"The Dentist"

"The Dentist"
February 7, 1978
B-

The title character in this Babaloo Mandel story is Shirley's cousin, Mikey Feeney (I assume the twin of Mickey, mentioned on other episodes), an aspiring dentist who Shirley wants to fix Laverne's broken tooth.  Shirley is of course proud of almost having a doctor in the family, and we find out that the Feeneys are "late bloomers."  (Shirley in a swimsuit at 15 looked 8.)

There are some funny bits, like the girls' laughing-gas-induced shootout and of course the stuff with Lenny and Squiggy wanting to play dentist with Laverne.  And it is, in that twisted Lenny way, pretty shippy that he's going to "sacrifice" one of his baby teeth for Laverne, with Squiggy exclaiming, "He loved those baby teeth!  As if they was his own!"  (Does Lenny collect teeth, like Squiggy collects moths?  As with the unseen Jello-skating in their apartment, perhaps it's better not to ask.)

Strangely, not only the actor playing Mikey but the one for the older doctor are uncredited, both on the episode and at IMDB.  Perhaps they were screenwriters for the show, or had other reasons for being uncredited.  Not only is Foster absent, but there are lines about Mr. DeFazio being out of town.