7th Heaven: Season 3 - Episode 20: All Dogs Go to Heaven

 

Eric (Stephen Collins) and Annie (Catherine Hicks) in the kitchen. 

Lucy is upset because everyone else has something to do on a Friday night. Annie tells her that Eric also has no plans, but Eric informs him he has to go see a couple because one of their mothers is dying. Lucy asks if she can go, but Annie tells her she can't. (I wonder what this episode would have been like if Annie had said yes). Mary and Matt come into the kitchen, and Matt tells Mary she can't do something and says their mother will agree.

Mary: Michael Towner invited me to come over to his house to watch movies.

Annie: Are his parents gonna be home?

Mary: His parents don't live there. He rents a house with other guys. 

Annie: Well, then, what he said.

Mary is mad and leaves the kitchen. Matt tells his mom he's going to ride with Sargeant Michaels in his police car for an extra credit assignment in his social sciences class. Annie is concerned, and Matt tells her he will be fine. 

Annie: Just promise me you won't get out of the car.

Matt: Okay, and if Seargeant Michaels asks me to, I'll just tell him my mom says I can't. 

Lucy tries again to go to the couple's house with the mother, who is dying. 

Simon comes into the kitchen and asks his mother which cologne to wear: Monsieur de Paris or Wild Stallion for Deena's birthday. She and Lucy both smell them, and Lucy tells him which one to wear. He is upset that she answered, but Annie tells him to wear what Lucy picked. 

Ruthie comes down all dressed up and tells Lucy she has a date. 

Eric arrives at the home of Burt (Frank Birney) and Cheryl (Rosanna Huffman) Carberry. Cheryl is crying, so Eric asks if it's her mother and then learns that "Mom" is their dog. (Totally didn't see that one coming). 

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

Simon is digging through his closet, looking for clothes to wear for Deena's birthday. Happy lays down on the clothes but doesn't stay there. Simon is suddenly all dressed up. He leaves the room, and Happy follows, carrying his wallet. He takes the wallet and kisses Happy.

He goes downstairs to the living room where his mother and the twins are. He informs his mother he's not her baby anymore. (Simon, no matter how old you get, you will always be your mother's baby). He tells her that Deena's brother, a musical prodigy who is a junior at some school in North Carolina, is going with them to the restaurant. 

Ruthie shows her mother her clothes and is upset she had to change.

Eric is talking with the Carberry couple. They explain when she first came, she was pregnant; they woke up and saw a litter of puppies, so they called her "Mom." They explain she broke her foot, and because of her age, it won't heal, but they don't want to have her euthanized, but they can't let her suffer anymore, so they want Eric to take her because they can't do it themselves. They wanted to bury her in the park, but that's not legal. Mr. Carberry tells him about a dog at the park named Huck, that Mom bonded. Huck was an abused dog who ran away and didn't trust anyone except for Mom.

Ruthie says she has a date, and Simon tells her she's only eight, so she's not dating, but he is. Annie informs him since he's only twelve, he's not dating either; he's just having a birthday dinner with a friend. 

Lucy comes down, and Annie mentions there are good movies on TV tonight. 

Lucy: I don't want to watch a movie with eight-year-olds.

Ruthie: And me and my date don't want to hang out with old people. 

Annie and Lucy take the babies upstairs. Ruthie smells Simon.

Ruthie: Yuck! What is that?

Simon: It's called after-shave.

Ruthie: Since when do you shave?

Simon: I don't know. Anytime, now. (He's adorable). 

The doorbell rings. Mary, Simon, and Ruthie all run to the door. A chauffeur (Julian Barnes) is there with a boy named Donovan Birbeck (Michael Welch), Ruthie's playdate. The chauffeur says he will pick him up at nine. Donovon hears crying and asks Ruthie if babies are in the house because he hates them. He wants to leave, but Ruthie tells him that the crying is Lucy because she doesn't have a date and it's Friday night. 

