SEASON 1 – NBC
Opening theme song music by John Adair, Steve Hampton, Korbin Kraus, lyrics by Steve Levitan
- 001. Pilot – 9/23/1999
- New York City editor and nebbish germaphobe Henry McNeeley (Neil Patrick Harris) is given a new assignment by his boss Audrey Radford (Harriet Sansom Harris), and although he hopes it is with respected author Jonathan Dalton (Stanley DeSantis), it turns out it with horror novelist Ian Stark (Tony Shalhoub), who once had a major hit with a book called Below Ground. Henry visits Ian who seems to be suffering a severe case of writer’s block, and he, along with assistant Jake Donovan (Eddie McClintock) seems to have no interest in Henry but rather playing a barrage of practical jokes on him. Henry finally gets tired of it and walks out on Ian, accusing him of being afraid of being a one-book wonder. This finally inspires Ian to start writing again, in a fashion that greatly impresses Henry… but he still wants to leave him because he thinks Ian is crazy. Henry is assigned to Dalton, but finds him so boring, that he returns to Ian, pretending to hang himself as a practical joke, but getting stuck hanging from the ceiling. He pleads with Ian to both help him down and take him back on as his editor… but Ian leaves him hanging both literally and figuratively. Heather Dubrow aka Heather Paige Kent plays Maddie the bartender at the bar where Ian sings in a band. 1/16/16
- 002. The Man Who Knew Too Much – 9/30/1999
- When Ian finds out that Henry has a girlfriend named Tess with whom he is celebrating his anniversary, Ian tracks her down where she works at the art gallery and poses as couples therapist Dr. Goodlove to try and find some dirt on Henry that could lead to a potential practical joke. Tess (Kellie Waymire) tells ‘Goodlove’ that her boyfriend isn’t adventurous enough during sex. Ian immediately regrets hearing this and tries to forget it, but he finally tells Henry and then accompanies him to some sex shops to get the right gift for Tess. However, when Henry goes to pick up Tess, it is revealed that there are two girls named Tess who work at the gallery, the one that Ian spoke to and his actual girlfriend Tess Farraday (Dorie Barton). Ian finds this out also and tries to go warn Henry but finds Tess in tears and calling Henry’s mother to report her ‘sick’ son’s idea of anniversary gifts. Jay Harik is the sex shop clerk. 1/16/16
- 003. Sometimes a Fritter Is Just a Fritter – 10/7/1999
- Henry is confounded by the fact that Ian walks 30 blocks every morning for coffee and a fritter and also wonders why Ian has changed the name of a character in his book from Lily to Renska. In an attempt to understand Ian more, Henry takes Tess to the coffee shop, where he meets the waitress named Renska (Sabrina Boudot) and her doting parents Nicholas (Victor Raider-Wexler) and Anna (Marilyn Child) and tells them that both of his mysteries have been solved, and that Ian must be in love with Renska. When Ian finds out, he assures Henry that he only goes there to be anonymous, and he merely liked the name Renska. However, when Ian returns to the diner, the parents have their heart set on hooking Renska up with Ian. Henry tries to smooth it over at the diner, but the parents are still bitter and kick Ian out of the diner. Ian dragges Henry back to the diner, and they demand that Ian be served. Renska breaks free of her parent’s anger and serves him… while he takes a liking to her. Meanwhile Jake attends Maddie’s Philosophy class to take notes for her and ends up taking an exam and filling out a class survey in her place, in which Jack likens Professor Forrest St. James (John Vickery) to James Bond and leads him to believe that Maddie is in love with him. Once Maddie admits the truth, St. James starts to flee in embarrassment, but Maddie calls him back to chat…which goes south when St. James admits he is wearing women’t underwear. 3/18/16
- 004. Four Colds and a Funeral – 10/14/1999
- Henry tries desperately to avoid catching Ian’s cold, he is suffering from it – just as he and Audrey join children’s author Thomas Bleck (Jeremiah Morris), better known as Professor Huggles, and his wife Phyllis (Lorna Raver) at a lunch to celebrate an advance they’ve offered him for his next book. Henry is a big fan of Huggles and expounds on how his book Kyle the Kite Learns to Smile at the Night has changed his life, causing Huggles to give him a hug. The next week Huggles dies of a common cold, racking Henry with guilt. He has several dreams in which he is attacked by Kyle the Kite. Ian has no sympathy for Henry’s guilt, but soon he too starts to have the dreams about Kyle since his cold had indirectly passed to Huggles. Henry and Ian both attend Huggles’ funeral, where the meet Huggles’ granddaughter Ellen (Madison Eginton), who too feels guilty because she had sneezed on her grandfather while he was reading to her. Ian convinces Ellen that she was not to blame and that it was her grandfather’s joy to read to her. Henry and Ian both leave the funeral… confident that it was Ellen who had killed Professor Huggles. 3/19/16
