by Roger Reini (rreini@wwnet.com)

This episode was a little unusual;it took me a couple of viewings to fully appreciate it.

Short bits: we saw Mrs. Noh withher granddaughter at the baseball game (she's a better grandmother than mother); we had Ruby discussing child rearing (she thinks she did OK with her Buddy and Desiree); we learned that Birdie's son will be getting notone but two guns for his 8th birthday; we saw HRH meeting Mother Teresaand reminiscing about her childhood visit to India; we learned why Chicand his brother have had trouble bringing their mother over from theirhomeland; and we heard Trevor tell us about his unwanted encounter withthe mother of a school friend.

Longer sketches: Janie Pillsworth,who is embarrassed by her mother, dreams that she becomes her mother andis treated just as shabbily by her children as she treats Mother; Rubymeets her great-granddaughter -- who happens to be black; and Harry andFern become grandparents for the first time. This episode marks the debutof George Segal as Harry; Michael Tucker must have been unavailable. Butdon't worry, for George's Harry is just as good as Michael's.

Jokes and gags: there were quitea few, especially when Fern is criticizing her daughter's choices in birthmethods. Too many to write down, in fact. Mrs. Noh referred to her daughter as living in Silicone Valley (that's "Silicone", not "Silicon"). And you can't help but laugh in disbelief at a woman who'll allow her son to own two guns but thinks that a minibike is too dangerous for him. There weren't that many ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing) jokes this time.

As I said earlier, it took me two viewings to get a truer appreciation of the episode. The first viewing was at the time of the original broadcast, Sunday night / Monday morning at midnight (shame on HBO for airing it so late and screwing up my sleep). The opening struck me as being rather mean (for details, consult my 2nd season guide/review). But when I watched it again the next afternoon, it didn't seem that bad. Must have been in a better mood the second time.

I give this episode 3 stars.

NEXT WEEK: Las Vegas! This oughtabe good.

01/18/97- Roger reviews "Tracey Takes On...": SEX