Kate And Allie 21-25

 Rear Window

This episode premiered on February 11th 1985. The lead in show was Scarecrow and Mrs. King and was followed by Newhart. It ran opposite movies on ABC (Obsessed With A Married Woman) and NBC (Two Fathers' Justice)

Chip's friends are all busy and he's bored and starts to annoy everyone. He starts dumping stuff from the medicine cabinet into the toilet but it foams up and makes a mess so Allie ground him to his room. While looking out the window he sees a man and a woman, later she's laying on the bed and the guy comes out with a knife. Nobody believes he saw a murder and think he's just trying to get attention. The girls come to the room and see what Chip has been looking at, the guy hauls a trunk into the room. Jen comes up with an idea, go across to the apartment, get the address and then call the place to see if the woman is asleep. The girls see the guy bring Chip into the apartment, everyone freaks out. It turns out the guy is a magician and the legs are from his "saw a lady in half" act. Allie tells Chip the story about the Little Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Dated References

Kate and Allie go skating in the park. They use double axle skates instead of in line.

The girls are trying makeup. Chip says he likes makeup and they tell him he isn't suppose to. In the gender neutral modern world they would have gotten a lot of complaints for that one.

Allie pays the girls $2.50 an hour to play with Chip. That was good money for a 14 year old back in the day.

Jen comments that Kate rented Rear Window on cassette. VHS had been around since 1977 so it is funny she'd refer to it as that.

The title and plot refer to the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock thriller movie.

Lovely Rita

This episode ran in its usual time slot. It ran opposite Hollywood Wives on ABC and Disneyland's 30th Anniversary Special on NBC

Kate's father comes by because he can't find her office number, he tells her he is planning on getting married to Rita and wants Kate to meet her. Kate doesn't like Rita, she thinks she is pushy. Kate tells her father the truth and he reconsiders getting married. He gets really depressed and starts to become a burden on the family. Jen has a talk with Kate about accepting the new woman in her father's life. Kate talks with her father and he decides to go through with the marriage. 

Dated Reference

Jen and Emma are studying The Four Food Groups. Today we learn the Food Pyramid.

Kate's father leaves her a number of messages on her answering machine. He hates those new fangled contraptions. 

Disney would buy ABC in 1995 so their specials wouldn't run on NBC in the future.

Kate hates that Rita calls her father Benji, like the dog. The movie series started in 1974

Chip doesn't understand why there is a photo of Kate wearing mouse ears. Micky Mouse ears were still popular in the 80's.

Sons And Lovers

This episode would run in its regular time slot. It ran opposite the movie A Bunny's Tale on ABC and Evergreen on NBC

Ted compliments Allie and her painting and compares it to Cezanne just to bug Kate. Allie gets stuck in the elevator with a student, Steve. He turns out to be a photographer, he says her painting is too rigid, and shows her his portfolio of photographs. He takes her photo and then shows up at the apartment to ask her permission to display her photo at the gallery. Steve cooks dinner for the family. In the dark room he starts to flirt with Allie and then kisses her. Allies runs out and exposes the unprocessed film. After they go see a movie Steve invites Allie to his apartment, At first she rejects him but later agrees, she shows up early and runs into his mother, it's very awkward. After a conversation Allie decides to go home rather that have a fling with Steve.

Dated References

In the park Kate gets her kite stuck in a tree, she does a Charlie Brown imitation. 

A student, Steve, lets Allie use his 35MM camera. Today it would be digital.

Steve looks up Allie's address in the student directory. In the modern world universities don't want to be held liable for stalkers so they don't put out such things anymore.

Steve offers to develop Allie's photos. In the modern world you take them on your digital.

While leaving a movie Allie and Steve pass a poster for Cats. The musical started its Broadway run in 1981.

When Steve asks people at the bus stop if Allie should come back to his apartment a woman asks "Is This Candid Camera?" The classic show started as a radio program in 1947. It had several TV revivals including a special in 1983.

Author Author

This episode ran in its regular time slot. It ran opposite the movies The Gauntlet on ABC and Romance On The Orient Express on NBC

Kate and Allie's old college professor Owen Ives is going to be on a late night talk show. He wrote a book about a professor who is in love with one of his students. They both began to wonder if it's about a real student, if it was one of them. They each read the book and figure that it's about the other one. The professor will be signing autographs and they figure they have to go and find out the truth. Each woman fantasies about being the character in the book. Allie goes to the signing and the professor signs her book "to my inspiration", however he signed all the books to his former students the same. When Allie plans on meeting the professor Kate finally tells her the truth, Allie decides to go meet with him anyhow, and confront him. It turns out the guy is married and wanted to meet Allie to discuss what happened to the students of the 60's. 

