Plot Synopsis:
As Gary pages through the want ads in search of a respectable job - studiously ignoring Chuck's incessant pleas that he buy a Met-Pik lottery ticket all the while - he catches sight of an odd front page headline: "Thief Swipes Mayor's Dog." Chuck tags along when Gary heads to the park where Mayor Garfield takes his usual constitutional with his dog and watches with dismay as Gary stops Chuck's own Uncle Phil from pulling off the foretold dog-napping.
Chuck and Gary track down Uncle Phil (and his hot dog cart) and ask for an explanation. Uncle Phil claims that his own dog was hit and killed by a city garbage truck - and that when he tried to meet with the mayor to get an apology, he was given the brush-off. It's clear Uncle Phil is a bit of an eccentric (to say the least), but Gary wants to help the old man resolve his issue (in part to save himself from some extra work).
Gary, Chuck, and Phil go to City Hall; there, the receptionist denies both Chuck and Gary access to the mayor. But before Gary leaves, the mayor runs into him while chasing after his wayward dog and immediately agrees to a personal meeting. Gary informs Mayor Garfield of Uncle Phil's grievance, and Mayor Garfield, who seems a benign - if ineffectual - fellow, is instantly open to writing Phil an apology note. But then the mayor's type-A aide, Mr. Flanagan, intervenes, telling the mayor that writing such a note will upset various powerful special interests, and Mayor Garfield ultimately caves to the pressure, offering Gary an autograph instead. Uncle Phil, as you might expect, is quite disappointed by this, and Gary has to fight with Phil to get him to promise to let the matter go.
Meanwhile, the Met-Pik Lottery goes though another cycle without a winner. While Chuck is predictably despondent, Gary hardly notices. After all, the paper once again reports that Uncle Phil will try to steal the mayor's dog. Gary confronts Phil, who complains that today's politicians are no longer responsive to citizens' needs. Though Gary is clearly sympathetic to Phil's cause, he once again extracts a promise from Phil to leave the mayor's dog alone. At the same time, Mayor Garfield begins to assert himself with Flanagan, as he is now uncomfortable with the strangle-hold his aide has on his every move.
While playing pool at McGinty's, Gary notices by chance that the previous night's winning Met-Pik numbers match the numbers written on the back of the autograph the mayor gave Phil. He concludes - correctly - that someone in the mayor's office is rigging the lottery; as it turns out, if the lottery goes through ten cycles without a winner, the jackpot money goes into an "emergency fund" - a fund that will funnel the money to none other than Mr. Flanagan and his cronies.
Gary, hoping to throw a wrench into the lottery scheme, calls Chuck and tells him he's finally ready to buy a ticket. Before accomplishing this, however, he once again has to track down Phil, who this time breaks into the mayor's mansion and is caught by the nonplussed mayor himself. Phil successfully wins the mayor's sympathy, and he rides with the mayor to the place where the lottery numbers are selected while Gary waits until the very last second to buy his lottery ticket (in the process driving Chuck bananas).
When the big moment arrives, the mayor makes an unscheduled announcement declaring that he is opening his doors to the citizens of Chicago (with a proud Phil looking on) before the winning Met-Pik numbers are selected. The machine indicates, to Flanagan's shock, that someone out there does have the winning ticket. Flanagan's night then goes further down hill when Gary arrives with the police; Flanagan is charged with fraud and carted away in cuffs. Gary, in the end, leaves his winning ticket on the doorstep of a convent.
Overall: 7.2 - This episode's strength lies in its message, which redeems a rather lackluster plot.
Writing: 6
Unfortunately, the political aspect of this episode really stretches the bounds of credibility. There's no denying that the unions are a powerful political force - but I highly doubt the sanitation union would object to the mayor's writing a simple apology note to the owner of a now-dead pooch. I also doubt that one dead animal would result in a demand for a safety update of the city's garbage trucks. (What sort of update would prevent dogs from running, oblivious, into the street?) And lastly, I doubt that any backroom political player would be quite so blatant in his attempts to control his boss's strings as is Mr. Flanagan here. Flanagan simply oozes corruption, which makes it very unbelievable that someone as apparently benevolent as Garfield would trust him with running his mayoral campaign. In short, this episode is rather lacking in real-world believability - and, unfortunately, unlike other lighter episodes, it's not quite funny enough to fully overcome its broad simplifications.
