7th Heaven: Season 1-Episode 7: Saturday

 

Annie (Catherine Hicks) and Lucy (Beverly Mitchell) in the kitchen

Mary is doing the dishes while Annie cleans. Eric kisses Annie, which upsets Lucy because "most parents don't do that in front of their kids." 

Simon and Ruthie come into the kitchen. Simon is also not happy to see his parents kissing. 

Matt comes in from washing Annie's car. He tells them he has a job tutoring a girl in his English Lit class. They all think he's attracted to the girl. 

Simon: I don't believe you.

Matt: Look, I'm not attracted to every woman I see.

Simon: Yes, you are.

Mary comes into the kitchen in her basketball uniform. They are all excited about the game, but she asks them not to come.

The opening credits come up, and the theme song plays.

Lucy asks Mary why they can't go to the game. Mary tells her that the family makes her nervous. Lucy wants to go to the game because there are boys, and she wants to get in good with Ashley (Mila Kunis). Mary explains that being a freshman on the varsity team is hard, and Lucy accuses her of only thinking of herself. (That's kind of like calling the kettle black, Lucy.)

Simon and Ruthie are in their room. Simon is angry, and Ruthie keeps saying "Yeah" to everything he says. Simon decides to play detective alone. Ruthie wants to play, and Simon finally relents if Ruthie obeys him totally. 

Eric (teasing Matt, who is shaving): I bet you can't wait until you have enough hair to use a blade in that.

Eric is in a good mood because Annie lets him go to the store with her. She usually doesn't like him going, but she was so mad about Mary un-inviting them to the game that Eric decided it was a perfect time to ask. 

Lucy wants her mother to change her mind about the game. Annie tells Lucy that she and Ashley will be watching Simon and Ruthie for an hour. Lucy thinks her mother is preventing her from becoming more popular. 

Matt arrives at Susan's house (the girl he is tutoring). Susan (Bridget Flanery). Her father (Chuck Sloan) tells Matt that Susan is excited. Matt tells him he is "just the tutor." (The father is an odd duck.) 

Simon and Ruthie are playing detective.

Ashley arrives, and Lucy tells her they aren't going to the game. Ashley starts to leave (Let her go, Lucy), and Lucy suggests they call Jimmy to find out if Steve likes Ashley. Ashley thinks and then comes into the house.

Eric and Annie are heading out to the store and see Ruthie and Simon on the front steps. He tells them to "mind Lucy while they're gone and watch out for bad guys." Simon decides the mailman is the bad guy. He and Ruthie - with Happy-  decide to follow him. (Probably not the best idea.) 

At the store, Annie tells Eric to behave. She is in a bad mood but tells him she's not upset about Mary's game. (Denial)

Ruthie tells Simon that the mailman put the mail in the box. 

Simon: He made the drop. 

Back at the store, Annie is ranting about Mary. They see Terry Daniels (Christian Campbell), who Eric got into drug rehab the previous month. They don't understand how he is out in only thirty days. The kid is caught stealing from the store, and Eric saves the kid claiming he forgot to put the item back. (And to make things go faster, the man at the store accepts that). He invites Terry to play pool and doesn't take no for an answer.

Mary is talking to another basketball team member who tells her it's bad luck not to invite the family. Mary calls the house to re-invite the family, but Lucy and Ashley are on the phone, and she can't get through. 

Jimmy tells Lucy that Stephen liked Ashley until he talked to Ashley. Ashley wouldn't stop talking, and now Stephen hates Ashley. Ashley is listening on the other phone and is angry. 

Ashley: Your boyfriend's a jerk, and so are you. (So are you, Ashley, so are you).

Lucy realizes that Simon and Ruthie are missing and goes out to search for them. 

Eric calls Annie from the pool hall as she is now home. She tells him that no one else is home. 

Eric returns to playing pool with Terry and asks him how he's doing. Another kid shows up and tells Terry, "We're set, man." (And he sounds like a winner). 

Eric is upset that Terry left rehab. Terry tells him that he's clean and doesn't need rehab. Eric tells him he does, and Terry gets angry and leaves.

Ruthie and Simon are still following the mailman. Simon says they will return to base (home) and regroup. But then, neither of them knows how to get back home. Simon tells Ruthie not to worry, but she knows they are lost, and she is upset.

Eric goes over to Terry's parents' house. Terry's father, Tom (Granville Aimes), explains they didn't call Eric because Eric worked so hard getting Terry into rehab. Martha, Terry's mother (Nancy Sinclair), says he's doing worse than before. Both parents feel like failures. Eric tells them they have done all they could, and Terry has to be responsible for what he does. (So true, Reverend Camden).

Susan asks Matt to read to him, and then she starts kissing him when he does. The father comes in and tells Matt they need to talk. Susan runs out of the room. The father tries to sound cool (and fails miserably) and believes Matt wants to be with his daughter. Matt denies it and quits. Mr. Bartlett fires him. (The man is a nitwit).

