Who's the Boss?: Savor the Veal, Part 3

Who's the Boss?: Savor the Veal, Part 3
ABC
April 25, 1992
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This covers several (at least three) months, and it feels like there are missing scenes*, including the one where Angela decides to move to Iowa to be with Tony.  She does her best to adjust, even taking up beer and bowling, but she misses her old life on the East Coast.  When Tony's one-year contract is changed to three, she insists he stay but she must go home.  It's painful for them to be apart, so, in an ending that deliberately evokes their ending, he returns and they kiss.  The question of when or if they get married, or when and where he finds a new job, is left up in the air.

Charmaine Charles's third and final WtB role and Colette Duvall's fifth and final are as Party Guests, while Rosie Taravella is a Party Guest named Rosie, and it's unclear if she's still the Flight Attendant character.  Frances Bay, Jerry Hardin, and Pat Millicano are back as respectively Candy, Dr. Graham, and Ned.

Who's the Boss? in its final season ranges from C- to B+, averaging out to a B-.  Obviously, the season could've and probably should've been done differently, but that's true of the whole series.  For the most part, the quality and the chemistry were sustained for a very long time, and that's still something to be proud of.


*Even on the original, unedited version, which I've seen on Youtube.

Who's the Boss?: Savor the Veal, Part 2

Who's the Boss?: Savor the Veal, Part 2
ABC
April 25, 1992
Sitcom
DVD
B-

The second and third parts were originally a one-hour special, but I'm going with how they're packaged in syndication, and I think there is a different feel to the two halves.  Doran, Fink, Kallis, and Rosenfarb are again the writers.  Part 2 is about Tony moving to Iowa and trying to maintain a long-distance relationship with Angela, so there's a lot of coming and going, and not quite connecting, even when they're in the same state.

Nick Toth, who was Mr. Powell on A Very Brady Christmas and The Bradys, is a nameless Businessman here.  This is the last episode with Rhoda Gemignani; although Mrs. Rossini doesn't appear in every episode, she's referred to a lot in her absence, and she's definitely the most important second-tier character.  Charmaine Charles makes her second but not last appearance on WtB, as Flight Attendant #2, while Rosie Taravella is back as Flight Attendant #1.  Frances Bay makes her first of two appearances as Tony's elderly secretary Candy, while Pat Millicano makes his first of two as Ned the phone repairman.  And Jerry Hardin returns as Dr. Graham of course.

Who's the Boss?: Savor the Veal, Part 1

Who's the Boss?: Savor the Veal, Part 1
ABC
April 18, 1992
Sitcom
DVD
B

Mark Fink, who among other things wrote the "Austin from Texas" episode of Three's Company, joins WtB staff writers Doran, Kallis, and Rosenfarb for this first of three parts.  Tony and Hank have just graduated but, while Hank has a job lined up, Tony doesn't.  He tries being driving instructor but it doesn't go well.  Then he gets an offer in Iowa.  Angela encourages him to take the family and see the college, and then she encourages him to take the job.  He worries about having regrets but she thinks it's time for him to pursue his dreams and put himself first.

Tony's new boss Dr. Graham (possibly named after writer Clay Graham) is played by Jerry Hardin, who was Dr. Wilson, Kip's father, on Bosom Buddies.  Colette Duvall's fourth but not last role on the show is as the voice of the Airline Agent.  Rosie Taravella will be back as the Flight Attendant for the last two parts.  This is the last episode for Ernie and Al.

Who's the Boss?: Mr. Micelli Builds His Dream House

Who's the Boss?: Mr. Micelli Builds His Dream House
ABC
March 28, 1992
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This is another Doran, Graham, Kallis & Rosenfarb story, which for the most part is good.  I like the clash of personalities between Tony and Joe as the latter reluctantly agrees to remodel Angela's bedroom prior to the wedding and Tony moving in, with Tony giving Joe lots of unasked for advice.  And there's some pretty good slapstick when Tony, with the dubious assistance of Jonathan, Al, and Hank, takes over the project.  I also like the romantic ending, with Tony setting the mood as he describes what it'll be like when he moves into the room, as he whispers and we fade to dark.  But I have to take this down from a B because Angela's body is insulted by not only Mona but Tony.  This would be the last regular episode, with the season (and series) ending with a three-parter.

Construction Worker Freddie Dawson was a nameless Patient on M*A*S*H.  Frank Pesce has his fourth and final role on WtB, as Dave.

Who's the Boss?: Split Decision

Who's the Boss?: Split Decision
ABC
March 21, 1992
Sitcom
DVD
C

Teverbaugh & Va Salle wrote this episode that almost overcomes its contrived premise.  It begins with Tony being competitive playing doubles with Angela on the tennis court, which is in character, but her not being competitive isn't.  And then he's rude to the waiter at her country club, which is out of character for him.  (He'll be rude if others are rude first.)  So she agrees to go away to a spa for the weekend with Mona and Sam, to get a break from Tony.  She runs into a man who's his lookalike, plus a mustache.  But the man is much mellower than Tony, which she likes at first and then dislikes.  Meanwhile, Tony gets suspicious when he finds a pair of tall men's slacks on the floor of Angela's closet.  Jonathan tries to be the voice of reason, to no avail.  There are some cute moments along the way, including Taxi references, but not enough to suspend disbelief entirely.

