Bosom Buddies: Reunion

Bosom Buddies: Reunion
ABC
October 22, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B

If you can get past the fact that an Ohio high school (Poe High in Shaker Heights) is having their sixth reunion in not only New York but the restaurant of the Susan B. Anthony hotel, this is a good episode.  Henry thinks back to an awkward time, but it's not the usual high school memory.  He lied to a deaf girl who asked him to the prom, saying he couldn't go, but he was really worried about other kids making fun of him.  He still feels guilty about it, especially when she shows up at the reunion.

I like how he confides in Amy, including through flashbacks, which are, yes, anachronistic.  Kip is full-on hippie, including using drugs and calling everyone a fascist, while Henry refers to "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not," although SNL wouldn't premiere till the Fall of '75.  And his dancing lessons are very disco-y.  But they're still fun to watch, especially when Kip does a looser-limbed version.

Meanwhile, Kip tries to use Sonny to impress his male classmates, but she keeps undercutting him till he learns his lesson; and Isabelle learns that everyone is mistaking her for Brenda, the only black girl in the school, but when Rodney, the only black guy, shows up, she doesn't mind so much.  Note that the roster on the high school wall contains the names of Hanks, Scolari, and Zwick among others.

Jeff Harlan, who plays Jackie, was Bill Mason and a Customer on Mork & Mindy.  Ruth is absent.  This is the first of four Buddies episodes written by Gary H. Miller.