Sister, Sister 3x12

Sister, Sister

 

Amanda is excited about a concert Busy's band is having Saturday. In preparation for the event, she's letting Busy give her a home perm. Wonder how that'll turn out. She also has to have dinner with Mel and his fourteen year old daughter. We learn that Phyllis is signing her divorce papers today and is going back to using her maiden name. Busy asks Amanda if she's going to change her name now too. Who does that?

 

 

Methinks Busy, sick of people thinking Amanda was the pretty one, did this on purpose. Well, mission accomplished. The salon can't see Amanda until Monday, so basically she's going to look like this for the rest of the episode. Phyllis is throwing out stuff that reminds her of Leonard. Amanda writes three wishes in her diary, including that Phyllis would stop pretending to be sad about the divorce. Why not just wish the divorce never happened? Amanda again contemplates living with her father.

 

 

Amanda and her mother meet Leslie, who looks much older than fourteen. Phyllis tells Amanda that the four of them will be spending the weekend at Mel's, meaning Amanda will miss Busy's concert.

 

 

Amanda calls Busy and tells her the news. Busy's first thought is that this must mean Phyllis and Mel are sleeping together. Amanda denies this, even when Busy cites their trip to New York in a previous episode. Amanda is sure that the hotel room had twin beds.

 

 

Leslie plays a large instrument that I think is a cello for Phyllis and Mel. When she and Amanda are told they will be sharing a room for the weekend, neither girl are thrilled with the arrangement. Amanda goes into Leslie's room with the cello music playing in the background and looks at Leslie's old childhood photos on the wall, including one with Leslie's now deceased mother.

 

 

Phyllis takes the girls shopping. Amanda gets mad when Leslie tries on a dress that Amanda had admired in the window. Leslie feigns innocence (or maybe she really didn't mean anything and Amanda is being oversensitive). Just then a store clerk asks Phyllis if her daughter (meaning Leslie) would like the dress wrapped. Amanda pulls a shocked expression when Phyllis doesn't say, "No, this is just my boyfriend's daughter," to the uncaring employee. Amanda calls Busy and complains, exaggerating the severity of the situation.

 

 

Leslie acts jealous when Mel shows Amanda attention. A feud erupts at dinner when Leslie wants to go over to a friend's house. Phyllis says she wants them all to stay together tonight, causing Leslie's Miss Perfect mask to slip. She and Amanda say hurtful things to each other, ending with Amanda saying that just because Leslie's mother is dead doesn't mean she can steal hers. Ouch.

 

 

Phyllis goes outside to talk to Amanda. Amanda accuses her of sleeping with Mel and Phyllis admits that she is. Amanda really starts sobbing then and her mother tells her that things change and she'll never love a man like she loves her daughter, etc.

 

 

Amanda writes in her diary some more and then sits on her bed in Leslie's room, with Leslie lying awake in the other bed. Amanda confesses to Leslie that when she was little she wanted a sister, but one day she didn't want one anymore. Leslie says all she wanted was a mother, but now she's not so sure. Neither girl apologizes for the things she said, which I guess is more realistic than if they had. But, spoiler alert, Phyllis marries a different guy later on. I'm not sure what the purpose of introducing Mel and Leslie was if it was going to end like that.

 

Next episode: Busy and Amanda question their friendship as they each hang out with other friends.

Sweet Thirteen 3x11

Sweet Thirteen

The episode begins with Amanda, her mother, and her mother's new boyfriend Mel discussing Amanda's upcoming thirteenth birthday party. Amanda wants a more grown up motif without any chaperones, which her mother objects to. It's also clear that Amanda isn't too keen on Mel, though he seems perfectly nice. He calls her Mandy when she prefers Amanda.

 

In the next scene it is stated that Amanda's dad is taking her and Busy out to eat at a French restaurant for her birthday, because he is aware of Amanda's maturity. Amanda finds a letter she wrote when she was ten predicting what she would be like at thirteen, but the envelope says she can't open it until her birthday. Even Busy seems a little weary of Amanda's stupidity and the episode has barely begun.

 

 

Phyllis and Mel tell Amanda they are going to New York. At first she thinks they mean she's going too, but it turns out just the two of them are going on Friday, Amanda's birthday. Sounds horrible, right? But then Amanda will be at her father's on that day and wouldn't see her mother anyway. She still gets angry and writes "sMel" in the soap on Mel's car. Clever and witty as always.

 

 

At school on Friday Amanda reads the three year old letter to herself. Ten year old Amanda wanted to have become an awesome French kisser, have her poetry published, played hooky, and have an older boyfriend by age thirteen. Feeling down at not having accomplished any of these tasks, Amanda convinces Busy to skip school with her.

