Empty Nest (1988) s04e08 Episode Script

Windy

We're back with another update on hurricane Gil.
The downed wires have disrupted communications to many parts of the Miami area, but we're getting good information now on the extent of the damage.
And now, we have a live report from mobile unit one downtown, where there have been some reports of looting.
Boy, look at those winds.
Hey, that's car 31! That's Simmons and Garcia! Ooh, I've never met Simmons.
He's kind of cute.
Nobody knows he wears a toupee.
Now everybody does! Hurricane center here in Miami now informs us that hurricane Gil has veered out to sea and is no longer a threat.
Okay, hurricane's gone! All clear! - Of some damage.
And now, a new hurricane called Heidi has just been named in the Caribbean.
It's intensifying faster than expected.
And now, experts predict there's a 30% chance the storm will hit south Florida.
Oh, my god! Life goes on and so do we Just how we do it is no mystery Sometimes the answer can be hard to find Hard to find that's something I will never be I'm always here for anything you need Anything you need rain or shine I'll be the one To share it all as life goes on We share it all as life goes on I hate living in Florida.
These hurricanes terrify me.
Carol, every place has something.
California has earthquakes.
Kansas has tornadoes.
All I'm asking for is some place that's safe and healthy.
Well, what about Wisconsin? Please, with all that cheese? I'm lactose intolerant.
Remember? Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye, all members of the Weston clan.
The leader speaks.
I bring you great news, children.
- We're moving! - What? Please, god, don't let it be Wisconsin.
No, remember that gray house on Saunders point we tried to buy last year? You mean, the English tudor with the rose garden? Came back on the market, I put in a bid, they accepted the offer! Oh, daddy, that's wonderful! That means we get our dream house! It's got everything we wanted.
It's right near the hospital.
I can walk to work.
There's a gourmet kitchen for Carol, there's an exercise room for you, and there are a million trees.
I think he's getting ready! Ha-ha-ha! And do you know what the best part is? Yes, I do.
Separate bathrooms! Both: Separate bathrooms, separate bathrooms, separate bathrooms! Oh, no, no, no.
Do you know what the best part is for me? Your bedrooms are on one side of the house.
Mine is way on the other side.
Bedrooms, bedrooms, bedrooms, bedrooms! Could be a nice change.
Daddy, this is all very exciting, but suddenly, I feel a little depressed about moving.
Carol, you've always loved that tudor house.
I know, but I've spent We've lived here for 24 years.
Three were not happy.
That puberty thing nearly killed me.
Now, come on.
We've got a lot to do if we're going to sell this house.
I just talked to the broker, and I you know, but I don't know how long it takes these real estate agents to get going, I don't know.
Ah, love it, love it! Great curb appeal, and charm, charm, charm! Well, honey, I'm just glad you all right.
Yeah, bye-bye.
Did Nick get hit by the hurricane? No, he got caught smack in the middle of a windstorm, but he had the game of his career.
They told him to bunt.
It went 400 feet for a home run.
- Did they win? - Nip and tuck.
They lost 150 to 148.
Uh, Dr.
Weston, I think I ought to tell you that my mother-in-law is comin' tomorrow.
Oh, so you want to get off early? No, I'd like to work late.
Come on, Laverne.
I'm sure she's not that bad.
On our last anniversary, she baked us a cake.
On the cake was inscribed, "happy anniversary, Nick and the dirty blonde.
" Don't move.
These people are coming to see the house, and I want you to look beautiful.
There, perfect, every hair in place, yes! Ah, look at dreyfy, weyfy! - So cute! - Whoo! Ah, they're here, they're here.
Dreyfuss, get off the furniture! Come on, straighten up.
Sit cute.
Hi.
- Hi, we're the mackenzies.
- Oh, hi, we're the westons.
Please, come on in.
Just, I mean, feel free to look around.
- Uh-huh.
- Uh-huh.
- Uh-huh.
