1.12.: My Three Strikers

The boys want more allowance money. But, they won't do more work for it and they're shabby with the chores they do. As diplomatic as they try to be, Steve is not up for it. Everyone goes to bed unhappy. Nightmares flood the place. Luckily, calmer heads prevail in the end.

A plotline as old as the hills but handled with a measured maturity that makes this episode a wonderful piece of drama. There is very little sitcom-style goofing off. Bub and Chip get some moments. As does Robbie. But, at its base, this is smarter than an average sitcom script. It is more about Steve trying to run his house fairly. A man still working through how to raise his sons. Who wants to be their friend but doesn't want to be too soft? The boys are taking advantage. They aren't doing their chores and they are demanding more money.

The scene where Steve blows up and refuses the allowance hike and sends them packing is another (as if we needed another) example of why this show is so good. He blows up in a more considered fashion than the average dad and, as he is sending the boys to their rooms, he apologizes and says that he's had a rough day.

One of the continuing joys of My Three Sons is that the kids can go sitcom-wacky but they are always reigned in. There's no one here who is going to become Gary Coleman or any other sitcom kid who gets away with murder as everyone laughs uproariously. Chip and Robbie can be annoying, legitimately annoying. Mike can be far too earnest in the way that teens can get when they think they are being adult but don't fully know everything that's happening. Bub is still the closest to regular sitcom stuff but he is always extra coloring on the sides, rarely upfront.

And, as always, Fred MacMurray carries it. Just like the episode with Mike and Robbie arguing, he is trying to be as fair and as good as he can...but he's finding that it's not as easy as that. Mike presents his allowance hike proposal in the true naive fashion of someone who believes that if it makes sense, than it must be the most sensible way. Steve almost freezes at points because it may make sense but it's not always realistic. He's trying to please everyone and there are times when he can't get any of it quite right. (He's not a steamroller, like Bub.)

The continuing story of a good man trying to be a good father to three sons. It isn't easy. The fact that the show acknowledges this is one of its main strengths. And, after saying all this, I haven't even mentioned the nightmares the boys have after Steve sends them to bed.

I guess there's another review in here. Maybe I'll write about that some other time.