WEBSTER: A FRIEND IN NEED (TV)
Summary
One in this comedy series about a diminutive African-American child and his white guardians. In this episode, Jerry arrives dressed as a clown, planning to visit the leukemia patients at the children's hospital in honor of his sister, who had cancer at a young age and has been in remission for many years. Webster wants to accompany him, though George seems uncomfortable at the idea of the sick kids. At the hospital, Jerry performs magic tricks and Webster chats with some of the patients, including Mark, who explains that he too is in remission. When he says that his mother is delayed in her visit because of distance and car trouble, Katherine offers to take him home for the weekend. Webster and Mark spend the weekend playing together, though when Mark feels ill at night, Webster frets that his cancer has returned. However, it turns out to be merely a junk food tummyache, and he asks Katherine not to tell his overprotective mother about it, then telling Webster that he wants to be a doctor someday.
Jerry takes the boys out in the city, and Katherine remarks upon Mark's considerable stamina. His mother Irene arrives and is distressed to hear about Mark's rambunctious behavior, saying that she keeps him on a strict diet and allows little activity because of his illness. Webster ponders that Mark should not have to "act sick" when he is doing well, and Katherine notes that Irene "dwells on the negative." When Katherine suggests that the boys play touch football, Irene tells her that she is unaware of the experience of mothering an ill child, but Webster counters that Mark himself understands the gravity of his disease, as he has had friends who have died, but should be allowed to make the most of life when he is well. Mark soon packs to head home to Wisconsin, and Irene allows him to carry his own suitcase, suggesting a change in her overprotective ways. Later, Webster dresses up in a clown suit of his own, planning to visit the kids' hospital again. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: February 7, 1986 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:30:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:12626
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; African-American Collection - Comedy
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1983-1989
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Bruce Johnson … Executive Producer
- Dave Hackel … Supervising Producer
- April Kelly … Supervising Producer
- Judy Pioli … Producer
- Claire Witt-Sher … Associate Producer
- Shelley Jensen … Director
- Stu Silver … Created by
- Ann L. Gibbs … Writer
- Joel Kimmel … Writer
- Steve Nelson … Music by
- Madeline Sunshine … Theme Music by
- Susan Clark … Cast, Katherine Calder-Young Papadapolis
- Alex Karras … Cast, George Papadapolis
- Emmanuel Lewis … Cast, Webster Long
- Cathryn Damon … Cast, Cassie Parker
- Eugene Roche … Cast, Bill Parker
- Henry Colic II … Cast, Jerry
- Gabriel Damon … Cast, Mark
- Kate Zentall … Cast, Irene
- Paris Vaughn … Cast, Candy Striper
- Mark Mitchell … Cast, Spike