Season 5, Episode 8: Love and War


The credits: scott bairstow, jennifer aspen, christina pickles, jacob smith, willie garson, tim griffin, anthony tyler quinn, with daniel von bargen, special appearance by tom mason, lynsey bartilson, joanna garcia, edited by richard freeman a.c.e., costume designer scilla andreen-hernandez, production designer bill eigenbrodt, director of photography joe pennella, co-producer valerie joseph, producer daniel attias, producer paul marks, supervising producer steven robman, consulting producer p.k. simonds, co-executive producer tammy ader, executive producer ken topolsky, executive producer john romano, written by allan heinberg, directed by vicki jackson lemay.
Transcribed by Rachel

Nursery
Charlie is trying to get Diana back to sleep. He tries to sing her a nursery rhyme, but can't remember the words. He gets creative, but it works and the baby falls asleep. Daphne has come to the door and he explains that you have to hold onto her until she's breathing deep. The baby is asleep until Owen appears at the door and announces it's time to go fishing. Charlie turns the crying baby over to Daphne.

Entryway
The phone is ringing as Owen and Charlie prepare to leave for their day fishing. Griffin is in the kitchen and asks if they are going to get the phone. Charlie asks him to get it. He and Daphne are talking about Joe coming for dinner. Daphne says she'll get Bailey to bring food from the restaurant. Charlie says it won't be necessary, they'll have the fish they catch. Griffin comes out with the phone, it's Claudia and she needs to talk to Charlie. Charlie asks if it's an emergency. Claudia says it isn't, so he tells her he'll call her back later. Claudia is visibly upset. She asks about Owen and the baby. Griffin asks about school. Claudia is homesick. She can't concentrate on school at all. Griffin says she can always call him.

Lake
Charlie has fallen asleep while he and Owen fish. Owen tells him he's scaring the fish with his snoring. Owen says they can go home if Charlie is bored. He reassures the little boy. As he suggests they go out and pick up chicks, get matching tattoos Owen feels a tug on his line. Charlie helps him pull in a nice sized fish.

Stanford
Julia apologizes to Ned about having to drive up to the City for dinner with Joe. She'll miss Parent weekend and seeing his folks. He forgot to tell her, they couldn't come. She tries to get him to come home with her, but he already bought tickets for a John Woo film festival. She says they can hook up tomorrow, he agrees but then remembers he was going to spend the day in the library finishing his poli sci paper. Julia is sorry she won't get to meet his parents, she was looking forward to it.

Salinger's
Bailey is on the phone with Daphne. He and Sarah are coming for dinner and he'll bring a combination of things to eat. He runs into a waiter, Vinh with his cousin Tuan. Tuan is coming to work at the restaurant. Bailey asks is he has his work visa yet. He doesn't. Bailey says he can't work until he's legal, but when he is, there is a job waiting for him. The hostess comes over and tells Bay that Sean Sullivan just walked in. Sullivan owns all the hot restaurants in town. Bailey tries not to act impressed, but he is. He goes over and introduces himself to Sullivan. Sullivan compliments Bailey and the restaurant, thanking him for opening the street up for everybody else. He's trying to buy the old post office across the street to open up a new place. He introduces Bay to the woman eating with him. It's Alix Korie, one of the hottest chefs in San Francisco.

Kitchen
Owen and Charlie are home with a healthy supply of fish. Daphne is impressed. Charlie wants to clean them, but Owen would like to play with them. Charlie thinks they've started to stink, but Daphne thinks it's his daughter. She goes upstairs to change the baby's diaper. Charlie and Owen get started on the fish, but Daphne calls down for the baby wipes. While Charlie takes them upstairs Owen cleans the fish...with dish detergent. Charlie comes down to find what Owen has done and tells him they can't eat the fish now. Owen is disappointed. He didn't know better.

