Family man Frank Murphy comes home for a relaxing dinner with his family. It is quickly interrupted however, by a solicitor who phones them, resulting in Frank angrily yelling at the child on the phone.
Frank then promises his neighbors that they can watch a boxing match with his brand new color TV, but now worries over fulfilling said promise despite budget cuts.
Tropes:
- Armor-Piercing Response: After Kevin tells his father that he actually did NOT break the new TV, a confused Frank asks him why he said he did. Kevin furiously replies by shouting that it was because he hated him. This shocks Frank, and he leaves the house to the front lawn to shed some Manly Tears.
- Bring My Brown Pants: This is how Jimmy Fitzsimmons reacts to Kevin suddenly showing up to beat him up for messing with Bill.
- Cutting Corners: In order to buy the color TV, Frank and Sue use what they were hoping would be Kevin's college fund. When Sue protests to her husband about this, Frank responds that Kevin probably won't be going to college.
- The Dog Bites Back: After being caught as the one who damaged the new TV, Bill is ordered to be sent back to the store to apologize. But the one who sold the TV, Chuck, doesn't listen to him and claims that he's a son of a bitch just like his father. Bill is furious by this, and retaliates by going behind his back and using the magnet to malfunction all the other color televisions in the store to make it look as if Chuck got a bad shipment, and is forced to give a different color TV to them as compensation.
- Establishing Character Moment: The first five minutes help portray the personalities of the family to the audience.
- Eyes Always Shut: Chuck's father has his eyes concealed with his bushy eyebrows most of the time. But when he sees the color televisions in the store all not working, they briefly go up in shock to reveal them.
- Jaw Drop: Frank and Sue first react this way upon entering the store and setting eyes on the rows of color TVs for sale.
- My Eyes Are Up Here: While Vic is talking to Frank and his friends, Babe is staring at his crotch. Vic notices this and says this trope by name to him to make him pay attention to his words.
- Oh, Crap!: Frank when he comes to realize he just overpromised an expensive television.
- Ordered Apology: Not only is Chuck forced to get a new color TV for Frank, he is also ordered by his father to apologize to him. So, Chuck tells Frank that he's sorry he "raised his voice" at him.
- Running Gag: When the color TV that Frank just bought malfunctions (because of Bill and his magnet), everyone who sees it thinks that he poured water down the back of it to make it that way, and Kevin later even claims to have damaged it like that as well. Frank is baffled by how someone would do such a thing.
- Secret Test of Character: When Frank demands the boys to confess on which one of them broke their new TV, Kevin pretends to do it to see if Frank suspected him. He turns out to be right, because Frank proclaims that he knew it was him, to which Kevin furiously tells him that he actually didn't do it.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: After being rolled down the hill through a barrel, Maureen vomits in it.
