Bosom Buddies: Kip Off the Old Block

Bosom Buddies: Kip Off the Old Block
ABC
February 11, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
B+

Leonard Ripps soloed on this script for one of the best episodes of the series, and possibly the best of Season Two.  (I remember the "cabin" one as quite good as well, and there might be one that I'm underrating at the moment.)  Kip's parents are in town, so he's taking Sonny to meet them for dinner at the house of Uncle Rudy (James Gallery, who was Murray Thompson on M*A*S*H and Wally's father in The Brady Girls Get Married).  Sonny is wearing a very lowcut (front and back) shocking pink dress.  But when the parents arrive at the ad agency, they assume that every other woman there is Sonny.  (Kip to Henry when they greet Isabelle warmly first, "Democrats.")  Kip's father, who's a dentist named Thomas, is quite taken with Sonny and flirts with her at dinner, which is Hawaiian thanks to Aunt Leilani.  Kip's mother, Enid, is offended, especially when Thomas asks if Sonny's dress is on backwards, and the two bicker, despite 28 years of marriage.  (Note, one episode mentioned Kip's sister's wedding.  That was clearly not the virginal 18-year-old sister we'll soon meet, so it is possible she is slightly older than 25ish Kip.)  It's up to Kip to make peace between his parents, even if he has to tell his mother about cross-dressing:

Things I like/love about this episode:

• The aforementioned "Democrats" thing and that Kip's mother definitely has hippie tendencies, with her wardrobe and her mention of "Women's Strike for Peace," putting an interesting spin on what we saw of Kip in 1975 (and what we'll see of him in the college flashback);
• The quirky details, like that Dr. Wilson flosses to relax, and the stuff about the Hawaiian meal;
• Henry reeling off a series of grain-related puns, including "I barley recognized you" (total crush-fodder, then and now);
• The quotations from the opening narrative as Kip and Henry explain to his dad "OK, we made one adjustment...";
• The totally believable dynamic among friends and family*;
• The quiet yet gut-punching ending exchange, where Henry teases Kip, "What, are you afraid of growing up?" and then Kip simply says, "Yes," not going for an easy laugh but instead giving us something to think about.  (The college flashback episode would end on a similarly reflective note.)

*I don't have them in any of my other shows, but I have to say that the casting of K Callan and Jerry Hardin is spot-on.  They feel like a married couple as well as Kip's parents (more than Henry's mother felt like his mother), and Hardin looks uncannily like Tom Hanks.