It's hard having to share a room with a younger sibling. Of course, I don't know since I was an only child, but from what I've heard, it can be a pain. And Randy Taylor's case is no exception, having to live with Mark putting his dirty clothes in with his, and accidentally using his history research paper to line the hamster cage. Also, he can't sleep at night because Mark keeps him up snoring, so he goes in to interrupt Tim and Jill's "playtime" to tell them he wants his own room. Jill uses the old "we'll talk about it in the morning" trick, which Randy doesn't fall for. As for Tim, the old wheels are starting to turn, and he hits upon a brilliant solution: convert the basement into a bedroom. Even do a Tool Time remote for the heck of it. Jill actually agrees to it, also saying that putting Randy and Mark together in the first place was a bad idea. Tim and Al get to work right away, and shooting is interrupted by Brad saying he's the one who should get the basement room, and then he and Randy argue, and accidentally throw a Nerf ball at Al. So after a few days of building, and Tim messing up here and there, the room was finally finished! It was every boy's dream room. And to top it all off, it has a reverse laundry chute, which Tim demonstrates using a pair of Al's flannel underwear. They shoot right up the chute and hit Jill in the face. I'll bet she was surprised.
Throughout all of this, Jill has been feeling very reluctant about letting her little bitty boy sleep deep down in that cold, dark basement all alone, as her constantly going down to check on him clearly shows. Finally, it's time for his first night in his new room, and unfortunately, Randy doesn't sleep so well. See, the thing about basements is that's where all the pipes are, which run the things upstairs: plumbing, heating, etc., and every time they're used, the sounds from the pipes echo throughout the basement... though again, I don't know since I didn't have a basement, but regardless, Randy is terrified at the constant clicking, wheezing, creaking and clanking of pipes, so he bails and sleeps on the couch upstairs. Early morning, he stuffs his pillow in the microwave so nobody will be any the wiser. Randy then offers to trade rooms with Brad, but he's not having it. Jill discovers the pillow and knows her suspicions were correct: Randy is scared to sleep down in the basement alone, and decides maybe she could sleep down there with him a few nights, which Tim vetoes, citing it will give him a whole new set of problems. Next night, while Tim is talking to Wilson, they catch Randy coming up to sleep on the couch again. Wilson deduces the boy was too proud to admit his fears to his father, which is why he got so defensive when he was asked, however, Tim decided to confront the problem head-on. He admits to Randy that he got scared as a child himself, and tells him a story about his grandparents' attic, and how it was a proverbial house of horrors at night. He goes over all the typical, and in some cases atypical basement sounds, so now Randy has no problems sleeping in the basement, but the same can't be said for Tim.
Randy's basement bedroom is born, and perhaps the creepy sounds may remind some viewers of the furnace in Home Alone. Maybe all Randy needed to do was to tell the pipes to shut up. No, maybe not. Anyway, great episode. It's funny, has a good message, very well acted and staged. If you can relate to Randy's plight about being the middle child forced to share a room and you pine for your own, or even if you're not and you don't, it's still a fun episode to check out.
Throughout all of this, Jill has been feeling very reluctant about letting her little bitty boy sleep deep down in that cold, dark basement all alone, as her constantly going down to check on him clearly shows. Finally, it's time for his first night in his new room, and unfortunately, Randy doesn't sleep so well. See, the thing about basements is that's where all the pipes are, which run the things upstairs: plumbing, heating, etc., and every time they're used, the sounds from the pipes echo throughout the basement... though again, I don't know since I didn't have a basement, but regardless, Randy is terrified at the constant clicking, wheezing, creaking and clanking of pipes, so he bails and sleeps on the couch upstairs. Early morning, he stuffs his pillow in the microwave so nobody will be any the wiser. Randy then offers to trade rooms with Brad, but he's not having it. Jill discovers the pillow and knows her suspicions were correct: Randy is scared to sleep down in the basement alone, and decides maybe she could sleep down there with him a few nights, which Tim vetoes, citing it will give him a whole new set of problems. Next night, while Tim is talking to Wilson, they catch Randy coming up to sleep on the couch again. Wilson deduces the boy was too proud to admit his fears to his father, which is why he got so defensive when he was asked, however, Tim decided to confront the problem head-on. He admits to Randy that he got scared as a child himself, and tells him a story about his grandparents' attic, and how it was a proverbial house of horrors at night. He goes over all the typical, and in some cases atypical basement sounds, so now Randy has no problems sleeping in the basement, but the same can't be said for Tim.
Randy's basement bedroom is born, and perhaps the creepy sounds may remind some viewers of the furnace in Home Alone. Maybe all Randy needed to do was to tell the pipes to shut up. No, maybe not. Anyway, great episode. It's funny, has a good message, very well acted and staged. If you can relate to Randy's plight about being the middle child forced to share a room and you pine for your own, or even if you're not and you don't, it's still a fun episode to check out.
