Season One

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"Between A Rock And Harlin's Place"

Special thanks to Annie for writing the summary

Episode #1.04 | Original Airdate 10/12/1998

Written by David Kohan & Max Mutchnick | Directed by James Burrows | Eric McCormack (Will Truman) | Debra Messing (Grace Adler) | Sean Hayes (Jack McFarland) | Megan Mullally (Karen Walker) | GUEST CAST: Gary Grubbs (Harlin Polk) |

Summary: Plot 1: Buttinski (Butt-in-ski) = Noun 1) A Terminal Butt-er-inner. 2) Will Truman.
At Will and Grace's apartment as they sit down to a meal Will has prepared, he tells Grace that Harlin is separating from his wife and has bought an apartment on the Upper Eastside, that he needs a decorator and it's her. Grace declines because, "I know you, you'll butt in."

Will promises he won't. Grace maintains he will interfere because he can't help himself. Will claims it's just a bad habit and that he can control himself. Grace looks doubtful, "You know Betty Ford set up a nice little place in the desert based on that statement." Will assures her that he won't butt in, Grace asks why it's so important to him and then works out that Will has already promised Harlin that she will do it. Grace agrees, but only on the condition that Will sets it up and walks away, clarifying "You're just the pimp!" He agrees.

Plot 2: One-Man Band
Grace has gone to bed and Will is watching television when Jack arrives at the apartment with big news - he has decided that what he does best is sing and so he is doing a one night only show downtown at the duplex entitled 'Just Jack'. He invites Will and Grace to come and see the performance.

Plot 1, 2 & 3: That’s What Assistants Are For
At Grace's studio Karen is at her desk filing her nails when Jack enters and begins singing, ‘Touch Me In The Morning’ Karen tells him she's busy, then remembers that Jack "is kinda funny", so decides she will talk to him after all. Jack shows her the flyer for his act and insists that she comes along. Karen asks him who's going to be there. Jack replies, "Uh, let me remember who's on the guest list, the King of - I'm gonna be there! Moi! Is that not good enough for you?!"

He sits on her desk, pleading for her to come, then lies across her desk promising to be her best friend if she agrees. He sits up, a post-it note stuck to the side of his head. Karen sighs, agreeing to attend and pulls the post-it note from his head, scribbling down the time.

Jack demonstrates his opening entrance for her, Karen shakes her head disapprovingly, declaring, "No! No! No! Honey you don't just saunter out like that - you're not Merve Griffin!" She tells him to come back tomorrow and they can work on it then. He hands her a bunch of flyers and tells her to give them to her friends, then heads for the door. He bumps into Harlin and hands him a flyer, then leaves.

Harlin introduces himself, telling Karen that he's supposed to be meeting Grace. “I’m Karen Walker – I’m supposed to be her assistant!” Karen laughs, and then indicates where he should sit while he waits. Harlin notices that Karen has one of Jack’s flyers and asks with interest if she's going. "Oh honey - I'm always going!" she replies.

Grace and Will arrive, Will has just shown Grace Harlin's apartment and she has lots of idea's and begins to run through them, but Will keeps interrupting. Grace reminds him that he's just the pimp and Will leaves them to it.

Plot 1: Did Gene Artry Explode In Here?
Grace has just finished decorating Harlin's apartment when he arrives, with Will in tow. Will explains that Harlin asked him and promises not to say anything. They go into the decorated living room. When Will sees it he thinks it's over-the-top and irritates Grace when he tells Harlin that the room is "an extreme version of an idea that Grace will now distil into a more refined, elegant essence." Grace disagrees and goes on to point out other features of the room to Harlin, while Will is "gored by the comfy chair."

Plot 1: Dial F for Fired
Back at their apartment, Grace is sublimating her rage towards Will by eating a cheesecake. He arrives and they argue, she claims that he couldn't resist interfering and he attacks the room she decorated. Grace replies that she didn't design it for him, she designed it "for a six-foot-four man from Texas - if I was doing young gay lawyer, it’d be deco with fear-based bitchy wallpaper."

Will claims that he knows Harlin and the room was over-the-top, Grace claims that she knows decorating and that the room she designed is perfect for Harlin. She asks what Harlin had to say about it, Will tells her that he said she was fired. Grace is taken back, she refuses to accept this and decides to call Harlin, Will tries to discourage her. Grace picks up the phone and dials random numbers for a few moments, then exclaims "Oh my god - I'm fired!" She turns on Will, blaming him for getting her fired, "You sat there and you ridiculed every piece of furniture right in front of him."

