[1-8] The High and the Mighty
Up [1-1] Pilot [1-2] The Great Pretender [1-3] The Apartment [1-4] Pride & Prejudice [1-5] The Rivals [1-6] A Star is Born [1-7] Grand Illusions [1-8] The High and the Mighty [1-9] Meet Tommy Dugan [1-10] The Competitors [1-11] Dog Day Afternoon [1-12] Criss Cross [1-13] Bye Bye Love [1-14] Starting Over [1-15] Gabby's Song [1-16] Kiss Me, Stupid [1-17] An Affair to Remember [1-18] Snowbound [1-19] Striptease [1-20] Deaf Becomes Her [1-21] Hot in the City [1-22] Bone Free [1-23]The Mayor who came to Dinner [1-24] Mayor over Miami

 

Producers: Walter Barnett & Jeff Lovell
Writer: Kirk J. Rudell
Director: Lee Shallat Chemel


Episode Length: 21:58

Guest Stars:

George Wednt: Dan Donaldson
Taylor Stanley: Karen
Andrew Daly: Payroll Guy

Rating:#19 18.5 million viewers 13.2 rating 22 share

First Broadcast: November 12, 1996

Opening sound: Subway

 

Storyline #1: Hey Look, it's Norm.
One of the administration's goals for itself is to sell the Sharon project, a run-down retirement home. In steps Dan Donaldson, a multibillionaire real estate developer. Mike convinces Dan to buy the place. Now Dan wants to get the inside track on the City's building projects, a game Mike is not willing to play. When Mike declines to participate in organized corruption, Dan holds the Sharon project hostage in order to receive the project. Mike then sets up a sting, with Stuart bugged, in order to blackmail Dan into submission.

Storyline #2: Tube Distractions
Mike and Ashley can't agree on what to watch on TV. Mike wants to watch his ESPN while Ashley can't stand to view sports. After many tries to compromise, they finally settle on a deal. Mike can watch his sports and Ashley can listen to her music. They then sing the ESPN theme music.

 

Review: The High and the Mighty

Overall, a sellout episode. And shouldn't "The High and the Mighty" been the title of the School Chancellor episode? Anyway, you could tell by watching that this was simply a sweeps stunt to get Norm on the air. Very little plot moving and I had to struggle to find 10 good lines in the episode. And let's not forget. In the tradition of hyping "The Lion King" just a few weeks earlier, the show shamelessly flaunts its sports network, ESPN. What's next, a referrendum making "Tool Time" the official show of New York? It works on Seinfeld. It doesn't work here. Mike states so eloquently in the episode, "I have no idea what I'm saying."



Rating [5 pt. scale]: 1.5

 

Did you notice ...

Sportscenter is on at 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, and 9:30?
Paul's nickname is now Captain Goodnews?
the Speaker of the NY House is Speaker Rosen?
Paul is no longer confident now he has lost his eyepatch?
Paul worries about his bike, the one shown in "The Rivals"?

Top 10 Lines

10. Dan: "We're all playing 'Let's hate the Billionaire.'"
9. Mike: "Who would have thought you could break a window with a piece of raw fish?"
8. James: (to Stuart) "If we were stranded alone on a desert island, you would eat me."
7. Dan: "I just impulse bought a retirement home."
6. Dan: "I own a pharmaceutical firm which purchased small parts of Columbia."
5. Carter: "Think about it in your chair. Think about it anywhere."
4. Mike: (to Stuart) "You're very convincing as the angry, bitter underling with delusions of grandeur."
3. Mike: "What are you listening to? Rancid? Smashing Pumpkins? Rancid Pumpkins?"
2. Mike: (to Dan) "You own a vinyard?"
1. Mike: "Samantha, can I get a pair of chinos?"

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