Lucy is searching for Simon and Ruthie, and then the camera cuts to

The game. The point guard is being snippy to Mary. (We got jerks galore in this episode).

Simon sees Officer Michaels (Christopher Michael) and hails him to stop. Ruthie is scared they will be sent to jail. Officer Michaels tells them they are far from home, and Ruthie tells him they are lost. Officer Michaels takes them home.

Annie arrives at the game and says hi to her daughter, who is playing. 

No one is home, so Simon tells the officer that their family is probably at the game, so he drives them over to the school. (I like him, he's a good guy).

Eric finds Terry with the guy from the pool hall. 

Eric: I thought you said you were clean

Terry: It's just pot.

Eric: Just pot. It was just pot that got you kicked out of school...rehab...made your parents blow their life savings trying to get you straight.

He tries to get Terry to return to rehab. Terry tells him he doesn't need them, and Eric informs Terry that he is the one living on the street. Terry refuses to get help.

Back at the game, the Wildcats are behind 46-38. Matt arrives at the game and sits with his mother. Matt tells her he was fired and they can discuss it later. Eric arrives at the game and sees the officer with his youngest two. They tell Eric they got lost playing detective. Eric allows them to stay for the game, and they go inside.

The point guard finally gives Mary the ball, and she scores. (Go, Mary)! Then she scores again, and the Wildcats win the game. (They must have scored while the camera was off them as well)

Lucy missed the game and has returned home, where the rest of the family are now. Eric doesn't punish Lucy, Simon, or Ruthie. He is preoccupied with Terry. He believes that after seeing what Terry is doing, what his kids do aren't that bad. Annie informs him that their kids aren't in big trouble because they deal with the little stuff. (You are so right, Annie)

Eric tells Matt he's (Matt) not allowed to work again for another month as punishment for getting fired. Then he asks Matt to promise not to do drugs. Matt says he asks him that all the time, and he has no interest in narcotics. He tells him why every one of the other kids isn't a concern, but he leaves out Lucy. He tells his dad that she's the one who feels like she never fits in, and that's who he needs to be concerned with.

Mary and Lucy are in the room talking. Lucy is upset that Mary didn't invite her to the game when everyone else went. Eric comes in, and Lucy asks about dinner. The others ate at the game, so Eric offered to take her out. She thinks she's going to be yelled at, but when he says he isn't going to yell at him, she tells him she was irresponsible.

Lucy: I'd like to offer to babysit every weekend for the next month: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. How's that?

Eric: Sounds a little extreme.

Lucy: Really?

Eric: But if you're offering, I'll take it.

Annie and Matt are in the kitchen, and she tells her son that Eric also had a problem keeping a job when he was younger. 

Eric goes into Simon and Ruthie's room. Simon is expecting to get punished. He asks them what they think their punishment should be. Simon tries to get out of church by staying in his room all day and not even going to church. Ruthie tells them that she likes church cause it makes her feel good. Eric then tells them to not do drugs.

Ruthie: What about vitamins?

Simon: Give her a break. She's five

Eric: Even vitamins - you can't start too young. (Eric heads out of the room).

Ruthie: You forgot our punishment, Daddy! (Eric doesn't punish them),

Simon: Unbelievable. (Remember Simon, she's only five.)

Annie realizes no one fed Happy, so she goes to feed her. Then she sees they don't have dog food, so she gives her tuna. She also tells her that if anyone gives her food and she doesn't know what it is, not to eat it. Happy doesn't eat the tuna. (That was great.) 

Eric tells Matt he's (Eric) got to punish Simon and Ruthie. Annie hears them and says he does need to punish them. She helps Eric by letting him know they used his binoculars and "temporarily misplaced them." 

Eric and Lucy are at dinner, and Lucy is rattling on about her friends, but Eric is distracted. However, he showed he was listening.

Mary thanks her mom for coming to the game and "being the loudest person at the game." She asks her to go to the game next week.

Annie: I wouldn't miss it.

Mary sees Eric and Lucyenter as she heads up to bed. Mary asks Lucy to come up and tell her what they talked about.

Eric is with Annie in their room. He tells her that he has learned a lot about Jimmy Moon, including that he is ambidextrous. They hear a knock at the door, and Eric answers it.

It's Tommy; he's been beaten. 

Tommy: I guess you're right. I am a loser.

Eric: You knocked on my door. You're not a loser.

Tommy asks Eric to help, and Eric invites him into the house. He tells Tommy they will start by calling his parents. 

The closing credits come up. (And Simon and Ruthie never did get punished).

(This was an average episode. I liked the way Eric was concerned about his children doing drugs. Even more so, I like how Matt pointed out Lucy is the one whom to be worried about).