"Because every piece of furniture was a hollowed-out animal!" Retorts Will. Grace asks if Harlin said that, Will claims that the expression on Harlin's face said it all and that he didn't like it because Grace made some bad choices. Then Will asks if they can talk about it later because they have to go to Jack's show. Grace tells him they’re taking separate cabs.

Plot 2: Dirty Dancing
At Grace's studio Karen is at her desk, legs resting on the desktop, while Jack shows her what song he's opening with. He sits at a keyboard, which is set-up on Grace's worktable and begins to play a ballad. Karen holds her hand up, "No, honey... no, no, no, no, no, stop, stop - uh, ah - coma!" She drops her head sideways and sticks her tongue out.

Jack tells her that he want to open with a ballad because he can cry really well. Karen tells him, "You're in a gay club with a nice ass - start shaking that money-maker!" She gets up and slaps his behind, Jack smiles. Karen gets him to press the 'samba' button on the keyboard, a beat starts playing, she pulls Jack to his feet and begins teaching him some dance moves.

First the shoulders; then hips. Jack doesn't quite get the hang of it so Karen moves closely behind him, putting her hands on his hips and guides the swivelling of his hip movements. Jack moves his hands backwards to grip Karen and they gyrate their hips together. After a few moments Jack gets carried away, Karen looks nervous, then asks, "What's going on honey?! What is this?"

Jack tells her that his stomach feels funny, Karen tells him to turn off the music, they pull apart and Jack stops the music. Flustered, Karen reaches for a tissue and tells Jack that he should start with a ballad.

Plot 1, 2 & 3: "Just Jack...& Company"
At the bar, Will is ordering a drink when Harlin arrives asking if Karen is in attendance. Will says she is, but explains that she's married. He asks if Harlin fired Grace because he didn't like the apartment, Harlin denies this.

Jack comes out in "performance mode", telling them that he'll talk to them after the show in his dressing room. "You mean the bathroom?" Corrects Will. Jack then thanks him for the flowers and telegram that he didn't send and walks 'backstage'.

Will tells Harlin that Grace didn't mean to offend him with the way she decorated his apartment. Harlin is surprised, claiming that he thought it was great and whished she could have finished the job. Shocked, Will asks why Harlin fired her. Harlin explains that it was because of the tension between Will and Grace and that he didn't want to be responsible for breaking-up "whatever it is you two have going."

So, it is Will's fault that Grace got fired. Panicked, Will asks "What if I butt out?" Harlin laughs, then declares, "What if I go gay?!" Harlin excuses himself to use the 'backstage'. Karen comes out, greets Harlin and ushers Will over to a table in front of the stage because the show is about to begin. Jack comes onstage, introduces himself and begins his opening ballad.

Grace arrives, she sits at their table and tells Will that maybe she was a little off the mark with her design concepts and apologises for getting so angry with him. Jack begins singing, the microphone starts slipping downwards, Jack moves his head with it, then indicates for Karen to fix it. She gets up and moves the microphone back in place, accidentally hitting Jack in the face, then sits down. Jack continues with his show.

Will confesses to Grace that it was his fault that Harlin sacked her, he holds up his hand, "My name is Will T and I am a butt-er-inner." He admits that she was right and he was wrong. Grace makes him repeat it over and over, until Will stands and shouts it. Jack stops his show and yells, "Hey, hey - it's not the 'Will and Grace show' - its called 'Just Jack'!"

The End: When Is A Buttinski No Longer A Buttinski?
The bar is closing, Will and Grace sit at their table with a contract written on a napkin which states that Will will no longer be a buttinski, Will signs it, Grace legally binds it with a bottle of Budweiser, she gets up and leaves. Jack appears from 'backstage', telling Will how great it is that there are no fans and no record executives hanging around. He asks Will what he thought of the show, "Jack, you have a beautiful singing voice." Comes the reply.

Jack asks what Will thought of the dance sequence, "Jack, you have a beautiful voice!" comes the reply. They leave.


Quotes
KAREN: Honey I'm busy - touch yourself.

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JACK: Karen, you can't just devastate me like that - you're not my lover!
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HARLIN: Whatever I don't get I figure is gay.
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WILL [About an animal skull in GRACE'S hands]: You know Grace, at some point that dog needed water!


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