Soap: Episode 75

Soap: Episode 75
ABC
December 17, 1980
Dramedy
DVD
C-

It's a bad sign when the El Puerco scene is the best thing on the episode.  Jessica is disappointed to find out El doesn't want to sleep with her till they're married (yes, she isn't yet divorced), and Helmond and Sierra play pretty well off each other.  Even the worst scene, or set of scenes, of Burt and Danny at one of Tibbs's massage parlors, Danny as a Jerry-Lewis-esque Japanese stereotype, almost overcomes the cringiness, with Danny's interactions with hooker Gwen (Jesse Welles in her first of nine appearances), while Burt offscreen squeals at his "massage."  (It's unclear what happens to him, but maybe it's better not to know.)  The other bad scene, with a barbecue where Leslie brings a rattlesnake in a box, at least shows us the backyard patio (with the pool in the background), and has Saunders dryly suggesting Mr. Tate get a job.  In other words, the episode isn't good but it's not as terrible as it could be.

Joe Perry was Sgt. Kulpepper on Gidget, had four different roles on That Girl, was the Cook on an early M*A*S*H episode*, and is Mr. Phil here.  Jodie, Billy, Chuck, and Bob are absent, although there is a mention of Billy looking for Jessica.


*This is odd looking back, because there are complaints about food all the time on that show, but we usually just see Igor Straminsky serving it and seldom know who makes it.