Matt and Sargeant Michaels (Christopher Michael) come out of the police station. Matt is excited and hopes something major will happen. (Matt is like a little boy in this scene). Michaels tells him what he wants to happen probably won't, but being a Friday night, something is bound to happen. (Yeah, it's a goodnight for a party). 

Matt: Well, can I drive? You know, later?

Michaels: No. But I may let you play with the siren.

Matt: Cool.

Mary and Lucy are sulking on the steps when the doorbell rings. Mary answers, and it's Michael Towner (Donnie Jeffcoat). He tells her there are some good movies at the mall, but he forgot his cash card. Annie appears and asks Michael if he has to get it again. He offers to get it and return for Mary, but Mary protests, so Annie lets her go. 

Annie: But if you guys just stick around the house and don't go to a movie, that would make me very upset, don't make me ask to see ticket stubs.

They leave, and Annie starts closing the door, not seeing Deena (Nicole Cherié Saletta) has arrived with her brother Jack (Christopher Khayman Lee). Jack sees Lucy and invites her to join them, and she agrees despite Simon's not being thrilled about it. 

Ruthie asks Donovan why he hates babies. 

Donovan: The way they demand attention with that relentless wailing. They're so needy, and they smell. They're useless. 

Mary and Michael arrive at the house, and a party is going on. Michael apologizes, and they kiss. A guy comes out and tells them to go in, and they all go inside.

Eric is with Mom, the dog, in his car, explaining that he wants to do the right thing but can't do it. 

Simon knocks on his sisters' door and tells Lucy to hurry up because they have reservations. He is angry at her for getting invited to the birthday dinner and ruining everything. 

Lucy: Fine, I won't go.

Simon: No, You have to go. Denna thinks it's all cool and everything, so if you change your mind now, everyone's just gonna get mad at me. But you better not get in the way. I'll be in the hall. And don't cry.

Annie is in the kitchen with Deena and Jack. Annie asks him what instruments he plays, and Deena says he can play almost every instrument, and he's graduating early and has a full scholarship to Juilliard. Jack tells them his goal is to become a composer.

Simon and Lucy come downstairs, and they leave with Deena and Jack.

Eric is drinking a cold beverage from a restaurant in his car. He asks the dog if she wants a burger, then says he's not hungry either. Reverend Camden tells her he doesn't know what to do other than pray that God will take her, but He doesn't take anyone before their time. He decides to take her to the park.

Mary and Michael leave the house, and Mary tells him she didn't feel comfortable being there since people were drinking. He tells her it's okay because they promised Annie they would go to a movie. They head to the cash machine to get money and make out while they are there.

Eric and Mom are at the park; Eric is nervous being there at night. 

Matt is in the cop car and turns on the lights to let Michaels know the dispatcher is trying to reach him, but he knows because he was beeped. He tells Matt it's a party near campus. He tells Matt if he wants, he can go in the back, and Matt does so. 

Simon, Deena, Lucy, and Jack are at a French restaurant. Jack tells them he can't read French because Italian is his second language. Lucy asks Simon why he picked that restaurant, and Simon says it had good reviews and it's fancy. Deena tells him she would be happy with just burgers on the fries. He tells them that he planned to pay for Jack and Deena. Lucy will pay for her own meal. The waiter (Wolfgang Gerhard) comes over to take their order. Lucy tells him they need help because their French isn't very good. Simon tells the waiter that it's Deena's birthday and offers to make suggestions. Lucy tells them they would like that but let him know Simon is paying, and they don't want to be too extravagant and unable to pay. 

Michaels arrives at the party, and Matt slides down in the car. Michaels offers to pick Matt up later, and Matt says yes. He tries to sneak out of the car, but some guys he knows, see him walking and think he was at the party, and they just didn't see him. 

Mary and Michael return to Michael's house. He's upset when he sees the police car until Mary suggests they make out in it since the door is open. They go in the car and start making out. Matt sees someone and screams when he sees it's his sister. Mary wants to beat her brother up, but Matt refuses to fight her. Michaels comes out of the house and asks what's going on.