Dining Room
Bailey tells Sarah and Julia about Sullivan and how smug he acted. They set out the food. Owen can't believe Bay brought fish. They decide to just eat out of the containers. Charlie brings in a diaper to protect Joe's shirt. Daphne comments on the baby's propensity for projectile puking. Joe says the baby looks like their mother from head to toe. Bailey comes in and asks if they have been listening to him. It is clear that Joe and Charlie are more interested in the baby than Bailey's business woes. Julia calls everyone in for dinner. Owen says he isn't hungry. Griffin walks in and is surprised to see Julia. Joe invites him to stay, but he says he shouldn't. Julia says there is plenty. Owen says he can have his share. Charlie tells him that Ned isn't there. Daphne comments on how lucky Ned is to be going to the John Woo festival. Griffin is surprised. That film festival is the next Friday, he has tickets for it. It is clear that Ned lied to Julia and they all know it. Griffin makes his excuses and leaves. Joe apologizes to Julia. Bailey jumps up. He isn't scared of Sullivan. Sarah asks about a new chef, Charlie adds more advertising. Bailey plans to shut Sullivan down.

Stanford
Julia calls Ned on his lie. As she stands at his door a woman calls out. It's his mother. Julia comes in to find Ned's parents did come down for the weekend. His mother knows she is Julia. They were hoping to meet her, but Ned had said she was gone for the weekend. Julia covers and says she came back early. Ned's dad says they are late for an alumni thing, but Richie is combing his hair. Richie? Richie is Ned's brother. Julia tries to cover again. Richie is autistic. Julia is visibly surprised. Ned and his family beat a hasty retreat.

Charlie and Daphne's bedroom
Charlie and Daphne are asleep. The phone rings. It's Claudia. She can't believe they were still asleep, it's after 10 in the morning. He tells her Diana threw a party at 2 am. Claudia tells him how homesick she is. He says they are spending good money to send her to school there, so she can't come home. The house mother calls her away from the phone. There was a pantry raid so after dinner behavior is going to be clamped down on. Curfew is 8 pm and off-campus privileges are suspended until further notice. If anyone thinks of retaliation, they will suffer the consequences. Claudia sees her opportunity and rallies the girls around a plan.

Kitchen
Owen comes in with a flyer for a one day sale on lures. Charlie says he'll go tomorrow. Owen points out it's a one day sale. Daphne calls "time" from the hall way. Charlie disagrees. He still has 6 minutes. She points out she gave him 15 earlier so he owes her 9. She hands him the baby and runs upstairs. Charlie looks at Owen and asks if he feels like introducing his niece to the wonderful world of sporting goods stores.

Fairport Restaurant
Bailey tells a restaurant buddy that Alix Korie may be going to work for Sean Sullivan. He recommends that she try to outbid Sullivan for the chef. She asks why Bailey isn't going for Korie. He can't afford her, but she can. She points out that he wouldn't want the best chef in town across the street (at Sullivan's restaurant). Bailey says this way it would be great for both of them. She'll think about it. As he leaves she comments that they have a new player in town. Sean Sullivan isn't new. She was talking about Bailey.

Street
Owen and Charlie are on the street with the baby in a stroller. Owen asks to go see the new Babe movie. They can't go because they have Diana with them. Owen says he wouldn't want to sit next to Diana anyway, she's stupid. He says he never gets anything. Charlie points he just spent $20 on lures for Owen. Owen proceeds to throw a temper tantrum until Charlie physically picks him up and heads for the car.

Salinger's
Bailey is instructing the chef to go to the farmer's market personally when Sean Sullivan comes in. They make small talk. Sullivan asks how old Bailey is. Bay tells him he's 20. Sullivan asks if he's afraid of getting in over his head. He knows that he just lost Alix Korie to Bailey's friend at the Fairport and the Antique Guild is bidding on the building he wants. Does Bailey have friends there too? He asks if Bailey is sure he wants to play. Bay knows that it gets dog-eat-dog sometimes.

