As this episode kicks off, Florida and the children are together in the living room area; Florida is working on a dress she’s making for Thelma, J.J. is painting a still life, and Michael is trying to decide on the subject for a school essay entitled, “The Man I Most Admire.” And James passes through on his way to a job interview for assistant foreman for a van and storage company. After considering famous names like Jesse Jackson and Thurgood Marshall, Michael ultimately decides to write about his father – but he rethinks his decision when James returns home, having given up on his chances for the job without even making it to the interview.

Thelma and J.J. endeavor to boost their father’s lagging self-confidence by seeking his sage advice on their post-high school plans, but the scheme backfires when James overhears J.J. tell his sister, “I think he’s okay now.” Angered by the ruse enacted by his elder children, James goes on to accuse Florida of equally artificial behavior with her “sweet talkin’ and neck-rubbin,” then aims his wrath in Michael’s direction when he finds a draft of his essay identifying James as the man he most admires. Ultimately, though, after Florida reads from the final draft of Michael’s composition, James’s ire cools and he is able to accept the appreciation that his family has for him, despite the challenges and setbacks he is sometimes forced to face.

I found this episode to be outstanding in both writing and directing, resulting in numerous laugh-out-loud moments. My favorites include the “battle of the sexes” exchange, with Florida and Thelma going head-to-head against J.J. and Michael. During the argument, J.J. offers up a notable achievement by a male, and Florida or Thelma counter it with a female-related comeback. Finally, J.J. is unable to think of a response and calls on his little brother: “Well, don’t just sit there, Michael, jump in here! Say something!” I think you have to see this scene to appreciate it – the humor doesn’t come through with the written word, but trust me, it’s funny. And in a later scene, after failing to show up at his job interview, James explains his rationale to Florida, mimicking the voice of a white personnel director: “You know how it goes, baby,” he tells Florida: “‘Uh, Mr. Evans, as you know, we’re an equal employment opportunity employer, so your color really isn’t important.’ Meanwhile, the dude is lookin’ me up and down like he’s trying to figure out how many watermelons a day I can knock off.” John Amos does a great job here showing his comic chops.

Outside of the humor, the episode’s heart shines though, particularly in the scene where James believes that his entire family is putting on an act to appease him, and then realizes how much he means to them. It’s the poignant but honest words from Michael’s essay that turn his heart: “He gets knocked down a lot, but he always comes up swinging. . . . He doesn’t have the best education in the world, but he’s the best father in the world.”

Pop Culture Connections

Elroy Duncan

As Michael ponders which person to select for his essay, J.J. suggests Elroy Duncan who, he says, “did more for Blacks than anybody – he invented the hot comb!” There’s not a whole lot of information available about Duncan, but he was believed to have introduced the straightening comb in America, after it was invented in France by a hairdresser named Marcel Grateau. Duncan reportedly marketed the comb as an instrument for mustache grooming.

Male Chauvinist

When Michael remarks that “all the great any-persons are men,” Thelma calls him a male chauvinist. During this 1970s, this was a commonly used label, which referred to a man who believed that men were superior to women in terms of ability, intelligence, and other areas. (Sometimes, an adjective was added to turn the descriptor into a bigger insult: “male chauvinist PIG.”) J.J., incidentally, elicits a big laugh in this scene when he admonishes Thelma, “Don’t call my kid brother nothin’ to do with Russia!”

Isaac Hayes and Meadowlark Lemon

In the scene where Thelma and J.J. seek James’s guidance on their career aspirations, J.J. remarks that they need someone with “the wisdom of Isaac Hayes and the worldly experience of Meadowlark Lemon.” Isaac Hayes was a composer, singer, and songwriter who was a session musician and writer at Stax Records and first rose to fame in 1969 when he released the innovative album Hot Buttered Soul. Two years later, he won an Academy Award for his score for the film Shaft, which skyrocketed him into superstardom. In 2002, Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as was Jim Stewart, co-founder of Stax Records. By the way, if you’ve never seen the documentary on Stax, called “Soulsville, U.S.A.,” you really should seek it out; it’s available on several streaming services as of this writing, including HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and YouTube. You only owe it to yourself.)

Meadowlark Lemon – whose real name was Meadow George Lemon, III – was best known as a member of The Harlem Globetrotters, a famous basketball team that traveled around the world demonstrating amazing and hilarious feats of basketball skill. He performed with the popular team from 1955 to 1980, when he left to form The Bucketeers, the first of several teams that were similar to the Globetrotters. It’s said that Lemon made his first basketball hoop using a rounded coat hanger and an onion sack for the net, and used an empty evaporated milk can for a ball. An ordained minister, in 1994 he started the Meadowlark Lemon Ministries in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Van and Storage Company

This isn’t a term you hear today, but van and storage companies offered moving services, using vans for transport, and they also provided facilities for short- or long-term storage for residential or commercial customers. These days, moving companies and storage companies are generally separate.

Guest Stars:

From feast to famine – the previous episode had more guest stars with speaking parts than any to date, and this one had none!

Other Stuff:

This episode marks another one that evokes the name of O.J. Simpson. During an argument with Thelma about suggestions for Michael’s essay, Thelma names off a string of accomplished women: Shirley Chisolm, Coretta Scott King, and Harriet Tubman. For each woman Thelma names, J.J. counters with “O.J. Simpson!” Oy.

The next episode: Crosstown Buses Run All Day, Doodah, Doodah . . .