Bosom Buddies: Amy's Career

Bosom Buddies: Amy's Career
ABC
January 29, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B

Jack Carrerow's first of seven  and David Chambers's first of eight Buddies stories is a solid one, although I may be biased since it's one I recorded on audiocassette at the time.  (So I know that Kip singing "sidewalks, busy sidewalks" from "Silver Bells" has been omitted from DVD.)  Amy at 20 feels that her life has no meaning, until she impresses new client Mr. Shaw (played by the always welcome Russell Johnson, who among other things asks, re Kip and Henry, "Are they on drugs?").  Her attempt to use real people from off the street backfires and she again feels depressed.  Then she has to cheer up everyone else when they get depressed trying to cheer her up.  Kip sees through her and we get some insights into their relationship.

It's a bright, funny episode (with one of my favorite ad-libs, referencing Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, the short-lived 1980 Vereen & Goldblum ABC detective series), and, yes, there's some irony to Kip telling Amy that if he was to bet on any of them "making it big," he'd bet on her.  It might be my favorite Lilly episode, from her story about her Uncle Burt being hit by lightning in the zipper to her remark, "You cheer people up better than Mr. Microphone."  Not quite a B+ but closer than we've seen in the series so far.  Oh, and note the Arab without any lines in the boardroom scene, very early-'80s-ish.

Robert Casper, who plays Mr. Cullen, had performed Carol's wedding on The Bob Newhart Show, a much less quirky role.