Dated Reference

The kids are very excited that Bruce Dalton is going to be on TV, however he's appearing on Midnight Talk. The only way they can watch is to stay up late. Today you'd just catch the repeat on YouTube the next day. (Bruce Dalton is a made up name for the show)

The late night show is having a film about Gerald Ford. Jen says "Didn't he do something?" Ford had been President 9 years earlier. Ted, the plumber, tries to explain who he is to Chip and mentions Spiro Agnew, Chip thinks that is a made up name. Did you google Spiro Agnew?

Allie says she didn't stand in line for an autograph from Art Garfunkel, former duo partner of Paul Simon. 

Dead Cat

This episode ran in its regular time slot. It ran opposite the movie Kicks on ABC and a special The Most Beautiful Girl In The World on NBC

Chip is upset that his dog can't live with them. (Country Dog, episode 15). Kate brings home a kitten to solve the problem, however the kitten is dead. Kate goes back to the pet store but it's closed, now they have to break the news to Chip. Later in the night Chip goes to talk to the dead cat. The pet store refuses to exchange the cat, Kate says she's going to take the owner of the pet shop to court but Allie explains how the bureaucracy works. Kate insists so Allie takes the dead cat to the vet to find out how it died. The vet tells Allie the cat had distemper so Kate plans on going back tomorrow, meanwhile Chip is planning Iggy's funeral. They get caught trying to bury the cat in Central Park and get fined. Kate comes back with a live cat. Chip is still upset that the original kitten is dead and rejects the new cat. Kate points out that Chip has never really learned about death so they both go to talk to him. In the end, everyone is happy, except the dead cat.

Dated References.

Kate and Allie are doing the tourists stops of NYC. Kate suggests they go to the World Trade Center. This was 16 years before the 9/11 attack. 

Another 5 episodes down. And the 1980's were a strange time. 

Kate And Allie 16-20

 Piano Lesson

This episode premiered on December 10th 1984. It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Raiders 24-Lions 3) and a movie on NBC (The Sun Also Rises part 2)

Max, Kate's ex husband, is heading to L.A. to peruse his acting career, his birthday present to Emma is his old piano. Emma and Jen have a crush on the piano teacher, Waldo. He invites Emma to his concert until Kate finds out it starts at 11 PM, on a school night, he invites Kate instead and Emma gets mad at her. Walter brings a demo tape to Kate, Emma gets angry again and attacks Kate for stealing her "boyfriend" and sending her father away. Allie tells Kate that she has to start acting her age. Kate and Emma have a mother daughter talk. 

Dated References

Walter, the piano teacher, says his band is cuttitng an album, New Wave, a less harsh version of Punk. Allie asks if he's like Talking Heads, Culture Club and The Clash. She also mentions Jackson Brown, Joe Jackson, Michale Jackson. 

Walter drops off his demo, on cassette.

Allie is looking at Polaroid photos. 

Harley Venton plays Max in this episode. 

John Loeffler plays Walter the piano teacher. He is best known for composing the theme to the Pokemon series and the theme song for Kate And Allie. 

New Years Eve

This episode premiered on  December 31st, 1984 (New Years Eve). It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite movies (Samuel Fuller And The Big Red One) on ABC and (Hard Knox) on NBC.

The girls want to hold a New Years Eve party. Allie says it will give her something to do that night but they don't want her around. Allie starts making suggestions for NYE resolutions, Jen needs to stop biting her nails, Chip needs to stop picking on his sister, Emma needs to practice the piano more (remember that last story from a few sentences up?) and Kate needs to quit smoking (this was the first episode where we see her smoking). Kate tells Allie she needs to give up chocolate. The family puts on a play about the dangers of smoking. Allie smokes a cigarette for Kate and Kate eats chocolate for Allie, Kate is getting second hand smoke which is the same as actually smoking. The women decide to go to Time's Square to watch the ball drop. After going to a slasher movie and a dive pizza place they wind up in the laundry room eating.

Dated References

Allie calls a cloud "X-Rated". The X rating was applied to movies that featured "adult content", strictly audiences over 18 years of age. However the MPAA didn't copyright the rating so porn movies began to advertise themselves as "X Rated" even adding extra X's to sound even dirtier. In the 90's the MPAA changed the rating to NC-17. Today you can watch porn on the internet regardless of the rating system.

When Kate and Allie quiz the girls about their party Emma says "It's like Cagney and Lacey around here" Cagney and Lacey was a show about two female detectives. It ran from 1982 to 1988

Kate and Allie plan to go to a movie, dinner and then to Time's Square to watch the NYE ball drop. In the real world you have to show up by 10 AM for a good spot and to get through security.