Acting: 7
Generally, I have no complaints with the acting here. Fyvush Finkel, who seems to have been the go-to "eccentric" during the 1990's, does a respectable job in his role, though the relatively weak script means he sometimes has to strain to convey pathos. Other guest actors, meanwhile, are similarly hampered by the uninspiring characterization and plot.
Message: 8.5
I think the writers' intentions here are good, however, for if there is one message you can take away from this episode, it's that governments - especially local governments - should be responsive to the needs of their citizens. There is an appealing idealism in Uncle Phil's expressed belief that he has a right to march into City Hall and lodge a complaint with the mayor in person - an idealism that has largely been lost in this age of bureaucracy and political stagnation. Consider: there are people in the Congress who have been there for years - decades in some cases - who care more for preserving their station than for serving the common good. Indeed, there are people on the school board right here in Prince William County, Virginia, who treat their dissatisfied constituents as if they are idiots who couldn't possibly know what they are talking about when it comes to their children's school curriculum (yes, I am looking at you, Mr. Representative-for-Haymarket). And, of course, President Obama's promises of transparency have so far remained unfulfilled. To wit: these days especially, this episode's starry-eyed pining for a more personal political system hits very close to home.
The Benevolent Hand:
Uncle Phil's antics seem an inconsequential nuisance - but they do allow Gary to blow apart Flanagan's lottery scheme and indirectly restore Mayor Garfield's confidence in his own political instincts. Both results are undeniable goods.
Highlights:
MARISSA: Tell me about your uncle. Is he from your mother's side or your father's side?
CHUCK: Both.
MARISSA: That's interesting. Do I hear banjos playing? - LOL!
UNCLE PHIL: My relatives came here from all over the world... Russia... Armenia... Peru. (Don't ask.) They came here because they knew that here, they would get a fair shake. It didn't matter if you painted houses... or sold hot dogs. One guy was as good as the next. People counted. But today... there's something wrong. Those in charge say they have "no time". Why, if I were to run my cart like that, I'd be broke in a week! - Indeed!
CHUCK: You tried to help him twice. Just get over it. Let it go.
GARY: I can't.
CHUCK: Why not?
GARY: Because the guy cares. I mean, he believes in things most of us take for granted.
CHUCK: (disbelieving) Phil? Like what?
GARY: Like truth. Like justice.
CHUCK: (rolling his eyes) Like the American way? I'm getting out of here before you start singing the National Anthem. - Ah, cynical Chuck! But we all know he means well and will always come through in the end.
MAYOR GARFIELD: Something's not right.
FLANAGAN: Really? With what?
MAYOR GARFIELD: The other day in the park... that fellow... the press...
FLANAGAN: Which is why I suggested skipping those walks.
MAYOR GARFIELD: That's not what I mean. I haven't been paying attention.
FLANAGAN: To what?
MAYOR GARFIELD: To what's going on in my city. Maybe... I've lost touch with the people. I think...
FLANAGAN: (bluntly) You weren't elected to think.
MAYOR GARFIELD: What?
FLANAGAN: Nothing.
(Flanagan moves to leave.)
MAYOR GARFIELD: Just a minute. It seems to me that I have the right...
FLANAGAN: You gave up that right the moment you said to me "Make me mayor." You're an image, Your Honor. An image I made. - Ouch!
MAYOR GARFIELD, TO THE PEOPLE: I know you've been unhappy. Well, I have, too. And tonight, I want to straighten that out. Sometimes a politician loses sight of what's important - and I'm not just talking about some legislation for highways - or even lotteries twice a week. Sometimes, in trying to be all things to everyone, he ends up being nothing to all... so as for the guy in the mansion, starting tomorrow, my door is open to all. That's how I started out, and that's how I'm going to finish up. - As I said, there is an idealism in this episode that's very attractive.
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