Brandon is at the right place at the right time to get a cameo in a popular TV show, despite having no interest in acting, unlike his sister who is brimming with jealousy. After his first day, the producers offer him more episodes and Brandon, although uninterested at first, gets a taste of stardom and, especially, the attention from leading lady, Lydia Leeds. Turns out it's all a ruse for her to lure her original co-star back, which she does, successfully, and Brandon is dropped and comes down to earth again. Meanwhile, Brandon asks Brenda to cover his shifts at the Peach Pit while he's off in la la land, and Brenda reluctantly agrees to help him out. She finds herself overwhelmed by the job and comes up with a way to solve it: make a character who would be good at the job. She successfully pulls it off as New Yorker, "Laverne", and becomes a huge draw for the Pit, lip-syncing and performing. Despite having fun, she is all too happy when Brandon is back for their regularly scheduled programming.
Tropes
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Brandon's comment below about Keep It Together is a not so subtle self-aware jab at the show's own "after school special" reputation.
- Nice Character, Mean Actor: Lydia Leeds is an adored teen star who turns out to be this, jaded by growing up as a child star. She does seek out Brandon and apologises for getting him fired.
- Show Within a Show: Keep It Together, the show Lydia stars on. A family soap with heavy-handed lessons learned every episode. It's Brenda's favourite show. It's apparently about an orphaned girl named Skipper, who gets adopted by the Carswell-Smythes.Brandon: It used to be one of those squeaky-clean shows where, by some miracle, every problem got solved just in time for the last commercial.
