TV Guide capsule for Saturday, March 13, 1993:
9 PM Who's the Boss?—Comedy
Mr. Vanderhoff returns but may not want to keep working with Angela.
Scene I: The Bower-Micelli living room, a Saturday afternoon in early March
(Tony, Angela, and Jonathan are about to leave through the open front door. Mona is there to say goodbye.)
MONA: Good luck today!
JONATHAN: Grandma, are you sure you don't want to watch us play?
MONA: Let's see. An hour's drive to Hartford and another hour's drive back? No thanks, I'll watch it on TV.
TONY: (sarcastically) Thanks for your support, Mone.
ANGELA: It's just as well you're not going, because I might get a call today from Mr. Vanderhoff and he doesn't have my cellular phone number. Just my numbers for home and the office.
TONY: Angela, it's the state play-offs today! And a Saturday!
ANGELA: I know, Tony, and I'm sorry, but this is a very important account.
TONY: Well, this is a very important game.
ANGELA: I know, Sweetie, and I really am sorry. He won't necessarily call. But if he does, Mother, please call my cellular phone.
MONA: OK, if it's a boring part of the game. (Tony and Angela shake their heads.)
JONATHAN: Hey, Mom, isn't Mr. Vanderhoff the man who's sponsoring Hank's puppet show on FUN?
ANGELA: Right. And he's still interested in taking it to the national level, but he hasn't interested any of the major networks, cable or commercial, yet.
TONY: Good thing. Considering Hank based all the characters on friends and family.
ANGELA: Well, yes, but Hank did promise me he'd modify them if it goes national.
JONATHAN: I'm kinda glad he killed the "Nathan" puppet off.
MONA: Yes, but now he's introduced a boyfriend for "Rona."
RICHARD: (entering through the door) I love the "Mitch" puppet! And that he's a gardener, that's brilliant!
TONY: Hey, Richard, do you wanna come to the game with us?
RICHARD: Well, I was planning to watch it with Mona on TV. (holding them up) I brought the stadium blanket and the thermos of hot chocolate laced with whiskey.
JONATHAN: Um, aren't those more appropriate for football? Outside? When it's freezing?
MONA: (sweetly) Shut up, Jonathan. (Roll opening credits.)
Scene II: The same set, a couple hours later
(Mona and Richard are alternately smooching and watching the game, snuggled up under the stadium blanket on the couch.)
MONA: Mmm, nice pass!
RICHARD: Me or the team?
MONA: In this case, the team.
RICHARD: They are really good.
MONA: Well, Tony's a good coach.
RICHARD: Yeah. Didn't you tell me that one of the kids had a black eye?
MONA: Yes, I never got the details on that, but he was in some sort of fight two or three weeks ago. Luckily, he recovered in time to practice for the play-offs. Oo, commercial! (They start necking but the phone rings.)
RICHARD: Do you want to get that?
MONA: Not really. (She sighs.) But I did promise Angela. (She gets up and goes to the phone. She shifts into her "secretary" persona.) Bower-Micelli residence, how may I direct your call? (annoyed) Yes, Al, we saw that pass. No, you can't come over and watch the game on this TV. You, too. (She hangs up.)
RICHARD: Al?
MONA: Yes. Sam's housemate. Sometimes he acts like he lives here.
RICHARD: Oh, right.
MONA: Anyway, we're wasting a precious commercial break talking about the neighbors.
RICHARD: Then you'd better get back over here as soon as possible. (She smiles at him and starts to return, but then the phone rings again, so she frowns.)
MONA: Just as soon as I give Al a piece of my mind. (She picks up the phone.) Listen, Buster, is it so hard for you to understand that I want to be alone with my fiancé? Oh, sorry, Mr. Vanderhoff. (Richard gives her a sympathetic look.) No, I'm afraid Ms. Bower is away today, but I can pass on any message you'd like. Oh. Ha ha, that's a good one. Yes, I will, and again I apologize. Goodbye, Sir. (She hangs up and makes one of her exaggerated "Mona faces" to indicate that she nearly blew it but saved it.)
RICHARD: Angela's client?
MONA: (as she returns to him) Yes. His "joke" message was that Angela needs to fire her secretary and get someone friendlier.
RICHARD: I've always found you very friendly.
MONA: (snuggling up with him again) Well, I'm not as friendly with Angela's other clients as I am with you.
