"Bus Stop"

"Bus Stop"
February 14, 1978
B+

I found this Barry-Rubinowitz-written episode delightful, from Harry Shearer as Interviewer asking Laverne and his future fellow Spinal-Tapper Christopher Guest about whether they prefer Kennedy or Nixon, to the other Spinal-Tapper, McKean, contributing the song "Milwaukee Moon" that the regulars sing in the tag.  It's a hot couple days, possibly shortly after the famous Nixon-Kennedy television debate, on Sept. 26, 1960.  (And, yes, we just had St. Patrick's Day three episodes ago, but no one ever said these all happen in order.) The girls appear on a pre-recorded person-on-the-street interview, and two cute medical students prefer Nixon, while the girls prefer Kennedy.  That right there is a tip-off that the young men are not the Mr. Rights that Shirley will later daydream of.

(Lenny somehow has never heard of Kennedy, while Squiggy says that Nixon reminds him of his dad, which is disturbing on several levels in the post-Watergate era, especially since Squiggy's father is dead.)

The med school guys invite Laverne and Shirley to visit them in Oshkosh, which, in a line that made me laugh out loud, Shirley says, is "everything she imagined," even though all they see of it is the bus station.  She thinks that if they act classy, they can marry future doctors, but the Nixon fans are only interested in a little vo-dee-oh-doe.  (I think there's an implication that this is partly an economic class thing, that the med students would only want working-class girls for one thing, although I might just be reading that into the show.)  Laverne is tempted but listens to Shirley, so the guys sneak out and abandon them in Oshkosh with only bus fare home, not enough to stay in a hotel.

There's some good physical comedy, as when Laverne realizes that the Station Master (actor-writer Carl Gottleib) is not just benevolently offering hotel money, and Marshall has to react to Williams's innocence.  But there's also something poignant in Shirley trying not to be such a dreamer and Laverne telling her to keep dreaming for both of them.  This is one of the episodes that really spotlights their bond and their differences.

Laverne leaves a message with "Mary the waitress," whom we've seen on several episodes and who has been referred to, although she is definitely a background character.  Mr. DeFazio gives Lenny and Squiggy $25 to go get Laverne and Shirley in their truck.  The guys decide to wake the two "Sleeping Beauties" with kisses, but the twist here is that Squiggy kisses Laverne, and Lenny kisses Shirley!  So this is definitely not a show with fixed ships.  (And I sort of ship Carmine/Edna-- Edmine? Carna?-- at least when they dance, as they do during "Milwaukee Moon.")

For once, Peter Elbling doesn't play a character with a foreign accent on the show, since he has no lines as the Bum.

McKean singing "Milwaukee Moon" solo in 2016:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1a0gIoLYMA