Stacey Takes a Stand (TV#12)

What happens:

The BSC is planning a Father-Daughter Banquet. Jessi comes up with the idea of putting together a dance for the entertainment, because Jessi dances. Stacey's a little down because she won't be able to come, as she's spending that weekend with her dad in New York. Dawn also mentions that she misses her dad, but she and Mary Anne agree that Richard is a good stepfather for her. Stacey's grateful in light of Dawn's issue that her dad lives so close, but the fact that her parents are close and that their divorce is (slightly) more recent means that she feels torn between them. It doesn't help that her parents badmouth each other in front of Stacey. She starts to feel even more pressured when her dad brings up the idea of her going to high school in NYC. Not a terrible idea necessarily, but he doesn't bring it up well.

The prospect of having to pick which parent to live with--again--brings up a lot of confusion and hurt in Stacey. She hates that she can't tell her mom what she does with her dad and vice versa, for fear of making one parent or the other jealous, and that she feels out of place a lot, and that she's sometimes in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mary Anne prompts her to talk to her parents, and they realize the awkward position they've put her in. Her mom even calls her dad to tell him about the banquet, and he shows up to it. (Yeah, she ends up back in Stoneybrook in time for the banquet)

There's also a little aside about Buddy Barrett feeling like he needs to step up to fill his dad's role after his parents' divorce, and Dawn helping him realize that while he is a big help to his mom, he's still a kid. I'm glad Dawn was the one to help him, since she has a special relationship with the Barretts.


Things I noticed:

The captioning spells Prezzioso as Francioso.

It's implied that Stacey's dad has a car, but in the book series he doesn't aside from a brief midlife crisis.

Dawn wipes up spilled milk with a dishcloth rather than a paper towel, which is consistent with her character.

This is the second time in the TV that there have been two sitters for only three kids (the Barretts this time; last time it was a new client requesting one sitter for her infant and one for the older kids). So, can I brag that earlier this month the kids I nanny had friends over, and my two kids were with me too, so I was watching nine kids?

"Barrett" is pronounced "Bar-RET" while I've always read it as "Buh-RET." And Stacey's dad pronounces her full name "Ah-nuh-STA-zee-ah" rather than "Ann-uh-STA-zhu" like I do in my head. I wish we'd get more names to learn to pronounce.

Whoa. Hi, Twin Towers. Establishing shots of New York City before 2001 still catch me off guard.

Uh...Here's a direct quote from Stacey's dad (emphasis mine): "What time are you and Jason taking your sister to the Statue of Liberty?" The line was mean to be about Jason's sister. But if Stacey's dad forgot about his and Maureen's fertility problems to the extent that he imagined another child, then I can see why they divorced!

Sacrilege! We see a glimpse of Stacey's handwriting and there's an "i" WITH NO HEART DOTTING IT. (Other than that it's close-ish)

Interesting; the girls refer to their friends' dads by their first names. Obviously Dawn would call Richard by his first name, and the BSC seems to always be on a first-name basis with Watson, but in the books the parents are usually Mr./Mrs. LastName.

Charlie drives the BSC (minus Stacey) to New York! The Junk Bunket is a littler nicer-looking than I'd imagined.

We get to see the dads (except Dawn's, who sends flowers to her since he can't fly over for the banquet). None of them look like they do in my head! Compared to how I picture them, Watson's taller, thinner, and less bald; Jessi's dad is less muscular; Stacey's dad looks less professional/high-powered attorney; Mary Anne's dad is far more nerdy; Mallory's dad is more meek-looking; Claudia's dad is shorter and has a stockier build.


Special guest stars: Tom Garlick as Jason, Michael Tomlinson as Stacey's dad, Geoffrey Wigdor as Buddy, Nancy Youngblut as Stacey's mom (the other dads aren't credited)