The pizza place has a photo of Telly Savalas on the wall. Best known for the police drama Kojak, He passed away in 1994

Ted the plumber is going to Switzerland on NYE instead of on a date with Kate.

This was the last episode of 1984.

Back To School

This episode premiered on January 7th 1985. It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite movies on ABC (The Thorn Birds) and NBC (A Reason To Live)

Allie is on her way back to college but she's worried about fitting in. She has to take a hard biology class. She wants to skip school when Chip gets sick but Kate hires a sitter instead. Kate finds out that the professor has been insulting Allie and decides to help her out. Allie gets caught cheating and the professor threatens to get her expelled. She tells the family that she is going to quit school and instead get a part time job. Kate forces her to confess and enjoys the irony, and then convinces Allie to talk to the professor. Allie makes up a story about her ex abandoning her and the children however the professor points out that her nice clothes give away that she's not poor. He tries to dismiss her and she gets mad. The Dean decides to not expel Allie but transfer her to another class, it turns out the Dean is a divorced woman who went through all the stuff Allie had claimed she had been through. 

Dated References

Allie has a choice between three notebooks, Snoopy, Michael Jackson or plain. Most college kids take notes on their laptops in the modern world.

The kids get Allie an Everly Brothers pencil box. After breaking up in 1973 the brothers had gotten back together in 1983 to do a classic tour.

Allies says her hard professor wanted to be John Houseman. The actor was best known for playing the tough law professor in the movie The Paper Chase.

Chip is wearing Battle Of The Planets pajamas. It is a Japanese Anime series that began broadcasting in America in 1979. 

Kate points out that it's 2 o'clock in the morning and even Johnny Carson is asleep. For those who don't know who that is he was the second host of The Tonight Show. He retired in 1992.

Charles Marries Claire

This episode premiered on January 14th, 1985. It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite movies (The Hearst And Davies Affair) on ABC and (The Execution) on NBC

Clair and Charles have broken up. He compliments Allie on getting her life together and brings her a skeleton to help her study biology. She invites him to dinner at the apartment and then he invites her to go to dinner with him and the kids. Tom the Plumber comes by to build a puzzle with Kate and Emma. Allie goes out for a drink with Charles after dinner, Chip hopes they are getting back together. Allie and Charles get a room at a hotel. Kate isn't happy that Allie flunked her anatomy test, she's falling back into her old habits of being a housewife while Charles enjoys the attention, but he hasn't made a decision about Clair yet. Charles tells Kate that he had a long discussion with Clair, they decide to get married, Kate gets mad at Charles and tells him that Allie has to dump him so she won't be upset. Kate tells Allie that Charles has to be away from him in order to get his life in order. Later Charles calls Allie and tells her he's getting married. 

Dated References

The sandwiches at the deli: Bob Newhart, Rodney Dangerfield, Joey Bishop, no Mr T.

Charles is watching reruns on TV. Today we call that streaming. Like what I'm doing right now.

Allie says her mental state is like someone lifted a "bell jar" off her. This is a reference to the Sylvia Plath novel The Bell Jar.

If She Goes, I Go

This episode premiered on February 4th, 1985. It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite a movie on ABC (Consenting Adults) and Dirty Dozen: The Series on NBC

Kate's boss jokingly offers Emma a job, however Kate is trying to hide it from Allie so they aren't together at work all day and then at home every night. Emma tells Jen about the job who then tells Allie, who goes in and applies. Allie screws up several reservations by mixing up the airline codes with the airport codes. The boss wants to fire Allie and Kate threatens to quits in protest. Allie says it was all her fault and will leave voluntarily and Kate should keep her job. Allie gets upset since Kate keeps telling everyone how she said the boss shouldn't get mad at a trainee who didn't know how to do the job, the two have a fight and they stop talking to each other. The girls come up with a plot, Chip has been playing with handcuffs all week, they get him to handcuff the two women together. Chip handcuffs them through the kitchen cart, Allie tries to crawl through but gets stuck. Allie says she's sick of always getting saved by Kate.The show ends without showing how the got out of the cuffs or the cart.  

Dated References

Kate has a Rolodex on her desk. This was a carrousel of cards that would contain the names and numbers of people you routinely dealt with and needed to look up quickly. Today you just scroll through your phone. 

The computer had a dot matrix printer with the sprocket feed.

Ted the Plumber comes by to watch Casablanca on TV. In the modern world you can watch it whenever you want. Although VCRs were available the were between $400 to $600 each and to buy a movie would cost $60 per tape. 

Five more down. I probably should have looked up how many episodes there were before I started this. 

