SkimIt
From "Football Girlfriends" to "Dad Bands," Suburgatory "tackles" the big issues in Chatswin, as both Tessa and George struggle how to fit in to the quirky local scene while retaining their individuality. Watch for homages to Norma Rae and Dobie Gray.
Suburgatory starring Jane Levy, Jeremy Sisto and Cheryl Hines airs on ABC Wednesdays at 9:30 pm ET.
Tessa is Drawn into the "Football Girlfriends' Devotion Pit"
After Ryan (Parker Young) loudly announces in the school hallway that "Tessa and I are not embarrassed to express how tender our love is for each other," Jane Levy's lead character is invited by the head cheerleader, Amber, to join the "Football Girlfriends." Amber leads Tessa to the dim, dusty basement known as "The Devotion Pit," where she and all the other girls make T-shirts, posters and, most important of all, the giant paper banner the players get to run through as they make their entrance to the stadium. Tessa thinks it looks like a sweat shop, and shortly leads a workers' revolt, even standing on a table to hold up a protest sign in full-on Norma Rae mode.
Noah Tells George "If You're the Skylight King then She's the Skylight Queen"
Dallas (Cheryl Hines) prints up hundreds of posters on her new printer which advertise Jeremy Sisto's George as "The Skylight King," a reference to what has become the signature job of his little architectural and construction business in Chatswin. George does not want to hurt Dallas' feelings, but obviously does not like this - and feels pushed, manipulated and a bit smothered by Dallas' pushy program. When he tells Fred (Chris Parnell) and Noah (Alan Tudyk) how he feels, they both tell him they understand - it is a woman's way of feeling important because her man is important or, as Noah buts it simply: "If you're the Skylight King then she's the Skylight Queen."
George Sings "Drift Away" while Sheila Belts Out "Barracuda"
Just as Tessa is leading a revolt of the "Football Girlfriends," so does George lead a husbands' revolt. After encouraging them on by singing Dobie Gray's (and many other singers' and bands') classic "Drift Away" ("Oh gimme the beat boys and free my soul/I want to get lost in your rock and roll/And drift away), he, Fred and Noah form a dad-band. They gather in his garage for the first jam session of their band, tentatively named either "Full-on Fatherly Assault" or "The Fathers' of Mass Destruction" - and not "Sheila's Pets" as Fred suggests. No sooner do they start rockin' then Sheila (Ana Gasteyer) shows up - and she, of course, takes over as lead singer, belting out Heart's "Barracuda." Surprisingly, both George and Sheila, by the way, nail their songs.
Unfortunately Fred and Noah leave the band after George suggests Sheila stay (after all, he explains, she is good - and not just good enough for a dad band, but real good). George hires some session musicians so he can Sheila can rock, but Dallas is not amused, and that, finally, leads him to reform the group as a dad's only band. The boys then burst out with a mash up of "Chinese Chicken" and the Barenaked Ladies' "One Week."
Tessa Discovers the Joys of Running Through Paper
The Chatswin Labradors lose their game because there was no one to cheer them on and no paper banner for the players to run through ("and that is why most of us joined the team"). Although initially angry and upset at how Tessa, as always, changes everything, he and the boys make her a giant paper banner with her name on it and set it up so she can run through it to get to a math test. This leads her to the revelation, as expressed in voiceover that "everyone needs to be cheered on."
Best Lines:
"This is where we do their homework so they can concentrate on practice." - Amber
"It's nine-thirty on a Wednesday night and there's gotta be something good on" TV. (Suburgatory, by the way, airs at 9:30 Eastern Time Wednesday nights on ABC) – Tessa
"I joined because we stood for something - not hanging out with our wives and taking back the night." – Noah
