01x10 - All the Best Diseases Are Taken

[bunniefuu]

♪ Gonna sing out in anger

♪ Gonna cry out in pain

♪ Gonna sing out and cry out

♪ Until this world

♪ Is sane ♪

You might
say a record is just a rut...

that goes 'round and 'round
in circles.

But sometimes, when its message gets
through, it can spin you into orbit.

That's what happened to me.

You see, every generation...

has fought against tyranny and
injustice wherever they found it.

Striking out against the
moral diseases of their time.

It suddenly became obvious to me
that my generation needed awakening.

Someone to lift a torch,
to light the way.

All I needed was a mission.

A mission?
Protest. Eternal vigilance.

Where? Where? Not here.
That's just the point.

Where are all the injustices
for us to fight?

Down at the Spring
Street Theater?

The Spring Street Theater?

They're gonna raise the prices
for the early show Saturday night,

when all the kids go.

That's discrimination.
That's injustice. That's...

That's ridiculous.

I've got to give them a real cause.
That's my mission.

Or why else was I elected president of
the Civics Club? 'Cause nobody else ran.

Protest, eternal vigilance,
an end to complacency.

Wake the sleeping masses.

I could see it was
going to be a long road.

♪ If you're in doubt
about angels ♪

♪ Being real

♪ I can arrange to change

♪ Any doubts you feel

♪ Wait till you see my Gidget ♪

♪ You'll want her
for your valentine ♪

♪ You're gonna say
she's all that you adore ♪

♪ But stay away
Gidget is spoken for ♪

♪ You're gonna find
that Gidget is ♪

♪ Mine ♪

What turned me on
when I was young?

Well, in the first place,
we couldn't afford a torch in those days,

but we did have taxation without
representation, the Boston Tea Party.

Oh, come on now. Tell me.
Straight arrow.

What turned me on?
Let me see if I can remember.

The, uh, struggle for freedom,
the fight against dictatorship,

the making the world safe
for democracy.

Oh, and yes,
my local draft board.

But you enlisted.

Well, let's just say
they helped turn me on.

Boy, they really had causes
back in those days.

And to think how we got
shortchanged.

How can they ever expect us
to grow up to be anything?

I understand he's going to be...

at the Palisades Auditorium.

An evening with America's angry
young man on a motorcycle.

Suppose I take you and Larue
tomorrow night, and we call it even?

Are you suggesting a sellout?

Precisely. At . a head.

Speaking of theater prices,

suppose you came across
an injustice that...

That wasn't exactly
the biggest in the world,

shouldn't you fight it?

I mean, when you think about it,
isn't it the principle that counts?

- Straight arrow?
- Straight arrow.

That's all that counts.

Suffice to say
that the die was cast.

One last resort remained.

A direct appeal backed by the
full weight of the Civics Club.

Civic Club? Sorry. No theater parties.
Everybody pays the same price.

That's exactly what we're
here to talk to you about.

We at the Civics Club

feel that raising the prices for
the early show Saturday night...

is discriminatory and tends to...

That's right. It singles out
the kids so they'll pay more.

They got all the money.
Why shouldn't they?

But that's unfair.

What's unfair?
I run a union house. You check.

What about pension plans?
Employees' disability? Bernard, please.

Tell you what I'm gonna do.
You look like nice, clean-cut kids.

Here's a couple of passes
for tonight's show.

And don't ever say that show
business hasn't got a heart.

At that moment,

when I thought of the mighty forces
of public opinion that were gathering,

I almost felt sorry for him.

Couldn't you do
any better than that?

My brother brought it down
from Berkeley.

Well, you know I can never
think of anything to write.

Besides, it doesn't seem to make
much difference what it says.

There are more kids
tonight than ever.

Look. Uh, why don't I bring
you out a couple of chairs?

What do you want to sit
on the cold ground for?

No, thank you.

Would you keep an eye on that for me?
Well, where you going?

Well, the feature starts in two minutes.
Bernard, how could you?

After all this, you're gonna sell
out and pay the price to get in.