 

 

Amanda and Busy are bored sitting on a bench at a shopping center when friends of Frankie show up. One guy asks for money to buy cigarettes and Amanda gladly hands over the $20 her mother gave her. After he comes back having spent nearly all her money, the cops show up. Not sure why the cops would bother them about skipping school as these three guest stars all look to be in their 20's. But anyway, in need of a place to stay, Amanda offers up her mother's empty apartment.

 

 

Amanda tells Busy that this "party" will make up for the unchaperoned one her mother wouldn't let her have. The guy who took her money, Wright, comes in and asks why they were skipping. Amanda mentions it's her birthday and Wright says that means they'll have to party all night. Amanda swigs some beer and runs out of the scene.

 

 

Amanda calls her dad and asks if they can go to the restaurant another night because Busy is throwing her a surprise party. Busy is in the background waving her hands as if she wants nothing to do with this scheme.

 

 

Busy is bored as Joy and Reed make out on the couch. Amanda goes out to Wright with more horderves. There's a weird close up of Wright eating a cracker in a very dramatic fashion while looking creepily into Amanda's eyes. Amanda notices Mel's car out in the parking lot. She explains that she calls her mother's boyfriend Smel. I wonder if she's copying Chrissy when she called her mother's boyfriend Dick instead of Rick.

 

  

Amanda hands over Mel's keys and they all go for a joy ride. There's a funny scene where they get an old lady to wave back at them and everyone laughs. Even Busy loosens up and begins to have a good time.

 

 

The group stops under a freeway to spray paint graffiti on the cement walls. Amanda is asked to try it and I swear it looks like she is just writing "Smel" again. Busy goes to be the lookout in case the cops come, which I guess is as good an excuse as any to get her out of the way so Amanda can be tricked into writing "Smell" on Mel's car. The gang tells her that "indelible" means "can be washed out with soap and water" and of course she believes it.

 

 

Wright drives fast (50 or 60 mph according to the speedometer). Bizarrely, Busy laughs and smiles during this ride, but when Wright stops she yells at him for nearly wrecking the car. When they get back to Amanda's place, Amanda demands the keys back, corrects Wright when he calls her Mandy and tells the group to get lost.   

 

 

Phyllis and Mel believe the writing of the word "SMELL" on his car was gang-related. They think Amanda stayed at her dad's house after all.

 

 

It's the day of Amanda's party and she's feeling guilty. Mel has convinced her mother to go out for the evening like Amanda wanted. Busy tries to tell her she did the right thing because she would've gotten into a lot of trouble for her behavior.

 

 

In the next scene, Amanda asks to speak to Mel privately. It's pretty sad because Mel and Phyllis look pleasantly surprised at this, not realizing that it's to confess that she spray painted his car. I think this episode would have been more realistic if it had ended with Amanda feeling like shit but not confessing. How many times did you own up to doing something you knew would get you into heaps of trouble when you were off the hook? I guess this is supposed to show that Amanda is growing up after all, but it doesn't ring true.

 

Next episode: Amanda is jealous of Mel's daughter.

Just Friends 3x10

Just Friends

 

Busy and one episode wonder Jamie are discussing an original song that will be featured in this episode. They play some baseball and then Amanda shows up. Jamie's demeanor changes so you know he's got a thing for her and not Busy. Jamie gets Amanda to try a little baseball, which of course she is bad at.

 

 

Amanda talks about a party the girls will be attending later on in the episode. Busy isn't showering because she's playing catch with Jamie after school and will just get sweaty again anyway. I hope she has gym last period or else that's really inconsiderate.

 

 

I think the sweatiness and the dressing more like a boy (notice the backwards cap) are supposed to be reasons Jamie doesn't see Busy as a girlfriend, but maybe he's the only character on this show with an ounce of gaydar. In this scene, Busy thinks he's about to ask her to the party, but instead he says, "Busy, would you...give me Amanda's phone number?" Burn!

 

 

The teacher is talking about magnets and opposites attracting. Amanda says someone called her last night and hung up.

 

 

Jamie tells Busy what we've already guessed; that he chickened out of calling Amanda. Busy asks Jamie why he likes Amanda when they have nothing in common. One of the attributes he names is her smell, which gives Busy an idea. Jamie asks if she can fix it so the three of them can walk to the party together.

