Family Ties (1982) s02e15 Episode Script

I bet we've been together for a million years and I'll bet we'll be together for a million more oh, it's like I started breathing on the night we kissed and I can't remember what I ever did before what would we do, baby without us? what would we do, baby without us? and there ain't no nothin' we can't love each other through ooh-hoo what would we do, baby without us? sha-la-la-la.
Mallory: What shall we do today, Steven? Jennifer: I've got it, Elyse.
Let's have Mallory and Jennifer clean this house top to bottom.
I love you when you're strict.
Kiss me, you hunk! I'll get it! Hi, folks.
Enjoying the show? An unforgettable evening in the theater.
Hello? Yes, this is the keatons'.
Oh, just one moment, please.
Alex, it's deena Marx! Alex: I got it! Thank you! Hang up.
It's deena Marx.
I don't care if it's Karl Marx.
Hang up.
No, w-wait a minute, Elyse.
If it's Karl Marx, I'd like a word with him.
Hang up.
Who's deena Marx? She's one of the most popular girls in school.
She's smart.
She's pretty.
A lot more important than Karl Marx, whoever he is.
If she has all that going for her, what could she possibly want with Alex? And she was just named leader for the senior caucus for passage of the equal rights amendment.
Maybe she wants him for target practice.
Alex, what'd deena Marx want? Whoa, wait a minute, Mallory.
Uh, the telephone is an instrument of private communication.
See, that's why the receiver's only big enough for one ear.
Then why'd they make extensions? As usual, you're too sharp for me.
Well, if you must know, Mallory, she's co-editor of the school yearbook with me.
She's coming over in a few minutes.
You happy? I know you're not telling me everything, Alex.
Uh, mom, do you know where your "e.
R.
A.
Yes" button is? I'd like to borrow it.
Sure, it's upstairs in my Wait a minute.
Since when did you support the e.
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? Since he got interested in deena Marx.
No, no, wait a minute.
That is not true.
Look, I have always been a supporter of the e.
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Equal rights are as important for men as they are for women.
We men will not be free until women are equal.
Ah, I had you going for a minute, didn't I? No, seriously, mom, come on.
Can I have the button? No! I'm not gonna give it to you so you can deceive some girl.
Oh, why not? We're family.
Dad.
Dad, can I, uh, borrow yours? Forget it, Alex.
What you're doing is unprincipled.
Besides, your mother would kill me.
All right.
Okay.
Hey, fine, fine.
I'll just I'll just make do with these pamphlets.
Let's see here.
"Sexual discrimination will not be tolerated.
" No.
"Sexual discrimination will not be tolerated.
" Sexual discrimination will not be tolerated.
Doesn't just roll off your tongue, does it, Alex? "Bring women into the mainstream of American society in a truly equal Partnership with men.
" This isn't gonna be easy.
Okay, how 'bout this? For the dedication in the front of the book, a full-page photo of Mrs.
Buchanan, and in the lower corner, "in dedication Emma Buchanan.
What a teacher.
What a woman.
" What a body.
Alex.
W-what I mean is, what a body of knowledge This woman has imparted to us over the years.
That's not what you meant.
She does have a great body, but I don't think we should put that under her picture in the yearbook.
For one thing, it has a slightly sexist ring.
Well, hey, no ring intended.
You know, sexism Sexual discrimination of any kind Is entirely intolerable to me.
The mere thought of it makes me wince.
Really? Well, yes, yes.
Don't you feel that way? Well, yeah, I do.
I just didn't think you did That's all.
Well, I'm I'm glad you feel the same way I do because, frankly, it would be very hard to work with someone who didn't.
Yeah, but I've always thought of you as kind of well, conservative and preppy.
Preppy? Me? I no, no.
I just came in from a wedding.
Okay, let me get this straight.
You are pro-e.
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? Deena, you say e.
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I say y-e-s.
Would you, uh Would you care for a cup of tea? I'd love one.
Uh, listen, just, uh Just sit yourself down.
Uh, you know, you're gonna love this tea.
I-it was grown, picked, and brewed entirely by women.
You know, Alex, everything we talk about does not have to involve women.
I-I do have other interests.
I don't.
Well, but I'm, uh I'm willing to learn.
Hey, you know, this is really fun.
Working with you isn't nearly as dull as I thought it would be.
Well, thank you.
I think.
Yeah, and it's really surprising.
What? What is? Well, all these years in school, I've never had the least bit of interest in you.
That doesn't seem possible.
Why? Oh, little things, I guess Like the young Republicans club.
Pfft, that.
Oh, deena, deena, deena, deena, deena.
See, I-i am something of a dabbler.
I'm I'm a seeker of new experiences.
I-I'm like a young sapling whose roots are young and thirsty.