- Uh-huh.
- Uh-huh.
- Uh-huh.
- Uh-huh.
- Hmm.
- Hmm.
- Uh, any questions? - No.
- Well - Yes? - No.
This is a great house for parties.
We don't party.
Oh, you like to have nice conversations.
This is a wonderful area to sit and talk.
We don't talk.
Well, it's a great house for a young couple.
There's a big backyard, and there's a nice neighborhood, and excellent school system.
I'm barren.
That's what first attracted me to her.
Well, come on.
Let's look at the rest of the house.
Come on down.
This is our kitchen right over here.
Here you go, huh? This is where it all happens.
It's a wonderful chef's kitchen.
We don't cook.
Oh, well then, let's show you the bathrooms.
I mean, you do I mean, I meant you wash, you know? I had to take a break.
I'm reading this very heavy novel: How to make love to a woman with little or no money down.
This is our neighbor.
This is Charley dietz.
Charley, these are the mackenzies.
They're thinking of buying the house.
That's what I figured.
I live next door.
You're going to be seeing a lot of me.
Want some? Barbara, uh, uh, why don't you show the mackenzies upstairs, you know, and look at the house up here.
The rooms are wonderful.
It's a great space.
There's wonderful sun exposure.
What are you doing? You're going to blow it for us.
Okay.
But, I don't want you to move.
That's why I was pretending to be a jerk.
Charley, Charley, we'll still see you.
I mean, it's not that far away.
I don't know what I'm going to do without you guys.
It's me, isn't it? The reason you're moving is to get away from me.
No, Charley.
That's not the reason.
No, Charley.
That's just one of the perks.
Where are the mackenzies? They're still looking around upstairs.
Did you show them the bedrooms? Why? They don't do that either.
Here you go, mama Todd, a nice, hot cup of tea.
How'd you like to drink it? With Nick.
When the heck's he gettin' here, anyway? I told you, the team is stranded in Tallahassee because of the storm.
Great, so I'm stuck here alone.
- Well, I'm here.
- Ooh, lucky me! Why don't I get you a sandwich? I made tuna salad special for you.
- How's that? - Don't matter.
Whatever you make tastes like road kill.
All right, you little lump of Sugar? Well, let me get you that lunch.
I'll try to arrange the parsley to cover up the tire mark.
Admit it, Laverne.
You don't care about me.
I mean, it's no coincidence there's a picture of your mother on the wall and not one of me.
Mama Todd, that's not my mother.
That's Willie Nelson.
Boy, we're going to have a lot more room in the new house.
If my room is here, and your room is way over here, then someone could bring a friend over late at night, go upstairs, go into my room, and you would, like, never even hear it, huh? Well, I could hear on the intercom in your bedroom.
What intercom? The one I just decided to install.
Oh! Sophia! Thank god you're here.
I came to warn you.
- About what? - I have no idea.
- The hurricane? - That's it! - What about it? - How am I supposed to know? Sophia, you came over here.
I didn't come over to your house.
Don't mess with my mind, sawbones.
All right, well, thanks for the warning, if that's what it was.
The sign on your lawn says you're selling.
Yeah, that's right, we are.
Sorry to hear that.
You were good neighbors.
We're really gonna miss you.
How much for the couch? I'll give you a buck 50.
No, it's not for sale.
How much for the dog? No, he's not for sale, either.
What do you want for your daughters? Sophia, you've got to take them both.
I'm not breaking up the set.
They're damaged goods, anyway.
I've got to get back before the second hurricane hits.
This weather is nuts.
A million senor citizens in Miami.
The last thing we need is more wind.
Hello.
Hi, verna.
You're kidding! That's terrific! I'll tell daddy right away.
Okay, bye.
Tell daddy what? Do you remember the mackenzies? They met our price.
They're buying the house.
You're kidding.
The mackenzies? They don't cook, they don't talk.
Why would they buy this house? They don't know.
