Episode Info
Episode #37 - Season 2, Episode 15
First Aired: February 2, 1984
Plot
Alex tries to impress Deena Marx (played by Tracy Nelson) by supporting the Equals Rights Amendment, something he clearly does not support.
Funny Moments
- There is a great scene in the kitchen where Deena asks Alex if he supports the ERA and he says, "Deena, you say ERA and I say Y-E-S." Much humor ensues as the scene progresses.
Music
- When Alex is in jail, the group sings "We Shall Not Be Moved".
Trivia
- Parts of this episode are used as flashbacks in "Battle of the Sexes"
- Parts of this episode are used as flashbacks in "Wrap Around the Clock".
- Just for the record, Ohio ratified the ERA on February 7, 1974. The US Congress extended the deadline for states to ratify the Amendment until June 30, 1982 (by which time, not enough states had ratified the Amendment). Why an episode created in 1984 would address this issue is unclear. Perhaps some wished to restart the passage of such an Amendment.
- The moderator at the ERA debate is Mr. Winkler (played by Philip Sterling), the high school newspaper editor that Alex (briefly) worked for in "Big Brother is Watching".
- Alex ends up in jail just like his parents did in "No Nukes is Good Nukes", and similarly refuses to be released.
- Just as Alex pretended to like the things Deena did, in a later episode, "Diary of a Young Girl", Mallory does the same thing (not learning from Alex's mistakes).