06x01 - Mike's Choice

[bunniefuu]

All you have to do.

Just sit here and act nonchalant.

Jason, where's Mike gonna sit when we remember be right back.

I don't mean Maggie

Chrissy.

What makes you think someone's in trouble?

Daddy is your mirror, Alice, the clean slate,

some trouble,

honey.

Mike's car makes such a horrible sound.

Can't we just listen for it inside.

Like.

Normal people.

Well, the last time we wanted to see a member, what he did, he shut off his engine, slid into the driveway in neutral.

Jason.

He knows, he knows we're tamps.

I think he's too smart to try and duck us today.

Oh, too smart.

Yes.

Then why would he leave this unopened college registration?

For which as direct sunlight reveals was due today, anybody could find it Maggie in the dresser under the socks tucked away in bed.

We don't have to fool around with any of this.

We just have to lay down the law and tell him what to do.

Oh, where's my list list.

Yes.

Questions.

You must answer before dropping out.

I'm not having this discussion with it.

My list.

Fine.

Go get your list.

But after we go through it, point by point, you know, we're going to end up doing things my way.

What was that, honey?

I was so worried.

You lost it?

No, no, not to worry.

I've got it all on computer dish.

I want to practice.

You'll be Mike, I'll be me.

Who's going to be me.

I'll be you too.

So you get to be both of us.

And I only get to be Mike.

I want to be Michelle Pfeiffer.

I can live with that.

Hey, come on, honey.

Come on.

We need a little practice.

Maybe a little role play is good for us.

Our boys.

Very tricky.

Yeah.

Hi Mike, listen, have you really given thought to how difficult an acting career can be?

Don't you think it was to have a marketable skill you can fall back on.

Do you really want to drift through your twenties the way you did your teens, the front door?

What about it?

It's unprotected

that was close.

Back to the driveway.

Jason, you shouldn't be enjoying this so much.

Good you honey.

Michael probably figured out we're waiting on kitchen chairs in the driveway and try to use the front door.

Okay.

Well, Chrissy, it's not just one thing.

I mean the way mom and dad see it, Mike's always been

Mommy, mom and dad are looking for Mike it's.

Click DVD going well, maybe watching Mike finally brought to justice would perk me up.

I'll be in my room with my library books.

Call me if it's the big one, but only if it's the big one.

As I may have mentioned, my first week at Columbia university was.

Not only exhausting, but much more work than I expected.

You mentioned a lot.

Benjamin Christine, Mike, Mike, Mike,

Christine, listen, calm down.

If you're talking about the fact that our parents are a little anxious to see me, I'm well aware, right aware of it.

Mike, did you know Dan found your unopen college registration form?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Did you know that waiting for that?

The front door, they got tired of the kitchen chairs.

Huh?

How come we didn't hear his car?

When he turned off the engine slid into the driveway in neutral.

You may try parking way down at the end of the block, then his car behind the Chevy.

you guys doing?

Not well, I'll you, if you got some time, there's some things I'd like to discuss.

We don't have any time to discuss anything.

Cause we have many things to discuss.

Honey.

Can I go first, please?

Absolutely not.

Look, guys.

I want to talk to you about my college career.

Okay.

Now I know guys, I've been doing a lot of thinking about this and it may sound kind of silly to you, but I even sat down and made a list.

Well, it's just going to have to wait my list.

Well, well, well, proceed, relax.

We work with logic.

Now I realize that I'm not a kid anymore.

Okay.

And although I do have my dreams, I'm starting to see that there is a real world out there.

Okay.

And it's time that I'm here, Mike bed, actually, we haven't heard his choice yet.

You don't mind if I refer to my list, mine's longer that, uh, I've asked myself about staying in school.

Okay.

Number one, have I really thought about how tough a career in acting is?

And number two shouldn't I have a marketable skill to fall back on.

That was my number four.

And number three, do I really want to just drift through my twenties?

The way I did through my teens?

Bingo.

Number four.

How can I truly feel like an adult unless I am on the road to self-sufficiency.

I got 49 more questions like this 49.

I only had 40 guys.

What it all comes down to is.

I think I should stay in school this next year.

Nothing doing young man for Maggie will hold on.

He just said staying in school and you'll believe it.

He's got it.

Listed everything.

What about this registration that he didn't fill out that was due in today?

Yeah.

Well, it does cause a little list.

