From: bjag@nwu.edu (Bharathi Jagadeesh)
Subject: Re: HF: New Show 7/28 (synopsis)
Followup-To: rec.arts.tv,rec.arts.tv.soaps
Organization: Northwestern University
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 18:47:12 GMT

In article <3850@moscom.UUCP>, de@moscom.UUCP (David Esan) wrote:

> I forgot to tape the Homefront that was shown July 28.  It was supposed to
> be a new episode, that was not shown originally, because it was too
> depressing.
> 
> Can anyone give a synopsis of what happened?

Here's a synopsis from memory.

We open to a scene of Mr & Mrs Sloan in their bedroom. There are people in
their living room coming to offer their condolences (Ginger, Linda, the
other Metcaf's, etc.). Mrs. Sloan is going on about how horrible it is that
at the very time you want to be left alone people come to your house and
bug you.She wants Mr. Sloan to get them out of her house.  She makes rude
comments about the loosers Mike thought were his friends (Charlie, Hank).
She goes on whiningly in this tone for quite a while. It has the same
effect on Mr. Sloan's nerves that it has on the watchers (that is you want
to reach up and strangle her.) Eventually he breaks down and yells at her.
He says that those people loved Mike to and they are coming to share
sympathy. He ends with the question "don't you think they're hurting like
us, too?"  She answers "No" and tells him to get rid of them again.

We go down to the living room, where people are offering condolences.
Linda, Ginger & Sarah are talking in a corner. Ginger is making comments
about Gina and Linda's trying to keep calm. Sarah is counselling kindness
on Linda's part. Ginger says the Sloan's must be so pleased to hear that
Gina's pregnant, and Gina says she hopes they will be but she hasn't told
them yet.  Charlie & Hank are talking about how Mike was constantly told
that his friends weren't good enough for him and the women were just after
his money, but managed to be a nice boy, anyway. 

Gloria and Mrs. Sloan are sympathizing together and Gloria reads Mrs. Sloan
a letter she got from Mike. Mike says that his army buddies seem to spend a
lot of time planning their funerals. He thinks this is strange, but then he
ends his letter by saying all he wants is for Gloria to sing at his
wedding. Gloria and Mrs. Sloan are both crying at this point and Gloria
raises her face up to Mrs. Sloan and says that she would be honored. Mrs.
Sloan looks at her and turns her down, saying that the wedding is going to
be simple. 

Gloria and Gina are talking. Gina asks Gloria if Mike & Linda were special
to each other, and Gloria won't answer. Then Gloria says that she loved
Mike, and that he and Robert (her son) had been friends until they were the
went to school. 

We see Robert at work. Charlie makes some comments about a colored boy
being on the line when Hank's mother and sister are out of work. Then other
workers make Robert late for punching in his time card. At lunch Robert
opens his lunch box to see a dead rat inside. 

Charlie and Hank chat about the fact that Mike's last wish had been that
Mike's houskeeper sing at his funeral. Charlie thinks it is unfair that
this isn't going to happened. Hank approaches Mr. Sloan about it but Sloan
says it's none of his business. Charlie says that they are going to figure
out a way to do it anyway. 

Mr. Sloan goes up to an office, sits at the desk and reaches into the
drawer, pulling out a beribboned bottle of scotch. He pours two glasses
out. Then he picks one up and says "Congratulations, Vice President" while
looking at the wall that's been decorated for Mike's homecoming. 

Sarah and Jeff bump into each other in the house in the morning. Jeff is
wearing shorts and it's an uncomfortable situation. Later, Jeff's mother
tells him that Sarah think he doesn't like her and Jeff should talk to her.
Jeff talks to Sarah and Sarah says that it wasn't as bad as she thought it
would be, running into him. That she's gotten used to it. 

Linda is sitting in the basement crying. Later she comes up to talk to her
mother and her mother asks her what she's wearing to the funeral. Linda
doesn't know. Her mother congratulates her on being so nice to Gina. Linda
says that all she's been is civil and that she doesn't like Gina. She yells
that Mike's death doesn't change everything. No one would have expected her
to be friends with Gina if Mike hadn't died, she says, so why should be she
be friends with her now. Linda feels rejected and alone. 

Robert comes home and sees his mother crying. He asks whats wrong. His
father says that the Sloan's won't let her sing at Mike's funeral. Robert
says that's good, now she won't have to played the teary eyed mammie at the
white boy's funeral. Robert's mother runs off in anger. His father tells
him that he's hurt his mother very badly. Then Robert goes to apologize to
his mother. His mother tells him that she can't forgive him now and tells
him that he is never again to tell her who she can and cannot love. She
also tells him that he shouldn't make his decisions on the basis of things
that don't matter. [Comment--I don't think this fits in with Robert having
fallen in love with a white woman in France.]

Charlie and Hank break into the funeral home, apparently to steal Mike's
body. They then go to Gloria's house and ask for her. The grandmother asks
for their names and Hank gives false names. Then Robert comes home and his
grandmother tells him that two white men were looking for his mother and
that they wouldn't give her their names. Robert is clearly worried that the
people harrassing him at work might be harrassing her. We find out that
Gloria's at choir practice. 

Charlie & Hank bring the body to the church and tell Gloria they found out
about Mike's last wish. Gloria sings to him there.

Gina lies about her wedding certificate, saying she's lost it. Later, Mrs.
Sloan finds it, right before the funeral. She's angry at Gina for lying.

Everyone is at the funeral. As Gina & Mr & Mrs Sloan walk to view the body,
Gina tells them that she lied because she didn't want them to think she was
easy because Mike & she had made love before they were married. She says
she is not easy, but they felt married in their hearts before army
regulations let them get married. 

Gina talks to Linda after the funeral. She says that she doesn't know why
he chose Gina instead of Linda. They walk home together.

Hank goes home drunk. Jeff sees him and tells him that he and Sarah love
each other. Hank acts dumb and then it's clear that he's too drunk to
understand. 

Everyone is walking to the cemetery [I don't remember if this is the right
order]. Robert walks up to Mr & Mrs Sloan but they turn away. Gina stays
and he gives her a plane that Mike had given him when they were young. 

Then they have a standard funeral, with a flag draped coffin. Hank and
Charlie fold up the flag and hand it to the officers, who turn to hand it
to Mrs. Sloan. Gina stands up and walks in front of Mrs. Sloan and accepts
the flag. Gina then walks away from the funeral and our last scene is Gina
striding down the street with tears in her eyes and the flag in her hands. 



Bharathi Jagadeesh                 bjag@nwu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv