I just saw this episode on DVD, probably for first time.
It begins with Alex and Donna leaving the house for a flight to New York for a medical convention where Alex is one of many doctors to deliver a short speech.
There is a long scene on the airplane where Donna is too excited to sleep, and thus prevents Alex from sleeping on this overnight flight--times are not mentioned. Alex learns that Donna was so excited about his speech--more so than he is--and so busy preparing for the trip that she hasn't slept at all for over a day. He gets up and gets the stewardess (that's what they were called then) and gets her to heat up some milk into which he slips a couple of sleeping pills for Donna. He returns and drifts off to sleep quickly. Not knowing about the pills in her milk, Donna takes the bottle out of Alex's pocket and decides to take the pills she refused moments ago.
So she is extremely sleepy even after they check into the hotel. Then they learn that Alex is speaking an hour earlier than they figured because they forgot about the time change.
At the convention, Alex starts to speak but Donna, seated on stage, cannot keep from drifting off to sleep, so Alex abandons his speech to take care of his sleepy wife. Later, he is not too concerned, figuring their lives back in Hilldale will go on like always and they have each other and their kids, and all.
Meanwhile, Donna accidentally gets into another embarrassing predicament when the hotel door locks her out while in her robe. Naturally, the doctor who Alex knows is next door and she gets into a scene in his room, again by accident, further embarrassing Donna.
Being the star of the show, Donna figures a way to explain how innocently things can happen to the doctor, and in doing this, she finds a way for Alex to get to deliver his speech after all.
What I liked was how they demonstrated how Donna was so excited for Alex because he was delivering a speech at a big convention. Then Alex had no qualms about abandoning the speech to take care of Donna. Finally, Donna just couldn't let it rest and worked to get Alex his second chance.
I couldn't help but think of how any of the Seinfeld characters, if they were making a big speech and their friend fell asleep on the stage, would, at most, arrange for them to be taken off stage, to sleep on the floor, while they continued their speech. Of course, none of them would be losing any sleep over another getting to make a big speech in the first place.
The funniest scenes were the ones I didn't really describe, because they only are funny in context. I think this episode is typical for the series--funny, not hilarious, with nobody really doing anything crazy or dumb. Donna didn't have all sorts of wild schemes and her family was about as normal as any TV family in history in the ways they interacted throughout the series. A good episode.
It begins with Alex and Donna leaving the house for a flight to New York for a medical convention where Alex is one of many doctors to deliver a short speech.
There is a long scene on the airplane where Donna is too excited to sleep, and thus prevents Alex from sleeping on this overnight flight--times are not mentioned. Alex learns that Donna was so excited about his speech--more so than he is--and so busy preparing for the trip that she hasn't slept at all for over a day. He gets up and gets the stewardess (that's what they were called then) and gets her to heat up some milk into which he slips a couple of sleeping pills for Donna. He returns and drifts off to sleep quickly. Not knowing about the pills in her milk, Donna takes the bottle out of Alex's pocket and decides to take the pills she refused moments ago.
So she is extremely sleepy even after they check into the hotel. Then they learn that Alex is speaking an hour earlier than they figured because they forgot about the time change.
At the convention, Alex starts to speak but Donna, seated on stage, cannot keep from drifting off to sleep, so Alex abandons his speech to take care of his sleepy wife. Later, he is not too concerned, figuring their lives back in Hilldale will go on like always and they have each other and their kids, and all.
Meanwhile, Donna accidentally gets into another embarrassing predicament when the hotel door locks her out while in her robe. Naturally, the doctor who Alex knows is next door and she gets into a scene in his room, again by accident, further embarrassing Donna.
Being the star of the show, Donna figures a way to explain how innocently things can happen to the doctor, and in doing this, she finds a way for Alex to get to deliver his speech after all.
What I liked was how they demonstrated how Donna was so excited for Alex because he was delivering a speech at a big convention. Then Alex had no qualms about abandoning the speech to take care of Donna. Finally, Donna just couldn't let it rest and worked to get Alex his second chance.
I couldn't help but think of how any of the Seinfeld characters, if they were making a big speech and their friend fell asleep on the stage, would, at most, arrange for them to be taken off stage, to sleep on the floor, while they continued their speech. Of course, none of them would be losing any sleep over another getting to make a big speech in the first place.
The funniest scenes were the ones I didn't really describe, because they only are funny in context. I think this episode is typical for the series--funny, not hilarious, with nobody really doing anything crazy or dumb. Donna didn't have all sorts of wild schemes and her family was about as normal as any TV family in history in the ways they interacted throughout the series. A good episode.