- 005. The Lyin’ King – 10/21/1999
- Henry is getting tired of the pranks that Ian, Jake, and Maddie are playing on him, which seem to intensify as Halloween is approaching. After they lock him in the elevator and trick him into dancing, Henry confesses how much he hates Halloween after his teenage cousin Lori (Anastasia Emmons) traumatized him as a child (Christopher Riccio) with a Halloween prank. Ian talks him into getting even by inviting her to a party and then simulating her getting attacked by bees, which is her greatest fear. Meanwhile Maddie dresses up as Mother Nature at the bar and connects with the only other patron (Rob Moore) who has dressed up. Jake points out to her that the hump in his Igor costume might be real, which starts to seem reasonable to her when ‘Igor’ mentions that his past costumes always had a hump as well. Igor gets irritated that she is judging him, but she apologizes, and they make a date. Igor pulls out his hump and shows her that it is a fake, but then when she gets up, she realizes he is a midget. Ian’s bee prank works all too well on Lori (Margaret Welsh), but it turns out she is pregnant and goes into labor. Unable to get an ambulance to the apartment, Henry is forced to deliver the baby, while a freaked-out Ian watches. When Henry pulls out the baby, it is an alien… and all part of a practical joke that Henry has played on Ian for revenge. 6/20/16
- 006. Fish Out of Water – 11/4/1999
- Audrey invites Henry and Tess last minute to a dinner party that she is throwing with her flamboyant husband Cesar (Chris Sarandon), with the stipulation that Henry get Ian to go. Ian has no interest in going, but Henry begs him to go as it will be an opportunity for Henry to meet some influential people and advance his career. Tess ends up getting sick, so they bring along Maddie so as not to upset Cesar’s seating arrangement. Ian spends his time trying to find off the flirtation of Audrey and movie producer Danny (Tim Conlon), while Henry makes the rounds. Ian gets irritated and puts one of Cesar’s prized fish in Ian’s drink, Tess shows up sick as a dog with Jake, whom Cesar takes an immediate liking to. Henry tries to find a way to put the fish back in the tack without Cesar seeing and ends up succeeding when Ian creates a diversion by asking Cesar if he is gay. Unfortunately, Henry did not realize that the two fish in the tank were separated by a divider… and they immediately devour each other. Millicent Martin is Katie Randall. Anthony Montgomery is the waiter. 6/20/16
- 007. Engaged to Be Engaged – 11/11/1999
- Henry buys Tess a whistle from Tiffany’s as a symbol that they are now ‘engaged to be engaged’. Even though Ian and Jack think it is ridiculous, they take Henry out drinking. He gets drunk and flirts with Maddie, and then after falling asleep at Ian’s for the night, he has an erotic dream about Maddie. The next morning Ian and Jake talk Maddie into climbing into bed with Henry as a practical joke. When he wakes up, he thinks that he has actually slept with her, and when caught in bed by Tess, he confesses his infidelity, and she walks out on him. Ian tells Henry the truth, and Henry worries that he might not really love Tess because he had dreams about Maddie. Tess throws herself at Ian as a way of lashing out and is caught by Henry. The two eventually reconcile once Tess learns the truth, but it ends quickly when Henry tells Tess about his sex dream. After realizing his jealousy and how much he really loves her, Henry goes to see Maddie, who suggests that they take a break for a a month… but neither of them can find a time in their schedule to take the break so they decide to re-visit the notion next March. Meanwhile, Jake uses his dog Edgar in a neck brace to try and pick up women. 9/10/16
- 008. The Stalker – 11/18/1999
- While Ian is doing a Barnes & Noble books signing for Below Ground, he meets his biggest fan Rod Debelco (Steven Weber), a strange man who has memorized Ian’s entire book. Henry is disturbed by Rod, but Ian is sympathetic and sees Rod as a younger version of himself. Rod tells Henry that he wants to be Ian’s new editor and delivers a veiled threat to Henry and admits that he cut the power on Henry’s elevator, leaving Tess stranded with a man (Larry Joe Campbell) and a bag of stinky garbage. Henry gets Ian to question Rod, who admits that he had threatened Henry. Ian tells Rod to channel his inner desires toward something else, which inspires Rod to write and deliver a full incomprehensible novel to Henry, who refuses to edit it. Ian makes Henry feel guilty, so he tries to edit it… but then Ian finally gets a look at it and realizes Rod has no talent. Rod understands and diverts his goal to art, insinuating that Tess can display his art at her gallery. Paul Greenberg is a yuppie fan. Meanwhile Jake sells Ian memorabilia – like a chewed-up pencil and hair from his drain – on eBay. Maddie finally reads Ian’s book after she admits that she hadn’t. 9/10/16
