against Kelly and Bud - they are both
being brought sharply back to reality after their previously idyllic marriage. 


"Marcy, tell me this is your plan. You're going to get 'em all together and
blow 'em up."  (Steve)


Kelly, in this episode, is not so much a tart as a juvenile delinquent; very
definitely a problem child. She is quite cruel to Marcy and Steve, both when
overheard outside the house and when on the phone not six feet away from
them. Almost unlikeable, in fact. Bud, of course, is still clowning around
with no lines that are actually funny - in fact, he is pretty much superfluous
in the whole episode. This leaves David Garrison and Amanda Bearse to carry 
the scenes by themselves, which they just about manage, though Amanda is still
not entirely settled in her character.

A good episode, but slightly flawed in places.


Rating: 6/10