A typically solid, fast-paced episode with continuous, expertly written interplay between characters: the restaurant scene, Laura and Millie's big dialogue scene, the hilarious bit with Jerry Paris outside the sliding kitchen door while Rob and Laura frantically argue whether or not to let him in....all beautifully performed and directed (by Jerry).
But the final scene's resolution was actually a bit sobering, since it brings an unmistakable "real-life" element in to the relationship of Jerry and Millie. True, it's done with a lighthearted touch, and whereas the Petries are always arguing and dealing with their own "real-life" misunderstandings, I couldn't help feel that this show-- being produced a few months after the assassination of JFK, introduces an emotional "cloud" over the lives of our otherwise wacky, happy suburban neighbors...a cloud which would continue to accelerate in our increasingly permissive society as the '60's progressed, and which did indeed threaten and destroy many formerly contented and secure marriages. I actually felt sad at the end.
I remember this cultural phenomenon well (being 12 yrs old when this episode premiered). LR
But the final scene's resolution was actually a bit sobering, since it brings an unmistakable "real-life" element in to the relationship of Jerry and Millie. True, it's done with a lighthearted touch, and whereas the Petries are always arguing and dealing with their own "real-life" misunderstandings, I couldn't help feel that this show-- being produced a few months after the assassination of JFK, introduces an emotional "cloud" over the lives of our otherwise wacky, happy suburban neighbors...a cloud which would continue to accelerate in our increasingly permissive society as the '60's progressed, and which did indeed threaten and destroy many formerly contented and secure marriages. I actually felt sad at the end.
I remember this cultural phenomenon well (being 12 yrs old when this episode premiered). LR