Matt: Arrest this guy?

Michaels: For what?

Matt: Making out with my sister in your squad car. It's gotta be against the law. Well, is it?

Michaels: I'm not sure. I've never ran across this one before. (My guess is other people have probably made out in squad cars). 

Mary charges at Matt and knocks him down. Michaels informs Matt and Mary that he's taking them home. Sargeant Michaels tells the people from the party who were watching to go home. He warns Michael that he's got to keep the parties under control because his name is on the lease. 

Mary turns to Matt in the police car and sticks her tongue out at him.

Matt: Oh yeah, you're all grown up now.

Annie comes into the living room with one of the twins because she thinks Donovan wants to meet her baby brothers. 

Ruthie: Why did you have to ruin everything? I was gonna marry this guy. (Don't worry, Ruthie, you're only eight. There will be other boys in your life. My personal favorite is Martin). 

Ruthie runs out of the room, and Donovan tells her he detests babies. He wants to call his chauffeur to pick him up. She asks him if he's an only child whose mother is pregnant. 

Mary tells Matt he's a freak. Matt says he is a "freak brother," but that allows him to protect her. She disagrees and continues yelling at him. Sargeant Michaels refuses to get involved.

Another dog comes over to Eric and Mom at the park. Eric is initially nervous, but then he realizes it's Huck, the dog the Carberry couple told him about. He looks up and asks God to help.

Ruthie comes down and apologizes for getting upset and running out. She introduces Sam and David to Donovan. She says they want to call them "Sam and Dave" because they are the group who sing "Soul Man."

Ruthie: Mom has the album. It's like a CD, only bigger.

Annie says babies can be scary at first and then offers to let him hold one of the twins. Donovan is scared he might drop the baby, but Annie says she's not worried. She shows him how to properly hold an infant. 

At the restaurant, Simon asks Deena to dance. She says she'd like to but then whispers to him. Simon gets up and asks his sister Lucy to dance instead. Jack is concerned he is too far away from Deena because

Jack: You know, you're far more important to me than music. You're more important to me than anything. 

She asks her brother what he thinks he likes about Simon, and Jack says as long as Simon doesn't kiss her, he's fine. 

Deena: Then I'd say you've only got about an hour. I'm thirteen. 

Simon apologizes to his sister and thanks her for helping him tonight. She says she learned from their parents. Simon dances with Deena next.

Sargeant Michaels knocks on the car door and tells Matt he wants to talk to him. He tells Matt he is also a big brother of a sister, but he never saw her making out in a squad car. Michaels says he always tried to protect her and forbid her to see a guy who wasn't very good. But she married the man, and things continued to be bad, and he realized he should have talked to her as a friend, not as a parent. It might have been different. He tells Matt it's time he starts to treat Mary like a friend, not an overprotective big brother.

Eric is talking to Huck at the park while Mom lies there dying. He tells him about Mom and her family. Eric tells him that Mom would like Huck to have a good family as well. While he is talking, Mom, the dog, dies.

Annie wakes up the next morning and asks her husband when he got home. He says around 2 or 2:30 and finally convinced the park ranger to let him bury Mom at the park. Annie smiles at first.

Annie: Excuse me?

Eric: Oh, that's right. I never got a chance to call. I'm sorry. I was with Mom in the park all night. Oh yeah, Mom...Mom was the family dog. 

Huck sits up and looks at them. Annie seems surprised, and Eric tells her it's "Mom's homeless friend Huck." 

Annie is concerned because they can't have another dog with all the kids and Happy. Eric says he knows and then leaves to call the Carberrys.

Ruthie comes into her parents' room and asks about the twins. She wants to help feed them "and stuff" when they wake up. Annie asks her if she had fun with Donovon last night.

Ruthie: Yeah, I'm gonna ask him over again some time.

Annie: Yeah.

Ruthie then has a flashback of Donovan kissing her on each cheek before he left last night.

