ABC
April 27, 1994
Sitcom
DVD
B
Mark Driscoll's first of ten scripts for the series makes an interesting contrast with the Bob Newhart Show episode called "The Modernization of Emily" (http://reviewingeverytvshowiown.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-bob-newhart-show-modernization-of.html), from two decades earlier. Like Emily, Ellen is in her early 30s (32 in her case, vague in Emily's) and starting to feel no longer young. With Emily, it's meeting a grown-up former student, while here it's Ellen dating a man who turns out to be 24. Both women choose "hip" clothing to rejuvenate, but on BNS we just see Emily come in in the outfit, while here we get to go with Ellen on her shopping excursion. In both cases, I don't think the outfits are that bad, but I can see why the friends react negatively. The writing on BNS was sharper of course, but there are some good moments here, and it's cool to see Ellen do one of the things she'd become best known for on her talk show: be a dancin' fool. Also, the slang here, like "phat" and "stoopid," is now as delightfully dated as Emily's mid-'70s attempts.
Eve Brent, who was Ms. Clover on Who's the Boss?, at 64 plays the Lovely Old Woman. Daniel Edward Mora, who previously was a generic Deliveryman, here is the Water Delivery Man.
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