"It's a Living" The One About the Tattooed Lady (TV Episode 1988) Poster

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10/10
Funniest episode ever!!
rwbjerke-984-14265825 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This episode (in my honest opinion) is the funniest episode of the entire series run. You can clearly see Nancy (the maitre d', and I dare say that the late and great Marian Mercer was perfect for that role) being shocked and dismayed to discover that her long-lost cousin Grace (who was visiting the restaurant) is a very heavily tattooed lady. The pompous and wise-cracking Sonny Mann (portrayed hilariously by Paul Kreppel, and I wonder if he REALLY did play the piano, because I'm a pianist myself and could tell many times that he wasn't actually playing, especially in one episode when he wears a boxing glove on his right hand) began to perform the ever-timeless Groucho Marx classic "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady." And of course, Nancy was quick to put the kibosh on his contemptible performance by marching straight over to the piano and slamming the piano key cover on his hands. The resulting discordant noise was priceless, as well as Nancy threatening Sonny through clenched teeth that she was going to tell Frank Sinatra where he lives (remember at the beginning of the episode that Sonny had a confrontational incident with Sinatra earlier).

I do know that the piano key cover being slammed on Sonny's hands was a running gag in a lot of "It's a Living" episodes, but the incident in this episode was the best. I have the episode recorded on my DVR thanks to my cable servicer and the Antenna TV channel, and I crack up every time I watch the scene when Nancy slams the piano key cover on Sonny's hands. Love it!! 😊
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9/10
Best Episode of the Sheryl Lee Ralph Era
kgraovac17 November 2023
Nancy prepares for a visit from her snooty cousin; a late customer's ashes are brought into Above the Top for a celebration of life; Sonny accidentally flips off Frank Sinatra in a fit of road rage.

This is one of the best episodes of the syndicated era and certainly one of the best we've had since Season 3. The show should have utilized outside writers more often because the script is very original and everything clicks here. Even though there are essentially four sub-plots, the episode is well-paced, the writing is sharp and every joke lands.

Nancy's "I'm calling Sinatra and telling him where you live" line to Sonny is priceless. Even Howard's "This I gotta see", in regards to the tattooed lady is better than it deserves to be. When Grace says, "You're a true Beebe", the fact that the irony is totally lost on Nancy is delicious.

Jan counseling Nancy then breaking into a laughing fit was good and Dot's line "so much for the French Riviera" was a nice reference to the theme song.

When Mr. Peterson realizes he's at the wrong restaurant, he asks if there's a "Cassie" working there. That was a nice wink to the audience referencing the departed Ann Jillian's character.

This is my favorite episode of the Sheryl Lee Ralph era.
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