"What Do You Do with a Drunken Sailor?"

"What Do You Do with a Drunken Sailor?"
October 18, 1979
B-

Bobby Feeney returns in this Very Special Episode written by Chris Thompson and Gary H. Miller (the only L & S script by Miller).  It's a nice touch having Shirley's favorite brother, and the only one we've "met," as well as someone that Laverne is fond of, be the one who is alcoholic, so that the message is more meaningful.  (And knowing that Cindy Williams's father was an alcoholic adds to the poignancy of Shirley saying that "Daddy" was an alcoholic, too.)  I'm just not sure how well the sword-fighting and Lenny and Squiggy's silly costumes fit in with that.  Note that Mrs. Babish gives serious advice for the first time in awhile, since her third husband George had a drinking problem.  We also see the return of Shirley's "Dear Diary" in the tag, and even Laverne singing "Rubber Tree Plant" to encourage Shirley, who doesn't think it's applicable in this situation.

Confusingly Lynne Marie Stewart does in fact play Barbara Tedesco here, but she was definitely a different Barbara in "Hi Neighbor, Book 2," no matter what IMDB says.  She's an ex-classmate here but would be a different ex-classmate in her next, and final, L & S role three years later.