US Top 40 Singles for the Week Ending November 5, 1983
Kenny and Dolly are still holding strong at #1. Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” moves into the top 5. Joel had originally titled the song “Uptown Girls” and it was conceived on an occasion when he was surrounded by Christie Brinkley, Whitney Houston and his then girlfriend Elle Macpherson. According to numerous interviews with Joel, the song was initially written about his relationship with Macpherson, but it ended up also becoming about his soon to be wife, Brinkley (both women being two of the most famous supermodels of the 1980s).
We open at Arnold’s, the diner where all the kids hang out and Weezer sometimes performs, and patrons are hanging up decorations outside. There is some snappy back and forth between a waitress and a guy name “Bag.” I don’t remember if “Bag” was a regular character, but his name is terrible. Anyway, after a joke, we are inside Arnold’s at a table with Ralph Malph, Potsie and Richie Cunningham. Ralph is talking about his upcoming Halloween party. Richie is afraid that BAG and THE DEMONS (!) will be there. Ralph says, well, no, because guess where I’m having it— that’s right, the old Simpson place. Richie and Potsie are scared because it’s haunted, right, but Ralph is like, no, that’s just a story and he goes on to explain that their dates will want them more in a scary house which is sound reasoning. He asks Richie to go by before to make sure the house is “extra spooky and cobwebby” which is a random request.
In the next scene, Richie is pulling up outside the old Simpson place. It looks damned haunted. Joanie, his sister, is with him because he’s supposed to be taking her to her Chipmunk meeting, which I presume is like Girl Scouts only it’s related to small woodland creatures and not girls. She refuses to go in and relays a couple of questionable stories about how everyone who goes in there gets decapitated. This is pretty heavy stuff for a primetime family sitcom. Anyway, Richie convinces her to go in with him.
Now the doorbell rings and Kate-or-Allie (whichever one is Jane Curtin) answers and it is trick-or-treaters. The woman WITH the trick-or-treaters is Gloria Greenley, someone who Kate-or-Allie apparently knows. Then they leave and some other trick-or-treaters come. Then they leave and two older guys show up. One of them says, “we’re here for your daughters,” then he introduces himself as Dr. Frankenstein, then he shakes her hand and his fake hand comes off. Kate-or-Allie calls up the stairs for “Jenny” and “Emma” who might be her daughters, I guess? Two boys come down instead, one of whom is Kate-or-Allie’s son, and one who looks like a discount AC Slater. Dr. Frankenstein says, “which one of you is Jenny,” which is creepy. Kate-or-Allie stops the boys and searches their persons. She finds eggs, presumably for mischief-making. Expositionally, we learn that there is a parade on the street just outside.
