Michelle putting her Gumby in the microwave, and "The Devil Made Me Do it"

[DTF955]

You know the episode. The other time is mentioned in "Smash Club: The Next Generation" (Danny: "Depressed" is what you felt when you learned Gumby wasn't microwave safe") and almost everyone I've told to feels that this *had* be be an explanation for the episode, even though timing wise, Michelle was only sent to her room, and then grounded with no TV, etc. for when she came down.

(The following is why - if you just figure it's true, you can easily skip the stuff in paretheses here.

No child would be sent to their room all day for mere disobedience. However, there are also signs that she wasn't anyway. First, Danny just checked in Michelle's room and can't find her - but he'd looked all over the house *first*. So, she wasn't supposed to be in her room as punishment. Jesse says "what do you mean she's not in her room - she's grounded." While they might have gone up to think about being grounded, "grounded" means denied privileges in that household. So, what Jesse meant was, "Why are you saying that, she's not supposed to be in her room. You let her out." Third, even if Danny means she can't watch Steph's TV, that little TV had *no* VCR with it, and Danny says no videos, etc. eitehr. Fourth, Steph doesn't notice she's gone and supposed to be there when she goes to get her coat.)

Even saying she was grounded with no TV, videos, etc. after the normal 10 minutes in her room (being told she could come out just before Danny gets Comet for his walk) is a bit unusual for Danny, though - this isn't the 1920s and Jesse's equipment, which was new, was not as breakable as radios were back then. (My great uncle says in one's room all day might have been the punisment for messing with a radio back in the '20s.)

The reason most feel it's Gumby-related is that if he'd had the stuff before, she'd have played with it before, as almost all kids are tempted to do. She had to have messed the other stuff up somehow. And, Gumby would mess up a whole lot of stuff.

See, the electrical surges from Gumby in the microwave would short out *lots* of stuff. It would be scary; enough, probably, to help add a bit to what happened the previous week, when Steph and Michelle look a bit more frightened than normal of that African bank saying "feed me." If they'd had the shock of seeing things surge like that, they'd be a bit on edge, being kids yet. This likely happened a couple days earlier, with no fire resulting, but Jesse probably taking her to the fire department the next day to see what can happen.

The likely result was being grounded for a whole week, with no TV, videos, etc. and no dessert, either. Thus, when Jesse gets his stuff, she hasn't seen it or been tempted to play with it. When she did it so shortly after being off her punishment for Gumby, Danny decided some extra was needed.

An added thought - as mentioned before, Michelle likely knew the concept of spanking for being "bad." Wendy's chimp hits Jesse as he naps. He thinks it's Becky being frisky, and asks "Was Uncle Jesse a bad boy?" as if Becky is copying Michelle playing. If he didn't think Becky was copying Michelle, he‘d say "was Jesse a bad boy." Michelle's the only one she'd have seen playing like that. He wouldn't guess Michelle would hit for being a bad boy, let alone that Becky could copy it, unless Michelle was exposed to the concept of spanking for "being bad." It‘s doubtful she‘d copy the idea from a friend at that young age. Most believe something like this was discussed by D.J., though the adults would never hit. And, a good number on this board believed dire things had to be threatened by D.J. after the samples so Michelle didn't wreck the wedding cake.

So, while the adults would never hit, they could let D.J. give such little "love pats," more like light slaps but only hurting her feelings, if Pam had suggested it for a Jesse-like kid in talking about such things with Danny long ago.

Two things are quite possible then. Jesse may say "was Uncle Jesse a bad boy" thinking Becky might be playing that because Michelle worried about it after she nuked her Gumby. And, second, D.J. may well have talked about it with her after Michelle came home from Teddy's in "The Devil Made Me Do it." Thus, her excitement over being back in her room would be not only from being home. She would be able to be in her room eating supper with Danny (he had to be fixing it, or he would have gone up there with her and jesse), instead of having D.J. spank her if she didn't start obeying the rules.

That second, of course, is probably less likely than a talk about it before the wedding, or after Disneyworld. But, it makes sense. And, Gumby right before that episode is a very good and likely explanation.