RICHARD: Good.
MONA: Not that I'd want to be too friendly with Noah Vanderhoff. He's a bit of a buffoon.
RICHARD: But a good client?
MONA: Good enough. Anyway, his real message is that he wants to meet with Angela Monday at 10 a.m., to discuss the next phase of the campaign.
RICHARD: Shouldn't you call her cellular phone?
MONA: She's at the game. It can wait. Besides, as her secretary, I manage her appointments, and I know she doesn't have any meetings or anything at that time.
RICHARD: Well, good.
MONA: The only thing she has scheduled Monday morning is— (She gasps.) Her 9 a.m. appointment with the obstetrician.
RICHARD: Isn't that a little tight scheduling? Doctors never see you on time, obstetricians included, from what I recall with my late wife thirty years ago.
MONA: Right. And not only that, her doctor is in Fairfield, so Angela would never get to Manhattan on time.
RICHARD: Oh. Darling, I think you need to call her. Or call Vanderhoff back.
MONA: (sighing) I'd rather call Angela. (She gets up and goes back to the phone again, this time calling Angela's cell.)
Scene III: The Connecticut high school basketball play-offs, meanwhile
(Angela is cheering with the other fans. Then her cell rings. Instead of glaring at her, the crowd seems intrigued by the novelty of the ringing. She nonetheless looks embarrassed.)
ANGELA: I'm so sorry. Excuse me. (As she makes her way out of the stands and towards the hallway) Hold on, Mother, let me get somewhere quiet. (pause) What's up? Did Mr. Vanderhoff call?
MONA: (in alternating shots, still in the living room) Yes, he did. He wants to meet with you on Monday.
ANGELA: Great!
MONA: Uh, there's just one little problem, Dear.
ANGELA: Oh?
MONA: Well, I didn't have your schedule right in front of me, and I agreed to a meeting an hour after your doctor's appointment.
ANGELA: Mother!
MONA: Well, can't you reschedule the doctor?
ANGELA: No, not on such short notice, especially over the weekend. Can't you reschedule Mr. Vanderhoff?
MONA: Well, I can try. I really am sorry about this, Angela.
ANGELA: It's OK, Mother. It happens.
MONA: At least the team is doing well. Oh no! That was a stupid move!
ANGELA: Mother!
MONA: Sorry, Angela, I'll let you get back to the game. How could they miss such an easy shot?
ANGELA: Goodbye, Mother.
MONA: Do you want me to call you with the new meeting time?
ANGELA: No, just tell me when I get home.
MONA: All right, Dear. Goodbye. (They hang up.)
Scene IV: The living room, a couple hours later
(Mona and Richard are kissing on the couch again, still under the stadium blanket, although the TV is off.)
RICHARD: (reluctantly stopping kissing) I should probably get going. Your family will be home soon.
MONA: But we didn't finish the hot chocolate.
RICHARD: It's more like cold chocolate by now.
MONA: I can reheat it.
RICHARD: How about I reheat it in your apartment and you meet me over there after you talk to Angela?
MONA: Sounds like a plan. (She sighs.) I don't think she's going to be too happy.
RICHARD: She's a successful businesswoman. She'll understand that it's nothing personal.
MONA: She's also in the eighth month of pregnancy, when everything is personal.
RICHARD: Do you want me to stay here as moral support?
MONA: No, but I may need comforting when I get home.
RICHARD: I can provide that. (They kiss tenderly.)
MONA: Oh, I hear Tony's car.
RICHARD: (grabbing the thermos) See you soon. (He exits out the back door as Tony, Angela, and Jonathan enter the front door.)
MONA: Hey, great game, you guys! State champions! Congratulations!
JONATHAN: Thanks, Grandma! Did you see that one shot I made in the middle of the second quarter?
MONA: Most of it.
TONY: A little distracted, Mona?
MONA: A little.
ANGELA: Where's Richard? Did he go home?
MONA: Sort of.
ANGELA: Sort of?
MONA: Never mind that. Tell me more about the game. I mean from the player's/coach's perspective.
TONY: Well, my main strategy was—
ANGELA: Sorry, to interrupt, Tony, but real quickly, Mother, did you reschedule with Mr. Vanderhoff?
MONA: Sort of.
ANGELA: Sort of?
MONA: Well, I wasn't able to change the time, but I was able to change the participants.
