One Glass Slipper
Episode 35
Season 2, 1985
Introducing: --
Fairy tales – which we didn’t see in the first
season – will often be the theme of an episode throughout the rest of the series
until 1993. Usually, they are just the cover
for a real problem that may or may not mirror the tale.
The concert that we usually open with is actually a
fantasy of the Kids as they rehearse. They are
excited about an upcoming party thrown by their newest neighbors, filthy rich people whose
young son is having a birthday. Trouble is,
his party is for kids “10 and up” – and Stacy is only 9*. As Renee hams it up and Kid teases her, Stacy
grumbles that it’s a dumb idea to have an age restriction, even though it helps us
set up the first plot point. Kid promises to
sneak her in, but Stacy declines, saying she doesn’t go where she isn’t invited
and she’d rather just stay and read her book. They
have one more rehearsal and then the girls go giggling off after establishing the second
plot point.
Much later apparently, Stacy is engrossed in her book when she is distracted by people screaming for her. Oh, wait, they’re asking for Stacyrella, that’s not her – or is it? Now she’s dressed in rags and two ghastly girls are storming into the room. Apparently, they are on their way to a fancy ball and not a Halloween party as you might have guessed. Stacyrella tolerates their barbs as she fetches their capes and receives nothing but a broomstick in return.
Once those two have left, an explosion heralds the
arrival of – oh, my God – The Fairy Godfather.
He’s come to urge Stacyrella to get up offa that broom and go to the ball
where she can dance until she feels better, but alas, Stacyrella is only a servant, with
no glamorous flossy, flossy. Don’t worry,
your new slightly embarrassed purple friend has a wand!
He waves it and…nothing. But he
waves it again and Stacyrella (I am SO tired of typing that!) is tricked out in a
beautiful gown and wig. By now our heroine
has caught on and is ready for her pumpkin carriage. “Nah,
that’s old.” laughs her Godfather. “We’ve
got advanced technology.” She’s
instantly Apparated there instead.
The Wicked Stepfriends are vainly trying to get the attention of any boy when a Material Girl pops into the scene and is suddenly the belle of the ball. Stacyrella scores the attention of the queen and even sits in the royal throne until Prince Alan appears.
He tactfully ignores the ugly ones and goes straight to
the intriguing interloper. Stacy (I refuse to
type “rella” anymore!) admits that
she isn’t truly old enough to be there, but Alan doesn’t care – he’s
only 10 today anyway. His father was the one
who decreed the age restriction. Stacy and
Alan share a waltz as the Fairy Godfather (I assume even he was invited) serenades them. He even takes potshots at the pissed off sisters.
Suddenly, the clock strikes 10. Hey wait…oh, Daylight Savings Time, my bad. Stacyrella’s fun is over. Hey, you’re only 9, you shouldn’t even be
up this late, don’t complain! The
Godfather rushes her away so quickly that she leaves her glittery Mary Jane behind as one
of the few things this adaptation gets right.
Stacy is asleep as any little girl would be at this hour
when Kids Inc. wakes her. As usual, none of
them have any idea what just happened, but they went to Alan and told him how unfair the
royal decree was, so he agreed to move the party to The P*lace. Nice guy. As
the other kids leave, Alan has one additional surprise for Stacy…her missing shoe.
I gave this episode 4 mics because it’s really
funny and well-acted, but that age thing gets me every time.
Guest star: Dick Billingsley
as Alan, the new rich boy
Invention count: 0 this
episode
4 in total
Vocab:
“Stacyrella”, a nickname that followed poor Stacy well into her Wild Orchid
years, LOL
Continuity, gags and themes:
Stacy being the youngest
“It was all a dream”
Lynch and other producers sneaking themselves into the show
Fairy tales and popular literary classics (2)
New Locations:
Lynch Manor, the biggest house in town, stuff of legends apparently
Pop culture references:
Cinderella, a timeless classic whose age we don’t really know. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella
Nevertheless, you are probably most familiar with the Disney movie.
Daylight Savings Time doesn’t work exactly as Kid
says it does in this episode.
http://www.timeanddate.com/time/aboutdst.html
“Racy” – This is one of the first moments
Ryan/Stacy ‘shippers enjoy: Ryan sympathizes with the fact that Stacy can’t go
and pats her on the head. He also is the only
one volunteering to stay behind with her. It
just seems like overkill since she’s not actually crying or anything.
Solos:
Gloria (1) = 32
Stacy (2) = 8
Kid (1)= 18
Episode Total: 4
Total: 103
Performance outfits:
Red w/sequins
Victorian-style costumes with huge bustles and powdered wigs
*Now this is the thing that really gets me. It’s not something you’d notice if you
hadn’t seen The Beginning prior to this…but this was the year that The Beginning
was released on VHS, so it’s possible.
Gloria is complaining about boys, and Stacy chimes in,
to which Gloria argues that Stacy can’t know anything about boys at all because
“you’re only 8”. The Beginning
took place in 1983. Flash forward now to 1985. Stacy can’t go to this party because –
are you ready for this? – she’s only 9. Throw in the hilarious fact that Stacy is
actually 10 here in reality, and you will be utterly confused.
This age gap thing is going to reappear later in Season
6, where they make a mistake that doesn’t even follow their established age in the
series.
Songs:
Souls –
Come See About Me –
Material Girl –
The Greatest Love of All – 
Change –
Here’s how you voted!
Souls –
Come See About
Me –
Material Girl
–
The Greatest
Love of All –
Change –