Me, pay? Why should I?
I got a pass.

I always say some people
are born to defeat...

and others have it
thrust upon them.

I seem to go both ways.

However, I am no quitter when it
comesto wakening my generation.

It was obviously simply a question
of finding the right voice.

At first look,
it might seem difficult,

but when you really
think about it,

nothing is impossible when
those around you truly believe.

This is crazy. Ridiculous.
Complete madness.

Well, then go home.
Not for all the money in the world.

What'd you say your name was again?
Uh... Uh, Gidget Lawrence.

I don't got no Billy Roy fan
club that got you as president.

Well, I... I was just
elected this week.

Oh, yeah?
Congratulations.

By almost votes.

Oh. What have you got for Billy?
A sit-in?

A ban the b*mb demonstration?
Peace march?

Well, it's a little hard
to explain out here.

It's a little hard
to explain anywhere.

Are you ready?
Well, uh...

Mr. Soames...

Uh, my name is Gidget Lawrence.

Uh, I'm president of one of
your fan clubs, kind of.

Well, anyway, I'm president of
the school Civics Club, and...

Well, that's what we're here
to talk to you about.

- Go.
- I know all about it.

It's a free-speech rally.

Look. You've already done three
of these this month, champ.

- I don't think you ought to do it.
- Actually, uh... Uh, we...

I mean, my generation, well,
we're not quite up to that yet.

It's kind of hard to explain.

Hey. Where'd you get
the popcorn?

Hey. That's
double butter, huh?

That's kind of what we're
here to talk to you about.

You see, this movie theater is
raising its prices just for one show,

and, well, that's the show
we all go to.

So we decided we'd go on strike.

- Strike?
- Yeah.

Well, we thought you could come down and...
and maybe sing some songs or something.

- You're puttin' me on.
- I'll dissolve the fan club.

Right away. Kaput.
Just like that.

Well, it hasn't got anything
to do with the fan club.

- Hey, what call you got to put me on?
- I'm just trying to...

Don't come down here and put me on, and
I won't bug you around your playgrounds.

Look. I've got a personal photo for
both... each of you of Billy Roy.

Don't make no trouble,

and I'll see that you get 'em signed
with similar facsimiled signatures.

It'd just be for one night.

Yeah. It's always
just for one night.

Look, besides, I got
a peace march in Akron.

Come on. All you want to do
is get in on the big things.

Nobody cares about
the little ones.

Nobody cares about
the principle anymore.

And that's the only thing
that really counts!

I guess this is just another
lost cause, Mr. Paine.

All you people don't
know about lost causes.

Oh, please, don't tease.

He said once they were the
only causes worth fighting for.

And he fought for them once.

For the only reason any
man ever fights for them.

I still think
you're puttin' me on,

and I'll only work it
for one night, check?

- Check.
- Check.

Got all my gear. You name it.
I bed down anywhere.

What was that?
Justice just triumphed.

Claude Rains just
tried to sh**t himself.

Dad.
Mm-hmm?

I've been thinking.
Good for you.

You don't know what I've
been thinking about yet.

I approve of
any kind whatsoever.

I've decided I don't want
any children of mine...

marching around in protest marches
and all that sort of stuff.

The whole moral injustice bit.

I take it from all this you're
about to let the torch drop, right?

Wrong. It is up to me
as a potential mother...

to see that they haven't got
anything to protest against.

I have therefore decided
to slip into high gear.

One must be prepared
to go to any lengths...

to ensure that we pass on
a cleaner, fresher world.

I'll drink to that. Oh.
You say all the right things this morning.

Accordingly,
I have taken steps...

I don't eat fried eggs.
I never eat fried eggs.

Oh. Yeah.
Oh. Silly.

I therefore feel... You
don't eat fried eggs either.

Oh. No.

I overslept.

Uh, I didn't know whether you liked fried
eggs or scrambled eggs, so I made some...

Uh, Dad, I'd like you
to meet Billy Soames.

This is my dad.

Hey. Don't mind me,
man. Eat up.

Right away, I could see
they were gonna hit it off.

