After being threatened with a possible raise in rent, the roommates reluctantly go to work in Mr. Ropers' garden. After some slapstick mishaps (including one of those classic "step on the rake and get whacked with the handle" gags), some plants are removed and end up being used for a floral arrangement that Helen has put together. Then Larry frightens Jack & Chrissy into thinking that this plant is actually cannabis, and she phones Helen in a panic, trying to warn her.
The witty and hilarious dialogue just flows constantly back and forth in this particularly good script by show-runners Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, and Bernard West. The Ropers, of course, are always sniping at each other, with Norman Fell getting to do yet another of his "turn to the camera and grin like crazy" routines. The bits in the way overgrown garden are priceless; this viewer found it particularly delicious the way that the insects pestering the roommates apparently *love* the insect repellent the kids brought along. But the best bit involves the panicked Jack & Chrissy visit a police station to ask for some advice; they're nervous enough as it is, but of course she has to point out to the desk sergeant (David Tress, "Missing in Action") that Jack has been drinking some of Stanley's homemade beer. One hysterical bit of business has a distraught Helen whacking Stanley (after he thinks he's saved the day by ruining her arrangement) just as a photographer snaps a picture.
This viewers' favorite quote from the episode, by far:
Jack (referring to the garden being more than a "little" overgrown): "Chrissy, there are pockets of Japanese in there who don't know that the war is over."
Eight out of 10.
The witty and hilarious dialogue just flows constantly back and forth in this particularly good script by show-runners Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, and Bernard West. The Ropers, of course, are always sniping at each other, with Norman Fell getting to do yet another of his "turn to the camera and grin like crazy" routines. The bits in the way overgrown garden are priceless; this viewer found it particularly delicious the way that the insects pestering the roommates apparently *love* the insect repellent the kids brought along. But the best bit involves the panicked Jack & Chrissy visit a police station to ask for some advice; they're nervous enough as it is, but of course she has to point out to the desk sergeant (David Tress, "Missing in Action") that Jack has been drinking some of Stanley's homemade beer. One hysterical bit of business has a distraught Helen whacking Stanley (after he thinks he's saved the day by ruining her arrangement) just as a photographer snaps a picture.
This viewers' favorite quote from the episode, by far:
Jack (referring to the garden being more than a "little" overgrown): "Chrissy, there are pockets of Japanese in there who don't know that the war is over."
Eight out of 10.
