Pandora's Box
As Jamie struggles to get her new business going with her one and only client, Ira, Paul discovers he is being considered for a grant to produce a documentary on the history of television. But when he needs to do research, Jamie complains about the noise and suggests he try watching TV in the bedroom. When Paul notes that their bedroom doesn't have cable and refuses to pay to have it installed, Fran helps Jamie do what she and everyone else does -- steal it. Though surprised with a television in their bedroom, Paul makes it clear that he is totally against cable theft, forcing Jamie to lie about how it got there. But when the reception isn't what he thinks it should be, Jamie's secret is jeopardized when Paul calls the cable company to fix it. With Jamie forced to come clean about the illegal cable, Paul insists they disconnect it before the repairman arrives. But when they are caught in the act, Paul points out all the others who are hooked up illegally and the repairman disconnects virtually everyone in the building. The Buchmans are then forced to endure the complaints of their irate neighbors. Even when they are out for dinner with Ira, they cannot escape their wrath. Unable to take anymore, Jamie and Paul announce to the restaurant's TV-deprived patrons that they are going to restore their cable service. However, when he tries to reconnect them, Ira ends up causing a city-wide blackout and sparks another round of complaints from their building's increasingly angry tenants.
