User Reviews

Eb announces he is going to propose to Darlene. Now viewers with a good memory, should recall that in an episode from just 5 weeks ago, The Douglases and Eb went to dinner at the Wheelers where the subjects of a dowry and other marital matters were discussed. It would seem that episode should have followed this one-perhaps they just aired them out of sequence.

Here, Eb doesn't have a ring for Darlene (who for reasons we cannot understand, happily accepted the proposal) go he gives her a watch fob he received for coming in fourth place in a bowling tournament. Mr. Wheeler comes out right before the couple kiss, and lets Eb know that the fob is not acceptable-he'll need a ring.

Back at the farm, Lisa happily trots out her boxful of engagement rings, complete with little tags like you get when your car is being repaired, saying "Count," "Greek," "Sheik" etc. One ring in there looks tiny and cheap-the one Oliver gave her that he paid $2000 for. Lisa suggests Eb give that one to Darlene, claiming passing down engagement rings is an old Hungarian custom.

Eb returns and is almost more eager to show the ring to Mr. Wheeler than to give it to Darlene. Mr. Wheeler looks it over and immediately heads to town to show it to his friends. The next thing we know, he returns it to "the junior deadbeat" saying he had it appraised and it's only worth $8.

We learn that Lisa's father had the same ring appraised when Oliver gave it to her and got the same value--$8. Oliver concludes the jeweler must have swindled him. Anyhow Wheeler's called off the engagement and Eb is distraught.

But he returns home later all excited because Lisa's plan worked. She had gone over to talk to Mr. Wheeler about the dowry and got him to forget about the value of the ring, since his dowry was not worth much either. Thus we end happily for the time being.

That episode from 5 weeks earlier would have seemed quite right a bit after this one. Instead, we go from the couple being engaged, planning on building a house and buying furniture together, to Eb proposing.

Even in the right sequence, this episode only had a modest amount of laughs-I'll give it a 5.