AMEN: SNAKES ALIVE (TV)
Summary
One in this comedy television series about a dishonest church deacon and his relatives and friends.
Deacon Frye runs out of the church in the middle of a service and when questioned insists that he saw a snake somewhere in the church. Thelma explains that Deacon Frye has a deep-seated fear of snakes, causing him to act paranoid and irrational. Reverend Gregory inspects the church and discovers that the “snake” is actually a discarded drapery cord. The next day Leola comes in to speak to Reverend Gregory about Rolly; he mistakenly believes she is complaining about their bedroom activities, but in actuality she is upset at his constant snoring. Reverend Gregory speaks to Rolly about the matter, but Rolly insists that he does not snore. He asks Rolly to make a tape recording of himself sleeping so that he can hear for himself. Deacon Frye takes to disguising himself; he faces constant mockery due to the revelation of his snake phobia. He feels that the incident has made him a “disgrace” and that he cannot continue as deacon any longer. Reverend Gregory and Thelma attempt to convince him otherwise, and Reverend Gregory recommends him to Dr. Burgess, a psychologist. Deacon Frye objects but relents after describing a recurring nightmare of his featuring snakes.
Dr. Burgess prescribes several methods of therapy, including confronting snakes via videocassettes and interacting with rubber models of snakes. This will culminate in him interacting with a live caged snake alone, a prospect which Deacon Frye finds unsettling. Deacon Frye makes progress, albeit extremely slowly, and is able to compose himself around rubber snakes. Thelma notes that his fear of snakes originates from his childhood, when his cousin put a snake in his sleeping bag at sleepaway camp. Eventually Deacon Frye invites everyone over for his “graduation,” involving his interaction with a live boa constrictor. Everyone offers their support as he enters the room with the snake. Deacon Frye seems to compose himself and calls his cousin to gloat about overcoming his fear. However, he accidentally releases the snake from its enclosure and it slides down, wrapping itself around Deacon Frye’s neck. He notices this and is stricken with terror. However, after his initial panic subsides, he finds that he is no longer as frightened of the snake as he once was. He interacts with the snake and pronounces himself “cured” of his phobia. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: November 30, 1999 9:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:23:42
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:62217
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; African-American Collection - Comedy
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1986-1991
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- David Lloyd … Executive Producer
- Ed. Weinberger … Executive Producer, Created by
- Arthur Julian … Executive Producer, Writer
- Mark Grossan … Supervising Producer
- Reuben Cannon … Co-Producer
- Ken Johnston … Co-Producer
- Eric Cohen … Co-Producer
- Brenda Hanes … Associate Producer
- Bill Foster … Director
- Bill Davenport … Writer
- Lisa Rosenthal … Writer
- Andrae Crouch … Music by, Theme Music by
- Vanessa Bell Armstrong … Theme Music by
- Sherman Hemsley … Cast, Deacon Ernest Frye
- Clifton Davis … Cast, Reverend Reuben Gregory
- Anna Maria Horsford … Cast, Thelma Frye
- Barbara Montgomery … Cast, Cassietta Hetebrink
- Roz Ryan … Cast, Amelia Hetebrink
- Rosetta LeNoire … Cast, Leola Forbes
- Jester Hairston … Cast, Rolly Forbes
- Macon McCalman … Cast, Dr. Burgess