User Reviews

When you're a teenager, every situation is an emergency and in this case, it's a social emergency. Mary Jo shows herself to be a hands-on mother when her daughter Claudia tells her that the father of the black kid she wants to go to a dance with has forbidden it so Mary Jo calls him up to discuss the issue. John Dewey Carter is the father, an elegant professional man who turns out to be an old friend of Charlene's. His reasoning isn't racist but the worry about the affects it could have and of course concerned that his son could be hurt by reactions even though he wants to date Mary Jo.

Funny and kind and smart, Dewey Carter is one of the best single guests on the show because of his charm and intelligence, and when his character speaks his reasonings, they really make a lot of sense. Carter expresses that he's been hurt in the past and doesn't want his son to go through that, and you can in his point in spite of apparent hypocrisy.

This is one of the best exposes on the subject of racism of what it is and how it affects people deeper than surface hurt. It's Suzanne who utilizes the episode title, and we also learn that Julia was once arrested for marching in Selma on racial equality issues. The combination of humor with social significance really works in this episode, and you don't feel like you're being preached at.