Let's resume our look at famous sitcom scenes. Last time I said that the scene from Fresh Prince was so famous, I'd bet even people who never watched the show had heard of it. Well, today we have another scene from a different show which I'd wager is just as well known. Today let's talk about...
This is "Second Chance" from season 4. Aired April 12,1989. Oh yeah, we're doing this one! This scene works on several levels but let's discuss it.
Synopsis: After disobeying her parents by sneaking out with her befriend, Carol is devastated when she discovers he had been a car accident while driving drunk.
Context: We've actually met Sandy a few times as this episode begins but despite that Jason and Maggie refuse to let her go out with him so late. She sneaks out anyway and they got to a bar. The next day, Carol had been forgiven from going to a family function to see Sandy instead. But the family arrives to find Carol apparently stood up. Mike and Ben have some fun at her expense until a phone call comes in reporting that the night before Sandy had been in a car accident and was badly hurt. At the hospital, Carol visits Sandy who is banged up but in good spirits. Carol suggests that he was lucky and now has a second chance. After she confesses to her parents that she was with him and nearly was in the accident. They're upset but restrain their anger. After a silly gag involving a banana, the Seavers decide to home and return the next day. But when they get home....
The Scene: The three walks in joking about how Carol can visit Sandy after his parents have finished yelling at him. That's when Mike walks in, clearly upset about something. He has bad news, that a call just came in saying Sandy just died. In shock, Carol accuses Mike of playing a cruel joke but of course he is not. She breaks down crying, saying it's not fair. Mike explains that Sandy had been internally hemorrhaging the whole time. Carol cries about his second chance, as the family embrace and the episode ends.
Conclusion: A message on the screen saying how many people had died from drunk driving just during the short time the episode was on. There is another follow up, but I'll discuss that in a moment.
Thoughts:As I said before just typing the description there is no way to convey the amazing weight of that scene. The acting is perfect especially Tracy Gold. She really could act; I'm surprised her acting career didn't go back Lifetime movies. That being said the other are great too, Joana Kerms, Alan Thicke and Kirk Cameron are very good here. I love how hard it is for Mike to have to tell his sister what he has to tell her, nice acting there from Cameron. So here are the reasons the scene works. First, the acting as I said. Second, we met Sandy one or two times before this episode so it avoids the sitcom cliche of expecting us to care about a character we never met (Family Ties anyone?) and makes the loss more poignant. Third, the foreshadowing. Earlier in the kitchen scene Mike is teasing Carol until the phone call. Once he hears the word hospital, he knows that fun time is over, and knocks it off. Without even being told to. Thus, when he comes out of the kitchen later, we know he isn't kidding around. Yes Carol accuses him, but she is in shock and denial so that's forgivable. Fourth, of course, this scene has a little more weight than it did simply because it was Matthew Perry playing Sandy. RIP Mathew Perry. And finally, I gotta give the show credit. Unlike most shows of the era this wasn't just forgotten, it would be followed up on. The next year we find out Carol has not been dating and when Jason and Maggie confront her, she again falls apart asking when the pain will ever go away. Very well handled.
Nitpicks:Ben is oddly absent in that scene which always made me wonder, why? Did they think Ben would ruin the moment? Or that Jeremy Miller wasn't able to act the way the scene demanded? Strange that he was standing in the audience watching this powerful moment. The other gripe is the obvious laugh before the scene, taking a cue from Shakespear when he was do a light silly moment to offset the tragedy to come. But you can argue it also hurt that drama a bit. It'd be like in the Fresh Prince scene they had a Carlton gag between Will's father telling Phil he was leaving and the moment he actually dud. It would have hurt the final product. It doesn’t help that the gag is 1000% forced!
Conclusion: The scene is famous for a reason, Tracy Gold knocks it out of the park and I give it a lot of credit coming from Growing Pains of all shows. This was show that never really took itself seriously, so this was quite the departure.
Next time, that OTHER Punky famous scene!
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