Item number two, your number two or my number two, having a marketable skill.

Good mom.

I want to go to school here.

Philip Boynton, state.

Teacher's college.

Exactly.

I mean, you guys remember last year when I did that emergency substitute teaching.

I mean, I w I was so good because not a single one of those kids could get anything past me.

I remember.

Yeah.

Now I know it would mean a little bit more time in college, but, well, I really want to go to Boynton and work towards a teaching certificate.

My boy, boy.

Yeah, I get it.

It would kind of be like one of those bad guys who starts working for the law and everything.

Yeah, no, no.

I mean, it would be, I mean, at least another year of me living over there, Rajan and maybe another year of me stealing food out of the refrigerator, we don't mind just don't touch your mother's low sodium salami.

You're serious.

Yeah, mom, I am.

But what about your dream of being an actor?

Well, I figure if I'm any good, it can wait til after I've graduated.

Next number 83, number 83, my friends call me 80.

I'm sure they do.

Michael Seaver.

Well, Mr.

Seaver, would you like to tell us a little about your most recent acting experience?

Uh, well, just yesterday I convinced my parents that I'd given up acting.

Do you have any idea how long my commute home was tonight?

Don't know don't care

anyway.

You want to play with?

Not now, Chrissy.

I had a really rough day at school.

Well, you should have been at my preschool.

It took two janitors.

They bet get the saddest and misses the elbow still slid across the floor.

I'm really tired later.

Okay.

Thanks.

Right.

She is no flood.

Seven minutes, 55 seconds door to door.

Huh?

My commute, having you been listening, I had to take three trains today, which one ran into your face.

Then if by some miracle you someday get into college on say a circus scholarship heed my warning.

This is more work, harder work than I have ever done in my entire life.

But, you know, what's been the toughest thing about this whole week.

Nobody in this family seems to give a darn, are you still here?

Google.

Carol will bear any cross look, any burden.

And everybody around here acts like it's expected.

But all Mike has to do is just jump into this house and say, great, does everybody and everyone in this house stops.

Whatever they're doing.

Great news, everybody.

What is it like great news feel?

Excuse me.

Chrissy had an interesting vomit story.

Okay.

You guys ready for this?

I, your eldest and your favorite today just got an actual part on an actual off-Broadway play.

And the pay is get this $250 a week.

You'll be rich yet.

You won't have to give up your dream conflict with class.

No, none, no conflict whatsoever.

Hey, when do you rehearse?

Ah, but five days a week.

Eight hours a day.

So what happened to your state teacher's college?

I'm not going well.

What about your application and everything?

Oh, well I still got it.

Hold on.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Exactly.

What's going on Mike?

Oh, gosh, look, look.

There's that?

Here's a perfect, perfectly good explanation for why I didn't follow through with what I told you guys yesterday.

I lied.

So you lied to us.

So you never had any intention of going to Boynton.

You guys wouldn't, you guys have been upset if I told you that yesterday.

So this whole story is bogus.

Totally.

You got to see the looks on your faces.

So you look me right in the eyes and your life.

No, no, not once.

If you may recall, did I ever look you in the eye?

I see I'm so betrayed, betrayed, dead.

kids.

I'm going out to look for your father.

It shouldn't be too hard to find him.

He's carrying a door.

about you?

What you been wandering around town for three hours, carrying a door.

What I'm supposed to leave it somewhere?

Where are you going to apologize to Mike?

Apologize for what he was the one that lied to us.

Well, I shouldn't have lost my temper Maggie, if ever there was a time for reason that was it.

Jason, you are not going to apologize to anyone.

This is a time to get tough.

This is a time to forget reasoning.

Remember we're the parents we're in charge.

Let's just tell him that if he doesn't go to school, the freebie stop you.

Right.

I'm going to bed.

Good, honey, the bedrooms this way.

I'm going to get a bite to eat.

Yep.

Uh, what do you want the doors locked?

Go for NAB Matt anymore?

No, in fact, I feel real bad about it and I want to apologize.

Okay, go ahead.

Do it face to face.

Mike opened this door, I'll rip it off.

You know, I've been going through the Boynton catalog here and, you know, if I pick up some weekend courses, I can probably get my teaching degree in about 12 years.

Mike, you don't have to put on any act with me.

Okay.

I just, I wanted to finish the conversation that we should have finished earlier, before I lost my temper.

I just want to get to the heart of this, the meat, the very marrow of the matter you're gonna hit me.

