7th Heaven: Season 4 - Episode 2: Life is Too Beautiful

 

Matt (Barry Watson) holding Sam and David (played by the Brino quadruplets at this point), and Eric (Stephen Collins) talking to Annie after dinner. 

The Camden family just finished dinner, but Ruthie, Simon, Lucy, and Mary leave after to get a burger and fries because they didn't care much for the fish. (I totally get that). They go, and Matt comes into the kitchen with the twins, followed by Eric. Eric loved the fish. He kisses Annie. Eric leaves, and Annie tells her oldest son she wants a burrito supreme and a churro. Matt hands the twins to their mother and leaves.

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

Eric is singing, "Do Lord,"  and it wakes up everyone. Ruthie comes out of her room and goes into her parents' room to tell Annie.

Annie: Well, it's okay, you know. Dad's just really happy, so he's sharing his happiness, nighttime, daytime, all the time! (And here Annie shows classic signs of a person about to lose it).

They try to go back to sleep, but Eric sings louder while he makes orange juice. 

John and Matt are in their apartment, sleeping in bunk beds. (I think these were the ones used by Ruthie and Simon). Matt has the top, John the bottom. The phone rings, and they try to find the phone in their mess. Matt finally finds it, and no one is there. Matt realizes he's gotta hurry to work.

Annie asks Eric who he is calling so early. Eric tells him he was calling Matt and giving him a wake-up call like he does every morning to ensure he doesn't oversleep and lose his job. Annie reminds her husband he's not supposed to use the phone. 

Annie: No calls equals no stress, remember?

Eric: I'm not stressed. Life gave me a second chance. I'm gonna give life a second chance.

Ruthie is eavesdropping. (What a shock. LOL). She tells Simon she can't take their dad being so happy. Simon tells his little sister that until Eric is back to normal, he is now the man of the house. He tells her he wants to see her homework, and she tells him no because she knows if she has finished it.

Simon: Did you?

Ruthie (sheepishly): I still have time.

Simon goes into the kitchen. Eric and Annie are feeding the babies. Simon tells his father he'll take over so Eric can go meditate. 

Eric: I'll meditate when the house is quiet.

Simon: No, no, the trick is to meditate when the house is noisy, and that's the challenge. Well, after all, how often is the house gonna be quiet? And if noise is your excuse, then you're never gonna do it. (I agree). 

Eric: You know, I think that is right, son. 

Eric leaves, and Simon sits in his place.

Mary and Lucy are in their room getting ready for school. Lucy asks Mary if she got her math quiz signed. Mary says she will ask her dad to sign the examination she did poorly on. Lucy says they aren't supposed to upset Eric, but Mary says their dad can't be upset now, so it's the perfect time to ask him.

Lucy: But still, you shouldn't take advantage of his...his...

Mary: His post-heart attack insanity. (Haha, I love this description). 

They go into their parents' room, where Eric is meditating. Mary gives him the quiz and says it's not her fault she did poorly. Eric asks his daughter if math is important, and Mary says no since she will never use trigonometry in real life. He asks her if she thinks she will never need to think for herself and get exact answers. He calls her over, and she sits on the floor next to him. Then Eric tells her how important it is to do well and get good grades.

Lucy asks Simon if she did her homework, and she tells him to mind his own business. He says he will get all the other kids once he finishes shaving. Lucy laughs at her brother, but Annie asks him about when he started. Simon looks frustrated at his sister and then leaves. Annie asks Lucy where Mary is; Lucy says Eric is helping her with his homework. Annie is frustrated since Eric needs to relax.

Eric and Mary come into the kitchen. Eric tells Annie that he's fine. While working with Mary on her homework, the idea of "connection" came to him. He wants the children to go to school and "enlist the assistance of someone they have previously alienated." Mary and Lucy agree and will tell Simon and Ruthie. (And they are so thrilled). 

Matt comes in on a break from school to take a quick shower. Eric says Matt will do it as well.

Simon is in the bathroom shaving. Matt barges in and hits Simon. Matt laughs at Simon when he realizes Simon is shaving. Then he hops into the shower.

Simon: No crying; you're the man of the house.

Lucy is standing by the lockers at school. Mary comes over and asks her what she's doing. She says she's trying to connect with some alienated people but can't find anyone. 