Ruthie leaves, and Eric tells Annie he will be back ASAP. He says goodbye to the twins and is surprised at how quiet they are. He goes without Huck.

Annie: You forgot something! (to Huck): Sorry, like I said before, just no vacancy. None.

Eric sees Simon in the hall and asks him how Deena's birthday was. Simon tells him it was great. 

Eric: Well, I'd love to hear all about it, but I've got to run. Just tell me what the best part was.

Simon flashes back to his first real kiss, with Deena at the door when Jack dropped him off last night.

Simon (to Eric after the flashback end): The potatoes au gratin. (Haha, great answer after the flashback). 

Eric looks confused and then runs back to his room and grabs Huck.

Lucy comes out and asks to whom Huck belongs. Lucy tells his father that her mother won't let him keep the dog. Then she tells him about going to dinner with Simon, Deena, and Jack. He says Jack is a great guy.

Lucy: Yeah, he really is. Wait a minute, why do you think so?

Eric: Mostly, because he lives out of town. 

Lucy gives her dad a look.

Eric: What? You get bored easily when a guy's around too much, and you love to write letters. 

He leaves, and Simon comes out of his room. Lucy thanks her brother for letting her come.

Simon: It was nice. 

He leaves, and Lucy has a flashback of last night when Jack kissed her. (This was a big kissing day for the Camden kids). 

Lucy: Definitely not boring.

When Eric enters the room, Matt and Mary are eating chips in the kitchen. He asks them if something is going on, and they say no. Their father says he thinks something is going on but doesn't have time to address that issue but will later. He leaves with Huck. 

Mary asks her brother about where he made out when he was sixteen and where he went to make out.

Matt: The car.

Mary: Where in the car?

Matt: Our driveway, her driveway, other peoples' driveways.

They both laugh.

Eric puts Huck in the station wagon and sees Michael Towner behind him. He asks him to back up.

Eric: Tell me you didn't just bring my daughter home.

Michael: No, I didn't.

Eric: That's all I wanna know.

Mary asks Matt if he was afraid of being seen. Matt tells her it made it fun the possibility that anyone could catch them, and it also kept them from going too far. (Matt is so wise. He must have outstanding writers). 

Mary: Are you lying?

Matt: No. I'm not lying; you should try it. Michael Towner's sitting in the driveway in his car right now. I called him about fifteen minutes ago when you were taking a bathroom break. I figured I owed you. Just remember, he's had some problems in the past, and he's a nice guy, but take your time, get to know him; find out if all these changes he's making are for real. And remember, most importantly...it's broad daylight.

Matt leaves, and Mary runs out to Michael's car, and they make out. 

Eric goes back to the Carberry house. They know he didn't go to the vet because they called. They also know that Eric had her buried at the park because they called the park ranger. They thank Eric for all he did. Eric tells her that Huck was with Mom when she died. This makes them very happy. Eric asks them to take Huck. He says he knows Huck can't replace Mom, but he needs a home. Huck jumps out of the car and runs to them. 

Cheryl: Oh, God. This is a miracle. This dog has never come near anyone before.

Burt: It's just so soon.

Eric: I know; I just had to ask. Here boy, come on. 

Eric turns to leave with Huck. Cheryl looks at her husband. 

Cheryl: Reverend, wait. 

Burt: We owe it to Mom. Maybe he's even a gift from her.

Eric: Oh, God. That's great. Thank you. Thank you. And again, I'm very sorry.

Burt: Reverend, do you think dogs go to heaven?

Eric: It may be debated in religious circles, but there's no debate in my heart. I know dogs go to heaven. 

Burt: Thank you. 

Eric: Bye.

Eric looks up at the sky as he leaves. 

What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong plays as it shows dogs running in the park and playing with each other. 

The closing credits come up.

(This was a sweet episode regarding Mom and Huck. I loved Donovan and his fear of babies, and Ruthie was so adorable. I thought the scenes with Lucy and Simon were also terrific. It was awesome how she saved his butt after he was so mean to her. Mary was a little ridiculous, but it was funny).