- 009. The Dance – 12/2/1999
- Tess narrates the story of her frustration of being ignored by Henry whenever Ian needs him for something. Meanwhile Ian is refusing to walk his niece down the aisle at her wedding because he doesn’t know how to dance. Tess arranges a set-up between Ian and Maddie, by telling Maddie that Ian likes her, and telling Henry to tell Ian that Maddie likes him. Both are skeptical but intrigued and dabble in pursuing a romance while Maddie is teaching Ian to dance. This finally gives Ian time to go on a date with Tess, but when she tells him how she had orchestrated the whole thing, Henry hightails it over to tell Ian the truth… but not before Ian has kissed her. When he finds out, Ian demands that Henry also kiss her so that he isn’t the only one. Henry complies and then he and Tess leave. Once the pressure is off both of them, Ian and Maddie continue with the dancing lessons and fun together. Henry forgives Tess, like he always does when she shows him her breasts. Eddie is upset that it wasn’t him that Ian had fallen for, blaming his wide thighs. 12/6/16
- 010. Coffin to Go – 12/9/1999
- Henry is trying to make sure to get Ian to an interview with Charlie Rose, and on the way, they stop at Underhill mortuary because Ian plans to set a section of the book he’s working on in a similar location. Henry is freaked out by the coffins and admits that his mother had him skip his grandfather’s funeral because she though it would affect him negatively. Ian ends up buying a coffin and having it delivered to his house, which freaks Ian out… but even more so when they discover that there is still a body (Johnny O’Neil) in it. Ian calls the mortuary and demands they make an exchange, but since he has to get to his interview, Henry is forced to wait alone with the coffin while he waits for the company to arrive. Henry ends up having a long discussion with the corpse, relaying everything he has done with his life so that the corpse can tell his grandfather. The moving man, the elderly Gus, arrives and nearly has a heart attack moving the coffin, before ultimately spilling the corpse onto the floor. When Gus has Henry help him lift it, the corpse winds up on top of him. Gus laughs uncontrollably and reveals that he is actually Ian in heavy makeup. This was supposed to teach Henry a lesson about death… and also got him out of the Charlie Rose interview. Valerie Curtin is Helen Underhill. 12/7/16
- 011. Christmas Cheerleader – 12/16/1999
- Henry and Tess find themselves with nowhere to go for Christmas, so Henry asks Ian if they can come to the party he throws annually. Ian wants nothing to do with having Tess there, but Henry insists that they come anyway. When they arrive, they find that Ian’s party is merely a band of misfits who have come to watch the Knicks game and eat chili: the cross-dressing Phyllis (Michael Auteri), midget Goldy (Tony Cox), former Broadway actress Ms. Bickford (Gretchen Wyler), and psychiatric patient Vince (George DelHoyo), who assumes the identity of the most recent name he’s heard. Maddie is expecting to meet a blind date who is a doctor at the party, but he cancels. However, when Jake takes the message from the real doctor, Vince assumes the doctor’s name, so consequently Maddie spends the evening thinking he is her blind date. Meanwhile, Jake works up the courage to call his long-lost father whom he had made a resolution to get in touch with, but when he finally does, he finds his answering machine message so strange that he decides to steer clear. Tess spends the evening trying to get everyone in the Christmas spirit, but no one is interested, so Tess storms out. When Ian goes out to fix his antenna, he finds Tess crying and tells her that Christmas isn’t happy for everyone like it is for her and this is what his friends like to do. After telling Ian her traditions she returns to the party and plays by their rules, not mentioning Christmas for the rest of the evening. Ian surprises her though by leading everyone in singing Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow. 3/18/17
- 012. The Crush – 1/6/2000