Mary: Good. So here's how you can help me. (She has moments of kindness but must be the most selfish in the family). 

Lucy looks at her.

Mary: What? I leave you out of my life all the time. Alienation. So, now I'm going to let you do something for me. Connection. 

Mary wants her sister to help her after school with baseball because Lucy is shorter than a "real player."

Lucy tells her older sister that she doesn't feel alienated and therefore doesn't need that connection. Mary tells Lucy that she doesn't have anything, so when Lucy is a senior next year, she hopes no one will help her. Lucy says she will help Mary, but Mary tells her, "forget it."

John sees Matt on campus and asks him if he got to work on time. Matt tells him what Eric wants him and the other kids to do. 

Matt: Like asking them for help is going to lure them into some kind of friendship.

John: No, no, that's an interesting notion. But isn't it more than that? Once you ask for help, then the two of you get involved in something together, thereby creating a friendship of sorts. (At least someone wanted to do what Eric said. But at least one other will be happy about it later, too). 

John says he wants to find a way to make up with Shana, who feels left out now that Matt and John have their apartment. Shana (Maureen Flannigan) is on her way over, and Matt tells John to go ahead and try. Matt rushes off to class after giving Shana a quick hug and kiss. John asks Shana to show him around the campus, and she agrees.

Simon crashes into Jim (Kyle Sabihy), another student. He tells him he's studying heredity diseases because of Eric's heart attack. He tells Jim that he's worn out as the house's man now. Jim thinks Simon's dad died, but Simon tells him his father is fine, just in recovery for a few weeks. Jim calls Simon a wimp. 

The doorbell rings at the house despite the sign that says not to ring it. Annie rushes to the door carrying one of the infants, and it's Mrs. Beeker (Edie McClurg). She apologizes for ringing the bell and wants to know how Eric is and how she and others at the church can help. Annie tells her he needs time to rest, but he's okay.

Annie goes into the living room and asks Eric what he's doing.

Eric: I'm sitting. 

He stands.

Eric: Now I'm standing.

He sits again.

Eric: Now, I'm sitting again. 

He is amazed by how easy it is to sit and stand just by wanting to sit or stand. 

Annie: Yes, the human body is miraculous.

She leaves, still holding the baby. The other baby is sitting in the living room with Eric and watches as Eric sits and stands. 

Later, Annie peels an apple, and Eric turns the light on and off. He is amazed by technology. (And Annie is amazed she hasn't lost any fingers). Mary comes into the kitchen, and Eric offers to help her with her math homework, but Annie informs her husband she will help Mary. (Or perhaps some nosy neighbor might help). 

Ruthie is in her bedroom dancing. Simon comes in and tells her to take a bath. She says she did, but Simon says she didn't dry off with a towel. 

Ruthie: You're starting to get on my nerves.

Ruthie goes to take a bath, but Simon stops her to ask her if she made friends with an alienated kid at school.

Ruthie: I tried, but Ricky says his parents are citizens. (I'm impressed she knows what an alien is at that age. Even though she mixed it up with alienated). 

Lucy finds Simon and asks him what she should be when he grows up. He tries to help by asking her what she felt confident and happy about in the past and then answers it himself.

Simon: Boys.

Lucy: Big help. I could have told me that. 

Matt passes the room, tells Simon he has a five o'clock shadow, and laughs. He goes into the bathroom, where Ruthie sits on the edge of the tub reading.

Ruthie: Simon told me to take a bath.

Matt: So take a bath.
Ruthie: But I'm not dirty.

Matt: Then don't take a bath.

Ruthie: Thank you!

Matt: Sure!

Ruthie leaves the bathroom.

Lucy finds Matt and asks him if she can ask him something.

Ruthie tells Simon that Matt told her she doesn't have to take a bath.

Matt and Lucy are in the bathroom talking. Matt is telling her what she's good at when Simon comes in and asks Matt if he told Ruthie she didn't have to bathe.

Matt: Yeah, what do you care?

Simon: I care, okay? And what's Lucy talking to you about?

Lucy tells Simon, and he gets upset and leaves. Matt suggests that Lucy become a mechanic, but she wants to do something meaningful. Matt tells her mechanics are very important when brakes go out, plus there are a lot of guys.

Lucy: Why does everyone think the only thing I'm interested in is guys? (Gee, I can't imagine). 

