AMEN: DEACON ON THE LINE (TV)
Summary
One in this comedy television series about a dishonest church deacon and his relatives and friends.
The church runs a hotline for troubled teenagers, although Deacon Frye is frustrated that it does not seem to be making the church any money. Cassietta and Amelia feel he does not properly empathize with the people the hotline. Reverend Gregory gets into a car accident with a telephone company truck on his way to help the hotline volunteers. Deacon Frye sees this as an opportunity to sue the phone company for damages and trauma, hoping to make a great deal of money for the church. Reverend Gregory is somewhat injured and disoriented from the experience, and Deacon Frye asks him to stay at his house that night, unwilling to let him be alone but mostly wishing to properly record his injuries for legal purposes. Deacon Frye places Reverend Gregory in a neck brace, and Thelma relishes the opportunity to nurse Reverend Gregory back to health.
Deacon Frye becomes convinced that the telephone company has sent people to watch him and Reverend Gregory, and snoops around to locate them. Cassietta and Amelia come over to visit Reverend Gregory. Thelma becomes territorial around Reverend Gregory, not allowing others to see him. Deacon Frye sends Reverend Gregory home from the hotline during his recovery, leaving Deacon Frye to clean up alone. He answers a phone call from a teenager threatening to commit suicide, and does his best to stall. Finally he realizes that no help is coming and decides to engage the teenager in conversation, speaking with him well into the night on the phone and demonstrating genuine empathy and good advice. He manages to convince him not to commit suicide. In the morning Deacon Frye appears in court to represent Reverend Gregory, tired from his long phone conversation. Deacon Frye struggles to stay awake as he questions the truck’s driver. He insinuates that the driver fell asleep behind the wheel after working a double-shift, but the truck driver insists otherwise. Deacon Frye arranges a demonstration involving a contraption to replicate the speed of the accident, but falls asleep and sends himself crashing into another room. Deacon Frye ends up winning the case, injuring himself in the process. While recovering at home he is visited by Michael, the teenager he helped on the phone. He thanks Deacon Frye for his assistance and for showing him the value of his life; they both drift off to sleep mid-conversation. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: November 30, 1999 9:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:23:42
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:62251
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; African-American Collection - Comedy
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1986-1991
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ed. Weinberger … Executive Producer, Created by
- David Lloyd … Executive Producer
- Arthur Julian … Executive Producer
- Mark Grossan … Supervising Producer
- Reuben Cannon … Co-Producer
- Ken Johnston … Co-Producer
- Eric Cohen … Co-Producer
- Brenda Hanes … Associate Producer
- Bill Foster … Director
- 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
- Jester Hairston … Cast, Rolly Forbes
- William Hudson III … Cast, Reverend Johnny Jr.
- Hector Elias … Cast, The Judge
- Robert McNaughton … Cast, Michael
- Jeff Robie … Cast, Dwight
- Roy Oliver … Cast, The Truck Driver
- Phill Lewis … Cast, Marvin
- Joi Martins … Cast, Robin
- Patricia Willson … Cast, The Clerk of the Court
- John Tayloe … Cast, The Defense Attorney