 

 

In the school restroom, Busy asks Amanda if she'll go to the party by herself because Jamie is coming by. Amanda wants to know if Busy like-likes Jamie, which Busy vehemently denies. I'm not sure why, because she IS supposed to like him. Anyway, this is the first time we've really seen Busy like a guy without Amanda pushing her into it from the beginning.

 

 

Busy bathes before the party, I guess in part because of what Jamie said about liking Amanda's smell. Busy asks her mother about how she and her father met and this is close as I ever am to being convinced she isn't a lesbian. But notice there is no boy in the scene.

 

 

Busy puts on some of Amanda's perfume and I think she also stuffs her bra, though she doesn't look as bad as she did in Tongue Tied. Jamie arrives with Amanda, having picked her up on the way. Busy says that Amanda lives like a mile from her. I always kind of pictured them being neighbors, but maybe they were before Amanda moved. Anyway, Jamie tosses Busy a desperate look and says he was in Amanda's neighborhood. Then Jamie asks what smells like mosquito repellent. Apparently the same perfume that attracted him to Amanda smells bad on Busy.

 

 

Jamie asks Busy to see if Amanda likes him. Amanda sees another boy she likes, Alex, looking at her and Busy gladly pushes them together. Busy and Jamie dance. Busy requested Shattered Hearts, the song they were talking about earlier. Jamie wants to ask Amanda to dance, but Busy tells him Amanda doesn't like him. It is strange that this is one of the only cute boys who have appeared on this show that Amanda hasn't been drooling over. Maybe she sensed that Busy wanted him for her beard and obeyed the girl code.

 

 

Broken hearted, Jamie decides to leave the party early. Busy tags along. Busy hints that there is a girl who really likes him out there. Busy and Jamie share a special friendship handshake similar to Busy and Amanda's, and then Busy leans in for what is possibly her most awkward kiss on this show. Jamie jumps back comically, yelling, "Busy! We're friends. Just friends." It's one of the coldest shut downs you've ever seen.

 

 

Amanda is excited to show Busy her first hickey. Jamie avoids Busy.

 

 

Busy finally admits to Amanda that she did like Jamie but he liked someone else. She evades the question of who that someone else was, so Amanda never finds out it was she. Busy questions if there's something wrong with her, because she was the one with so much in common with him. Amanda explains that love is like magnets and is not logical. Jamie comes up then and asks Busy to play catch after school. Busy says no, but maybe next week.

 

Next episode: Instead of having a bat mitzvah, Amanda decides to act like a complete idiot for her thirteenth birthday.

Swear To God 3x9

Swear To God

 

A teacher I don't think we've ever seen before is calling role. I guess this is to show all the different nationalities that are in the class. He gets to Amanda and says he's surprised she's in school that day because it's Yom Kippur. Amanda explains that her family are not practicing Jews. Even so, he asks her to explain the meaning of the holiday to the class. Amanda stammers around until finally admitting she knows nothing about it. An Asian girl stands up and answers the question. Busy is asked if there are any similar holidays in the Catholic religion, and she talks about the Holy days. A Muslim kid also adds to the conversation and Amanda feels embarrassed about not knowing about her own religion.

 

 

Amanda asks Busy to take her to her church. Busy immediately kneels and crosses herself upon entrance. A lady comes out of confessional and Amanda is eager for Busy to go or to try it out herself. Busy tells her she can't because she is Jewish. She assures Amanda that church is boring and she isn't missing out on anything. Amanda is still in awe of the traditions of the Catholic religion.

 

 

From looking at something cooking on the stove, Amanda can tell that someone named Bubby is there. Bubby turns out to be a tiny old lady and Amanda's grandmother. Unlike the Zimms, Bubby is a typical Jewish woman who observes the holidays. Kind of coincidental she would show up just now. As Amanda is almost thirteen, Bubby brings up the fact that she would be having a bat mitzvah, which irritates Amanda's mother.

 

 

Busy's parents are letting her build a studio. At this point I don't remember if we ever hear about it again. Amanda can't help on Saturday because she's doing some Jewish thing with Bubby and Busy is busy on Sunday with Catholic stuff.

 

 

Amanda goes to synagogue with Bubby and catches the eye of a boy there. Monkey Ears also attends this synagogue and comes over to say hello to Amanda, obviously still crushing on her. Rather insensitive to his feelings, Amanda asks the name of the boy she saw before. His name is Brent Green and he's conceited. Partially because of the cute boy, Amanda decides she wants to be full on Jewish and have a bat mitzvah.

 

 

Busy thinks going to Hebrew school sounds really boring and warns Amanda not to become a religious fanatic.

