Mom – Tang and a Safe Space for Everybody

By: Sammi Turano

The episode opens with Adam (William Fichtner) trying to get cereal out of the cabinet. Tammy (Kristen Johnston) walks in asking what he is doing. He says his very tall wife keeps the cereal on the top shelf. She offers to help him and asks what he wants. He is surprised there are choices and even more surprised Honey Nut Cheerios still exists because Bonnie told him they stopped making them.

Tammy says they should make the kitchen more accessible for him and that he says they should talk to the building manager. Bonnie (Allison Janney) walks in and says the building manager hasn’t had coffee yet so no. She wonders why Tammy gave Adam the Cheerios when he eats them in one sitting. He says his life is one sitting.

Tammy brings up the renovation idea, but Bonnie says that the owner said no. Tammy offers to do it at cost. Bonnie asks if the kitchen will be torn apart, preventing her from cooking and Tammy says yes. This leads to Bonnie to agree to the renovations.

Bonnie and Tammy go to leave for the meeting, but not before Bonnie takes the Cheerios so Adam can’t get them. Tammy tosses him a banana.

At the meeting a man named Rod (Steve Valentine) is doing his share as the ladies walk in. It is a rock star Bonnie knows and says everyone once wanted him in the eighties. Tammy says she was around then and doesn’t think so.

At the bistro Bonnie shows Tammy, Wendy (Beth Hall), Jill (Jaime Pressly) and Marjorie (Mimi Kennedy) videos of Rod who was in the band Sachet. Wendy wonders why he doesn’t have a Wikipedia page and says she even has one. The others just make fun of him.

They see him come into the bistro and Bonnie recalls them Lady and Tramping some blow. She never thought he would get sober and reminisces about their 1987 together….which was a total of 3-4 nights. Jill encourages her to say hello. She decides to go for it, but he doesn’t remember her and seems creeped out. She tells the girls his mind was blown.

That night Bonnie is watching his video and singing along when Adam comes in, wondering who she is listening to. She tells him about Rod and how she slept with him. He makes fun of him and says they both have a past. He says he was a stuntman and has a past of his own with an actress.

Tammy works on the kitchen when Adam walks in for cereal. She gets it for him and says she wants to be empathetic of his needs when it comes to making the changes in the kitchen.

Bonnie sees Rod again and he still doesn’t remember her or the eighties. She keeps giving him clues to refresh his memory with no avail. She ends up yelling at him until he storms off saying she won’t see him at any more meetings.

Back at the bistro Tammy says she spent time working on the kitchen, saying it was an eye opening experience. Marjorie says she wants her chair back when Bonnie walks in, still steamed about Rod. She mentions that she yelled at him, making Wendy happy she isn’t the one being yelled at. Bonnie also tells them Rod won’t be going to any more of their meetings, which upsets Marjorie and causes her to be yelled at by Bonnie.

 Jill says that Bonnie owes Rod and amends, which leads to her and Bonnie going to Rod’s house. An older woman (Jane Carr) answers the door and goes to get Rod. Jill thinks that he is banging Mary Poppins.

Tammy goes to see Adam and tells him that she cannot get permission to make changes to the apartment thanks to the city and owner of the building. Adam says it is okay, but Tammy is really upset because Adam has to struggle so much.

At Rod’s house Bonnie and Jill make fun of the pictures only to be yelled at by him. The woman, who turns out to be his mom, offers to get them refreshments. Jill offers to help her make Tang, saying she hasn’t had it since high school when she mixed it with vodka. Rod’s mom thinks that sounds lovely. Jill says it was until they played archery.

Rod wants to know why she is there and she makes her amends. He says it is nice to have a problem cleared up without DNA tests involved. She asks for her Tang in a to-go cup and he makes her promise not to mention he lives with his mom. She makes fun of him a bit and calls him out for lying.

Adam and Tammy talk and she admits she knows how he feels because she always felt different being so tall. She remembers her birthday party at Cinderella’s castle and got stuck. They ended up calling the fire department and Donna Schroeder got the crown. Adam says he hates Donna and Tammy says she is a trainwreck now. They continue to bond over sodas.

As Rod’s mom shows Jill pictures of Rod as a kid and talks about supporting him, Bonnie continues to call Rod out for lying and they continue to bond. She ends up agreeing to sponsor and thinks she may have actually hooked up with the drummer.

The episode ends with Tammy making a special fold down shelf for Adam and him giving her a princess crown. They agree to have each others backs and she says that Donna Schroeder can suck it.