"You've Pushed Me Too Far"

"You've Pushed Me Too Far"
October 25, 1979
B

In this Jeff Franklin story, Squiggy literally and figuratively pushes Lenny too far, out their third-story window in fact.  It's a bit like "Hi Neighbor,"* in that the girls have to resolve things (and Jeffrey the Stuffed Iguana returns), but it plays out differently because the characters and the show are in a different place than in Season One.

The episode opens with the girls in exercise outfits to watch an exercise show.  When they go upstairs, the boys are distracted from their fight long enough to lust after the girls and, yes, it's Squiggy ogling Shirley while Lenny bites his hand over Laverne.  But after Lenny's injury, we see different pairings.  Lenny tests Shirley's patience and love of nursing by ordering strange food (e.g. Bosco in his BLT) and requesting a sponge bath.  She reluctantly agrees to bathe the foot of his broken leg, although it turns out that Lenny's "pleasure center" is on his sole.  (McKean basically mimes an orgasm with his expressive face, and that got past the ABC censors somehow.)

McKean also shows more anger on the show since when Lenny was mad at Squiggy on "The Slow Child," although here it is longer and more personal.  He doesn't want "Squiggman" to come home, so Laverne suggests he go tell Squiggy that.  Squiggy is staying at the oft-mentioned but never before seen wax museum his Uncle Elliot owns.  Laverne is the one to encourage Squiggy to at least apologize after treating Lenny like dirt if he can't stop treating him like dirt.  I like that her plain-speaking gets through to Squiggy in a way that Shirley's sweetness couldn't, just like she probably would've either flat-out told Lenny no to his requests or performed them without Shirley's squeamishness.

Both girls are touched by the boys making up but tease them about it.  So in return, when the lights go out, the boys chain the girls up in the Horror Room.  I guess they figured out another way to get home, or maybe they came back after getting a laugh on the girls.


*At one point, Lenny refers to his Lone Wolf jacket, so I think this is meant to be a callback to "Hi, Neighbor."