0307  -  The Bald and the Beautiful


Synopsis:     Steve visits Al at the shoe store with a bit of concern.  Someone left on his desk an 
advertisement for a baldness treatment.  Steve notices that he is going bald.  Al tells him that he 
has been too and not to worry about it as it is nothing to get excited over, until he hears later 
in the day pretty women giving him pity because they see he is going bald.  Steve and Al together 
go on a quest to restore their hair.

Thoughts:   A pretty good episode with it’s own funny moments here and there.  I like it pretty good.  
There's nothing really groundbreaking here but the show plays well.  It doesn’t stammer around doing 
nothing, it progresses well.  Al and Steve trying to grow more hair shows a vain side in Al I don’t 
think that we saw before or since.  (Remember, this is the guy whose feet always stink, and according 
to the family, doesn’t brush his teeth or shower much).  What’s a little more out of place is the 
line at the end about loving someone the way that they are and not how they look.  This from the show 
that has no problems showing off Awesome Babes tm such as Teri Weigel and Jessica Hahn among others,
lets not forget about the various air-head rocks that Bud goes out with later on in the shows run.

	Al, with a trend that probably started with last seasons "He Thought He Could," launches into 
another dignified speech towards the end of the episode about his hair loss.  After hearing a lot of 
what Al thinks is bull concerning how great it is to be bald, the speaker of the group asks Al 
"Have you been moved to share?"  Al sits for a moment with his thought process clearly marked on his 
face and eventually says "Sure I’ll share."  At this point, is there no doubt in the audiences mind 
that Al is about to tear these guys up?!  The meeting at the end of the show is borderline ridiculous, 
but when Al goes into his speech, the day is saved.

	Steve and Al own this episode, Peg and Marcy are purely for the background (except for 
Marcy at the end).  Bud and Kelly arrive around the middle and it gives Kelly a chance to tease Bud 
about him losing his hair someday.  The example of their sparring here is the best it’s ever been 
and their fights may have finally hit their stride and it only gets better from here on out.

	Hair loss plots have been done in other shows, but it’s actually funny here.  (The second 
season Simpsons episode about Homer growing his hair back isn’t one of the funnier ones honestly).  
There again is no B story.  B stories didn’t come into any major play till at least season 7 or 8.  
Worth watching at least once, I’ve heard that many people think that the meeting scene at the end 
is silly and it is.  If you can get through it without groaning too much (or not at all), you will 
like the rest of the episode.

Rating:  6.5 shoes out of 10.  7.5 if you don’t think that the meeting at the end is goofy.


Quotable Quotes:

Al: (to Steve):  "Bend over, you can signal the troops!"

Al: (as sexy women walk into store):  "A sea breeze!"

Steve: (walks into the shoestore while Al is on the floor looking into a small mirror to see his hair, 
he walks up behind Al).  "Mecca is that way, Al."

Steve:  "Al I’ve got some bad news, Dr. Fur has been recalled, they ruled it to be 100% dogfood."

Peg:  "Al, honey wake up, I think Buck threw up in the house, but I can’t find it.  Oh well it will 
turn up or it won’t."

Marcy:  "Last night we had sex, and he wore a sombrero!"
Peg:  "Oooooooohh!  The ribbed kind?"

Steve:  "Where theres pain, theres life (looks around the Bundy house) you should know that 
better than anyone."

*** By the way, this review was constructed from memory of the show, I apologize if some of 
the quotes are a little off, when I get the chance to see the episode again, I may be able to 
correct some of what might be wrong.