- Ian has a crush on a lady Katherine ‘Kit’ Yates (Dina Spybey-Waters) who regularly comes into the bar but is afraid to ask her out. He finally works up the courage to write her an anonymous letter and sends Jake to deliver it. When she shows up at the bar to meet her suitor but assumes that it is Jake since she spotted him delivering the letter. Although he doesn’t know that ‘Kit’ and ‘Katherine’ are the same person, he goes on a date with her and brings her home for the night. When Henry visits and sees Kit kissing Jake, he lets him know what is going on. Jake feels terrible but has to come clean to an upset Jake. Kit comes to pick up an address book she left in the apartment, and Ian finds out that Kit could barely comprehend the letter. Ian realizes that Kit is much more suited for Jake and tries to keep them together, while Jake tries to give her back to Ian. Finally, Ian is able to convince Jake to go after her. 3/18/17
- 013. My Bodyguard – 1/13/2000
- Ian, Henry, and Tess are confronted by a mugger (Dan Gerrity), but Ian knocks him out with a headbutt, an act that impresses Tess so much that she begins having erotic dreams about Ian. Henry is crestfallen, so Ian and Jake hire a friend named Doobs (Jamie Kennedy) to pick a fight with Henry and then take a punch from him to impress Tess. However, Tess uses the karate she learned and kicks Doobs in the groin and injures him. Henry is even more angry when he finds out that Doobs was hired to make him feel better. Ian goes to apologize him and listen to Henry rant how not all problems are solved with violence but then gets so irritated by his co-worker Lewis (J.P. Manoux) that he punches him in the face. Meanwhile Tess asks Jake to pretend to be her boyfriend to ward off weirdo patron Rory (Loren Lazerine) and Doobs, but he doesn’t get it until he uses the idea incorrectly and chases off worthwhile suitor Kevin (Jack Brewer). 9/10/17
- 014. The Hypnotist – 2/3/2000
- Based on a scene that Ian wrote into his book, Henry finds out that Ian believes in hypnotism when he has a character use it to force someone to confess to a murder that he didn’t commit. Meanwhile, Maddie wants to get rid of her aversion to seafood since she has a date coming up and will be served lobster, so Ian agrees to prove that he has the ability to hypnotize by getting Maddie to like seafood. It works like a charm, and in addition Tess goes to sleep so he also hypnotizes her to see Henry as actor Matt Damon and do everything she can to seduce him. Then he gets Jake and Tess to believe that they are Romeo and Juliet, which also works. While Ian and Henry are discussing the book, Jake and Tess slip away much to the horror of Henry and Ian. In search of a friar to marry them, Tess and Jake head to the Friars Club where they implore comedians Jack Carter (himself), Freddie Roman (himself), and Jackie Gayle (himself) to perform the ceremony for them…so they do. Ian and Henry make their way to the Friars Club as well and find out that the comedians only went through the motions to marry them, while Maddie eats all of their fish. They track the new ‘couple’ back to Maddie’s apartment and Ian is able to snap them out of it right before Jake and Tess consummate the ‘marriage’. However, Tess still thinks that Henry is Matt Damon. 9/10/17
- 015. Therapy – 3/2/2000
- Ian is looking to find some information about a couples therapist for his book, so Henry takes him to Dr. Anne Russo (Daphne Zuniga). She ends up running Henry and Ian through some exercises including a role reversal that gets them all geared up. Eventually she brings them down by having them compliment one other. After the session, she asks to see Ian alone after the session. Henry can’t stand not knowing what she said, so when Henry insists on being told, Ian tells him that Dr. Russo told him to be gentle with him because he is highly paranoid. Although she had actually asked Ian to dinner, Ian’s lie brings out the ultra-paranoia in him. He ends up interrupting the date to confront the doctor and then takes delight when she shows him pity about him being tricked and gives Henry a session, ending her date with Ian. The bar gets a new bartender named Scott (Craig Zimmerman) and Maddie tells him that she is the bar owner so she can take long breaks. John Putch and Delisa Sexton are the couple at therapy. 12/1/19
- 016. Secrets & Lies – 3/9/2000
- A student reporter named Pryce Whitman (Nick Cornish) is doing a piece on Henry for the Yale Alumni newspaper, and Ian agrees to let Pryce ask him a few questions. The questions turn toward a missing 18-month period of Ian’s life in the early 1980’s, and Ian reluctantly tells him that he was living on a Hopi Indian range in New Mexico. Pryce researches this and finds it not to be true, so Henry confronts Ian and finds out that he was actually in a mental institution. When Pryce threatens to abandon the article since it is apparent that Ian doesn’t trust Henry, Tess lets it slip that Ian confided in him about the mental institution. The article winds up being published in The New York Times. Henry is apologetic to Ian, but Ian seems to not care at all. Henry begins to investigate this himself and finds out that Ian was lying about this as well. Henry feels betrayed, and Ian feels guilty enough to reveal where he truly was during the missing time span: performing in the Smiling Americans singing group in Florida. Meanwhile Maddie has a crush on Pryce despite the fact that he is only 20 years old. 12/1/19
