Remember the days before iPhones, Smart Phones, blackberries, or even cell phones? Before texting and tweeting people had to use what was known as a land-line phone, and when you had a teenager in the house, you can bet that line was tied up all day long. But what if you have THREE teenage boys? Then, there's bound to be some bloodshed. In the Taylor household, Randy and Mark are forced to wait impatiently while Brad gabbed away to his friends on the phone, divulging juicy teenage gossip. When he finally gets off the line, Jill attempts to set up a phone usage plan, which is no more confusing than a typical cell phone contract. After that, Tim heads over to Harry's to watch the hockey game, and you all remember what a picture-perfect marriage Harry and Deloris have. They start by bickering over who should bring Tim a beer. So the guest gets it himself, and he's even nice enough to answer a knock at the door. It's their son, Dennis. He's got himself a cushy job with a communications company, installing video phones. Remember those? They never quite caught on, mostly because they were choppy and distorted as hell. Oh well, we can't all live with The Jetsons. So Tim asks Dennis to install a second phone line in his house to possibly lessen the flow of traffic. Dennis even tries to sell Tim on a home automated system, but of course Jill says no. At home, when Tim tries to call Dennis about the line, the phone was being tied up by Mark. So Tim barks at his son over the phone, causing the enraged teen to come downstairs and chastise his father. The result was having his phone privileges taken away for three weeks.
Dennis comes over to install the Taylors' second phone line, when suddenly he was called away on another business call. Hours pass and he doesn't come back, which of course makes Tim decide to finish the work himself. Naturally, he cocks it up, so now the Taylors don't even have one phone line. Suddenly, the doorbell rings. It's Harry, come to bring Dennis his lunch. He's angered to find his son had walked off a job, leaving Tim Taylor alone with a hole in the wall of all things, and by the time Dennis finally gets back, Harry lambastes him for it, the two get into a heated argument, and Dennis bails. Harry follows, slamming the door so hard the intercom fell out of the wall too. With no phone, the Taylors manage to start talking to each other again, for a change. Tim and Jill discuss Harry's parenting and how Dennis handled the job. Tim feels both were to blame, and then Jill mentions how he handled the situation with Mark, taking the phone away for three weeks. She's sure that Tim and Mark are bound for a similar relationship to the one Harry has with his son. A talk with Wilson reassures Tim's worry, so he decided to go over to Harry's and try to reunite father and son, but first he and Mark make amends. After that, Tim shares a few words of wisdom with his pal, then Dennis calls on the video phone, he and Harry agree to start anew, and to thank Tim for taking it upon himself to fix their problems, Deloris glazes him a ham.
Again, those nostalgic for the days before cell phones and had to rely on the land-lines will definitely get a kick out of this episode. Also, going back to the video phones, I'm surprised those didn't really catch on. You'd think by now they would've improved the technology so such a thing would be more widely utilized. I guess most people still don't want to be seen while heard. I believe this was the first time Dennis was ever seen or mentioned on the show, and before that, I wasn't aware that Harry and Deloris had any kids. That means they would've had to have slept together at one point. Anything is possible, I guess. This episode has a lot of heart and it has a great message. I recommend it.
Dennis comes over to install the Taylors' second phone line, when suddenly he was called away on another business call. Hours pass and he doesn't come back, which of course makes Tim decide to finish the work himself. Naturally, he cocks it up, so now the Taylors don't even have one phone line. Suddenly, the doorbell rings. It's Harry, come to bring Dennis his lunch. He's angered to find his son had walked off a job, leaving Tim Taylor alone with a hole in the wall of all things, and by the time Dennis finally gets back, Harry lambastes him for it, the two get into a heated argument, and Dennis bails. Harry follows, slamming the door so hard the intercom fell out of the wall too. With no phone, the Taylors manage to start talking to each other again, for a change. Tim and Jill discuss Harry's parenting and how Dennis handled the job. Tim feels both were to blame, and then Jill mentions how he handled the situation with Mark, taking the phone away for three weeks. She's sure that Tim and Mark are bound for a similar relationship to the one Harry has with his son. A talk with Wilson reassures Tim's worry, so he decided to go over to Harry's and try to reunite father and son, but first he and Mark make amends. After that, Tim shares a few words of wisdom with his pal, then Dennis calls on the video phone, he and Harry agree to start anew, and to thank Tim for taking it upon himself to fix their problems, Deloris glazes him a ham.
Again, those nostalgic for the days before cell phones and had to rely on the land-lines will definitely get a kick out of this episode. Also, going back to the video phones, I'm surprised those didn't really catch on. You'd think by now they would've improved the technology so such a thing would be more widely utilized. I guess most people still don't want to be seen while heard. I believe this was the first time Dennis was ever seen or mentioned on the show, and before that, I wasn't aware that Harry and Deloris had any kids. That means they would've had to have slept together at one point. Anything is possible, I guess. This episode has a lot of heart and it has a great message. I recommend it.