This is the 192nd episode and it aired in '92, a milestone that only M*A*S*H had achieved among my shows to this point (and that was over a decade ago).

Who's the Boss?: Tony and the Honeymooners

Who's the Boss?: Tony and the Honeymooners
ABC
February 29, 1992
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Gene Braunstein wrote this good episode with a flawed resolution.  Sam and Hank return from their one-week honeymoon (we don't know where) and want to stay overnight until they can move into married student housing, since they've been kicked out of the dorms for being married.  Tony and Angela lose their togetherness time (including watching their favorite movie The Way We Were), especially as Tony and Hank start to bond.  Sam resents Hank taking Tony to see a potential apartment, which Tony rejected.  When she speaks of her frustrations, Angela goes off on her in a very Angela way.  And we get our first glimpses of Hank's puppet Little Tony.

The resolution, after the couples, including Joe and Fran, have made up is Tony, without discussing it with anyone, giving Mona's apartment to the newlyweds.  This is stupid and short-sighted and I can't believe that someone as self-centered as Mona would end up just going along with it after the initial surprise wears off.  When Tony initially suggested Mona move in, no one was living above the garage, but she's been there for seven years now.  Of course, by the end of this season, there would be even bigger shake-ups in the living arrangements.

Gary Lieberthal, who was a Messenger on the show before, is Rey here.

Who's the Boss?: Better Off Wed, Part 2

Who's the Boss?: Better Off Wed, Part 2
ABC
February 22, 1992
Sitcom
DVD
B

Doran, Graham, Kallis, and Rosenfarb wrote this second part, too, in which the potential in-laws, plus Mrs. Rossini, race to stop the wedding.  Sam overcomes all of her father's objections, but he's still sad to be losing his "little girl," and we get a montage of Sam from the early seasons.  There's a bittersweetness to Angela telling Sam, "I knew you'd get married first."  Note that Jonathan is the voice of reason when the two fathers argue.  And Tony makes a very timely reference to President Bush (Sr.) vomiting on the Japanese Prime Minister, which had happened that January.

Richard Paul, who was Capt. Bainbridge on M*A*S*H, more often got typecast as a Minister, like here, including as Jerry Falwell a couple times.

Who's the Boss?: Better Off Wed, Part 1

Who's the Boss?: Better Off Wed, Part 1
ABC
February 15, 1992
Sitcom
DVD
B

Staff writers Doran, Graham, Kallis, and Rosenfarb collaborated on this entertaining, if ultimately frustrating game-changer.  With three months till the wedding on May 14th, Tony is still planning a big event, although stressing about it less.  Angela would prefer a small wedding in a chapel, but Tony eloped last time and wants a big wedding.  Showing that they've changed each other over time-- and that gender role reversal is still one of the themes of this series-- Angela watches the Knicks while Tony looks at a bridal magazine.

Meanwhile, Sam and Hank have been seeing each other every day for a couple months and have decided to get married, even though they know it's crazy.  Sam is hesitant to tell her father, especially when he reacts negatively to Hank giving up med school to become a puppeteer.  And then Hank causes an accident, with Tony falling off the roof.  (They may be the last of my TV families to still have a TV aerial.)  And then Hank's parents, Joe and Fran (Polizos and Azzara, whom we've seen elsewhere, including her on Soap), show up and there's some farcical confusion.  Hank's parents are OK with them marrying young, but they're just as upset as Tony about puppetry.  Sam and Hank sneak off to the chapel that they saw in Angela's brochure.  And the episode ends on a cliffhanger, with no scenes from next week.

Note that this episode contains references to Operation Desert Storm and Nancy Reagan.  And that some WtB fans hate it because it torpedoed the promise of Tony and Angela getting married, with this substitution of a couple that no one had any emotional investment in.  While I ship T & A, I also just watch this show to be entertained, and I find this episode funnier and more interesting (including about Tony and Angela's characters) than some of the episodes this season that are actually focused on that couple.

Who's the Boss?: Who's the Boss?

Curnal Aulisio on Married with Children

Who's the Boss?: Who's the Boss?
ABC
January 25, 1992
Sitcom
DVD
C-

This Teverbaugh & Va Salle episode isn't as bad as I remembered, but that's not saying much.  When Tony's friends tease that he's henpecked and he himself feels like Angela's ordering him around, he ends up lying to her and his friends.

Cheerleaders Lisa Cohen, Colette Duvall, and Ria Giullani had recently appeared as characters with their own first names.  Robert Briscoe Evans's third and last WtB role is as the Announcer.  Vinny Argiro returns as Vinnie (yes, with that spelling). while Walter Olkewicz is back as Tiny.  And Curnal Aulisio is introduced as Sam's new boyfriend, Hank Thomopolous.