Kate And Allie 11-15

Candidate

This episode premiered on November 5th, 1984. The lead in show was Scarecrow and Mrs. King and was followed by Newhart. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Redskins 27-Falcons 14) and a movie on NBC (Airplane)

Allie loses her wallet, two minutes after she cancels her credit cards someone shows up with it. The woman who returns the wallet invites Kate and Allie to come down to a campaign office where she works. Allie visits and gets drafted into stuffing envelopes and then falls for the candidate, they end up kissing. The next day Allie meets the candidates wife and quits the campaign. The candidate wins the election. 

Dated References

Allie loses her wallet and has to cancel her cards. Today you could just block them and if they turned up in 24 hours you could reactivate them

Allie has a Gimbels card. The store officially closed in 1987.

When Allie tries to uncancel her credit cards Kate says "This should be on That's Incredible". This was a TV show that ran from 1980 to 1984.

The campaign office has a bank of pay phones.

And on a side note, the name of the Washington DC team has been changed to the Commanders.

Kate And The Plumber

This episode premiered on November 12th, 1984. It ran in its usual time slot. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Seahawks 17-Raiders 14) and a movie on NBC (Victims For Victims-The Theresa Saldana Story)

Kate breaks the faucet and Allie hires Ted the plumber, he has arachnophobia so Kate has to hang out with hi while he works on the water heater. After chatting Ted asks Kate out on a date but she turns him down. The next day the handle on the kitchen faucet falls off and Ted just happens to be in the neighborhood. Kate agrees to go out on a date, he takes her to an avant-garde play. The two have a fight over how they perceive each other, Kate walks out of the play. Ted follows her home and insists she go to dinner. They have a fight at the restaurant but end up making out in the living room. Kate goes with Ted on an uptown emergency, she doesn't get back until 6:45 the next morning.

Dated References

Kate complains that a payphone costs a quarter. Today you'd be hard pressed to find a payphone. 

Kate complains about all the new phone companies. In 1982 AT&T agreed to avoid a federal lawsuit and break up their company into what became known as the Baby Bells. As a result other companies began offering phone services. 

The family plays Trivia Pursuit. The game was released into the U.S. market in 1983 and became beloved and hated by people all over America.

Ted has a beeper for emergencies. 

Ted charges them $42.50 for fixing their sink and adjusting the pressure. Today it would cost you $45 for a plumber to walk through your door.

When Kate spends the night with Ted Allie gets a shocked look while Kate has a "winky winky" look. Nobody actually says anything but we know what they were doing all night. 

Gregory Salata plays Ted Partelo, the plumber. He'll become a regular on the show.

The Safe Caper

This episode premiered on November 19, 1984. It ran in its usual time slot. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Saints 27-Steelers 24) and a movie on NBC (Fatal Vision)

While trying to hang a painting Allie finds a safe behind the plaster. Kate calls Ted, the plumber from the previous episode, to come over and drill out the lock. They find an old letter, a guy was breaking up with the recipient of the letter because he lost all his money in the stock market crash of 1929, but he never mailed it. Kate decides to track the woman down based on the address on the letter. It turns out the woman had gotten engaged and was going to break it off with the guy. Kate tracks down the guy who wrote the letter, he's living in a nursing home in Brooklyn. They schedule a meeting but he decides that he doesn't want to see her because she planned on dumping him. Kate convinces him to come to the apartment, the couple decide to go and talk. They don't hit it off and decided to go their separate ways, they both ask Kate and Allie to talk to the other person for them. 

Dated References

The letter in the safe has a 02¢ stamp from 1929. Today a stamp costs 78¢

Allie mentions that love stories only happen on The Late Show. Those were movies that would run after the late news. Today you can stream movies any time you want. The Late Show With David Letterman would premier in 1993.

The couple in the letter were going to meet at the Biltmore Hotel in 1929. It closed in 1981 and was torn down. 

Using the name and address on the letter Kate looks up the woman's number in the phone book but it turns out to be her brother. He gives them the woman's current phone number. Do they even print phone books in the modern world? Who in the modern world would give out someone's phone number to a complete stranger?

The classic Hollywood actors mentioned in this episode: June Allyson, Irene Dunne, Greer Garson, Dorothy McGuire, Mary Pickford and Douglass Fairbanks senior. 

The classic films: Waterloo Bridge and An Affair To Remember 

Pirates

This episode premiered on November 26, 1984. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Dolphins 28-Jets 17) and a movie on NBC (Rearview Mirror)

Jen is up for the lead in the school production of Pirates Of Penzance, however so is Emma. Emma is a better actor but Jen is a great singer. Neither of the girls can dance. Jen gets the part and the girls get into a "girl" fighting. Kate and Allie sleep in the girl's bunk beds so the girls can sleep in separate rooms. The two girls talk and they sound just like their mothers. In the end Jen plays the lead and Emma is an extra.

