User Reviews

Rosanna Arquette guest stars as Lori, a friend of Tommy's. They are friends, studying and doing homework together, no romance. She reveals that she is pregnant and that her boyfriend is long gone, only sending her a $300 check to help her "take care" of the problem. Lori is understandably upset and not sure what to do. She's afraid to tell her parents. In an effort to help his friend, Tommy proposes marriage and tells his father that the baby is his. Lori eventually tells Tom the truth that Tommy is not the father but just trying to help. She doesn't want to marry him but loves him for caring. It is a nice change seeing Tommy trying to be responsible and compassionate for a change. In previous episodes he's gotten in trouble for making a peep hole into the girls locker room, tried to scalp tickets for a living only to blow the profits on gambling. Lori tells her parents and decides to go to a special school for girls in her situation. Other plots lines are much lighter: Nicholas and Irving run a lemonade stand; David and Janet move in while their apartment is being fumigated.

So in this episode, the main plot as noted is a friend of Tommy's finds out she's pregnant; Rosanna Arquette, as Lori, is excellent in her role. There's absolutely no chemistry between them though; it seems simply more like friends, which is all they are; in fact, his wanting to marry her comes across kind of strange, as he never acts like he's in love with her - and in fact, he never says this, and also, they never even kiss! Not once. And it takes until 46 minutes into this show for them to say the required words of I love you.

She doesn't know what to do, her ex-boyfriend doesn't care - though he sends her money to get an abortion, which is one word never used in this - they use the word alternative, an alternative... Her acting is great though again there's no chemistry, it's like battle of the feathered hairdos or something watching them.

Subplot includes David and Janet finding they have roaches, and having to stay the night at the Bradfords while their place is fumigated, and Nicholas and his friend Irving trying to open up a lemonade stand, and dealing with these two little girls, one of whom goes to school with Nicholas, the other one her sister. They have their own lemonade stand.

And Dianne Kay - Nancy - goes away on a trip at the beginning of the show, so she's basically absent in this one.

This is really only worth seeing - once - if you're a huge Rosanna Arquette fan - she's young and pretty here, 19 going on 20 - or if you're a huge Eight Is Enough fan - I'm not the latter.

Not a very impressive episode, not horrible either but it's presented in such a manner as to not be offensive that it's not really an adult show, despite the issue here. And again, lack of chemistry is a real problem in this episode.

Rosanna's acting brings this up a tiny notch for me. I can't imagine seeing this again though.