LIFE GOES ON: TOAST (TV)
Summary
One in this dramatic series about the challenges facing the Thacher family -- parents Drew and Libby, their daughter Becca, their son Corky, who has Down's Syndrome, and Drew's daughter Paige. In this episode, the family, now including new baby Nicholas, get ready for the day in their usual chaotic state. At the renovated restaurant, Drew, Corky and Hans toast to “new beginnings,” and Drew shows a customer around as Hans teaches his “apprentice,” Corky, how to use the brand-new stove and fryer. At work, Libby deals with her obnoxious boss, Jerry, who is not nearly as pleased as everyone else to see her returned from maternity leave. Corky learns to make French fries, and Becca asks him to cover for her at the front counter as she runs outside to meet Tyler. Drew closes the restaurant early for the night for a “secret appointment” and is unamused to find Becca kissing Tyler in the alleyway. As they leave, Corky adjusts the knob on the fryer. The family then presents an ecstatic Libby with a new car, and everyone is happy. Later that night, however, the fryer sparks a fire at the restaurant, and by the time the family arrives, the blaze is out of control. The firemen explain that it originated in the kitchen, and everyone blames themselves. Things get even worse when Jerry reprimands Libby for being late after her long leave, and she snaps at him and is fired. Becca offers to contribute her college fund to the family, but Drew refuses. Corky suffers nightmares about the fire, clearly feeling guilty, and when Drew catches him washing the car early in the morning, he implies that he knows what happened and apologizes to Corky for not double-checking the kitchen before they left.
Libby returns to her office to gather her things and learns that Jerry has sequestered himself in his office, eating endless amounts of Chinese take-out, because the rest of the office has threatened to quit if she is really fired. He grudgingly offers his condolences for the restaurant and gives Libby her position back. At home, Becca admits to her siblings that she is glad the restaurant is gone because of its negative effect on the family, and Corky blurts out that it is his fault. They urge him to tell their parents the truth, but when he tries to speak up at dinner, they are interrupted by an associate of Drew’s who presents him with the insurance check and says that it is half of what the restaurant was worth, as Drew never re-filed after the renovations, meaning that he now cannot rebuild. Drew goes to the burnt-out building and begins smashing it up in anger, and Corky arrives, offering to help in any way he can. Drew tells him about a time when, as a child, he accidentally wrecked his father’s new car and was not given a chance to explain, offering to hear Corky out if he has something to say. Corky admits his guilt, saying that he was confused by the knobs on the new equipment, and Drew comforts him.
On the day of Nicholas’ christening, the family is stunned to find an anonymous envelope filled with money in their mailbox. They find a fortune from a cookie with the package, and Libby realizes it was Jerry. At the church, Angela accepts the position of godmother, and Libby spontaneously chooses Jerry as godfather. He initially refuses, being neither Catholic nor family-oriented, but she “threatens” to tell everyone what he did for them, and he gives in. The baby is baptized, and the family is content, ready to start anew. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: September 22, 1991 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:75
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:23090
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Families; Down's syndrome
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1989-1993
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Domino's Pizza restaurants
- TV - Commercials - KFC restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Lipton rice products
- TV - Commercials - Little Caesars restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Mazda automobiles
- TV - Commercials - MetLife insurance
- TV - Commercials - Pampers diapers
- TV - Commercials - Recruting New Teachers Inc program
- TV - Commercials - Saturn automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Simply Jif peanut butter
- TV - Commercials - Surf laundry detergent
- TV - Promos - "America's Funniest Home Videos"
- TV - Promos - "America's Funniest People"
- TV - Promos - "Home Improvement"
- TV - Promos - "Homefront"
- TV - Promos - "Marilyn & Me"
CREDITS
- Michael Braverman … Executive Producer, Created by
- R.W. Goodwin … Supervising Producer
- Michael Nankin … Supervising Producer, Writer
- Phillips Wylly, Sr. … Producer
- Lorenzo DeStefano … Co-Producer
- Bruce Ettinger … Associate Producer
- Michael Lange … Director
- William Olvis … Music by
- Craig Safan … Theme Music by
- Jim Smitrovich … Cast, Andrew 'Drew' Thacher
- Patti LuPone … Cast, Elizabeth 'Libby' Thacher
- Chris Burke … Cast, Charles 'Corky' Thacher
- Kellie Martin … Cast, Rebecca 'Becca' Thacher
- Tracey Needham … Cast, Paige Thacher
- Tommy Puett … Cast, Tyler Benchfield
- Ray Buktenica … Cast, Jerry Berkson
- David Byrd … Cast, Hans
- Gina Hecht … Cast, Cousin Angela
- Al Ruscio … Cast, Sal Giordano
- Penny Santron … Cast, Teresa Giordano
- David Selburg … Cast, Dave Gutman
- John Ingle … Cast, Father Holquin
- John Welsh … Cast, Eddie
- Alfred Dennis … Cast, Miller
- Curtis Peek … Cast, Male Employee
- Karen Salkin … Cast, Audrey
- Biff Yeager … Cast, Fire Inspector