User Reviews

On this fine day, Jill has to rush the boys to the doctor for their annual check-ups, leaving Tim alone with a scrumptious cream pie. By the time they got home, Tim had eaten the entire thing. For the most part, their appointment went just fine, except the doctor called for an additional blood test from Randy. Jill had told her how he'd been feeling kind of tired lately, and Tim had once seen him asleep on the couch at 4:00, but that was because he was watching Tool Time. It seems the doctor found something on Randy's neck, a mysterious swelling. There was a very slight chance that it could possibly be a malignant tumor, or it could be hyperthyroidism, or a goiter. The latter is what they were hoping for, because a goiter is really nothing. But now Tim and Jill had to endure the torture of waiting 24 hours for the blood test results. Jill was set to go to pieces, but Tim was her rock. They didn't dare tell the boys, especially Randy. However, I think he's going to figure out something is up because the next morning Jill cooks a big family breakfast...and then dumps it down the garbage disposal. That's when Randy walks in and sees all that good food go to waste. Jill and Tim decide to come clean and tell him about the doctor's findings, mentioning the possibility of a goiter or hyperthyroidism. They do their best to reassure him that everything will probably be fine, but they don't dare mention the Big C.

Deciding to keep his mind busy, Tim goes to work, but Al notices that he doesn't seem like himself, so he decides to pry and find out what's going on. When he persists, Tim lies and says he found out Jill was having an affair with the milkman. I guess maybe if he'd told Al the truth, he'd go all to pieces and probably try to baby Randy or fawn all over the Taylors or do something very awkward. Still, affair with the milkman, Tim?! At home, Jill is still a nervous wreck. Thankfully Wilson was there to talk to, and they both remember back when Randy was an infant and he had a terrible case of colic. In fact, it was under those circumstances that Tim and Wilson first met! It all happened one night in 1982, the Taylors had just moved in to their new home, and Tim was carrying a wailing baby Randy around the backyard. Wilson was up feeding his pet octopus, and the two are formally introduced. He gives Tim some special ginger root juice to treat the little man's colic. Just rubbing a little on his chest instantly stopped his crying. Tim thanks Wilson, who invites him to stop by any time, but Tim says he's the kind of guy who doesn't like sharing his feelings with other guys... and the rest is history. Back to the present, Randy doesn't come home from school and nobody had seen him. Thinking he knows where he is, Tim shoots down to the video arcade, where sure enough, there was Randy. It seems he did a little research about his condition at school and he found out that it has the possibility of being cancer. He was upset, and afraid, but his father took him into his arms and assured him everything was going to be okay. Back at home, Tim, Jill and Randy try to play a game of Scrabble while waiting for that blasted phone to ring. It does, eventually, except it's worry-wart Al checking on the status of Jill's relationship with the non-existent milkman! Then the phone rings again. This time, it's the doctor. They got the results of the test back. Randy DEFINITELY doesn't have breast... er, any cancer. 100% negative! That's the good news. The other news is that he does have hyperthyroidism, he only has to take a pill. That was a metric ton off of their shoulders. So happy and relieved, Jill thinks back to when Randy was a little baby, to a toddler Tim and Jill chased all over the house, to a spirited, cocky pre-teen, to the liberal-minded teen he is today. It truly was... a wonderful world.

I have to say this episode was well done. The acting was extraordinary, the writing, the directing, it was all very well put together. The scenes with baby Randy were adorable, and it's really the only time in the series where we see any of the boys as babies. So if you're looking for an episode to make you laugh, this one isn't going to do it. It's very dramatic, with a few moments of humor thrown in, but only when appropriate. They didn't go overboard with the sitcom-esq jokes, they played this out like real scenario. Tim, Pat and Jonathan all acted like a real family here, they brought all those feelings to life. The ending montage is serenaded with Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World", which is supposed to be a happy song, but it just sounds so SAD. I get emotional whenever I hear it. That and the clips of young Randy will definitely tug at your heart strings. Anyway, I do suggest giving The Longest Day a look. Again, well played out!