Dated References

Jen says she up for the Linda Ronstadt part in Pirates. The movie version came out in 1983

Country Dog

This episode premiered on December 3, 1984. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Chargers 20-Bears 7) and a movie on NBC (Children In The Crossfire)

Wednesday is Chip's birthday, but it's also Charles night with him, Clair is planning a party. Charles agrees to swap out and see Chip on Tuesday. Charles takes the kids to the circus for Chip's birthday and has a clown greet them at the door. Charles sends Chip a computer for his birthday so Allie gets Chip a dog. The dog use to live in the country and wants to go out for the night. All the neighbors start complaining about the dog barking too much. Allie tells Chip that she's going to have to give the dog away to a farm. Allie gets mad at Charles, he says he has to buy expensive gifts to make up for not being there so Allie suggest he spend more time with the kids. Charles volunteers to keep the dog at his place. The dog is going upstate to live on a farm, hmmmm.

Dated References

The home computer costs $1500. A top of the line computer in the modern world costs $1200.

Chip is happy that his new computer comes with floppy discs. 

There weren't a lot of references to things specifically in the 80's in these episodes. I hope that changes in the next five.

The Lottery Experiment, March

 Week 11

This week's Sunday temptation was the game #666, I kid you not, that is the official game number. I was doing a count to see if I needed to order more tickets and I realized the game is down to its last 13 tickets and the game is in slot #13. This was the universe telling me the ticket was evil but probably a winner. However, I'm trying to stick to the rules so I didn't buy it. By the way, later in the week a regular bought the ticket but he didn't come back in so I'm guessing that he didn't win. Saved $5.

Someone won the Powerball so I don’t have to buy one for at least three months.

A guy came in and wanted to buy 6 lottery tickets, however the first ticket in the display was jammed, it was not coming out. I went and got the key for the rack and opened it up, somehow the ticket was folded back in on itself and really stuck in the feed wheels. I got out the 6 tickets behind the jammed one and then worked it out. It was in bad shape and nobody was going to buy it. I figured what the heck and got $5 out of the Alternate Funds to pay for it. The jackpot is $200 and I won...$5, so basically it was a push. I decided to put the money back in the Alternate Funds to save for another future purchase. I guess that worked out in the end.

So I was asking myself the usual question, since I already bought a ticket this week should I still buy a Saturday ticket? On the one hand the mid week ticket was a push, I won back what I spent, but on the other hand I generally only win once a week so if I buy a second one I'd probably lose. Turns out the Fates intervened and there was a problem at the station, the place is closed for the weekend I have Saturday off, I don't have access to the tickets. I could go to another retailer but I'd have to scratch off the whole ticket to see if I was a winner and if so I'd have to cash it in at that station. In the end I accepted this week's win and didn't buy a Saturday ticket. 

Week 12

Someone hit both the Powerball and the Mega Millions so I won't have to worry about those for a long time.

Work has been a disaster lately, first the tanks got shut down because the accountant forgot to file important paperwork about the last inspection. So we can't accept a load of fuel until they pass a new inspection, and it's a pain to get a certified inspector to show up. While we were shut down they moved me to a different station that doesn't sell lottery, I started to wonder if I was going to miss this week's ticket, or would I have to go somewhere else and then cash it out there. But then a relay between the register and the pumps locked up and they need to get a technician to come check it out, so the boss moved me back to my station even though I can't sell fuel. So after all that I worked on Saturday morning and was able to buy a ticket for this week. 

On Saturday I had $9.60 in the Tip Jar. There are three tickets I haven't bought yet, one $10 ticket and two $5 tickets.Two weeks ago I planned on buying a $5 ticket so I figured I would get it. It has a potential jackpot of $10,000, which would be nice. And, I actually Won...$5. So, for the second week in a row it's a push, I got back the same amount I spent. I haven't lost anything but I haven't come out ahead either. Well, next week I'll have a choice between a $5 ticket and a $10 ticket. Work is slow so unless someone loses 40¢ I'm probably have to dip into the Alternate Funds.

Week 13

It's Temptation Sunday, when I start thinking "these numbers are good, I should buy a ticket" or "the calendar date lines up perfectly for a Powerball ticket, after all it's just for fun" and then I violate my rules and end up in the negative. Today things were different, a guy came in and started buying tickets, he won some, he lost some. He wanted to tip me a $5 ticket, I would have preferred the cash but I wasn't going to be rude to him and took the ticket. It was one I was planning on buying in the future so I could check it off my list. It has a potential jackpot of $5000 so I waited until the guy left before I checked it, so he wouldn't get mad if I won big. It turned out to be a winner, $10. However this created a new problem, how did I count this in my overall totals. I didn't buy the ticket, it was a tip. I don't have to add the $5 into the amount I spent but do I include the cost of the ticket into my earnings? I decided that I would treat it the same as a found ticket. I'm marking down that I got a tip ticket but not into my earnings, and the $10 into the win column.

