Here's a riddle: what do you get when you cross a rusty patio chair with Tim and a blowtorch? A hot seat. Tim and Al were discussing methods of removing rust from patio furniture, and while Al preferred removing rust with salves, brushes and sanders, Tim decided to go with a hot air gun that acts as a flamethrower and burns a hole right through that sucker. Oh well, since he's halfway there, he can melt down the rest of the chair and make it into a fishing lure. At home, Tim and the boys are making adjustments on the hot rod when Jill drops the news that her sister Carrie is coming to town. She's excited, but Tim dreads this visit, and not just because Carrie is a bore, but because every time Jill's family visits, something goes wrong and she ends up taking it out on Tim, and that's documented evidence any fan of this show can tell you about. Fortunately, Tim won't have to be home on the day of her visit because he'd planned to help Marty and Nancy move into their new house. However, that soon went pear-shaped because Tim didn't trust the guy hired to re-finish their floors, so he got another guy to do it, and as a result, Marty and Nancy can't move in now for another couple days, which means all their stuff had to be transported to Tim and Jill's house. Almost immediately, Carrie shows up, announcing she can stay for a week. Being the world-class shutter-bug that she is, Carrie starts off taking pictures of the boys wearing the tacky exotic clothing she brought them, and then photographs Jill folding socks as she reveals the real reason for her visit: she's thinking of settling down and getting married, and she wants to study Tim and Jill's marriage before she decides to commit to one herself. Well, one thing lead to another, Carrie had some veiled accusations about Jill, and the two sisters commenced to bickering.
When Jill tells Tim about the big disagreement with her sister, Tim tries to be supportive and agree with her knocks against Carrie, which Jill then tells him not to do, so he retracts and builds Carrie up, which Jill doesn't want him to do either. Bitch. So she goes outside to talk to Wilson, and for the first time ever, Wilson's fence garners a line when Tim comes out after Jill, also wanting to talk to their neighbor. But Jill got there first. Wilson encourages her to maintain a strong relationship with her sister lest they both go astray. The aspect of how sisters fighting differs from brothers fighting nags on Tim's mind so much that he talks about it right on Tool Time. He thinks that when brothers fight, resorting to fisticuffs is the best way to resolve a problem. Al disagrees, saying he and his brother, Cal, never got physical and always resolved their differences over a cup of tea. And as luck would have it, Al invited Cal to the show and, well, the best way to describe him is to picture a chubbier version of Al. The Borland brothers boast about their tea strategy again, only now, all of a sudden, they argue over which kinds of tea they drink. And speaking of brothers and bickering, it seems Tim and Marty have cooled down their fight over the floor mishap, and Tim delights in playing with the babies' toys. Now there was only one sibling rivalry left to quell: Jill and Carrie's. The latter announced a late-breaking assignment and said she had to leave, but Jill asks her to stay and the two girls start to work out their differences. It seems Carrie's life of a traveling photographer isn't all fun and games, always having to live out of her suit cases and always wondering what time zone she's in. And it turns out that while Jill secretly envied Carrie and her career, Carrie secretly felt the same way about Jill. They make amends and all is well in Patterson town again. We end on a humorous montage of this episode's three sets of siblings: Al and Cal, Jill and Carrie, and Tim and Marty fighting. However, once the Borlands have some tea, they make up, as do Jill and Carrie, while Tim continues to hold Marty in a headlock. Some grow up faster than others.
The moral of our story is to always keep communication open between siblings. That seemed to be the common problem that caused everybody to fight here: Jill and Carrie over misunderstandings about their life choices, Al and Cal over tea, and Tim and Marty over the floor finishing. Jill's sister Carrie has a few more solo appearances in the series, including a brief appearance in Jill's surprise party episode next season, and in Season 8 where she and Tim's brother Jeff seem to be having a secret fling. Al's brother Cal appears again next season, and twice more in Season 8. Great casting choice there too, because he really does look like Richard Karn. Incidentally, his real life wife played Carrie, so this episode about families included family members. If you can relate to Tim, Jill and Al, or their siblings and realize none of you are very easy to live with, then this episode is for you. And if you're lucky enough to have been an only-child, like myself, you'll still get a kick out of it.
When Jill tells Tim about the big disagreement with her sister, Tim tries to be supportive and agree with her knocks against Carrie, which Jill then tells him not to do, so he retracts and builds Carrie up, which Jill doesn't want him to do either. Bitch. So she goes outside to talk to Wilson, and for the first time ever, Wilson's fence garners a line when Tim comes out after Jill, also wanting to talk to their neighbor. But Jill got there first. Wilson encourages her to maintain a strong relationship with her sister lest they both go astray. The aspect of how sisters fighting differs from brothers fighting nags on Tim's mind so much that he talks about it right on Tool Time. He thinks that when brothers fight, resorting to fisticuffs is the best way to resolve a problem. Al disagrees, saying he and his brother, Cal, never got physical and always resolved their differences over a cup of tea. And as luck would have it, Al invited Cal to the show and, well, the best way to describe him is to picture a chubbier version of Al. The Borland brothers boast about their tea strategy again, only now, all of a sudden, they argue over which kinds of tea they drink. And speaking of brothers and bickering, it seems Tim and Marty have cooled down their fight over the floor mishap, and Tim delights in playing with the babies' toys. Now there was only one sibling rivalry left to quell: Jill and Carrie's. The latter announced a late-breaking assignment and said she had to leave, but Jill asks her to stay and the two girls start to work out their differences. It seems Carrie's life of a traveling photographer isn't all fun and games, always having to live out of her suit cases and always wondering what time zone she's in. And it turns out that while Jill secretly envied Carrie and her career, Carrie secretly felt the same way about Jill. They make amends and all is well in Patterson town again. We end on a humorous montage of this episode's three sets of siblings: Al and Cal, Jill and Carrie, and Tim and Marty fighting. However, once the Borlands have some tea, they make up, as do Jill and Carrie, while Tim continues to hold Marty in a headlock. Some grow up faster than others.
The moral of our story is to always keep communication open between siblings. That seemed to be the common problem that caused everybody to fight here: Jill and Carrie over misunderstandings about their life choices, Al and Cal over tea, and Tim and Marty over the floor finishing. Jill's sister Carrie has a few more solo appearances in the series, including a brief appearance in Jill's surprise party episode next season, and in Season 8 where she and Tim's brother Jeff seem to be having a secret fling. Al's brother Cal appears again next season, and twice more in Season 8. Great casting choice there too, because he really does look like Richard Karn. Incidentally, his real life wife played Carrie, so this episode about families included family members. If you can relate to Tim, Jill and Al, or their siblings and realize none of you are very easy to live with, then this episode is for you. And if you're lucky enough to have been an only-child, like myself, you'll still get a kick out of it.
