6.5 The Robe

Chris: Chris in the morning solo once again, bidding a fond adieu to my good friend, Esau. Hope the next wayward soul who finds him learns as much as I did from my brief, intense, apprenticeship. It's funny, all the qualities that flow so naturally from Esau like water from a spring melt are qualities that are in me and embracing them means embracing Esau's black and white world, turning my back on the rainbow, letting one piercing note drown out the orchestra or one persuasive voice silence a clambering chorus. I don't know, Esau, maybe your straight-from-the-hip answers ring truer than my own fuzzy search for enlightenment. Sometimes we just need the uncertainty and if I ever figure out exactly why, maybe then we'll have an act worth taking on the road. (6)

Log line(1): Joel relishes the opportunity to prove Johns Hopkins School of Medicine wrong for refusing him admission; Shelly struggles with the devil's offer to fulfill her wildest dream; and Chris uses a ventriloquist dummy to offer straightforward opinions.

Synopsis(1): Cicely is hand-picked by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as the site to test a cure for the common cold. Joel, wanting to prove Johns Hopkins wrong for refusing him admission, carefully carries out the requirements for the test until Ed, unbeknownst to anyone, accidentally invalidates it by mixing the pills with the stimulant being secretly tested. Maurice bribes Hayden Keyes to break into Joel's office for information on the drug. He is furious to discover that he was duped by a placebo and takes his bruised ego out on Fleischman. As the last straw, Ed confesses about the mix-up and the entire experiment is canceled.

Roger Brewster is interested in Shelly and, in town as a traveling salesman, offers to fulfill her wildest dream. After she reluctantly tells him she wants legalized gambling in Cicely, she dreams of the big city casino life in her future that night. The next day, Roger tells her that he is the devil, and the price for her wish is that she must burn Holling's precious old and ugly robe. Shelly is very tempted, but her dream goes down the drain when she decides nothing is worth destroying the trust Holling and she have for each other.

Meanwhile, Chris teams up with the dummy, Esau, to play devil's advocate on the air. The listeners appreciate Esau's straightforward opinions and although Chris is a bit unsettled he relies on him for answers.

Nevertheless, Chris retires Esau to a bus stop when he discovers that Esau's opinions are really his own, and the search for enlightenment is much more than black and white answers and includes the uncertainty of a rainbow.

Details(2): Roger Brewster aka Satan, the Devil, Lucifer, Prince of Darkness.

The Insta-Spa Model 2000 -- 1.5 horsepower, 710 strategically placed therapeutic pin-holes, lock down hand-rails, roman pillow, dial-a-flow jets, topside controls.

Book of choice: Jean Shinoda Bolen's "Goddesses in Every Woman".

Joel couldn't get into Johns Hopkins University.

Guest Stars: (1)
Hayden Keyes - James L. Dunn
Walt - Moultrie Patten
Roger Brewster, Satan - Charles Martin Smith
Digger - Larry Beckerman
Eugene - Earl Quewezance
Chad Slavin - Devin McWhirter
Tom Slavin - Jason McWhirter
Himself - Shecky Greene
Jack Strohmeyer - Glenn Mazen
Bicyclist - A. Michael Lerner

Music: [Help! Email me if you know these missing tunes.]
• Flight of the Valkries
[Roger takes the goat for a walk, bicyclist almost hits him.]

• carnival-like tune in the Brick when Shelly and Roger talk about casino deal.

• country tune as they continue to talk.

• Syncopated Clock (thank you, Eeege!!)
[ when Chris flies solo, without Esau, on KBHR at the end.]

Shelly's Earrings:
Green dice [Roger comes on to her and she throws him out.]
Big cartoon oranges with a leaf [Talks to Roger in the Brick with the casino deal.]
Crystals? [Shelly attempts to throw Holling's robe into the incinerator.]
Little houses with giant teardrops over them? [Gives Roger the tape back.]

Additional Notes :
Barthlomew is the kitty who causes the pill CATastrophe.

Esau prefers the term "Wooden-American."

Roger gives Shelly a Black Sabbath bootleg he recorded himself at the Cow Palace.

Ed feels a chill when Roger walks into the Brick.

Roger's apron at the BBQ - "Quiche the Cook."

According to Shelly, Edna Hancock takes Prozac.

Esau works behind the scenes.

Created 2/17/01 • Updated 8/20/02

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