I love this episode even though there's no Archie because things pick up quickly and continue rolling to the end that you have no time to miss him here.
An intelligent college friend named Stuart comes to visit Mike and from the moment he enters the house Mike wants to do nothing but discuss highly intellectual subjects and play chess.
Stuart however wants to put his brain to rest for a while and just be a normal human being visiting friends. He wants to play charades when Gloria suggests the game. But Mike quickly admonishes that and would rather show off how smart he is to his intellectual friend instead.
He's insufferable and pompous throughout the episode correcting his wife as if she's a student in class, waving her away to go fetch coffee and cookies rather than participate in conversation. His treatment of his wife in front of his friend is disgraceful. Stuart notices this and appears uncomfortable, and makes every effort to let Mike know he wants to include Gloria in the evening but Mike continues his embarrassing treatment towards his wife.
Gloria finally reaches the point where she's had enough and tells Mike to "Shove it" and leaves the room. We see Stuart laughing hysterically at that because he obviously agrees with her and feels the same way.
Mike has always been this way, but this episode really highlights it. In fact, in "Games Bunkers Play" Edith even told Mike how "stuck up" he can be and that "if you were really smarter than Archie, you'd be smart enough not to let him see that you were smarter than him."
But Mike can't do this....at every turn he has to let other people around him know that he's smarter than them. Either he really believes this, or he doesn't and is incredibly insecure with himself that he says it to overcompensate.
Another example is in a later season during a Scrabble game with Gloria, he laughs and belittles a word she uses because it's too simple. They're all alone here and he still has to boast how smart he is to his wife rather than just enjoy a game of Scrabble.
In the same episode he does it to Archie when he smugly corrects his use of the word "lend" when it should have been "loan".....at that moment, Archie let's him know what we're all thinking.....WHO CARES?!
Mike has been this way throughout the entire series and when Gloria worries in this episode that one day Mike will outgrow her because she barely finished High School and he's going for his Masters, she has a very valid point.
In fact that's exactly what he did later on during "Archie Bunker's Place" when he left her for a college student. Gloria has her issues, but in this episode all her suspicions of Mike are right on target.
He's an insufferable pompous ass and it's amazing Gloria put up with him for so long. I give this episode a 9 rating because it's really good even though you want to reach into the tv screen and smack Mike upside his head.
An intelligent college friend named Stuart comes to visit Mike and from the moment he enters the house Mike wants to do nothing but discuss highly intellectual subjects and play chess.
Stuart however wants to put his brain to rest for a while and just be a normal human being visiting friends. He wants to play charades when Gloria suggests the game. But Mike quickly admonishes that and would rather show off how smart he is to his intellectual friend instead.
He's insufferable and pompous throughout the episode correcting his wife as if she's a student in class, waving her away to go fetch coffee and cookies rather than participate in conversation. His treatment of his wife in front of his friend is disgraceful. Stuart notices this and appears uncomfortable, and makes every effort to let Mike know he wants to include Gloria in the evening but Mike continues his embarrassing treatment towards his wife.
Gloria finally reaches the point where she's had enough and tells Mike to "Shove it" and leaves the room. We see Stuart laughing hysterically at that because he obviously agrees with her and feels the same way.
Mike has always been this way, but this episode really highlights it. In fact, in "Games Bunkers Play" Edith even told Mike how "stuck up" he can be and that "if you were really smarter than Archie, you'd be smart enough not to let him see that you were smarter than him."
But Mike can't do this....at every turn he has to let other people around him know that he's smarter than them. Either he really believes this, or he doesn't and is incredibly insecure with himself that he says it to overcompensate.
Another example is in a later season during a Scrabble game with Gloria, he laughs and belittles a word she uses because it's too simple. They're all alone here and he still has to boast how smart he is to his wife rather than just enjoy a game of Scrabble.
In the same episode he does it to Archie when he smugly corrects his use of the word "lend" when it should have been "loan".....at that moment, Archie let's him know what we're all thinking.....WHO CARES?!
Mike has been this way throughout the entire series and when Gloria worries in this episode that one day Mike will outgrow her because she barely finished High School and he's going for his Masters, she has a very valid point.
In fact that's exactly what he did later on during "Archie Bunker's Place" when he left her for a college student. Gloria has her issues, but in this episode all her suspicions of Mike are right on target.
He's an insufferable pompous ass and it's amazing Gloria put up with him for so long. I give this episode a 9 rating because it's really good even though you want to reach into the tv screen and smack Mike upside his head.