Stanford
Ned finds Julia to give her an explanation. She wants an apology which he gives. She didn't know who he was, he's a pretty good liar. She didn't think he would be ashamed of his brother. He isn't, he's ashamed of his parents. She doesn't know what they are like. He has a miserable relationship with them. She wants to see what they are like for herself. He asks Julia to come to dinner with them. She accepts.

Hanover
Claudia orchestrates an assault on the boy's dorm. She and a friend light a smoke bomb. Claudia brought the matches. She lights it and they take off outside. They sit in the bushes with their friends while the boys run outside in their underwear.

Owen's room
Charlie comes in to tuck Owen in for the night. Owen apologizes for what he said about the baby. Charlie tells him it's okay to be mad because things aren't fair. He knows Owen needs things, but the things the baby needs are more immediate. He can wait for the stuff Owen needs. Owen says it sucks, but Charlie says it'll have to be that way for a while. Charlie really needs his help. Yesterday he fell asleep at a stop sign on Lake Street. Owen is glad it wasn't the Fillmore hill.

Salinger's
Sarah comes into the restaurant. She was using his printer, hers is still busted. He offers to buy her a new one and she accepts. A woman comes in and orders a drink. She cards Bailey. She's from the Department of Alcohol Control. He is underage and she takes him downtown for soliciting alcohol.

Police Station
Bailey knows that Sullivan is behind this. Sarah tells him to stop, it's going to get more serious. He should stop, go to Sullivan and talk, compromise, make peace.

Hanover
Claudia's teacher holds her after class. He has something that belongs to her. He hands her a book of matches. She asks how he knew it was her. He points out that the matches are from Salinger's. She asks if she'll be expelled. He thinks they can keep it between them, after all high school is about pantry raids and smoke bombs. He asks if she will do it again, she reluctantly says she won't.

Stanford
Julia and Ned are out for dinner with his parents. They were never fans of Maggie. Ned points out that Maggie is Julia's roommate. Julia asks about Ned's dad being a heart surgeon. They come from a family of doctors and he thought Ned was going to be one. His mother tries to stop him, but he continues on berating Ned about taking philosophy and only getting a C in biology. It won't look good to medical schools. If he wants something, he has to make it happen. Everyone is uncomfortable.

Cafe Lux
Bailey comes in looking for Sean Sullivan. He wants to bury the hatchet. As he waits he notices Tuan, the waiter who didn't have his visa. He tells the hostess to forget it, he'll call Sullivan and leaves.

Kitchen
Charlie and Daphne are passed out at the table while the baby cries. They argue over whose turn it is while Owen disappears from the room. The crying stops. They go into the living room to find Owen has gotten the baby to sleep. Daphne takes her upstairs saying she'll be back to learn Owen's secret. Owen tells Charlie he was helping like Charlie asked. Charlie lays down on the couch. Owen wants to play Hearts. Charlie agrees, but then falls asleep before they start. Owen throws the cards in disgust.

Stanford
Ned tells Julia how he thinks his dad had a lot of expectations for his kids and after Richie came, those expectations all got laid on Ned. He figured out how to deal with the pressure, he looks for ways to disappoint him. He stayed with Maggie for 2 years just hoping his dad would give up on him. His dad graduated from Stanford Summa, but Ned isn't even going to graduate. Julia thinks that's horrible. What does he get out of that? He cheats his father out of the thing he wants most. Julia thinks he should tell him he needs him to love him. Ned says in his family you have to be autistic to get that.

Backyard
Charlie apologizes to Owen for falling asleep. Charlie asks what Owen is doing. He's playing with an ant colony. Charlie offers to take Owen to the Exploratorium. Owen doesn't want to, doesn't Charlie have other stuff to do? He says he doesn't, but Owen says he always has other stuff he needs to do.

Stanford
Ned's parents come say good-bye. They invite her to their house for the holidays. Ned's mom tells her how glad they are he met her and hugs Julia.

