Season One

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"Boo! Humbug"

Special thanks to Annie for writing the summary

Episode #1.05 | Original Airdate 10/26/1998

Written by Jon Kinnally & Tracy Poust | 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) | Paul Goebel (Jerry) | Ben Caswell (Sam) | Reiley McClendon ("Nixon") | Jorden Ashley ("Buzzy Wuzzy") | Michael Stadvec ("Starsky") | Demitri Corbin (Drag Queen #1) | Terrence Michael (Drag Queen #2) | John Cantwell (Drag Queen #3) |

Summary: Plot 1: All This And Halloween Too?
Will and Grace are reading the morning papers at the table when Jack enters, wishing them a happy Halloween and tells them of his "dilemma". He and Donald were going to the fancy-dress gay parade downtown as 'Adam and Steve', but Donald cancelled, so Jack wants Will to go with him instead, claiming "I can only do this with you, you're my best friend, we'll have so much fun together!" Will refuses.

Undeterred, Jack turns to Grace saying "Grace, I can only do this with you, you're my best friend, we'll have so much fun together!" Grace declines.

Will tells Jack that Halloween is a children's holiday. Jack goes to leave, declaring that it is only Halloween and the TONY's that make the rest of the year bearable. Will tells him to have a good time, wear reflective tape, get lots of candy and "don't put anything in your mouth that isn't wrapped!" Jack leaves.

Plot 1: A Touch Of Sass
At Grace's studio, Jack is painting Karen's toenails while she flicks through a magazine. "Karen, you have to come with me, I can only do this with you, you're my best friend, we'll have so much fun together!" Karen turns him down, claiming she has other responsibilities. Jack tells her she's right, she should spend Halloween taking her husbands children by their sticky hands, knocking on the doors of neighbours who hate her, block after block. Karen admits that it sounds heinous. "In flat shoes" Jack adds. Karen freezes as the full horror hits her.

In a tone suggesting she's changed her mind, she admits that she's never been downtown on Halloween. Jack tells her that she has to come because she'll be worshipped; he takes her by the hand and pulls her to her feet, claiming, "You're like an icon to gay men. You've got the sass, the class... the ass."

Karen and Jack jump up and down excitedly, clapping their hands. Karen asks what she should wear, Jack informs her that they would go as a team e.g. Sonny and Cher. Karen says she's not going unless she can be the girl, her only costume criteria is "boobs up and out."

Plot 2: Put The Shovel Down And Step Away From The Hole!
Will's office. Harlin and Will are closing a business deal. Harlin goes to leave; he has to pick-up his kids who are in town having a tour of the stock exchange. He plans on showing them a real New York City Halloween. He asks Will what he's doing to celebrate, Will says he's not, "I stopped dressing up when I grew out of my mother's shoes."

Harlin claim's he's missing out because it's the best holiday of the year and that when Will gets married and has his own children he'll understand - Harlin stops, then quickly backtracks, "or when you have your commitment ceremony and adopt a Himalayan mussel kid."

Plot 1 & 2: Body and Sole
Will and Grace's apartment. Will is cooking curry; he gives some to Grace to try. She splutters and yells, moves to the sink and rinses her mouth out. "Oh my god, I'm sweating - my teeth are sweating!" Will asks her if he should add more curry powder, she replies "just a touch."

There is a knock at the door, Grace opens it to reveal Karen and Jack decked out in their Halloween costumes. Jack asks them to guess who they're supposed to be. Will plays along, "a Catholic girl gone bad and - Karen what are you supposed to be?!" Karen laughs and tells him that she's body and Jack is David Sole from 'Starsky and Hutch'.

They have dropped by to give Will and Grace one last chance to join them. Will says there's something he and Grace have to do first, "everything else in our lives!" Jack turns to Karen claiming, "I don't dig these squares anyway, come on foxy, let’s bring down the man - I've got your back!" With his toy gun Jack begins rolling across the floor in the hallway and aiming his gun as if in 'Starsky and Hutch'. Karen sighs and turns to Grace and Will, "oh boy, this is gonna get real old real quick!" and follows Jack out.

Grace closes the door and moves over to the TV and VCR, she sets up the Ingma Berman film, choosing to ignore the 'Shirley MacClaine Inner Workout' that was in the VCR. There is another knock at the door, this time it's Harlin, he has his kids with him, one of them is dressed as Nixon and the other as a bee. Since Will is the only person Harlin knows in New York, he wants Will to look after his children for the evening while he tries to save a business deal from falling through. The kids sit on the sofa, Harlin promises to try and pick them up that night and then leaves.