Annie is in the kitchen helping Mary with her homework. Mary gets angry because she can't understand exponents. Annie tells her they are going to figure out the math problem. Matt says goodnight to them over the shouting.

Mary: Well, it may be a goodnight for him.

Annie: You know, you're attitude is not helping at all.

Eric is outside lying on the picnic table. Matt comes out and walks over to the table. He tells Eric that he passed the experiment of alienation and connected on to John to try out. Matt leaves, and Eric goes back to singing "Do Lord." 

Annie is in the nursery changing the babies. Ruthie comes in and complains that Eric is outside singing loudly. The phone rings and Annie answers it - someone named Mrs. Clark asking about Eric. Annie tells her Eric is fine.

Ruthie: No, he's not fine. He's way too happy and way too loud.

Lucy and Mary come into the nursery.

Mary: Are we done?

Lucy: If you've finished helping Mary with her math, maybe you could take two minutes out of your time to discuss what I should be doing with my life.

Simon comes in angrily. 

Simon: Leave Mom alone! I'm the man of the house!

Annie (to the person on the phone): No, really, Every-everything's just fine.

Eric continues singing outside. 

Matt returns to his apartment, which Shana has helped John clean up. John leaves with Shana because he offered to give her a ride to work on the way to getting his paycheck. Matt seems bothered by something.

Annie and Mary are in the kitchen weeping because they don't get Trigonometry. (Trig was a pain). Annie offers to get Mary a tutor, but Mary tells her they can't afford it, so Annie suggests the free after-school tutoring at the school. Mary reminds her about basketball practice. They give up and go to bed.

Annie goes to bed, and Eric asks her if she's crying.

Annie: Yes, I'm crying. I'm just so happy you're alive.

Eric: So am I.

Ruthie is outside their room listening.

Ruthie: This is a nut house.

The following day, Mrs. Beeker rings the doorbell again. She asks Annie if she can help because she heard there was a disturbance last night. She asks where she heard it, and Mrs. Beeker tells her from Mrs. Norwood, who gets a little tipsy at night.

Annie: You know, Mrs. Beeker, I don't gossip, and I don't like gossip.

Mrs. Beeker: Well, please tell the Reverend I said I'm praying for his speedy recovery. Goodbye.

Annie: Wait. I'm sorry.

Mrs. Beeker: Are you okay?

Annie: If I weren't, would you tell the whole neighborhood? (Of course, I would, what a silly question to ask). 

Mrs. Beeker: You know Annie, sometimes people gossip because they're trying to make a friend. And I'm afraid I am entirely guilty of often going about making friends in the wrong way. 

Annie tells her she doesn't have much time to talk, but Mrs. Beeker volunteers to help her with the housework. Eric comes over to Annie and tells her he is going outside to check on the spider's web because it is such a work of art. Annie tells her about the spiderweb on the table that Eric was lying on while singing last night. 

Lucy talks to some girls at school and learns she's on the B-list. They tell her she better not be doing it just to meet guys, and she says she's not. They leave, and Lucy goes to her locker; another girl named Jan (Kimberly Paige) tells Lucy how close Lucy was to getting on the A-list because of dating Jordan and that not to blow it. Lucy says she never even thought she'd make the B-list, so she's willing to risk blowing the A-list. 

Matt calls Shana but gets the machine. Just as he leaves the message, Shana and John enter the apartment. Matt's upset about the time Shana and John spend together because Matt feels left out now.

Simon sees Jim at school, and Jim tells him he's got something on his face. Jim tells him that guys do that all the time. Simon says he's not very good at being the man of the house, and now one listens to him. Jim understands and asks him if he wants to cry, and Simon denies it.

Jim: When my Dad died, you know, I didn't think I could cry; I mean, boys don't cry, right? Then one night, I started; I just couldn't stop. 

Jim tells Simon about how his (Jim's) mother thought he would become "a sissy" because of crying. Then he got her into a program to give him a "fake dad." Then they went to see Reverend Camden because his mother was afraid to go to their own minister. 

Jim: Your dad told me I could cry and be a man. I can get my feelings hurt and be a man. Because, uh, men do have feelings. 

He tells Simon that the reverend also validated Jim's mother. He also learned he loved football. He asks Simon to tell his dad Jim said hello, and to teach Simon how to shave.