Salinger's
Joe comes in as Bailey is toasting the demise of Sullivan's restaurant. The government won't lease the post office to him because of his trouble with the INS. Joe has heard enough. He asks if Bailey thought about the people who lost their jobs because of what he did. Bailey points out that Sullivan was breaking the law and Joe would be mad if Bay did the same thing. Bailey doesn't run the restaurant just like his dad, he isn't his dad, but he's doing a good job of it. He asks Joe to look around and see what he's doing with the place. Joe does and realizes that Bailey's gifts are different than his or Nick's.

Shed
Griffin answers the phone. It's Claudia. She can't sleep, it's almost 1 in the morning. Griffin asks what is wrong. Everything is. She tried to talk to Charlie, but he won't listen. She can't think, study, all she thinks about is home.

Charlie and Daphne's bedroom
Charlie comments that his parents had 5 kids. How did they manage that? Had sex a lot, Daphne comments. They always had time for all of them. He was an only child for 9 years and then bam he was sharing a bathroom with 3 little kids. Owen went straight up to bed after supper, no ice cream, no TV. He is so mad at Charlie. Daphne tells him to go in and talk to him. Charlie knows he should, but he would have to get out of bed and right now he isn't tugging on his sleeve, as long as he's mad at Charlie, Charlie can sleep.

Stanford
Julia is waiting outside Ned's dorm. She asks for her blue sweater and her multi-vitamins back. He doesn't know what she's talking about. His parents like her a lot and she knows how awful that is for him. She thinks he'll dump her. He doesn't want to. She doesn't get it, it makes about as much sense as everything else he's said. Why should he try to hurt his parents just because they haven't figured out how to balance a situation that is so difficult and sad for everybody involved. He's an angry guy. He says he isn't angry at her. That isn't much of a consolation if his plan is to wreck his life while she's a part of it. He can't believe she is going to try to save him. She isn't sure if he's worth saving. He asks her not to give up on him.
Notes:

This is the first time I've noticed Allan Heinberg's writing credit on the show. Nice job. Very evenly paced and not completely predictable. Welcome to the family, Allan.

I keep going back and forth on the Owen situation. He isn't five or six or whatever the age he's supposed to be. The lure sale? This kid reads? We don't even know if he goes to kindergarten. I also question the choice of Hearts as a card game. 52 card pick-up or Old Maid maybe, but Hearts? That having been said, I like the story arc with Owen. I think it is perfectly normal for him to be having this reaction. Charlie has always been stretched thin in the parenting area and this is no different.

Charlie's lack of time for anything else is also apparent in his treatment of Claudia's situation. I think she was wrong to go away to school to begin with, but man...let this kid come home, please! How miserable does she have to be. I like that she has turned to Griffin. He knows what it's like to be ignored by his parents and they have a history of closeness from the second season when Griffin was getting over the trauma of his sister Jill's death.

I think Charlie and Daphne are cute together. I loved the first scene when they stood together looking at the baby in the crib. They seem to be falling in love with one another and their daughter. It seems like a good relationship for both of them.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Ned's parents. They weren't completely unpredictable, but the addition of the autistic brother was. It is very difficult to balance the needs of the special needs child with the other siblings. Ned has had to deal with this his whole life and fortunately for him he has met someone like Julia to help him see what stupid choices he has been making.

Bailey's restaurant trials were an interesting story. There has been great debate in the Po5 arena how 20 year old Bay could be serving up drinks. It seems that we now have our answer...he can't, legally. I did like the end scene with Joe. Bailey isn't his dad. He isn't Charlie and he isn't Joe. He has taken the restaurant and he's doing it his own way and he's doing it well. He has really come into his own for better or worse.

A good solid effort. It's always great to see old favorites like Tom Mason back and nice to see Jeremy London getting some screen time.

Copyright 1998 by Rachel Vagts. All rights reserved.
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