Once the show hit its stride, all of the episodes generated their shares of untrammeled laughter and by the third season, things were swinging along easily. It's almost impossible to imagine how the writers could so consistently have come up with absurd situations and barbed exchanges. Neil Simon's joints would have creaked with the effort.
In this story, Al discovers a book, The Little Engine That Could, that he forgot to return to the local library in 1957. The others urge him to do the right thing and bring it back but he's haunted by memories of the fat old librarian, Mrs. De Groot. (The name alone suggests everything we need to know about her!) He has a flashback to one of his encounters with her as a child. He approaches the desk and she sneers down at him and say, "Ahh. Al Bundy -- the Devil Boy." She curses him and promises he'll be a loser all his life.
Thinking she must have retired or passed on by now, Al visits the library intending to turn in the book, only to find that Mrs. De Groot has waited for him all these years. Her desire to humiliate him further has held her together. He owes several thousands of dollars because the book is overdue.
Mrs. De Groot is played perfectly and Al's lines are among his best. She observes that he has become the loser she always predicted he would and Al replies haughtily, "Okay, I'm a shoe salesman. I get up in the morning and already hate myself. I drive to work with hundreds of other drudges and make no money. I don't like my family and they don't respect me. My life has been a complete waste. But, Mrs. De Groot, I'll tell you something. I've never put a gun in my mouth -- and that makes me a WINNER." One of the better entries in the series.
In this story, Al discovers a book, The Little Engine That Could, that he forgot to return to the local library in 1957. The others urge him to do the right thing and bring it back but he's haunted by memories of the fat old librarian, Mrs. De Groot. (The name alone suggests everything we need to know about her!) He has a flashback to one of his encounters with her as a child. He approaches the desk and she sneers down at him and say, "Ahh. Al Bundy -- the Devil Boy." She curses him and promises he'll be a loser all his life.
Thinking she must have retired or passed on by now, Al visits the library intending to turn in the book, only to find that Mrs. De Groot has waited for him all these years. Her desire to humiliate him further has held her together. He owes several thousands of dollars because the book is overdue.
Mrs. De Groot is played perfectly and Al's lines are among his best. She observes that he has become the loser she always predicted he would and Al replies haughtily, "Okay, I'm a shoe salesman. I get up in the morning and already hate myself. I drive to work with hundreds of other drudges and make no money. I don't like my family and they don't respect me. My life has been a complete waste. But, Mrs. De Groot, I'll tell you something. I've never put a gun in my mouth -- and that makes me a WINNER." One of the better entries in the series.