Matt arrives at the school with Ruthie to pick up Simon. Annie was busy, Mary had practice, and Lucy had some secret adventure she was on. Simon asks what the secret adventure is and tells Matt he should have found out what Lucy was doing. Matt doesn't see why it matters, and Simon gets angry and tells Matt to get out of the car so Simon can tell him off. Simon and Matt get out of the vehicle, then Simon tells him off. 

Matt: Don't get upset!

Simon: It's too late because I am upset. And you know the thing I'm most upset about is the fact you find this all so funny like I'm some kind of idiot or something. 

Matt: When did I ever act like you were an idiot?
Simon: When I was shaving. I mean, it hurt my feelings. 

Matt apologizes to his younger brother, and Simon tells him it's okay; he just needed Matt to know. They get back into the car. Matt apologizes to him again, and they hug.

Ruthie: God save my soul; when are things going back to normal?

Mrs. Beeker is helping Mary with her homework, and Mary is starting to understand it. Lucy comes into the kitchen, and Mrs. Beeker tells her there is food in the microwave and dessert in the fridge and then goes to check on the twins before leaving. 

Lucy tells Mary that she joined Habitat for Humanity. She says she learned about putting shingles on the roof from a master carpenter. Lucy says she wants to design and build low-income family houses for the rest of her life. Mary tells her she's proud of her. They hug as Mrs. Beeker passes by on her way out.

Lucy: You know she's going to tell the entire neighborhood that you're bad at math.

Mary: Oh yeah, I don't care, though. I'd rather the whole world know than do homework with Mom again. 

Simon goes to Ruthie's room. She tells him to get out, but he says he was just seeing if she has yet made any new friends at school. Ruthie says she made friends with her teacher by telling her she needed homework help, and then the teacher did it all for her. Simon sighs in frustration.

Ruthie: What? I did a good thing. All the kids hate her, and now I don't. I think she's great.

Ruthie asks Simon if he wants to color, and he doesn't want to.

Ruthie: Too girly for you?

Simon: Yeah.

He leaves.

Ruthie: Yet, he doesn't mind crying like a baby. Go figure.

Matt is coming into the apartment as John is heading out. John says he's meeting a friend who isn't Shana. Matt doesn't understand why John and Shana have to be friends. (Matt is acting a little like Lucy in this episode). John tells Matt he shouldn't worry about his best friend when there are plenty of other guys who talk to her, plus Shana loves Matt. John tells Matt that Shana traded hours with someone at work so that she could spend some time with Matt. John leaves, and Shana and Matt hug. 

Eric and Annie are taking a bath together. Eric tells his wife he saw pictures of his life, but the good ones continued, whereas the bad ones "turned to dust." But then he also saw pictures of people in his family that he hadn't even met. 

Eric: And suddenly I woke up, feeling stronger than ever, better than ever, more confident than ever. Because we are all the good things that all those who've gone before us are, and all the bad things fall away. 

Eric picks up the soap and looks at it.

Eric: Ah, soap. And it floats. I mean, who thought of that?

He drops the soap into the water. 

Annie comes into the kitchen where her three daughters are. She tells them she always wanted to do Habitat for Humanity because of their excellent work. Lucy asks her mother to teach her some skills she (Lucy) can use. Annie asks Ruthie if she finished her homework.

Ruthie: I finished it at school. 

Annie: Good for you. But don't ask your teacher to do it for you again, okay?

Ruthie: Well, things are practically back to normal.

Lucy: What do you mean by practically?

Ruthie points upstairs.

Matt, Simon, and Eric are shaving together. They have the twins in the bathroom with them as well. 

Simon teases Matt, and Matt laughs. Eric says Simon is funny and intelligent.

Matt: And an excellent crier.

Eric: You've been crying?

Matt: Well, we both have. 

Simon: It wasn't a big deal. Uh, Matt hurt my feelings. We cried, we laughed, we made up.

Eric: Good for you guys.

They continue to shave as the closing credits come up. 

(This was a great episode as it flowed very well. Everything connected nicely. It was a great way to get Lucy into Habitat for Humanity. Also, I like that Simon learned men can cry. There is nothing wrong with it). 

(Here is a link to Habitat for Humanity for anyone interested in what Lucy joined).