ANGELA: Oh?
MONA: Well, he has a very busy week coming up, and that's the only time he has available. So he asked if he could meet with someone else at your company.
ANGELA: Someone else?
MONA: Well, Angela, this isn't like when you started the agency six and a half years ago. When it was just you and me. You have so many employees and you delegate so much now.
ANGELA: Well, you're right, I suppose. It's just this was an account I was handling personally.
MONA: So handle it personally again after Monday. Meanwhile, Jack is your right-hand man, isn't he?
ANGELA: Well, yes.
MONA: And when you were in Iowa, you weren't able to meet with the clients at all.
ANGELA: Well, no. But I missed that.
MONA: Angela, it's just one little meeting.
TONY: Yeah, Sweetheart, she's right. And, uh, you may need to cut back soon, right?
ANGELA: (indignantly) I am just as capable as I was seven months ago!
JONATHAN: Mom, maternity leave is not a sign of weakness.
ANGELA: I didn't say that it was. But just because I'm having two babies does not mean I'm no longer the President of the Bower Agency.
MONA: Dear, no one's questioning that. And you did admit, two or three months ago, that you're more tired than you used to be.
ANGELA: Well, maybe a little.
TONY: (putting his hand on her belly) Angela, you've got twins that you're lugging around all day, and nourishing from your body. That's a job in itself. Let people help you.
ANGELA: (sighing) All right. I'll cut back, a little.
MONA: Hallelujah, she's seen the light!
ANGELA: Mother. I'll maybe do fewer hours for awhile, at least till June.
TONY: June? What's in June?
ANGELA: Well, school will be out, and you can stay home with the babies, like we talked about.
TONY: Oh, right. But what about in the Fall?
ANGELA: Well, maybe you can quit at Fairfield High and just do night school at Ridgemont. Or I can mostly work from home till the babies are older.
MONA: You two still haven't settled this?
JONATHAN: (rolling his eyes) They haven't even chosen baby names yet.
MONA: How about "Mona" for a girl?
ANGELA: I'll add it to the list. (Mona shakes her head.)
TONY: OK, so we're a little behind on some things. But you know we agreed not to find out the babies' sexes ahead of time, so we're just gonna wait till they get here and then look at them and see what names feel right.
MONA: You are? Angela had "Jonathan Michael" picked out in her second month, and she had his astrological chart done by the time they left the hospital.
JONATHAN: You believed in astrology back then?
ANGELA: (shrugging) It was the '70s. And you are very Aquarian in some ways, although with a Virgo moon of course.
JONATHAN: Of course.
MONA: Well, Dear, your two little Aries will probably appreciate it if you don't work yourself to death in the next couple months. And maybe start focusing more attention on getting ready for them.
ANGELA: (nodding) I'll try.
MONA: Good. (picking up the stadium blanket) Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a little tailgate party to attend. (They shake their heads at her incorrigibility. Cut to commercial.)
Scene V: The Bower Agency reception area, late Monday morning
(Mona is at her desk, on the computer. Angela dashes through the front door as fast as she can in her condition.)
ANGELA: Mother, I got here as quickly as I could!
MONA: Dear, gynecology is not something to rush.
ANGELA: I didn't. But I drove as quickly as I could instead of waiting for the train. Is Jack's meeting with Mr. Vanderhoff over yet?
MONA: I think they're just finishing up. (Jack and Mr. Vanderhoff enter from the meeting room, laughing and shaking hands.)
JACK: I think we're going to work very well together, Noah.
MR. VANDERHOFF: Me, too, Jack. I appreciate you taking over the account.
ANGELA: (in boss-lady mode) Excuse me?
JACK: (self-consciously) Oh, hi, Angela.
MR. V: Hello, Angela. I think it's very sensible of you to turn over my account to someone who can devote himself fully to it.
ANGELA: Oh?
MR. V: Yes, so many of you career gals, when you're expecting, well, you treat it like just one more item on the agenda. But you, Angela, realize that this is nature's way of telling you to slow down. (Angela looks like she's about to tell off both men.)
MONA: (as a warning to her daughter) Yes, Angela has always been very sensible. (Angela gathers herself together to be calm and professional.)
ANGELA: Well, here at the Bower Agency, we want to provide the best service for our clients.
MR. V: That's why I'm glad I chose your agency. (shaking her hand) Best of luck with the babies, and see you next year.
