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3-16 Stormy Weather

Summary by: Laura

Orginal Air Date: 1996-02-09

Writer: Jeff Menell

Director: Jeff McCracken

Capsule Summary: Eric's intership takes over his life; Turner dates Dana's mom.

Extendo Summary: Eric is taking on extra hours at the internship, simply because he loves it so much. He says it's the "single most important thing [he's] ever done in [his] entire life." In fact, he's working so hard he's missing classes, which sort of defeats the purpose of his getting an internship for credit.
     Eric reveals his desire to be a weatherman, just like his hero Cal Kilbride (John O'Hurley, J. Peterman from Seinfeld, who plays a different character in Season 4's "Singled Out"). From studying Cal, Eric teaches himself how to do the weather, and when the back-up weatherman doesn't show, the station manager allows Eric to fill in. Everyone is proud of the good job he did, but Feeny and Eli are upset with him for being failing. He really needs to go to school and to do a lot of makeup work, but he'd rather be at the station. He doesn't care about graduating as long as he can be a newsboy. Since he's just turning eighteen, he figures this is his decision to make as an adult.
     Of course, the parents aren't too happy about this. Alan pulls the old if-you-wanna-be-an-adult, be-an-adult, pay-rent, buy-your-own-groceries. Eric's all, Fine, play it that way. See if I care. Happy birthday to me.
     Everyone at the station celebrates Eric's birthday and Eric feels like he's really accepted at the station. But the manager has some tough news for him: they've hired a real weatherman. Eric did a great interim job, but they're not going to just hand him the job. Eric's disappointed, but he says he'll continue to work there--"I gotta have something to do, I dropped out of school." But the bad news keeps on coming: the internship is only open to high-school students. No school, no newsroom.
     Alan comes to the station to apologize for yelling at Eric and to wish him a happy birthday. They make up and hug.
     The next day, Eric goes back to school to hand in his make-up assignment. Feeny plays the hardass, suggesting that Eric get a new job. Eric whines that the real world is hard, and Feeny says that well if he learned that, it was valuable experience, and blah blah, and welcome back. (He then warns a relieved Eric "Don't hug me," a contrast to his later holding of hands and calling his students "my dears". What a different two years makes! Or maybe he just likes Cory and Topanga better than Eric.)
     Meanwhile, Shawn and Dana are hanging out, doing the girlfriend-boyfriend-study-make-out thing. Dana's mom Susan (Rosalind Allen, the freakin spoonbender from season 2 of SeaQuest DSV) arrives to pick her up, and, because she and Dana have different last names, it comes out that she's divored. Jonathan flirts. Shawn gets mad. "She's my girlfriend's mother! And frankly, there's just something sick about this whole situation."
     But Susan calls Jonathon, and they go on a date. And for the second week in a row, Shawn does his nervously-waiting-for-them-to-return-from-the-date routine. (He even comments about how it's so late because it's past nine, just like he did last week about Cory's date with Dana. These are adults! Shawn is such an early-to-bedder.)
     The adults come home and Susan says they (the adults) have something to tell them (the kids). They say they've decided not to see each other since they think it would be too awkward for the kids. What great people.

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