Barbara, daddy - Carol, guess what? - I just heard on the radio, hurricane Heidi has changed direction, and it's headed straight for us.
Hey, did you guys hear the news about the hurricane? It's going to hit in an hour.
They said to stock up on food.
I advise you guys to do the same.
As predicted, hurricane Heidi did come in right behind hurricane Gil and is now hitting Miami with full force.
Hey, who ate all the survival chocolate bars? I did.
That was the night my ex-husband said to me, "I love you, Betty.
" Of all times for a hurricane to hit, just when we sell the house.
Don't worry, the mackenzies aren't going to back out.
Maybe it's an omen.
Maybe the hurricane is telling us that we shouldn't be selling.
Daddy, I've got to be honest with you.
I'm not my best during hurricanes.
Yeah, you're not too thrilling during patchy low clouds.
Carol, baby, come on.
We've been through hurricanes before.
They're never that bad.
They come, there's some wind.
Some patio furniture blows into the pool, and poof, it's over.
This one is a little different! So this is Florida, the sunshine state.
Strange how the weather turned ugly when you showed up.
This reception is just awful! Mama Todd, what are you doin'? We just bought that TV! We paid over $300 for it.
You got gypped.
It works just fine! It's just got bad reception because of the storm.
Let me fix it for you.
Right there.
Don't let go! Well, how long do I have to stand here? It's a two-hour special.
I think you finally found your calling: Laverne Todd, antenna woman.
If this was your neck, I could stand here for days.
Oh, oh, oh, my stomach! What is it, mama Todd? Are you sick? No, I'm jazzercisin'.
Oh, go to the drugstore.
I need my medicine.
Drugstore? Mama, they's a storm a-ragin' out there.
Why don't you lay down for a while? If I lay down, I might never get up.
Oh! Go on, hurry! Well, Collin's pharmacy is around the corner.
I'll call it in.
Oh.
Get a move on! Lord, with feet that huge, you'd think you could cover more ground.
All right.
We'll get a new door after the storm is over.
Well, daddy, we don't want a new door.
We have to save this one.
Barbara's right, daddy.
This door brings back fond memories.
It's only a door.
You have fond memories of what, entering and exiting? No, daddy.
When we were kids, you had our little height chart right here.
Remember, every three months, you would march us down here to see how tall we'd gotten.
Yeah, yeah, I remember.
How come you stopped measuring me? Carol, we discussed that at your 30th birthday party.
Oh, I've got to check the precinct.
Phone's dead.
How can that be? Are you kidding? The power lines are down all over the place.
Oh, my god! There's no phone? There's no call waiting? Oh, come on, Carol.
Carol, everything's going to be okay.
No, it's not.
If it hits here, we're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die! Daddy, she's hysterical.
- Can I slap her? - No.
- Can I shake her a little? - Not hard.
The lights.
We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're gonna d Uh uh uh uh uh! Barbara! Okay, okay, here we come.
Now, here, here.
Carol, baby, you feel okay now? It was a horrible thing to see.
You'll get over it.
To have something that was part of your life for 24 years suddenly ripped away into the night.
Carol, we'll buy a new mailbox.
- Daddy.
- Yeah.
What if there was a flood, and you could only save one daughter? What? Suppose water rushes in and fills the house.
We're both drowning, but you could only save Barbara or me.
Who would it be? That's not gonna happen.
But what if it did? Look, I, look, no one's drowning, dear.
I love you both the same.
I would save the both of you.
But if you could only save one.
If he was smart, he'd save me.
Why? Because I wouldn't ask all these stupid questions.
Is that true, daddy? What took you so long? I nearly washed down the sewer.
Boo-hoo.
Where's my medicine? You brought me the wrong medicine.
These are multi-flavored tums.
I wanted plain.
Tums? You sent me into hurricane Heidi to get tums? Yeah, these multi-flavored ones don't soothe me like the plain ones do.
You're gonna have to go back.