- 017. The Grade – 3/16/2000
- When Henry runs into an old girlfriend named Susan Sussman of whom Tess is jealous, Henry claims he can’t lie about it because lying brings out a lisp in him that sound like Daffy Duck. When she confronts him about it, he falls apart, and she can tell immediately that something is suspicious. Meanwhile Maddie is assigned a book analysis in her class, and she chooses to do it on Ian’s book Below Ground. Ian and Henry can’t help themselves from contributing, and they wind up writing the entire paper. When she gets a B on the paper, Ian feels the need to confront Professor Tuttle (Kelsey Grammer), and winds up telling him that he is Ian Stark and that he wrote the report, which promptly earns Maddie an F. Ian then concocts a scheme where he sends Henry in to claim that the man who Tuttle saw was actually an imposter. He convinces Henry that he is merely acting to keep his lisp from coming out. However, when there is a hole in his story and he is forced to go off-script, the lisp returns. He finally convinces Tuttle that the man he met was an imposter, but now Tuttle will only give the grade a C because he re-read it and thought there were too many commas, one of Henry’s big contributions. Henry tries to argue about the commas, and consequently Maddie ends up in summer school. Jake’s girlfriend Katherine gives him a gaudy necklace as a gift. He can’t stand it and doesn’t want to wear it, so he buys her a gaudy necklace to prove a point. However, she isn’t wearing her contacts and falls in love with the one he gave her, and they go off to a party wearing gaudy necklaces. Consequently, Jake loses all of his friends, and Katherine ends up selling her necklace so she can buy Jake bracelets that match his necklace. 3/30/20
- 018. The Pigeon – 7/13/2000
- While boxing on the balcony with Jake, Ian accidentally knocks a pigeon’s nest of eggs to the ground and shows no remorse. Later Ian finds out that Tess has gotten him an invite to meet his favorite author Terrance Sterling (Wes Craven) who says he will write a quote for Ian’s book. She was able to arrange this because she went to school with Sterling’s daughter Brooke (Kim Rhodes), who a lesbian who had a crush on Tess, much to the delight and titillation of Henry. The mother pigeon returns to the scene of her nest and begins stalking Ian from the outside, then takes a dive into the window and appears to be dead, but sneaks in when Ian opens the patio. It regularly makes swoops at Ian and Henry, on whom it also poops. On the day of the meeting with Sterling, Ian is afraid to leave his room until Tess orders the pigeon to leave, and it complies. They arrive at the home of the reclusive Sterling and are given instructions by the maid (Lynn Tufeld) to not touch anything. Ian nearly ruins everything when he steals one of Sterling’s paper clips, and Sterling immediately recognizes it. As Ian is chatting with Sterling, the pigeon shows up outside, sending Ian into fits to try and shoo it away. When Sterling leaves the room, the pigeon flies and nearly tries to swat at it, breaking many items in the room including one of Sterling’s major awards and the window. Sterling is aghast when he returns. Meanwhile Maddie returns from being out of town, and in addition to Jake reading all of her mail, she gets a package containing a tight cashmere sweater that doesn’t belong to her. She intends to take it back but winds up wearing it for a couple of days, until the rightful owner Beverly Rose (Frances Conroy) shows up at the bar looking for it. She also explains that the sweater was actually ordered for her dog and offers Maddie the chance to look through her dog’s discarded clothing items. 3/30/20
- 019. He’s Gotta Have It – 7/20/2000
- Tess hints to Henry that she doesn’t want a birthday party, meaning that she actually wants one. Ian reluctantly agrees to have the party at his house but is upset when Henry invites her sister Brittany (Andrea Bendewald), whom Tess claims always steals her spotlight. Ian can’t stand Brittany and is a straight shooter with her and tells her he can’t stand her. However, this only leads to sexual tension, and they are caught making out on the balcony as Tess tries to give a speech to the partygoers. Henry and Maddie come over the next morning and find that Brittany has stayed the night. Henry is upset that Brittany gets turned on when she gets made, while Tess only gets colder. Ian is exhausted from being her sex slave, so he and Henry arrange a meeting between the sisters to make up. It works like a charm, and they decide to go lingerie shopping together, but when Ian realizes that he won’t get to enjoy it, he provokes another fight between them, leaving Henry in the cold again. Meanwhile Jake serves brownie to party guests Claire (Molly Weber) and Missy (Andrea Savage) who get stoned thinking the secret ingredient is pot, when it is actually cream cheese. They invite him over and ask him to bring a quarter ounce of the ‘secret ingredient’. 4/16/18
