"More Power to You" - what do you think?

[stevea]

In this season 5 episode, just on MeTV today, Mama refuses to pay a $20-too-high electric bill.

So, the power company shuts off the electricity. We see the Harpers heating fish sticks on candle flame later, for dinner. Iola was eating with them.

I remember I had this thought watching this episode on first run and I thought of it again today. Why would Iola eat with the Harpers when their power was out? Surely she would have known her power was on at her house. Or was she spending the day with the Harpers and just would think the neighborhood was out? Wouldn't she have checked with her parents, who were surely home?

I missed some of the episode; maybe it was explained.

[ThisLittlePiggy]

I don't know why she was there but maybe she liked the novelty of eating in the dark by candlelight.

[rusty spike]

I thought Iola knew that Mama had decided to fight the power company and lost.

[BestTVever]

Iola brings over her crafty candles. She's got a candle for every holiday that gets introduced. She's over there helping them cope with the power outage. When Bubba is typing in the darkness in the living room, he asks if Turkey and stuffing is cooking. Iola says its her Thanksgiving candle.
She's over there helping the Harpers cope with her candles and the jokes are plenty about the candles.

[ThisLittlePiggy]

Oh, that's cute about the candles. I didn't remember that part.

[rusty spike]

This was the episode where Mama cooks her delicious waffles and no one wants them. Naomi and Vint rush off in the morning to get a manicure/pedicure. You have to wonder how a small town like Raytown would have one open around 7am~ my small town has do nut shops that are supposed to be open at 6am and the workers sometimes don't open til 8 or 9am lol.

And Bubba comes into the kitchen but doesn't eat because he has to go to the school library to rent a wang. I still have no idea of what that is and I was in high school when this syndicated episode aired.

Mama then offers her waffles to Gus the meter reader if he agrees to look over her Tri State Power bill (the one with the fist). Mama overloads the waffles with half a box of powdered sugar before taking the plate away when Gus suggests to pay the extra 20.

Here's the answer about Iola. She is hanging out at the Harper home and is observing Bubba typing his term paper on the mini-computer at the desk by the front door. Mama is on the telephone with Tri-Sate Power. Naomi and Vint barge in and announce that they are going to have to shower because the Family Food Circus Banquet or Awards begins at 7pm. So it's safe to surmise that the time is between 5pm and 7pm.

Mama tells off the power company (and she tells them off a second time ~for good and the Harpers begin their life without power). Mama panics because she forgot to iron Naomi's yellow dress. And Iola volunteers to raid her daddy's bomb shelter for emergency lights.

And I think we can assume that Mama first cooks fish sticks and tater-tots in her gas oven because the joke is about reheating the fish sticks over the candle flames.

That's as far as I got.

I always wondered how Bubba was going to get his paper printed. There was no printer visible and there was a floppy disk drive that he could have saved his paper to. I typed all of my term papers on typewriters. So I have always been curious how Bubba would get his work out of that rented mini-computer.

[BestTVever]

This episode has one of my favorite lines from the syndication years. While Naomi is in the shower preparing for her Food Circus awards. She has to jump out mid-shampoo when the power goes out. She is forced to do her hair and clothes in the dark. Vint comes upstairs and prepares the family for Naomi while they are eating at the table. Vint tells everyone to tell Naomi she looks like a queen. When Naomi comes into the dining room, Mama keeps quiet, grabs a fish stick with her fork and holds it to Naomi and says "Fish stick your majesty"
I laugh out loud every time

[stevea]

Originally Posted by rusty spike

This was the episode where Mama cooks her delicious waffles and no one wants them. Naomi and Vint rush off in the morning to get a manicure/pedicure. You have to wonder how a small town like Raytown would have one open around 7am~ my small town has do nut shops that are supposed to be open at 6am and the workers sometimes don't open til 8 or 9am lol.

And Bubba comes into the kitchen but doesn't eat because he has to go to the school library to rent a wang. I still have no idea of what that is and I was in high school when this syndicated episode aired.

Mama then offers her waffles to Gus the meter reader if he agrees to look over her Tri State Power bill (the one with the fist). Mama overloads the waffles with half a box of powdered sugar before taking the plate away when Gus suggests to pay the extra 20.

Here's the answer about Iola. She is hanging out at the Harper home and is observing Bubba typing his term paper on the mini-computer at the desk by the front door. Mama is on the telephone with Tri-Sate Power. Naomi and Vint barge in and announce that they are going to have to shower because the Family Food Circus Banquet or Awards begins at 7pm. So it's safe to surmise that the time is between 5pm and 7pm.

Mama tells off the power company (and she tells them off a second time ~for good and the Harpers begin their life without power). Mama panics because she forgot to iron Naomi's yellow dress. And Iola volunteers to raid her daddy's bomb shelter for emergency lights.

And I think we can assume that Mama first cooks fish sticks and tater-tots in her gas oven because the joke is about reheating the fish sticks over the candle flames.

That's as far as I got.

I always wondered how Bubba was going to get his paper printed. There was no printer visible and there was a floppy disk drive that he could have saved his paper to. I typed all of my term papers on typewriters. So I have always been curious how Bubba would get his work out of that rented mini-computer.

Thanks for the explanation of why Iola doesn't just go home.

That scene with Gus the meter reader and Mama dumping the whole box on powdered sugar (or practically the whole box) on the waffles is really funny. Then when she takes the waffles away he says it's just how he likes it!

[gidgetgrape]

Re: Bubba's Wang

I think the writers decided to go with Wang as the computer Bubba rented because it's funnier than Apple Macintosh or Microsoft PC. Wang computers were popular in the 1970s to mid 80s in offices. This episode aired in 1989 when schools preferred Apple computers.

There's a YouTube video entitled "Remembering WANG COMPUTERS & WORD PROCESSING 1973-1981 Office Automation Minicomputers" that gives a good history about Wangs.