Grace looks to Will asking, "What are we going to do? I'm allergic to bees and I'm a democrat!" Will asks the children if they want to take off their masks, they shake their heads. Grace offers them curried lamb and vindaloo, then gets them a glass of clamato juice. Will suggests that they take the kids trick or treating in the building.

Plot 1: Sisterhood Of Man
Jack and Karen are downtown, Karen is not happy, claiming that they're three seconds away from being mugged or pierced. Jack puts a comforting arm around her and tells her not to worry because "nothing's going to harm you, not while I'm around." Then he starts to sing. Karen retorts, "oh good - now I feel safe, you'll frighten them away with an Angela Lansbury ballad!"

Karen decides to go home, Jack follows her. Karen stops when the leader of a group of drag queens tells her, "oh mister sister - you are so fierce!" The drag queens click their fingers at her in appreciation, giving her ten out of ten for "realness." Karen thanks them, Jack tells her that they think she's a man, Karen doesn't care because they think she's a ten!

Plot 2: Man Candy
Will, Grace and the children are trick or treating in the building. One of the doors that Nixon knocks on is answered by a good-looking man, Will immediately turns on the charm, Grace appears carrying Buzzy and informing Will that Buzzy has thrown up in her mask, but that she managed to clean-up most of it. Grace presses the button to the elevator, adding "I say we just get their candy, get them to bed and try to salvage whatever's left of our evening together!"

The good-looking man says goodbye to Will and closes the door. Will thanks Grace for ruining his chances. Grace gets annoyed and they start to argue. Grace puts Buzzy down. The elevator arrives, Will and Grace get in, still arguing and realise they have forgotten about the kids who have been silently watching them. To make up for arguing, they decide to take the kids out on the streets to go trick or treating.

Plot 1: The Company Of Queens
Downtown. Karen is sat atop a mailbox swigging beer from a brown paper bag, surrounded by admiring drag queens and Jack, who looks deflated. Karen decides she wants a drag name, one of the queens tells her that she has to combine the name of her first pet and the first street she lived on to get her drag name. Karen thinks for a moment, then says "Shu Shu Fontana!" The drag queens applaud and coo. Karen asks Jack what his drag name would be, looking uncomfortable, Jack replies "Glen, a hundred and twenty-fifth."

Karen starts to give the queens make-up tips. While they chant "Go Shu Shu" Jack wonders off, bumping into a man dressed as Starsky. A neon sign saying "HOT" lights up behind them.

Plot 2: String Happy
At Will and Grace's apartment they sit around the coffee table with the kids and look at their haul of candy. Will and Grace compete for Buzzy's jawbreaker, Will goes to exchange the jawbreaker when Nixon pulls out a can of silly string and aims it at Will, who thinks he's bluffing. Grace chimes in, "he bombed Cambodia. I think he'd silly string you as soon as look at you."

Will holds his hands up in defeat, then grabs a can of silly string and aims it at Buzzy, declaring, "you string me, I'll string her!" Grace makes a move for the jawbreaker, Buzzy pulls a can of silly string on her, Grace looks at Buzzy in disbelief, muttering, "after all we've been through?" then she grabs a can of silly string and aims it at Buzzy. Will tries to ease the tension, they all slowly lower their cans to the table. Will fires on the kids, Grace and the kids grab their cans and start spraying each other.

Will pretends to be fatally wounded from the silly string, he calls to Grace who rushes over to him, saying she'll miss him and confirms that she can keep the apartment. During their theatrics Harlin walks in exclaiming, "oh - so this is how you don't do Halloween?!"

Will tries to talk about the business deal, but Harlin can't take him seriously with silly string in his hair, he says they can talk business later. The kids remove their masks for the first time, then Harlin takes them home.

When they're gone, Will and Grace return to their previous plans for the evening, then drop everything and rush to see who can get the jawbreaker first, Will starts silly stringing Grace, who dives over the sofa.


Quotes
KAREN: Honey, I can't go, I have a home, a husband and three beautiful stepchildren. [Pause] No - wait, two - two beautiful stepchildren!

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JACK: [Gasping] God can hear you right through the building - and she's not happy!


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