Bosom Buddies: Macho Man

Bosom Buddies: Macho Man
ABC
December 18, 1980
Sitcom
DVD
B

Leonard Ripps's first of eight Buddies stories is the first episode where I feel like the cast is coming together as an ensemble.  This is seen a bit in the breakfast scene where Sonny and Isabelle look slightly appalled by Buffy's eating habits, but it's strongest in the interaction in the "urban cowboy" bar, including when they all cry, "Oh no, Shlomo!"  Giving the character a stereotypical Jewish name is a nice unexpected touch, and Amy's line "It looks like Ray Bolger exploded" is one of my favorites from the series.  The plot is that Henry, partially from spending so much time in drag, is starting to feel unmasculine, so he adopts two macho personae, first the gold chains and unbuttoned shirt look, and then "Hank."  After making a fool of himself and hurting Amy's feelings, he realizes that his friends like him as himself.  The anti-machismo message definitely tells us that we are in the very early '80s.  And the subplot about the radioactive cookies is both ridiculous and subversive.

Twyla Littleton, who plays Cheryl, would be Ann on Three's Company.  Oddly enough, both Thompson and Van Atta directed, maybe because of the "action sequence."