You want me to go back into hurricane Heidi to get you plain flavored tums? Yeah, and I could use a nestle's crunch while you're at it.
All right! That does it! I ain't a-goin' back out there, you old bag! You are the meanest, nastiest, shriveled up, prune of a woman I ever met! And you look like a bullfrog.
What? Let me put it in language you'll understand.
Ribbit! Ribbit! Laverne, you're talkin' back to me.
- I know.
- It's about time.
What? I never thought you had any gumption, but you've got backbone after all.
Well, of course I do.
- Now I understand what Nick sees in you: Me! Well, if I'd known you was thinkin' that way about me, mama Todd, I'd have told you off years ago.
We got lot of lost time to make up for, daughter.
Oh, mama, I am so glad to hear you say that.
There's so many things I've been meaning to ask you all these years.
Why, ask away.
Are those warts or moles on your neck? These are beauty marks.
Those are warts.
And which one of us would you save in that situation, daddy? Now, let me get this straight.
I'm limping, but I have one arm free, right? Right.
- Carol, get a grip.
- You're right.
I'm obsessed with death.
I'm sorry.
Honey, you've just got to focus on the good things.
We're moving into this great, wonderful, new home.
You've got a loving family.
You've got dreyfuss.
You've where is dreyfuss? He's right here, cuddled up next to me, daddy.
Are you sure, Carol? Because dreyfuss is right here next to me.
Then what's this cuddled up next to me? Hi.
How's it going? Oh, my god.
What exactly was that I was petting? Charley, what are you doing here? I came over to say something to you guys.
Now that you're leaving, I realized I never appreciated what I had.
You know, I believe it was Mac Davis who said, "you've got to stop and smell the roses.
" You guys were the roses, and I never really stopped to smell you.
And don't think we don't appreciate that.
What is daddy doing out in the pouring rain? He's trying to save the old mulberry tree.
Well, it's dangerous.
There are things flying all over the place.
- I don't see anything.
- Barbara, this is Miami.
He could get hit by a flying medic alert bracelet.
Do you know that tree has been out there as long as I can remember? I remember planting that tree.
Every nook and cranny in this house brings up an old memory.
Mom hemmed my prom dress right there on the stairs.
I had my first piano lesson, right over there.
And I had my first menstrual cramp right there.
Really? I had mine over there, but mine wasn't a cramp.
I don't get cramps.
I get a little tingle.
A tingle? You get a tingle? - Yeah, it's kind of neat.
- I hate you.
I get workmen in my loins.
Ah, I tried.
I couldn't save it.
- It's gone.
- Aww.
It's not important, daddy.
You could've hurt yourself.
Ah! That's the tree you girls used to play under.
That's the tree I, I hung your swing from, remember? I saw the old thing snap, and I just, I just thought I'd try to save it.
Oh, don't worry, daddy.
The mackenzies won't miss it.
And they won't miss the door with the height chart either.
Or the mailbox.
You know, I thought I could let go of 24 years of our lives, but, kids, I don't know that I can.
I mean, those years were so good.
Daddy, are you saying we shouldn't move? Well, it's not just up to me.
I mean, you know, you're both part of this thing.
Daddy, I wouldn't trade the memories in this house for any gourmet kitchen.
Or separate bathrooms.
But what about you, daddy? That was going to be your dream house.
No, I think we're already in our dream house.
- Then it's unanimous? - All right.
Ah, daddy, the next 24 years are going to be just as wonderful as the last 24.
Hurricane Heidi continues it's destruction tonight, as it charges across south Florida, flooding roads and downing power lines with winds up to 115 miles per hour.
Thousands of vacationers and coastal residents fled the bleaches and low-lying areas for shelter in the inland sections.
All over south Florida, homeowners shuttered their windows, and brought in anything that might get caught in the wind and cause more damage.
Hardware stores, groceries, and convenience stores were besieged by customers stocking up on emergency supplies.

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