When the Sinclairs get cable, Fran becomes interested in a call-in show, Just Listening with Frank, in which the host listens to calls from viewers, but doesn't give any advice. Fran calls in, suggesting that he also give advice. Frank dislikes the concept, but the station manager likes it and makes Fran the host of the new show, Just Advice with Fran. Earl becomes a laughing stock when he finds out that Fran is the host of a television show. Earl soon has a change of heart when he learns how much money she makes from the show, but Richfield soon turns him against her again due to the fact that the show has been giving ideas to Richfield's wife. Earl and Fran end up arguing about the situation, but the next day, Earl watches the show, and again has a change of heart when Fran answers a housewife's problem about her husband, saying that she should go easy on her husband, having now learned what it's like to have a job. At home, the kids are all now unhappy with their mother working and want Earl to work with them to stop her, but Earl tells them that they have to support their mother's decision. But they are instantly happy when they hear that Fran no longer hosts the show - the original host, Frank, suggested that the show bring in dinosaurs with problems and throw chairs at each other, an idea that Fran disliked but the manager liked. The family rejoices that Fran is no longer working, until she tells them that she'll be looking for another job. She tells them that even though she'll be working, she'll still be their mother.
Includes examples of
- Dramatic Thunder: When Richfield tells Earl about wives wanting "input".
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: "Just Listening with Frank", and to a certain extent "Just Advisin' with Fran" and "Just Throwing with Frank".
- Shout-Out:
- One of the cable shows that the family watches is "Dirty Dare", a parody of Nickelodeon's game show Double Dare (1986).
- Just Throwing With Frank was inspired by an incident on Geraldo Rivera's talk show, in which an angry guest threw a chair and hit Rivera in the face.
- Status Quo Is God: Played with. At the end, Fran is no longer hosting her talk show, but she says that she'll be looking for a new job. Of course, she ends up remaining a housewife for the rest of the series.
