"Death Row: Part 2"November 23, 1982
D
Well. This episode.
This is simultaneously worse than Part 1 and capable of more entertainment than its predecessor. And Lenny and Squiggy are somehow the best and worst aspects of the episode.
In Nick LeRose's second of four L & S stories, Laverne and Sheba are now on Death Row and going to be executed at midnight of the following day. They aren't allowed last phone calls because "Smith and Jones" already had their phone calls. Luckily, sort of, Lenny and Squiggy like to visit women's prisons. (If I recall correctly, this was actually a hobby of theirs in at least one early episode.)
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Still, even when the guys are sitting at Cowboy Bill's, they hesitate, so of course Mr. DeFazio gets understandably violent with Squiggy when he finally finds out. He goes and gets a judge, who suggests running a match on the fingerprints. Laverne is released and (Lavmine shippers take note) carried from the car all the way up to her bedroom when she's sleepy. Why is she sleepy after almost dying? Who knows?
At least it makes more sense than her joining in the gospel number with the black priest and the black prisoners. Not that the song is "bad," I mean, it's well sung (except by Laverne and the monstrous Anne Ramsey, who was a nameless Lady in '79 and here plays Killer), but this isn't like the song at Frank & Edna's wedding, which worked surprisingly well. This musical number actually made me cringe more than Laverne teaching the other inmates the "Schlimiel! Schlimazel!" song and dance.
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| Screw Lavenny! Fourteen-year-old Rebio had a new ship! |
The episode ends with Lenny and Squiggy, who had raided Laverne's refrigerator and assumed she was dead even when Carmine carried her in, wondering what her still being alive will do to "the funeral."
No wonder I have much fonder memories of the Square Pegs episode that week, where Johnny's New Wave band, Open 24 Hours, debuted.
And here's what still honks me off about this episode: the show's gone to super great lengths to establish that the boys have moral standings and know when things are serious. It's been well established they know how to buckle down in those circumstances. Heck, when they thought Shirley was dead they went into mourning flat-out. No way would they at Like This with the prospect of Laverne dying on the horizon.
ReplyDeleteAnd the gospel number would have been funny in a surreal way but whew, with everything else thrown on top.
That mourning was played for laughs ("the Widow DeFazio") but their emotions were sincere. When Randy actually died, the boys' grief added to the impact of the news, that, no, Laverne, this time they're not kidding around. And it's not like character was sacrificed for any genuine humor on this episode. At its best, the humor on this series comes out of the characters.
DeleteBut, yes, I did laugh at the "Pole" line. And I did laugh in disbelief at some of the out-there moments in this two-parter. If this had all turned out to be Laverne's dream, it might've been palatable, but I think there's a big difference between something like "Death Row" and the outrageousness of "Perfidy in Blue," which is authentically funny and plays with the characterizations for a reason.
Exactly!
DeleteHeh, that's the line I laughed at too when I rewatched.
And they could've had that line and made Lenny tell Mr. DeFazio, despite Squiggy's doubts. Instead of sitting around waiting for their Coyote Sodies or whatever. Bad writing.
DeleteYEP. Like no way in hell would Lenny find the idea of a dead Laverne funny after eight years of heavy establishment that he'd literally get beaten into a pulp in her name.
DeleteSigh, yeah, him calling her a good kisser is not enough to redeem the betrayal of Lavenny in this episode.
DeleteThe best part about it is that we at least know they like each other's kisses - otherwise, oof yep.
DeleteWell, we probably could've guessed they like each other's kisses, but at least they're both on record as stating it.
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