During the first six seasons of Kids Incorporated; the economy was performing relatively well save for a few brief hiccups (such as the "Black Monday" crash of October 1987). By Season 7; however, the economy had slipped into a recession and it hits home at the P*lace, as Flip - whose sneaker fortune had apparently run out per a report from a financial advisor - considers turning the P*lace into a tea room for adults. This is also the midpoint of Season 7.
The episode starts with a performance of “Club at the End of the Street” (note Eric and Kenny are both seated on benches while playing guitar). When the song ends, we see the kids excited about an upcoming kids-only party at the P*lace thanks to Flip; whose good mood owes to a visit from a Miss Brewster (guest star Karla DeVitonote . After the kids assume that Flip’s got a date; he clarifies that she’s his financial advisor; boasting that it can only mean nothing but good news, going so far as to boast that “Nothing can go wrong today”.
As the kids are performing “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection”; Flip is meeting with Miss Brewster…and clearly she does not have good news. When the kids are introduced to Miss Brewster; she notes that Kids Inc. was listed in her report as “a contributing factor”. (Eric: “That’s great…isn’t it?”, followed by Flip shaking his head); after which Flip tells the kids the big…and bad news. Flip’s sneaker fortune has run out, and he may end up losing the P*lace due to entering what he termed “deficit financing” (when a confused Eric asks what that meant; Miss Brewster bluntly says “He’s broke”.)
Later, the kids arrive at the P*lace only to see a “closed for renovations” sign on the door. Looking inside; they see Miss Brewster using a flowchart to explain a decline in sales over the previous month to a clearly confused Flip; and her attempts to explain leave the kids as lost as Flip (Eric: “And I thought I had trouble in Spanish.”) Miss Brewster’s solution: Reposition the P*lace as a tea room…er, “tea emporium” to draw an older, more sophisticated crowd…which would inevitable mean that Kids Inc. is out. Flip and the kids want nothing to do with the idea, especially considering that Miss Brewster went ahead and called for the renovation crew without even bothering to get Flip’s approval; then tried to justify the move by saying it was the company she was with - and Flip was a client of - that was in charge). While Flip tried talking sense into his financial advisor; the kids are left wondering what - if anything - they could do; setting up “Cry for Help”; after which Flip successfully convinces Miss Brewster to reconsider her company’s opinion of the kids.
However, there’s still the problem of the crew coming to start the renovations of the P*lace. At this point, Haylie mentions wishing there was a way to get the board of directors to reconsider their belief that kids weren’t a financial drain on establishments like the P*lace, giving the others an idea to convince the board that kids were as valuable a market as adults and - after a quick huddle - agree to work with Miss Brewster to get the board to reconsider, setting up “Fairweather Friend” (which has the dancers dressed as executives in the beginning; followed by being shown helping Flip and the band set their plan up along with Miss Brewster literally Letting Her Hair Down and tossing her jacket during the song). After calling for each item for Miss Brewster’s presentation (with each item repeated by the kids and ending with a repeated “wish her luck” akin to the “scalpel and forceps” gag); Miss Brewster leaves to make her presentation.
Lost in the fight to save the P*lace: The kids’ original plans for a kids only party; which Haylie acknowledges having second thoughts about limiting to just kids, feeling that there was no difference between what they had planned and the P*lace being an tea room for only adults in Miss Brewster’s original plans. Miss Brewster returns with what she terms “good news and bad news”. The good news is that the board agreed to let Flip run the P*lace as he saw fit. The “bad” news…actually turns out to be more good news, as the report that Flip was broke was due to a miscalculation and his sneaker company had a record year. The episode sees the kids set off for their party - which Haylie personally invites Miss Brewster to attend before closing with “This House”; with other adults being invited as seen in the crowd (and if one looks closely, the original “Kids Only Party” banner has had “kids only” scratched out and replaced with “Everyone”).
Songs performed in this episodenote :
- “Club at the End of the Street” (Elton John cover; lead vocals by Eric, Kenny, Robin and Haylie)
- “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection” (Nelson cover; lead vocals by Eric and Kenny)note
- “Cry for Help” (Rick Astleynote cover; lead vocals by Eric, Kenny and Robin)
- “Fairweather Friend” (Johnny Gill cover; lead vocals by Kenny, Haylie and Miss Brewster)
- “This House” (Tracie Spencer cover; lead vocals by Haylie, Robin, Ana, Kenny and Miss Brewster)
Tropes associated with this episode:
- The Atoner: Miss Brewster becomes this in helping to convince her company’s board of directors to abandon their planned renovation of the P*lace into a tea emporium.
- Broke Episode: Appears to be this with Flip entering financial difficulty. Subverted with the later revelation that the report that Flip was broke was itself in error.
- Good News, Bad News: Miss Brewster delivers what turns out to be two cases of good news, namely not only the P*lace being spared but the report that Flip was broke being in error.
- Letting Her Hair Down: Miss Brewster does this - and tosses her jacket - during her lines in “Fairweather Friend”. Notably, this is the only time her hair is not in a Prim and Proper Bun.
- The Power of Friendship: Expressed as the kids work with Flip to try to save the P*lace and later when they (alongside Miss Brewster) try to convince her investment firm’s board of directors to reconsider plans to turn it into a “tea emporium”.
- The Power of Rock: The kids’ performance of “Cry for Help” being what convinced Miss Brewster to reconsider her plans to turn the P*lace into a “tea emporium”.