Aren't ya?

Where's that?

Where's that list you had yesterday.

I want to go over some of your reasons for, for why you should stay in school.

Uh, I lost it right here.

This is a Xerox in my list.

Mike, you routed through your mother's underwear drawer.

You've been in my sock drawer entirely.

The same thing.

Y'all tell that to bed.

Can we stick to the reason I came in here?

All right, but you, you were going to come to apologize, Mike, what you did, you lied to me.

Apology accepted.

Can I understand something?

I am not trying to make you suffer.

What did you got to understand?

Something?

I've got some things that I want to do.

Okay.

Answer me this mic.

Do you really think it's a good idea to go off and pursue your acting bug without a college degree?

Is that practical?

No, it isn't.

Okay.

We're getting some, I don't need to be practical.

Dad got talent.

Okay.

And besides it is not a bug.

I mean, it's part of the problem.

I think we have here.

I mean, when I'm interested in doing something, it's a bug and when Carol's interested, you call it aspiration, you leave your sister's aspiration edited.

I'm just trying to be reasonable.

Dad.

You're just trying to talk me into doing what you want me to do, because you want me to do it, but yet I'm 20 years old.

Okay.

I am old enough to vote.

To die for my country.

And if I so desire to have a beer in Puerto Rico, well, I can see how serious you are about this acting thing.

Oh, Oh.

First is the bug.

Now it's a thing.

Come on.

Get why don't you just call it what it is.

Okay, Mike, you know what it is?

It's a sickness, Mike.

I mean, it's, it's one.

Johnny got him for 250 bucks, but did it for a week, a month, a year, who knows.

And then what, you'll come running your height, referred to emotional here.

How was the guy supposed to respond when his dad squishes his dream, like a bug.

Oh, so he admitted to

you know, it's probably a bad idea to discuss this right now.

Let's just, let's just wait and we'll do it in the morning.

Okay.

Or we can talk about it in the morning dab, but things are not going to change, Mike, you know, you're making this real tough on me.

Look, it's no picnic for me either.

Okay.

I've got a rehearsal tomorrow at nine.

Well, maybe you just won't go to that rehearsal, Mike.

I mean, maybe there's maybe, maybe there's a middle group around for us.

Okay.

I mean, we've been through a lot of stuff together.

Why can't we just find a compromise?

Well, I, I was here like two.

Okay.

All right.

What sounds fair to you?

Okay.

I think that I should quit school and take the acting job.

How's that?

A compromise.

You can still yell at me.

I'll tell you what a compromise is.

A compromise is you go to school and you do your plays on the weekend.

Get plays.

Don't work that way.

Well, they can, for a couple of years, get there is going to be no compromise.

Okay.

I am going to do what I want to do, and you are just going to have to live with that.

Okay, Mike, here's the deal?

The same rent.

You want the Seaver meal plan, then you got to study something.

You gotta be a student study something anywhere.

I don't care.

I hear in California.

Now they got out of school for game show hosts,

Alex, Tribec tech.

I'm serious.

So you're saying if I don't do it, you say you're making the move out.

No, Mike, you choosing to move out, but why?

I don't know.

You tell me, I like your living here.

Who?

Me too, dad.

So what are we fighting about?

We're not fighting anymore.

I want you to decision in the morning.

we got doors to hang.

Doors.

Plural.

You talked to Mike after you said you wouldn't.

I happened to run into him last night.

Was this about the time you were rattling dishes in the kitchen

and, and what?

And he owns a house and you're his handyman.

The reason I'm leaving this early.

So hopefully I can make an intimate hand under two hours.

If anybody cares have a good day, sweetheart.

I used all mine up yesterday.

Sure, honey, Jason, what happened?

Had a little talk and I think I got through to him.

You do really, really.

Well, maybe it's a good thing.

You did talk to him.

If I had gone up there, I probably would've lost my temper and given him some stupid ultimatum,

go get the newspaper.

Hey Mike, can I hang that door for you, Mike?

What are we going to do about Mike?

We can't just let him live here and be a bum.

I don't know what to do.

Our only hope is that he comes to his senses.

We have no hope.

I moved to New York and I'm starting to play Broadway off Broadway.

Oh, far off.

There's a nursing home on the second floor.

Doesn't matter.

The point is here, Diana.

And here you are.

And have you seen anyone?

No, me neither one live together.