Florida Gets a Job

"Florida Gets a Job" marked the second and last appearance of irascible Gary Coleman as Gary James (Willona: "Chicago's answer to the neutron bomb!"), introduced in "That's Entertainment, Evans Style," still trailing behind his girl Penny Woods. He doesn't want to play a sheep in Penny's play, having to wear cotton on his head: "it took us 300 years to get out of cotton, now here they go putting us right back in it!" Alderman Fred Davis (Albert Reed, fifth of six) drops by to visit his 'favorite project family,' worried about the upcoming election, but promising Florida her desired job as a city bus driver provided she pass all the requisite tests. JJ contributes to the cause with a portrait of Davis, as his mother finds that she has a rival for the job, Fred's arrogant niece Sandra Forbes (Janet MacLachlan). One encounter with little Gary is enough to convince the poor woman that bullfighting might be safer!

Some of the episodes after the character James Evans's death stretch credulity, even for a sitcom, and this was one of them. When did Florida Evans get a driver's license? She came from a poor family, and she and James never owned a car. Yet she's qualified to be a school bus driver, so apparently she knows how to drive. And as for the Alderman Davis's niece holding an advanced degree and wanting a job driving a school bus...yeah, right. But at least there was a very funny scene with Gary Coleman and guest star Janet McLachlan...but I won't spoil it for you. I just think the writers should have made the situation more believable.