Episode
227: The Sing-Off
Overview
For a choir sing-off, Mary has found housing for all of the competitors except one, and for good reason. He is rude, pushy and impatient. He winds up staying with the Jenkins. He tries everything he can to guarantee that his choir will win, including taking the judges to dinner and bringing in a professional gospel singer. The D.C. choir brings in Brenda, Tiffany and friends to sing with their choir, which gives them a unique, youthful sound. The competition ends in a tie, where both teams will represent the East Coast in the California semi-finals.
Details
- Series
- 227
- Season
- Season 3
- Episode
- Episode 15
- Air date
- 1988-01-23
- Runtime
- 30 min
Episode context
The Sing-Off is Episode 15 in Season 3 of 227. It aired on 1988-01-23. The runtime is 30 min.
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Episode 14: Shall We Dance?
Mary catches Lester dancing with his old girlfriend.
Episode 16: Sweet Sixteen
When Calvin asks Brenda to his basketball ball, she is not able to go because she is still one week away from being 16 years old. She sulks because she can't go.
The next week, she has a sweet sixteen party and when Sandra asks what she will do now that she is 16, she announces that she is going to go on her first date, and NOT with Calvin. This shocks her parents and Calvin.
When the Jenkins meet her date they drill him before finally allowing them to leave. Around 11 o'clock, the Jenkins go outside the building to spy on Brenda and Durell. Brenda tells him that she is not ready to kiss him. And Calvin, who was hiding by the garbage cans, asks her out for next Friday night.
More episodes from this season
Episode 13: Snowbound
When Mary and Lester's flight to Hawaii is cancelled due to the blizzard, they go home only to find Rose, Pearl, Sandra and Calvin in their apt, which is one of two apts in 227 with working heat. They all stay there, including the Jenkins' cab driver, whose cab was stuck in the snow, for at least two days before everyone starts to get on everyone else's nerves.
When they realize how they were acting, and that Mary and Lester had to put up with their attitudes in addition to missing their flight, they decide to recreate Hawaii in the apt for Mary and Lester.
Episode 17: The Roommate
When the daughter of Lester's friend comes to stay with the Jenkins until the dorms at Howard University open, she gets a taste of the big city first hand. Sandra is behind on rent for three months and she decides to get a roommate.
Sweet, shy, quiet Donna becomes her roommate after the dorm overbooked. She takes a lesson from Sandra and begins dressing, walking, talking, and acting like her.
She steals Sandra's boyfriend and when Mary talks to her about the new Donna, she gets upset and leaves. Then her parents show up to check on their ""baby."" Mary stalls until finally Donna comes back. They talk privately and Donna apologizes and admits that she was not ready for ""life in the fast lane.""
Episode 12: The Talk Show
Sandra gets a job on a low budget television station, Channel 87. She tried out for the weathergirl, but bombed!
So the station manager gives her another chance hosting her own talk show. Mary, Lester, Rose and Pearl agree to be on the show and talk about various things (bake sale, rummage). But the station manager wants ""Sex In The 80's"" as a topic, which makes them feel uncomfortable (except Pearl).
Episode 18: The Big Deal
Lester's construction company has the chance to be purchased by a multi-national company. The lawyer that is over the proposed merger sub leases the apt and next door, and he and Mary start off on the wrong foot from the beginning. He requests tickets to see the Pointer Sisters, makes Mary cook a steak, (after she'd already made fish) mistakes her for the maid and tells her to clean his apt for $3.00 and hour.
When Mary can't get tickets, she, Rose and Sandra dress up as the Pointer Sisters and host a party for Thurmond. Lester decides that he does not want to sell.
Episode 11: The Facade
When Mary goes to a seminar about success, she meets a business man who wants to build a $50 million museum. She tells him that Lester is a big time contractor and sets up a meeting date.
She uses Sandra's boyfriend's penthouse across the street to prove to Mr. Mortimer that she and Lester have lots of money. When Sandra's boyfriend comes home early, Mary's plan begins to fall apart. She admits what was going on to Mr. Mortimer and his wife. They understand, because Mrs. Mortimer says she, too, would do almost anything to aid in her husband's success. They end up using Lester's company for a smaller project.
Episode 19: The New Neighbors
When Rose is looking for a live-in superintendent, Manny suggests his father, knowing that the Super's family will live with a 50% decrease in rent. When his family moves in, they later find out that he is also the Superintendent, but Alfonso has no skills in that area. Instead, he would rather play concert violin in a symphony.
When a try-out conflicts with his job as Super, he decides to complete his job as Super, but Rose allows him one more day to complete his job so he can try out for the Orchestra. He doesn't make it, but vows to put his all into being the Super.
Episode 10: Rapture
Calvin and his friend Eddie are in danger of failing history, so the Jenkins, Rose, and Pearl try to tutor them. After failing the test the first time, they get a second chance to take the test.
After Brenda returns from a rap concert, Mary gets the idea that maybe they should study in rap form, since they seem to know so many rap lyrics. They do and they pass the test a second time.
Episode 20: Blues
Brenda's grandfather arrives with a Wailing Eddie record in tow. While letting Brenda listen to it, she accidentally scratches it and her grandfather is devastated. She doesn't understand what's so special about the blues anyway.
Mary and Lester find another rare copy, and it too is ruined accidentally by Brenda.
This episode is cut with scenes of Sandra and Rose singing the blues and narrated by Brenda. Towards the end of the episode, she finally understands what the blue is all about, because she has them. Her grandfather is upset with her and everyone is coming down hard on her about the broken record. She and her grandfather reconcile and Pearl gets Wailing Eddie to come to the Jenkins' and sing.
Episode 9: The Honeymoon's Over
When Lester's cousin and his wife come to visit the Jenkins, Mary brags about how they are the perfect couple who never argue and still begave like Honeymooners after five years of marriage. When they arrive, Sherry reveals to Mary that Ed is stiffling her and is too overprotective and she says that she is going to leave him that night.
Once Ed finds out that she left, he becomes depressed and there is nothing that the Jenkins or residents of 227 can do to cheer him up. Sherry decides to come back and Mary coaches Ed on what to say, and tells him that he should change; he should be less overprotective. Sherry takes him back (or rather they take each other back).
Episode 21: The Butler Did It
Mary and Rose win a raffle contest and their prize is a butler for a week. They both become quickly annoyed with his presence and ""loan"" him to Sandra. When it is time for him to go home, his boss comes over to the Jenkins and fires him.
With no where to go, Alfred fakes a back ache and have the Jenkins' waiting on him hand and foot. His boss later come back and wants to take him back. He admits to Mary that it's only because it was in his father's will to that he must continue to employ Alfred in order to receive money.