Yeah, see, this is what I thought it would be like.
You know, deena, it it's good that we can laugh in these troubled times When when women are so ruthlessly oppressed by this sexist society.
Oh, hi.
Uh Like some tea? No, thank y Nice, uh Apron, son.
Wow, thanks, dad.
I hope you don't mind me borrowing it.
I, uh I got quiche on mine.
Steven: No.
No, no, not at all.
Uh, when you're done, uh Hang it next to my jello molds.
Yeah, I will, dad.
Thank you, thank you.
I'm just wearing it to, uh, make some tea, and then I'm gonna clean up.
A woman's work is never done.
A person's work, mom.
Thank you for raising my consciousness, Alex.
How's the yearbook coming along? At the rate we're going, we should have it out by the time we're sophomores in college.
Elyse and I were co-editors of the yearbook in high school.
It was really terrific.
We had some great times together.
That's how we met.
No, it wasn't.
I-I wasn't on the yearbook staff in high school.
Oh, uh t-that No, that that's right.
I was thinking of, uh Right, it I-it's not important.
Steven? Mr.
editor? They're a fun couple, aren't they? Equally fun.
You know, deena, I-i was wondering, uh W-would you like to go out with me Saturday night? I can't.
I'm hosting an e.
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Debate at the community center.
Oh What a coincidence! You know, that is where I was gonna take you.
Hey, great.
We can go together.
Great! Uh.
I'll pick you up at 7:00.
Or you could pick me up at 7:00.
Or we could meet halfway At, uh, 3:30.
Man: This evening we are pleased to present a dialogue between two women, both presidents of women's groups who often approach the same problem, shall we say, from different directions.
Will you help me welcome Sharon Fletcher and Dorothy canell? Now, let's get right to it, shall we? Mrs.
Fletcher, tell us, if you would, what bothers you most about passage of the e.
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Well, simply stated, I believe that passage of the e.
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Would take away rights that American women already have under the fourteenth amendment to the constitution.
Man: Ms.
canell, how do you respond? Ladies and gentlemen, if the equal rights amendment is not ratified, a whole generation of American girls will grow up unequal, limited in their options, penalized for being born female.
Yeah! Yeah.
Dorothy: The e.
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Is many things, but basically it's a bread-and-butter issue.
Women with college degrees are paid less than men who haven't finished high school.
Let's keep it that way! This this must stop.
Your behavior is unacceptable, sir.
Homemakers' labor is not recognized as having economic value.
Oh, get back in the kitchen, lady That's where you belong.
Alex: Hey, hey, hey.
Come on.
Come on.
Let this woman speak.
Show some common What are you doing? Look, let her speak.
The first amendment of the constitution clearly states, and I quote You swine.
Stop the e.
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! Stop the e.
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! All: * oh, deep in our hearts we do believe we shall not be moved today that's right sing it.
It's important.
Are you okay? No, not really.
Look, deena, I-i cannot go on with this any longer.
I-I-I'm not really Alex, that was a very courageous thing you did Coming to Dorothy's defense like that.
Well, th-thanks, but, uh, listen, a-about this whole e.
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Business, this this this button, this this shirt.
It's not is that a scratch on your ear? Yeah.
It's nothing.
Oh, those animals! Alex, I don't think I've ever been as attracted to anybody as I am to you right now.
So, what is it you wanted to tell me? Don't remember.
I think it was a trivia question.
Isn't this romantic? The two of us in prison together.
Alex, I want to thank you for coming to my defense.
I'm proud of you.
I'm very impressed with your passion for the movement.
Well, uh, Dorothy, it was a privilege to come to your aid.
I-I regret I have but one ear to give to the cause.
Alex, when you talk like that, I can barely keep my hands off you.
But, uh but those are just idle words.
There is a job to be done here.
Yes, there is! Right on! You know, and not only by us but by women everywhere.
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! How long must we wait? How long are we expected to accept these indignities? How long, lord? You know, I-i feel the way president Kennedy must have felt that day at the Berlin wall, when he said, "today I am a berliner.
" Well, today, in this hour, I say to you, "I am a woman!" I'd hate to be taken out of context, though.
Here.
Is that better? Oh, yeah.
That's, uh That's much better.
Alex?! Alex! Are you all right? Life's been rough, mom.
Come on, a-Alex.
We've We've paid your bail.
No.
No, uh, dad, uh I will not leave here Until the last of my sisters passes through these bars.
Uh, women, my parents, Steven and Elyse Keaton.
All right! Whoo! Bravo! Good for you! Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! Mallory: So, tell me, Alex, how long have you been a supporter of women's rights? Jennifer: Virtually since birth.
Now, how is that possible? Good question Coming from a girl.
Alex, leave them alone.
They're just playing.
Dad, I will not be ridiculed in my own home By puppets.
That's what's wrong with you feminists.
You have no sense of humor.
Mom, I am not a feminist.
I am simply posing as a feminist out of respect for the girl I care about.
Yeah, I-i hope she appreciates it.
Look, why is everybody picking on me? Look, last night I defended a woman's right to speak.
Now, I-is that bad? Of course not.
We're very proud of you for that.
And I spent a night in jail for a cause I don't even believe in.
Does that make me a bad person? Alex, that's not what we're talking about.
You're misleading deena.
You have a relationship based on lies.
Dad, that's not true.
We're past the lies.
We're into the good stuff now.
Look, uh, do you think I'm happy doing this? I'm not.
You know, I-it started out as a few innocent little lies.
I wouldn't even call them "lies.
" They were They were lie-ettes.
And it just snowballed.
I mean, what can I do now? Deena believes very deeply in this cause, Alex.
Your attitude towards it is, uh Well, it's really insulting to her.
Now, if you care at all about deena, you should tell her the truth now.
Hello.
Oh, hi, deena.
Yeah, listen, I-I'm glad you called because I-i have something to tell you.
What's that? Really? No kidding.
That that is really flattering, but Wow.
Oh, wow! Oh, that is great.
Oh all right.
Okay, deena.
All right.
Okay, bye-bye.
Huh! So, did you tell her? Congratulate me.
I am now the leader of the Ohio youth movement for passage of the e.
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We got a rally this Saturday.
Well, you're not gonna go, are you? Well, mom, I have to go.
I'm the keynote speaker.
This is indeed a very special evening for me.
You see, I've always said that the equal rights amendment is not a women's issue, it's a people's issue.
And that thought was strongly reinforced for me the other night in of all places, our city jail.
During our e.
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Debate here last Saturday night, I was shouted down.
But during the ruckus, a young man leapt to my defense and demanded that I be heard.
Only later, in jail, did I get a full sense of his commitment to e.
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He so fully shares our frustrations and our concerns that he was able to say, in the most heartfelt manner, "today, in this cell, I am a woman.
" Alex Keaton said he was a woman And my spirit soared.
His courage, his valor, his integrity, his truthfulness Are beyond measure.
He boycotted, or, as he put it Are you all right? Person-cotted No.
I have to talk to you.
So girls could play, too.
Women's rights I lied to you.
What? I lied.
I lied.
It's all lies.
I'm not I'm not pro-e.
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See, I-i just made-believe I-i was so you'd be interested in me.
A man for all seasons May I introduce the next Ohio youth leader of the e.
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, Alex Keaton? I'm, uh I'm not, uh Worthy of your applause.
No.
No, look, uh It's it's time that you heard the truth.
See, I defended Dorothy canell's right to be heard, and and I believe in that.
Yes! Yes! Yes! No, please.
See, um My my reasons for doing it a-are not what you think.
I did it for a girl.
All right! Cut it out.
Cut it out.
See, um I'm I'm trying to apologize here.
See, I, uh I-I made-believe I was something I'm not so, uh so this girl would be interested in me.
It seemed harmless enough at the time But, uh The truth is, I-i-I'm not in favor of the e.
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I-I'm sorry, deena.
Uh, and I apologize to you, Dorothy to my family And to all of you.
See, I can't accept this honor because I-i believe that the leader of a movement Has to, uh, believe in the movement, and I honestly don't.
I-I have managed to gain some new understanding of the need for e.
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A-and it comes from seeing intelligent, courageous people who want it as badly as you do.
I'm not voting for it But, uh, I am closer to it than ever before.
So, you see, I am not the Alex Keaton that you thought I was.
I'm not a woman.
I'm sorry.
Could we take a 10-minute break? This is a mess.
I uh, uh, deena? Yeah, what is it, Alex? Well, I-i-i was just wondering if, uh This Was gonna affect our relationship.
Excuse me, Alex.
Uh, deena, wait.
Look, I-i am sorry.
What I did was Was an insult to you.
I-it was childish.
It was it was unforgivable.
Yeah, well, at least we found something we really agree on.
Yeah, well, it was.
I mean It was unforgivable.
Can you forgive me? You made a mockery of something that I believe deeply in.
You made a fool of me.
You lied to me.
I can't forgive that.
So, Alex, how are things working out with deena? You did the right thing, Alex.
A wonderful girl Just walked out of my life.
All I'm left with is a prison record.
How can that be the right thing? I know it doesn't feel like it now, but you did.
Let's go home, son.
Alex What did you mean when you said you're not a woman? I'm not.
I'm sorry to have to break it to you this way, mom.
You're weird, Alex.
Thank you.