 

 

Amanda and her parents meet with a rabbi, who explains catching up on all the Hebrew she's missed will be a big commitment. Amanda recommends Brent to be her Hebrew tutor. The rabbi kind of laughs like he's on to he boy crazy ways.

 

 

At her tutoring session, Amanda is doodling Brent's name on her papers when Monkey Ears walks in. It seems that he was chosen to be her tutor, not Brent. Amanda is disappointed, showing us that she's not in this for the right reasons.

 

 

Amanda, Monkey Ears and some other kids emerge from the synagogue to find anti-Semitic graffiti spray painted on the building. Just then, some random passerby in a car throws an egg at Amanda, yelling about dirty Jews stinking up the city. Does it really happen like that? The actor who voices the racist isn't very convincing. Amanda tells Busy she's never going back to the synagogue because it's too dangerous.

 

 

Bubby goes in to say goodnight to Amanda and to talk about what happened that day. She gives Amanda some candle holders that have been in the family for generations. She says she wanted to give them to Amanda for her bat mitzvah but couldn't wait. Spoiler: Amanda doesn't have a bat mitzvah, so I guess Bubby was pretty disappointed. Amanda says some kids are going to hate her if she acts more Jewish, but Bubby says Amanda is still Jewish no matter what choices she makes about how to express her faith.

 

 

After Bubby has left, Amanda lights candles and recites Hebrew as she and Bubby did earlier in the episode. Amanda's mother comes in and begins singing with her.

 

Next episode: Busy likes Jamie (a boy) who likes Amanda who likes Alex.

Thin Ice 3x8

Thin Ice

 

The class is putting on Hamlet and a casting director is supposed to be in the audience. Part of the scenery keeps falling down. I'm not sure what Busy's official job was supposed to be, but she runs out and pushes it back, causing laughter and applause from the casting director lady. The lady congratulates both girls for their work and tells them she's casting a commercial for a new granola bar featuring hockey player Kurt Browning. When I first saw this episode I wasn't sure if this was yet another made up celebrity or not, but seeing as what a fuss the girls make over him and the way he is written, I assure you he is real.

 

 

This episode is the beginning of Amanda's interest in acting, so she wants the commercial to launch her career, plus she thinks Kurt is cute. Busy claims Kurt is her hero, which is also a new thing, and has all his shows on tape. So they both want the commercial, which I'm sure won't cause any problems.

 

 

The casting lady calls Busy and not Amanda. Also, Amanda's man mural (removed in Am I Perverted Or What?) is back up on her wall.

 

 

Amanda accompanies Busy and her mother to the audition, hoping to have a good word put in for her. Busy goes in for the audition and Kurt Brown is there. She immediately begins kissing his ass because she's an athlete too and he's her hero and because the producers felt obligated to include such lines.

 

 

Amanda acts like her usual self-centered, immature self when she finds out Busy got a call back for the audition. Turns out the producer liked Busy's gender ambiguous look and needs a goalie for the commercial, which Busy has experience playing. Amanda brings up the fact that Busy can't skate. How can you play hockey if you can't skate? Even if she was a goalie, she'd still have to skate out to the goalie box. Amanda refuses to help Busy rehearse.

 

 

Sam toasts Busy's upcoming opportunity with the expectation that she's already secured the job. Busy has a dream sequence in which she skates with Kurt and I'm really distracted by the obvious use of a stunt double.

 

 

Monkey Ears gives Busy a picture of himself for Kurt to autograph. The girls all make a fuss over Kurt and Amanda bitches at them to shut up because she's rehearsing. Busy invites Amanda to come to the audition and meet Kurt but Amanda turns her down.

 

 

Busy and her parents arrive at the audition and see that there's a lot more girls there than they'd thought. Busy manages to do well enough to make it through the first audition, though.

 

 

Amanda shows up around this time, though it's unknown if it's to support Busy or to see Kurt. The girls have to do a more complicated move now, skating a circle around Kurt. When it's Busy's turn, she falls in front of everyone, of course eliminating herself from the commercial.

 

 

Busy is so embarrassed that she wants to stay in the restroom. Amanda comes in and admits to being jealous. Then she gives Busy a "don't be a quitter" pep talk. Apparently Kurt fell at the Olympics, but he didn't quit. Nor did Amanda quit the play when she wasn't picked to audition for the commercial.

 

 

Eventually Busy emerges from the bathroom and she and Amanda find Kurt skating in the arena. Kurt acknowledges Busy and tells her she got pretty far with the auditions. Amanda asks if they can skate with Kurt for a few minutes because that would make for some cool end credits footage.

 



Next episode: Amanda gets in touch with her Jewish side.