Subscribe
Previous Post
Original Air Date: February 18, 2008
Someone in the parking lot of RITCHIE‘s school Westbridge has a difficult time parking, so CHRISTINE goes over to assist him. It turns out the person’s a new parent named MIKE GAY (Guest Star Tom Papa) whose son is starting the year late following a bout of mono.
After Christine manages to help him into a parking spot, she learns Mike is also a newly divorced single dad and his son has ADD. Christine has to wait to get the real truth, however, because Mike repeatedly lies at first in order to avoid making the wrong impression. Since both he and Christine have single parenthood in common, Mike asks her to show him the ropes at the school. Once she gets over her misconception that he’s asking her out on a date (he’s not), Christine agrees.
Later at home, Christine brags about her new friend to her brother MATTHEW. She also notes that even Ritchie is doing better in school now that he’s joined the handbell choir, the most popular elective among kids who aren’t good at sports or anything else. An unimpressed Matthew asks if that’s because there was no more room in the Wedgie Club.
When Christine arrives at Westbridge the next day, she finds LINDSAY and MARLY instructing Mike on which volunteer activities to join. After the two women leave, Christine tries to convince Mike that she and he are different from Lindsay and Marly because they’re single parents who have to do more themselves.
As a result, they should take on volunteer activities that don’t require much time. Mike doesn’t seem to agree, and when she asks him if he wants to go get coffee, he tells Christine that Lindsay and Marly have already invited him to a parents’ coffee gathering that afternoon. Christine knows nothing about this regular group meeting because she’s never been invited.
Even worse, when Christine returns home, she learns that both Matthew and RICHARD not only know about the Tuesday-afternoon coffee dates, but they’ve also been. Christine becomes convinced then that Lindsay and Marly intentionally invited Mike and not her because they noticed that she was establishing a friendship with him. To nip the “problem” in the bud, she decides to crash the coffee gathering in order to persuade Mike that he shouldn’t hang out with Lindsay and Marly because they’re mean, gossipy, exclusionary, rich, pampered housewives with hired help and horrible kids.
The plan doesn’t work, however. Instead, Mike notes that the others probably don’t invite Christine due to the way she acts, such as ignoring certain people and avoiding participation in school activities. Mike concludes that Christine is actually the meanie mom. He wants nothing to do with her either because he’s trying to blend in to make life easier for his son, who’s having a hard time with his parents’ divorce, being sick with mono, and starting a new school.
Christine returns home and complains to Matthew and Richard, who point out that she’s never really made an effort to fit in with any of the parents at Westbridge. So, Christine decides to try and get along with Lindsay and Marly by helping set up for the upcoming concert. She does a bang-up job, too, when she realizes she only needs to compliment them on looking perpetually tanned and deathly skinny, respectively, to win their favor. Unfortunately, Mike is starting to realize that both women really are only into themselves when they have him doing all the heavy lifting as they stand around and talk about themselves and other people.
Christine’s efforts flattering Lindsay and Marly are so successful, they save her a seat beside them during the concert. But, while Ritchie is on stage with the handbell choir, Lindsay receives a call about another woman who’s getting a divorce. All of the gossipy mothers in the area then start chatting while Ritchie’s performing onstage.
Christine is unable to take the disruption, especially when her initial nice requests for quiet are ignored. She finally tells everyone loudly to shut up because their children are performing. This puts her back on the outs with the real meanie moms, but the flip side is that Mike now realizes who’s who, and he’s back on Christine’s side, even if she no longer cares much.
MY TAKE: This wasn’t among my favorite Christine episodes, primarily because I didn’t care at all for the character Mike, who just didn’t seem likable. He had a weird “closeted pervert” vibe going on that was unsettling. I couldn’t figure out why any of the parents wanted him around, and I was half expecting Christine to find him listed online in a sex offender or pedophile registry or something.
RESOURCES
- The New Adventures of Old Christine Episode Guide
- The New Adventures of Old Christine Summary
- The New Adventures of Old Christine Website