Also on Sunday one of the games was down to the last ticket and as soon as it was gone I could put out a new pack. I was tempted to buy it, especially since I was $10 up today, but sticking to the rules has been good to me this month and I don't want to mess with it, so I didn't. A customer came in and bought the ticket and it was a winner, $10. It would have been another push so in the end it was all even. And I still have Saturday's ticket to look forward to.

Crap, I came up with a good idea, I'm doing a collage out of old lottery tickets. I've been saving and chopping them up and will be gluing them down to form an image. The problem is I need more blue, and the only blue tickets are the cheap ones that people don't buy. I want to start on the project this week and so I decided I was going to do something, buy some blue tickets, I went ahead and bought 10 one dollar tickets which should be enough for what I want to do. The game has a potential jackpot of $900 so I checked them, I won a dollar on one and a free ticket. I got another of the same game and didn't win so I have 11 blue tickets for my project. This would have been good enough but there is another ticket with a lighter shade of blue that will really mix well. It's a two dollar ticket so I went ahead and bought 5 of them, they are twice as big as the $1 ticket so that will work out. The jackpot is $2100 but when I checked them and all I got was $2 back. In the end I spent $20 on tickets, got $3 back and one free ticket. I printed off a receipt in case I sell the collage and I can write the $20 off on my taxes as an expense. Now I have to cut them up and start laying everything out. Also since this is outside of the regular game I decided to take the money out of the Alternate Fund and keep track of the costs separately. You never know, they may put out another ticket that has a perfect color and I'll have to buy it too. 

This week I didn't have to buy a ticket. Heck I don't have to buy tickets for the next four months. But, I've decided to keep my other project separate from my lottery experiment. I'm still going to count the wins and the losses but if I somehow turn a profit off the other project I'll roll the lost money back into the Alternate Funds and count it towards my wins, since it would be lottery based money. So this week I bought the last ticket I needed to complete the "buy one of every ticket" thing. That means next week I can buy a dollar ticket and stop spending so much money. There was only $7.57 in the Tip Jar and it is a $10 ticket so I dipped into the Alternate Funds for the extra $2.43. The ticket has a potential payout of $500, it doesn't seem like much but the odds are 1 in 7 as compared to most tickets, the odds are generally around 1 in 200,000. The ticket wasn't a winner by the way but I do like the color, it will work well in my project. OK, back to normal next week.

Week 14

We have a new lottery machine. When I set it up it wouldn't go on line. I spent an an hour messing with it but nothing. Then the boss called, he needed me to go work at another location so he told me to lock,  I figured I would put it off until the next day. The woman who works the afternoons came in and opened the place. When I came in the next morning the machine was up and running. I thought it would be fun to buy the first ever ticket issued by the new machine but the system probably had come on line and she sold the first tickets during the night. However it turns out that it still wasn't working when she left, it was a state wide problem with the main system. This meant that I could still buy the first ticket, but which game. I shouldn't have done it but I decided to buy the $10 combo which includes the Powerball, MegaMillions, LottoAmerica and the Roadrunner, the state game. There was a grand total of 38¢ in the Tip Jar so the money came out of the Alternate Funds. I swore I was going to stick to the rules this time around and now I've violated them three times in two weeks. Well, maybe next week.

Powerball- no, Roadrunner-no, Lotto America-no, MegaMillions-no.

Despite wasting money on this week's draw games I went ahead with my usual weekly scratch ticket. I had a grand total of 97¢ in the Tip Jar so I took 03¢ out of the Alternate funds and bought a dollar scratcher, I picked it because I like the color and it will work well in my side project. The jackpot is $500 and I could use that money. I lost. Oh well, it's a really nice shade of purple.

Then a series of off things happened, first I found a twenty dollar bill by the pumps. The Tip Jar went from zero to $20 just like that. Then someone prepaid but they drove off without coming in to get their change. I now had $24.12 to buy tickets with. A problem came up, we got a new lottery machine, and they've been working through the bugs and things have been a mess. Well someone bought the last ticket out of a pack so I had to put out a new one. When I start a new pack I have to authorize it by scanning the bar code on the machine, but when I did it today it said the pack was already authorized, that ain't right. So, to make sure things were done right I had no choice but to buy a ticket. It was a $5 game with a potential jackpot of $10,000. The machine worked and, I Won! $5, it was a push. What a strange day.