Of course, they had one absolutely
fabulous thing in common.

First off, I figured
she was some kind of a nut.

Then I thought about it
a while, and I realized...

that she had to be
some kind of a nut.

I mean, no offense, Dad.
But I mean, just some kind of a "wiggo."

Then third time around,
I say to myself, "Now, hold on, man.

I mean, maybe
there's somethin' there."

I mean, who tells this new line of
kids that you don't have to buy...

everything in that great big package
they hand you when you grow up.

I know what you mean.

When I was back at college, they tried
to shut down the hot dog stands...

behind the cheering sections
at the football games.

- Talk about your protest.
- Yeah, huh?

- Yeah. You really racked them up, huh?
- Oh, yes, sir.

Pushed 'em right back to the wall. Even got
'em to put in two sizes of orange drinks.

Hey. Good man.
Good man.

We were pushin' for more, too,
but... football season ended.

Hard line.
k*lled you on the grape drinks, huh?

But they knew
they'd been in a fight.

Yeah.

I'm still not quite clear
on what you're doing here.

Well, the way I see it, Dad,

I'm kind of like a...
A hammer. Fap!

You know?
Everybody listens.

- You dig?
- I dig.

No. You accept too fast, man.

You know, John,

you fought
the good fight, right?

All I need is a shave
and a haircut...

and a drip-dry suit,
and Dad here would buy me too.

- It'd be a start.
- A finish too.

The day that guys like you
look at me and say,

"Well, there's a nice,
clean-cut young man.

I think I'll go out and buy a few
records to take home to the kiddies,"

well, that day
it's fallback, man,

and I am dead.

You know, you and I are never
gonna find each other, man.

Anyone for the beach?

I figure we'll start phase
one of our campaign there.

Crazy.

Aren't you gonna change?

Man, I'm as changed
as I'm ever gonna be.

Let it be recorded that
Operation Awake had begun.

The hammer's here!

Come on!

Tremendous forces

had been unleashed that
could not be quelled.

Put it this way.
It was a start.

♪ Our music's wrong
Our hair's too long ♪

♪ And we're too immature ♪

There was nothing now

that could stop
its growing momentum.

We've got to stop this
here and now.

I still don't see how any of
this involves the university.

I'm only a concerned observer.

Just a member of
the alumni committee.

You... You are in the front line.

Consequently, you should be even
more aware of the problem than I.

Well, Billy Roy Soames
is a match.

Mr. Evans, this seems to me
to be a tempest in a teacup.

My daughter is concerned only with theater
prices for some of her teenage friends.

A small matter of principle.
May seem unimportant to us, but...

But there could be , students outside
that theater tomorrow evening, Professor.

It's happened.

With even less provocation
than this.

If that fire does start...

If it does spread to our campus,

don't let it start here.

Oh. And as you say, Professor,
it is a very small matter of principle.

Not very important.

Let's keep it inside
that teacup.

Daddy, we had a real bonfire
demonstration at the beach!

Everything's really caught on!

The responsibility is
in your hands, Professor.

I assume you'll do what's best.

Who was that?
Why, that was the establishment, man.

I got so I can recognize the,
uh, uniform and the look.

Daddy?

Just a friend, honey.
Nothing of any real importance.

Rallying point.
Theater parking at D-minus minutes.

Francie?
Come in.

I don't know what time
D-minus is.

It's a figure of speech.

It's whatever time the
early matinee is over with.

Well, just call the theater
and find out.

Of course I can't.
Well, they might recognize my voice.

Okay. And call me right back.

I never knew it was so much work
setting up a spontaneous demonstration.

How's it going?
So far, it's a smash.

I see.

Talk time, huh?

Big talk?
Little talk?

Oh. Little talk
that could turn big.

Could you give me
a general heading?

Well, let's just call it the
wonderful world department.

Okay. Let's just.

Oh, no.
It's a pacer.

That's either gotta be
failing marks or free love.

And since I haven't had any
of either lately... Francie.

Honey...

You're going to be growing up
into a wonderful world soon.

Back when I was your age,
it was different.