ANGELA: Next year?
MR. V: When your maternity leave is over. (chuckling) I know you career gals, even you, Bower, and you'll be back by the time your twins are walking.
ANGELA: (trying not to grit her teeth) Yes, probably.
MR. V: Thanks again, Everyone. Even you, Mona.
MONA: Ha ha.
MR. V: Jack, I'll see you next week.
JACK: (waving, as Mr. Vanderhoff exits) Looking forward to it!
ANGELA: (still trying to be calm and professional) Jack, may I speak to you in my office?
JACK: Of course, Angela. (She storms into her office.)
MONA: (looking at her computer) Let's see, how do I pull up your file with your next of kin on it?
JACK: Mona, Angela is a rational professional. She wouldn't—
ANGELA: (angrily offscreen) Jack, I'm waiting!
JACK: She wouldn't chop me up into too many pieces, would she? (Mona shrugs. Jack reluctantly goes into Angela's office.)
Scene VI: Angela's office, a moment later
(Angela is sitting at her desk, fuming. Jack enters and closes the door behind him.)
ANGELA: Now, Jack. I'm not going to lose my temper. I'm going to sit here quietly and patiently while you explain exactly why you stabbed me in the back.
JACK: Angela, I know it looks like I stole the account, but it wasn't like that. I told Mr. Vanderhoff you'd be happy to keep working on it. But he was pleased with my presentation and he thought that I may as well continue on, especially now that the campaign is entering a new phase.
ANGELA: I see.
JACK: Look, Angela, I'm sorry. But haven't you always told me that the most important thing is to keep the client happy?
ANGELA: I was keeping him happy!
JACK: And now he wants me to keep him happy.
ANGELA: I see.
JACK: Look, Angela, I know you're not going to take a year off. But Mona did say you're going to have to start cutting back your hours.
ANGELA: She said that, did she?
JACK: Vanderhoff needs someone who's available at any time. And your attention is going to be divided for awhile.
ANGELA: I see.
JACK: I mean, it's not sexist, is it, to acknowledge that your contribution to the agency is going to change now? It's just like when you went to Idaho to be with your fiancé.
ANGELA: Iowa.
JACK: Right, sorry. In a different way, you'll, well, you'll be in another state.
ANGELA: True. Well, Jack, if it's not sexist for Vanderhoff to prefer you to me, maybe we should put Shirley Grant on the account.
JACK: Shirley? But it's my account!
ANGELA: Now, now, Jack. There's no point in getting emotionally attached to an account. Shirley loves videogames and I think she'd be perfect for Noah's Arcade.
JACK: But, Angela!
ANGELA: (picking up the phone) Excuse me a moment, Jack. (She punches in Mona's extension.) Mother, could you call Mr. Vanderhoff and tell him that Jack will no longer be handling his account? Who, me? Of course not! I'm a frail little flower who's waiting to bud. Tell him Shirley Grant will be representing the agency now. OK. And come right in afterwards and tell me what he says. (She hangs up.) You were saying?
JACK: Look, Angela, I can understand if you're upset, but this is completely different.
ANGELA: Oh, how so?
JACK: Well, there's a reason for you not to work on the account. There's no reason to take me off of it.
ANGELA: Jack, the way I'm feeling right now, you're lucky I'm not firing you.
JACK: Oh.
ANGELA: Look, Jack, you are a very valuable part of this organization and I appreciate all you do around here, but never forget that this is still my agency, and I make the big decisions.
JACK: Of course. (pause) But shouldn't you have discussed this with Shirley before having Mona call Vanderhoff?
ANGELA: Well, let's see what Mr. Vanderhoff has to say about it first. After all, he may still prefer you. Or maybe Shirley won't want the account after all.
JACK: Then can I have it back?
ANGELA: We'll see. (Someone knocks.) Come in.
MONA: (entering the room) Well, I reached Mr. Vanderhoff on his cellular phone.
ANGELA: And?
MONA: I told him about the change in his account.
JACK: (nervously) What did he say?
MONA: He's fine with Shirley as long as she's not pregnant.
ANGELA: (crossing her arms) Thank you, Mother. You proved my point.
MONA: Do you want me to go ask her?
ANGELA: Mother!
MONA: About taking the account I mean.
ANGELA: No, upon due consideration, I've decided he and Jack deserve each other.
