Friday, August 2, 2013

"Mr. Belvedere" Season 4, Episode 4. My Take


Youtube tells us that this episode is titled "Martha's Job." Wikipedia tells us that Mom (a vision in khaki, above) actually goes by the name of Marsha. Go figure! Anyway, this episode is ostensibly about Marsha getting a job as a lawyer, but as a fat man I am far more interested in the the real meat of the story: Mr. Belvedere goes on a diet!! 


We open on Mr. Belvedere being berated yet again by the youngest Owens, Wesley. It seems Mr. B has eaten the last cupcake. Then we learn that Mr. B's always doing stuff like this- then to prove a point- Mr. B eats all the leftover pizza that everyone in the house wanted for breakfast. This prompts a showdown in which Mr. B vows to lose weight or die trying. But that's not all . . . 



In clear contempt of Mr. Belvedere's hunger pains, Wesley and Dad play checkers with Oreos and chocolate chip cookies. 


The boys are trying to help Mr. B exercise- in possibly the only way it would work for Cliff and Kendall- by running ahead of him and dangling a donut from a fishing pole. 


He tried! Lordy knows he sure did try. 


No wonder Mr. Belvedere is so fat- look at all the little pans (between the brothers) he uses to bake up batch after batch of tiny cakes and tarts! 


Is this jumpsuit on ebay??? I am in need of a size XXXL black jumpsuit with red stitching that reads 'I BRAKE FOR PASTRY.' Mr. Belvedere: Fashion Plate!


In the soul-crushingly dramatic other storyline, Marsha has been hired as a lawyer only for her looks! A partner really wanted her to get inside his briefs. The only upside to this plot is we see that this episode inspired the "nice beaver" scene in "The Naked Gun." 


Attn: "Naked Gun" producers- someone finally got your "Mr. Belvedere" scene parody! Too bad Leslie Nielsen couldn't have lived to see the day. I loved that man!


Then: Fatty Magoo (middle, above) learns the only thing I know for sure: It's not impossible, but it's at least harder, to be really fat when there is NO FOOD in the house! Check out what he's done to the Owens' cupboards! Emptier than . . . the tomb when the stone was rolled away on Easter morning?


Lucky for Mr. B, in a complete about-face the Owens family decides they love Mr. Belvedere just as he is (morbidly obese- I know the feeling). They don't mind him being fat, so long as they can still make jokes about it. Above Mr. B is standing on the faulty talking scale that his employers bought him. It claims he weighs only 173 lbs! This proves that scale technology was still in the dark ages in 1987. Is that scale on ebay!?!? 


Final Fun Fact: Take a moment to reflect on the fact that shorts were SHORT 26 years ago! 

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