Welcome to another Wildcard Wednesday! To complement coverage of Susan Harris’ The Golden Girls (1985-1992, NBC) concurrently running on Sitcom Tuesdays, I thought I’d take this time to share an original script of Fay (1975-1976, NBC), Harris’ first sitcom, which we’ve discussed several times on this blog — most recently last year when I shared a complete episode and gave brief general thoughts on the series. (Please revisit that entry here.) The episode featured today is one of two that I screened at UCLA in 2014, “Mom’s Realization,” which aired as the show’s third on September 18, 1975. It was written by Gail Parent, whose work will be featured on Sitcom Tuesdays very soon, and directed by Richard Kinon. As you can tell from my thoughts at the time, expressed here, I was pretty impressed by the episode, which I’d better note now played better than it reads — evidence of how much great performers like Grant and guest Lilia Skala can enhance the written word! But, you be the judge. Below is the final draft of “Mom’s Realization.” Let me know what you think in the comments below!
Here is the teleplay. (The tag ends abruptly; it is possible that the final page is missing, but I can’t confirm as such.)
Come back next Wednesday for another Wildcard post! And tune in on Monday for another forgotten musical!