And so ended March. I swore I wasn't going to break the rules and then did it multiple times. I need to dedicated myself to my side project so I can at least justify my extra purchases. We'll see what happens next month. 

My March Total

I spent $62 on scratch tickets.

$14 on Powerball tickets.

Won $69

Found a ticket good for a free $2 ticket

Was tipped a $5 ticket.

No cash lottery related tips.

I entered 15 Second Chance tickets on line

At the end of the month I am down $6 in the regular lottery experiment. 

I also have $180.00 in the Alternate Fund

The Art Project

I spent $20 on tickets.

I got one free ticket

I won $3

I'm down $17 but it's for art so....

So overall I'm down a total of $23 thanks to art.

Kate And Allie episode 6-10

 A Weekend To Remember

This episode premiered on May 7th, 1984. It ran between Scarecrow And Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite the movie The Last Day Of Pompeii on ABC and the miniseries V on NBC.

Kate is going on a ski trip in Vermont with her ex husband Max, she thinks he's changed. Allie is going to be alone for an entire weekend for the first time in her life and the first thing she does is accidentally lock herself outside but thankfully Roger, the upstairs neighbor is nearby. The restaurant Max works at want to move him into a management position but he considers himself an actor and doesn't want the promotion, however he hasn't done any notable acting in years. Kate and Max decide to remain separated, meanwhile Allie starts thinking about "finding herself"

Dated References

Allie reads through the paper to see what is going on in the city for the weekend. Today you could Google the information. 

While alone Allie tries to call up old friends, by looking them up in her book and then leaving messages on their answering machine. Today you'd have them in your phone and just send a text.

Allie can't find anything to watch on TV when she is alone and wonders "where are the Honeymooners when you need them?" The Honeymooners was the Jackie Gleason sitcom that ran from 1955 to 1956. In the modern world Allie probably could have watched the show on streaming and since it only had 22 episodes she could bing watch it over the weekend. 

Allie calls her mother when she feels alone. Her mother tells her that women weren't meant to be alone, they are suppose to get married and have kids, you couldn't say that in the modern world and not get angry emails. Mom mentions Phil Donahue, he had a popular daytime talk show that featured people and their problems. She also says she watches the $25,000 Pyramid, a game show that ran until 1988.

John Herd appears as Max, Kate's ex husband. He is probably best known for playing the father in Home Alone or Paul in the movie Big.

Since Kate And Allie was a replacement series it only had 6 episodes in the spring. The next one picked up in fall season.

Baby

This episode premiered on October 8th 1984. The lead in show was Scarecrow and Mrs. King and it was followed by The Country Music Association Awards. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (49ers 31-Giants 10) and the movie The Burning Bed on NBC

One of the women at Kate's office is pregnant, not married and having the kid alone, Allie is shocked that a woman would do such a thing. She talks Kate into holding a baby shower, Kate starts to get baby fever. In the middle of the shower the woman goes into labor, Kate volunteers to be the coach since the real one is in Europe. Kate takes care of the baby for the weekend and remembers how hard it is. The father of the baby shows up, he tells Kate that the mother has cut him out of the baby's life and not being there was a giant mistake. Kate decides that it would be selfish to have a baby to fill a hole in her life.

Dated References

Allie says she "wants" Mel Gibson. This was before the arrest and turning into a right wing kook. 

Jennie is upset because she's the only kid in her class who hasn't seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show. This was back in the day of the Midnight Show where the audience would wear costumes and act out the parts.

When Kate says "guess who came into the office today" Allie says Sidney Poitier. This is a reference to the movie Guess Who Is Coming To Dinner.

One of the women at the baby shower is played by Kelly Bishop, she would go on to play Emily Gilmore on The Gilmore Girls. 

In the 80's the choice to be a single mother was still considered a shocking thing. 

As divorce and single motherhood became a bigger issue in the 1980's so did the Father's Rights movement.

Landlady 

This episode premiered on October 15th 1984. It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It was opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Broncos 17-Packers 14) and a movie on NBC (the site I check didn't have the name listed)

The landlady shows up, she has found out that Allie is living in the apartment and wants to increase the rent. They need to come up with $1900 to pay for the previous three month. Kate happens to be dating a lawyer so he tells her she has no choice but to pay since it's stipulated in the lease agreement. Kate comes up with a plan to get out of the rent increase by claiming her and Allie are a Gay couple. It turns out the landlady has been in a Gay relationship for years and starts being friends with the women. Kate has to pretend that her lawyer boyfriend is also Gay so he says he's in a relationship with his roommate Bill, who is his dog. When they are invited to a special dance they feel guilty and after they get caught talking about the deception they tell the truth, but point out that even though they aren't in an actual relationship they are still a family and shouldn't have to pay more rent. The landlady cuts them a break since they are all friends now. 

