Jerry's Retirement
- Episode aired Nov 27, 1976
- 30m
Jerry makes a fortune on a real estate deal, and decides to retire at age 38. Emily's father Junior and his friend turn Bob and Emily's home into their vacation lodge.Jerry makes a fortune on a real estate deal, and decides to retire at age 38. Emily's father Junior and his friend turn Bob and Emily's home into their vacation lodge.Jerry makes a fortune on a real estate deal, and decides to retire at age 38. Emily's father Junior and his friend turn Bob and Emily's home into their vacation lodge.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFinal appearance of Junior Harrison.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Emily Hartley: [Emily walks into the apartment, having just taken her father and his friend Shorty to the airport] Guess who I just saw at the airport? Jerry! He's on his way to Germany.
Dr. Robert 'Bob' Hartley: Really?
Emily Hartley: Yeah, he's gonna study woodcraft under the foremost carver of sharp sticks!
[Emily has a big, sneaky smile in her face]
Emily Hartley: You know what he's gonna say to him when he meets him?
Dr. Robert 'Bob' Hartley: What?
Emily Hartley: [Emily raises her arm, straight, with the palm out] 'Heil, whittler!'
[Emily breaks up, laughing]
- ConnectionsReferences Jaws (1975)
- SoundtracksDown By the Riverside (Ain't Gonna Study War No More)
19th Century Spiritual
Performed by John Randolph, Howard Morris and Peter Bonerz
Jerry announces some real estate deal he invested in has paid off--big time. So big he can retire at age 38, which he does. So long seventh floor, bitter coffee, and funny round desk. With his windfall Jerry buys a Ferrari and hundred dollar pairs of shoes and shades. And he's miserable. Money can't buy happiness. The show separates from reality by having Jerry degenerate into an old coot--Bob's phrasing. He sits in Bob's office with a checker board, wearing a red plaid shirt and fisherman's vest, whittling a stick. He's developed a drawl and takes forever to tell a simple story, turning into so annoying and corny a rustic even Barney Fife would have run him out of town for being a public nuisance in the first degree.
And speaking of Barney Fife, his third-rate replacement Ernest T. Bass turns up as a guest star. While Bob is contending with his irksome friend at the office, Emily is holding down Fort Hartley where her recently retired father and his retired surgeon friend Shorty have invited themselves for an extended stay, which is exactly what they do--stay. They never leave the apartment for fishing or to attend the cheese festival as planned. John Randolph makes his third and final appearance on the series (sans Ann Rutherford as Aggie). Howard Morris plays Junior's friend and "mentor" for retirement, Shorty. Cue the short jokes that aren't very funny.
Not only is the episode not especially funny, the writers then pour on the pathos. Both the Jerry and the Junior and Shorty stories are about men deteriorating in idleness, losing their drive and ambition and becoming doddering half-wits whittling and frittering away the time. Bob dutifully delivers a stammering "only as old as you feel" and "age is a state of mind" message that came across as ham-fisted hectoring.
So what becomes of Jerry's newfound wealth? His broken lease on the dentist office, new Ferrari and ten bucks he owes Carol? They are never mentioned again. Just throwaway plot devices.
Bright spots were Howard Borden, who just saw JAWS and is unsettled by the large fish Junior brought home. Funny seeing Daily do the "dun-dun-dun-dun" stalking shark sound effect. The gag with Howard and Bob and the returned pen was very nicely played. John Randolph is always high spirited and fun and his love for Emily shines through. Howard Morris didn't get to do much, though he does join voices with Randolph and Bonerz for an impromptu and apropos of nothing two in the morning retired men's rendition of "Down By the Riverside." Not a bad episode, but a slip from the high benchmark set by those first few seasons. I missed the ensemble cast, Bob's patients and his colleagues on the floor.
Oh, and what was up with that mind-blowing closing tag with Emily giving a Nazi salute? If the writers tried to goose(step) the episode in its waning moments they succeeded, closing it out on a heil note.
- GaryPeterson67
- Oct 15, 2020
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