Who's the Boss?: Tony for President

Who's the Boss?: Tony for President
ABC
March 4, 1986
Sitcom
DVD
B+

Howard Meyers wrote this story where Tony comes home early from a PTA meeting (Cool Babysitter Mona is cheating at Scrabble with the kids), because he's fed up with the PTA President, Joanne Parker (Pam Galloway in the first of three memorable appearances).  Joanne has been using her power to push her husband Walt's insurance company.  Angela and her friend Wendy Wittener (Dori Brenner again) enter soon after and it turns out that they've nominated Tony to run against Joanne.  Angela of course runs his campaign.

But Joanne accuses Tony during their debate of living in sin with Angela.  For a change on a sitcom, a couple clips of past episodes are used well, as Tony tries to explain why he shared a bed with Angela and how he saw her naked.  (The bed is the one from the Bobbie Barnes episode, not the motel bed after they found they were each other's first kiss.)  Gossip spreads and Sam fights bullies.  (Since it's the second season, she's annoyed that she chipped her nail on a kid's tooth.)  Jonathan innocently asks his mother if she and Tony are doing anything wrong.  Both Angela and Tony worry about how this is hurting the kids.

So, as his campaign manager, she advises him to drop out of the race, but she gives a speech saying how wonderful he is.  He questions her about this in the tag, after he's won, but she claims it was all part of the campaign.

There's a lot going on with them this episode, although not what Joanne warns against or Wendy hopes.  This is an early example of Angela encouraging Tony to believe in his dreams, which will eventually lead to him going back to college and becoming a teacher.  She says that he is the best thing to ever happen to her and Jonathan, and we know that this is true.  But there is also the sexual tension between them, as when she says they're being accused of things they've never done, and he says, "Or even thought of!" And then they have priceless facial expressions.

Joanne is a worthy adversary here and later, with her "family values" hypocrisy and phony sweetness, and Mona knows how to put her in her place, with catty remarks about Joanne's dry cleaner.  (Joanne is fooling around with him and "her pool man," and she doesn't even have a pool.)  I also like how the kids are used in this episode, which is definitely one of the best episodes of the season.

Vinny Argiro, who's a nameless Man here, would return twice as a character named Vinnie (that spelling).