- 020. Dog Gone – 7/27/2000
- While out shopping with Ian and his dog Edgar, Henry runs into an old colleague named Doug Ellison (Robert Bundy), who provokes Henry by telling him that he is merely Ian’s dog-walker. While they are arguing Edgar runs away. Henry is scared to death of Ian’s reaction, but Ian seems to be taking it well, wallowing in denial that Edgar will soon return. Henry puts up flyers and the dog is returned, but the flyer leads to further trouble when Elizabeth Daryl (Stephanie Faracy), the lady who owned the dog two years earlier when he was Maxwell, shows up to claim him. She is the host of the home improvement magazine Now You’re Home. She has plenty of proof, including being able to instruct the dog in French. Elizabeth agrees to let Ian keep the dog one more night, and Ian tries to make Edgar misbehave in her pristine house when he brings him home. Ian rips up a pillow, devours her chicken, and tries to get Henry to pee on the carpet. When Elizabeth catches Ian in the act of gnawing on her chair, he knows the ruse is up and sullenly leaves. However, Elizabeth calls Ian to come get the dog when it keeps humping her leg. 4/16/18
- 021. The Psychic – 8/3/2000
- Jake and Maddie go see a doorman named Mr. Singh (Marcelo Tubert) who also doubles as a psychic, a notion that Henry finds ridiculous… and seemingly proves by giving an accurate reading to bar stranger (Michael Adler). Ian, Henry, and Tess all go see Singh, and between being interrupted by a rich man (Wayne Alexander), who keeps needing to have his dog Boomer’s ‘mischief’ cleaned up, he gives them a reading. Ian is told that he will live to a ripe old age, Tess is told she we will wear a green floppy hat, and Henry, who has disguised himself as a rebel in order to not give Singh any visual clues, is told that traveling for Henry could mean blood. Maddie’s reading is that an ex-lover will put his arms around her and change her life, which comes true when she runs into Ken (Cameron Watson), a man she used to date, who ends up saving her from chocking by giving her the Heimlich maneuver. Jake had been told that he will finally make money with his music, which comes true when a neighbor (Ken Daly) pays him to stop playing. When Tess actually does acquiesce and wears a green floppy hat, and Ian keeps tempting fate since he’s told he will reach a ripe old age, Henry starts to become paralyzed with fear and refuses to leave Ian’s couch. Ian finally gets him to go back and re-visit Singh, only to find that he is on vacation and another doorman Mr. Putnam (Michael Emerson) is filling in and forces Henry to clean up one of Boomer’s ‘mischiefs’ in order to tell him where he might find Singh. Henry and Ian track him down at the gym where he is playing basketball, and Henry gets hit in the face by a player (John Eric Bently) who has been called for traveling, thus fulfilling Singh’s prophecy for Henry. Ian also hears Singh refer to himself being at the ‘ripe old age of 40’. 12/9/18
- 022. The Big Finish – 8/10/2000
- Ian’s new book is finished and Henry is anxious to turn it in to Audrey, but Ian panics and thinks there is six months more work to do on it. Henry tries to ask Audrey for an extension, but she is fighting with her husband Cesar, who is leaving her for a cruise, and refuses the extension. Maddie and Jake advise Henry that he should go ahead and turn in the manuscript since Ian always feels this way about his books. Henry takes the advice and drops off the manuscript on Audrey’s desk. Ian is livid when he finds out and takes Jake to go try and steal it back. Henry likewise gets cold feet and wonders how it will reflect on him if Ian’s new novel doesn’t live up to his first, so he also heads out to grab the manuscript. Audrey comes back and catches Ian in her office, while Henry and Jake are able to hide. Henry pretends he is making advances toward her, and she is receptive considering her loveless marriage with the flamboyant Cesar. He tries to avoid her and is thankfully saved when Cesar returns and makes up with her. With that out of the way, Audrey is ready to take the manuscript home to read it, but it is missing. It turns out the night janitor Bruno (David Norona) has risked his job by taking the manuscript to read it and couldn’t put it down. When Ian hears this, he agrees that the novel is ready to turn in, and Audrey and Cesar leave with it. Henry and Ian toast the completion of the book, and Ian acknowledges Henry’s role in its success. 12/9/18
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