Dated Reverence

Allie isn't happy that some guy is listening to a giant boom box in Central Park. Today the guy would be listening to music on ear buds from his cell phone.

The rent for two families in in a two story, four bedroom brownstone apartment in Manhattan is $648.95 a month. Today a two bedroom apartment would cost you around $5000.

Kate's boyfriend wants to see Sunday In The Park With George, a Broadway musical about Georges Seurat's painting.

When Kate suggests they pretend to be a Gay couple Allie says she refused to live "Three's Company". The show was about a guy who pretends to be Gay in order to live with two women and it ran from 1977 to 1984.

Allie says she's never danced with a woman, Kate reminds her that they danced together in summer camp. She sings California Dreamin' by The Mamas And The Papas. The song was released in 1965.

Allie's ex tells her "If ever a woman needed a man it's you". This kind of sexist comment wouldn't fly in the modern world. 

This storyline aired mostly because some of the audience questioned the two women's relationship and they wanted to establish that they were not a lesbian couple. 

Diner

This episode premiered on October 22nd 1984. It episode ran in its usual time slot. It was opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Rams 24-Falcons 10) and the movie Aurora on NBC

Allie applies for a job at an art gallery but she doesn't get it because she never graduated from college. When Charles comes by he tells her that their renters want to buy the old house, she is upset because it was her home however Charles doesn't give her the opportunity to say no. She calls his service and when they talk he is very condescending. When Allie finally decides to sell the house she asks Kate to come along while she signs the papers. Allie looks around the old house and can't sell it because of too many memories. They talk with the woman who runs the diner where they use to hang out and learn that her husband had always planned on moving to Florida but died before they could do it since he always put everything off. Allie talks to an old friend from Connecticut and realizes that she doesn't want to be part of that world anymore. She decides to sell the house and make plans to go back to school.

Dated References

Jennie is very excited, her dad bought her the new Go Go's album, on cassette. Talk Show was released in 1984.

Allie tries to call her ex but has to leave a message on his service. In the modern world she'd just text.

The kids have to find batteries for their cassette player. In the modern world you'd have to find your charging cord.

When Allie gets passed over for the job Kate says there are only two jobs in NYC. In 1984 the unemployment rate was 7.1%.

When Allie thinks of going back to college she says can't be in class with people who never heard of Jay and the Americans. The band was around in the 1960's with a few minor hits and cover songs but never reached a number one spot. They broke up in 1973.

Kate visits the diner she use to hang out at while she lived in Connecticut. The roast beef dinner special is $3.95

When Allie has the flashback Kate is listening to Little Help From My Friends, the Joe Cocker cover version. The song was released in 1969.

Lottsa Luck

This episode premiered on October 29th 1984. It ran in its usual time slot. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Seahawks 24-Chargers 0) and the movie Shattered Vows on NBC.

Kate gets a singing telegram, her aunt Ophelia died and the will reading is coming up. Kate inherits her aunt's "lucky monkey paw" necklace. First Kate gets the big travel account, then Emma passes her test, the cute guy flirts with Jenna and Chip just misses getting hit by a falling light. Each family member makes a wish on the paw (I guess they never read the story). They give the paw to Roger for his court case, but he loses it and their luck instantly turns bad. Later they see the winner of the lottery on TV and she's wearing a Monkey's Paw, they think it's theirs until Roger shows up with Kate's. He says he was going to buy them a new one, there is a shop in Time's Square that sells them.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Dated References

Allie is cutting coupons. Liver is on sale for 89¢ a pound. Today it runs from $3 to $15 a pound.

Allie is telling Kate about the goings on at the apartment and adds "and the Beaver broke the neighbor's window!" This is in reference to Leave It To Beaver, the classic sitcom that ran from 1957 to 1963 and was in a regular syndication in the 80's. 

Kate puts on her aunts lucky charm and gets a tour account back. The kids do the Twilight Zone theme. 

Allie's wish is to reduce the national debt. We're still waiting on that one.

Kate wishes to win the New York State lottery, it's up to $25 million dollars. In 1984 states would run their own lottery but today we have the Powerball and it starts at $20 million. 

Jenny wants to go on a date with the cute guy to see Duran Duran in concert. They were the first big MTV band.

Kate has three numbers in the lottery. That should be worth a few bucks.

So that's the next 5 episodes. I'm having a few flashbacks while watching. I can't wait to see what other forgotten memories will pop up.