Writer:  Jeff Lowell
Director: Andy Cadiff

Episode Length: 21:24

Guest Stars:

Rating: n/a

Rating:  TV- PG

First Broadcast:February 25, 1998

Storyline #1: The Curse of Michael Flahrety
Stacy wants to move out of her parent's house, but she admits that no one has ever successfully done that.  It seems you're born there, you live there, and you die there.  Mike visits for dinner and throws his support behind the idea.  But Stacy's parents disagree.  They threaten to disown her if she leaves.  She does.   They do.  And to top it off, Stacy's grandma responds by putting a curse on Mike.  Mike discounts it at first.  But he begins to see some serious side effects.  His mouth turns blue and his pen explodes in his pocket.  Then, while working out with the New York Rangers, he accidentally stakes into two of the team members and injures them.  Mike is at his wit's end and Stacy thinks she's found a passable pad, but both agree that they need to consult with Stacy's parents again.  When they go back, Stacy makes up with her parents and Mike gets the curse lifted.

Storyline #2: Ill Communication
Seems The Mayor is having a little trouble hearing things.  He botches a couple of lines at a press conference and has trouble talking to James and Mike.  He therefore confides in James that he is having audio difficulties and he needs help.   Especially since he's dating a new woman and doesn't want to seem old.   Hilarious hi-jinks ensue.  But good news comes from the doctor's office:   it's only a passing bug.  In no time, our Mayor will be able to hear loud and clear.  Now, he can concentrate on other things, like his eyesight...

Storyline #3:  Movin' on Up
Bob in Accounting has passed on, and there's an empty office on the second floor of City Hall.  Stuart jumps at the chance to move up in the world, and frankly, the rest of the Staff is pleased as well.  But there is a down side to moving to the second floor:  there's no one to make fun of at the office.  The other people upstairs are stiffs that don't react to Stuart's taunts, and the Staff downstairs is hiding their feelings poorly.  The want Stuart back too.  So, upon conferring with Carter, he comes back down to dish out his own brand of verbal justice.

Review: Deaf Man Walking

Overall, a curse-free episode.  While all three storylines were a little short on the descriptions, that was because the show was short on action and long on gags.   This episode didn't give us much back story or narrative.  Instead, it packed in the laughs.  But, as always, we must talk about what happened.

First, we continue where Family Affair picked up by introducing parents into the show.   This time, Stacy is fighting to move out and away from the parental eye.  It's a little unbelievable that such a street-strong girl would still be living at home, but Stacy has not showed any other sign of not living at home.  The makeup session at the end was too Brady Bunch, but it was forgivable.

Mike's curse was excellently portrayed.  Here we see Mike resigning himself to live with the curse and all it brings.  Kudos to Mr. Fox for bringing enough anxiety, shallowness, and fear into his portrayal this week.  It seems that the writers decided to take a week off from Mike's gallivanting and portray him as the lonely bachelor that he really is.  (It's also nice to see that dinner with Mike is now seen as similar to Helen duty by the Staff.)

As always, Stuart puts forth a yeoman's effort.  Wasn't it great to see him squirming about trying to vent his hostility to someone, ... anyone.  And it was a nice show of support from the rest of the Staff to notice that while they don't always appreciate Stuart's meddling, they do care about him.  What are friends for, really?

The weakest point of the show, assuming one has to have a weakness, was the bit about The Mayor going deaf.  While an interesting idea, it was explained away too easily and most likely, won't be revisited as it should.  It does give James some rarely-seen time of mentoring Mayor Winston, and he uses it to his full advantage.  I also didn't like that Winston's dating again was brought up in such a non-chalant way.   The last time Mayor Winston went out was in The Goodbye Girl.  And you would think that the romantic habits of The Mayor would be constant tabloid fodder.  If he was seeing this woman, everyone should have already known about it.

Not that I'm against our beloved Mayor finding love again.  Last season's divorce arc was one of the show's strongest, and Bostwick excellently conveys his professional ineptitudes into his personal life.  But this story was not enough involved to be considered great. 

My final opinion.  A good episode to be sure.  A fine outing.  Better than most shows can muster.  But a classic?  Not yet.

Rating [5 pt. scale]: 4.5

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