That's what Annie always says.

No matter where you slice
it, it's always different.

I know it must sound that way.

But it was different. The problems...
Somehow they were more definite.

Well, that's what
made it so easy.

Everything was either one thing or
the other... with big signs on it.

You always knew where you stood.
Yeah.

But the point is we've
come a long way since then.

But there's still
a lot of things wrong.

You always say that. It's just now you've
gotta look a little harder to be sure.

Yeah, but they're not
all that important.

What I'm trying
to say is that...

sometimes nowadays,
without big clear-cut issues, you...

You're apt to get lost with
a little unimportant one.

True. And that's why you have to find
the ones where principle is involved.

Because that's all that really
counts, and it never changes, right?

Right.

Gidget here. I don't care what
time the last cartoon ends.

We can't possibly follow a cartoon.
That's ridiculous.

Dad.

A sudden thought.

Did that man that was here have anything
to do with what you wanted to tell me?

Uh, he's a member
of the alumni committee.

A very important member
of the committee.

Seems he's concerned... Everybody's
concerned about Billy Roy.

They're... afraid this thing tomorrow
night might spread, get out of hand.

So they pulled the big stick out.
They threatened you.

Used all sorts of pressures to get you
to stop it. Nothing quite so dramatic.

And I know what happened.
You stood up to them!

Even when they said
it would mean your job,

you said it was a matter
of principle.

Francie... And that's what
you wanted to tell me!

You've been thrown out of the
university, blackballed everywhere.

Francie!

Come here.

It was like that, wasn't it?

I mean, I overdid it,

but you did stand up to 'em?

Not in so many words.

Then you want me to stop tomorrow night.
I didn't say that.

It's not very important.
It... It's nothing really.

Just a stupid old...
It is important.

I want you to believe that.

Honey, I want you to be aware.

I want you to care.

About everything.

I don't want you to
buy everything...

in that great big package
they hand you when you're...

growing up.

I'm glad you're doing
what you're doing.

And I'm glad you're glad.

I changed the guest suite, man.

I burn up a lot
of energy, you know?

Gotta stay close to the action.

Hey. I couldn't help
but, uh, overhearing.

I mean, it's a weird bit of mine,
but I can't stand closed doors.

Funny. I always had the impression
that's what doors are for.

Yeah. Yeah.

That cat really hung you up,
didn't he, man?

Hey, listen. Uh,

why don't you tell her that they
blew the whistle on you, huh?

Cop out, Dad, huh?
While you still got a chance.

I mean, even Alice in wonderland
has gotta wake up sometime.

No.

Yeah. Well,
think about it, huh?

No.

No compromise.
No sellout.

No cop-out.

Man.

Man, you are so square,

they ought to build
a town around you.

Hey! What are you doing?

Where are you going?
Oh, I got a call this morning.

Big deal up north.
But... But I...

They're trying to kick some teacher out
just 'cause he wanted to grow a beard.

- How can you leave now?
- Well, it's easy. I got a low overhead.

But everything's
all arranged for tonight.

And it... And it all depends on you.
Honey, Gidget,

the day it all depends on me,

that day you got nothin'.

But... But... Honey,
save up all those juices now.

Believe you me,
we are all gonna need 'em.

Dad, let me tell you somethin'.

I don't know where you are,

but the trains
just don't go there anymore.

Is that all?

No. No, that's not all.

There's one other thing.

Let me know if you ever
want to grow a beard, huh?

A beard?

Why would you
want to grow a beard?

Well, let's put it this way.
Why wouldn't I want to grow a beard?

Toodles.
Where to?

Movies.
Found a new theater?

Nope. Same one.

Mr. Lefferts
conceded defeat.

I am happy to report that discrimination
was brought to a screeching halt.

Without a massive sit-in demonstration?
Moral pressure triumphed.

Oh. He lowered his prices
on Friday nights. Right?

Wrong. He raised them
on all the other nights.

Well, after all, that was
the principle involved.

I'll have to think
about that for a while.

In the meantime...
Eternal vigilance.

With double butter.