Family Plots
"Baptism by Fire" - Original Air Date: 6/5/2005
Recap by Teri Campbell
August 22, 2005
Busy as a Bee
The mortuary finds it to be a busy day. Shonna is feeling so burnt out, a regular cycle she goes through. Shonna thinks all embalmers hit this bottom point around the 5 year mark. Rick chips in that if they had any other talent they certainly wouldn't be here.
Help is on the Way
Shonna gets this letter from a very cute Ashton Kutcher look-a-like who tells her that she is his inspiration!! He really wants to get into the funeral business. Shonna doesn't call him right away, but takes the idea to Rick. John thinks the kid needs to experience the not-so-great side of embalming and Shonna says while it's a great job, it's very, very VERY difficult. Chuck thinks if he isn't a [wimp] and is willing to work at it then, yeah.
Whatever that means. But hey, it's coming from Chuck. So Shonna takes it to Rick and he says he'll talk to the kid.
Early Bird
So Ashton…er…Dan comes to Poway-Bernardo and brings brownies and cake for the staff. He gives us a run down on how he's always wanted to work in a mortuary. Dave tries to be nice but isn't quite sure what this kid's motive is. He then meets Emily who thinks Dan looks nice and is dressed for the part. Dan is really nervous to meet Rick. When Rick meets Dan he barely says hi, turns and asks where Shonna is. It's 9:40 and no Shonna in sight, however John runs to get Emily breakfast. Dave is bitter that people are eating breakfast when they should have done it at home. 10am and Shonna come dressed to kill. Um…is she coming to embalm or get a date with the young'un?? Shonna and Rick head to interview him.
The Hot Seat
Rick starts the interview and Shonna purses her lips through the meeting looking oh so interested while throwing glances back and forth between the men. Rick just tells him the worst of the job. He also tells him the camaraderie, or lack thereof, between the "family" at PBM. So Dan heads out with Chuck to the Medical Examiner's office. Perhaps they will see Quincy? Shonna compares his debut with the dead to her own first time. While driving Chuck tells Dan all about the nasty smells. Then they go get a body. Chuck teaches him the ropes. They get the body and load it up. Dave is STILL thinking there are ulterior motives as he looks at the brownies by Dan. John says if he knew the profession existed he would have been in it long ago. Now everyone is taking bets on if he will handle seeing a body post-mortem.
The Moment of Truth
So Dan puts on the mask and John lets him know that sometimes lots of blood may be in the bottom of the bag. Neat. Shonna tells us that mostly men are in this profession and she has had to wing it to get where she is. Now Shonna brings up something I just didn't know. It is a misdemeanor to use profanity in the presence of the dead. Now who is the profanity-using-around-dead-people-cop? How would anyone know and why would anyone care??? So Shonna says just act like it was your mother in that room. Now there is a neat thought. So now they are sucking the blood out and they are talking about how the embalming process works. Dan says it doesn't bother him at all. Dan takes a moment to the restroom….did he lose it??? Doesn't look it. So Dan is talking about how the woman has changed since embalming took place and you see Chuck walk in the door behind him, see the body, make the ugliest face ever and then back out the door. Gotta love Chuck. So Dan is finished and talks about his respect for all involved. Rick is so impressed with him that he thinks Dan can step things up a bit around the mortuary. Everyone starts taking off and Dan says goodbye and leaves his butter cake behind. Shonna tells him that around June (so about a month or two) that an apprenticeship may come up and would he be interested? He said definitely. Shonna reflects that Dan is so gung ho and she is so burnt out that she could use his enthusiasm to perk her up.
Two Days Later
Dan sends a thank you note and tells of his love of his hero, Shonna. Short clips of everyone else saying how much they hate it there and Shonna tells Rick to fire everyone else and hire Dan.
That's it for this recap. From what I have heard there will be a Season 3, just no answer yet as to when that will air. Keep in touch, keep the emails coming and be good to each other.
I live in Washington state with my husband Ricky, 2 basset hounds - Shaka & Lu Lu and 2 Rhodesian Ridgebacks - Harleigh and Cooper. I'm an 8th grade teacher who plays softball and loves to bowl. I started off watching only Survivor and now consider myself a Reality TV addict. I welcome any feedback at elementeri@hotmail.com.
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