JACK: Uh, thank you.
ANGELA: Just do your best work. Make the Bower Agency proud.
JACK: I will. And thank you for understanding.
ANGELA: Oh, I understand perfectly. (He nods and exits.)
MONA: Do you want me to call Mr. Vanderhoff back?
ANGELA: No, let Jack take care of it. After all, he's the man. Men understand each other.
MONA: Dear, I know that this has been an unpleasant experience for you. And, yes, both Jack and Mr. Vanderhoff acted inappropriately in not having more faith in you. But they do sort of have a point. It'll be up to you how much you have to cut back now, but you do have to cut back.
ANGELA: (sighing) I know. I'm not a Superwoman. It's just that I've always been so driven.
MONA: I know, Dear. You were the only one in kindergarten who cried over coloring outside the lines.
ANGELA: I wanted it to be perfect!
MONA: I know. But, Angela, if the last decade has taught you anything, surely— (As Rita Wilson looks in) Shirley, hello.
ANGELA: Shirley, what's up?
SHIRLEY: Sorry to bother you, but what's this I hear about you cutting back on your hours?
ANGELA: It's true. And, yes, that means more opportunities for you. And the others.
SHIRLEY: Oh. Gee, I wish this was happening at another time.
MONA: Well, Shirley, Angela can't exactly reschedule this.
SHIRLEY: No, I understand. Well, I guess my fiancé and I can postpone things.
ANGELA: You're getting married?
MONA: Ha, I win the office betting pool! What month?
SHIRLEY: Well, that's sort of up to Angela.
ANGELA: Me?
SHIRLEY: Yes, my fiancé understands how important my work is to me. And we're already living together, so the wedding isn't as urgent as it could be. So you let us know what works for you.
ANGELA: Oh, gee, that's very considerate of you. My own mother didn't even consider my pregnancy when scheduling her wedding.
MONA: Well, it's only fair, Dear. You made me reschedule mine years ago.
ANGELA: (blushing) Yes, well. But anyway, Shirley, surely—I mean, obviously, unless you're planning something to rival a royal wedding, it's not going to take up that much of your time, is it?
SHIRLEY: Well, no, but there's the two weeks' honeymoon. And the being a distracted newlywed for a few months like you were. And the—
ANGELA: (blushing more) OK, thank you, Shirley. We'll talk about this tomorrow.
SHIRLEY: All right. See you later. (She exits.)
MONA: Hm, let's see, if I schedule my honeymoon, and then the being a distracted newlywed phase—
ANGELA: Mother, you've never concentrated on your work. I don't think I'll be able to tell the difference.
MONA: You're a heartless woman, Angela Bower-Micelli.
ANGELA: Yeah? I wonder where I got that from. (They laugh and then hug. Cut to commercial.)
Scene VII: Tony and Angela's bedroom, that night
(They're cuddling in bed, as he caresses her stomach.)
TONY: So I guess naming a son Noah or Jack is out?
ANGELA: Right.
TONY: We could give them videogame names.
ANGELA: What, like Zelda?
TONY: I was thinking Mario and/or Luigi. After all, those are good Italian names.
ANGELA: Mario Micelli. Luigi Micelli. Zelda Micelli.
TONY: So you want them to have Micelli as a last name? No hyphenated Bower-Micelli, or Micelli-Bower? Or Robinson-Micelli I guess it would be, since Robinson is your maiden name.
ANGELA: Tony, the main reasons why I hyphenate my last name are, one, I made my name in the advertising world as Angela Bower, and two, I'm still Jonathan's mother, as well as soon the mother of our twins.
TONY: No, that makes sense.
ANGELA: Not that Zelda Robinson-Micelli doesn't have a ring to it.
TONY: Well, we could go old-school. How about Pong?
ANGELA: I don't think so.
TONY: Pac-Man? Ms. Pac-Man? Centipede?
ANGELA: Frogger?
TONY: I got it! Q*bert!
ANGELA: With the asterix?
TONY: (scooting down the bed) Of course.
ANGELA: Perfect. Of course his teachers will hate us.
TONY: (kissing her belly) Goodnight, Little Q*bert. Goodnight, Baby Tetris.
ANGELA: Tetris?
TONY: Yeah, that one's good because it could be a boy or a girl's name. (She laughs and then strokes his hair. He looks up at her and smiles. Roll closing credits.)