Melrose Place
Episode #120 / Season #4
Title: "The Circle of Strife"
Original Air Date: Monday, February 19, 1996

Synopsis

[Burns-Mancini-Mancini-Burns Medical Office]
Sydney, modeling her green Lucky Charms outfit about a month too early, stops Kimberly as she enters the office. "Hold it right there! I'm the receptionist, and I have to announce everyone, even if I hate them." This isn't the best way to greet visitors, especially a psychotic like Kimmy, but it sets the mood for the ensuing cat fight. It seems everyone's *cut* into poor Sydney lately, including her hair stylist! Yes, Syd's back to looking like "That Girl" after going a week without a shampoo. These two pussies claw at each other, albeit verbally, over Syd's one unattainable want: the Mancini man! Kimberly informs Sydney that she was just a diversion for Michael while Kimberly was having her Energizers recharged in crazy-ville, but now she's ready for Michael to bang (her pink bunny's) drum slowly. When Kimberly finally makes it into Michael's office, she "talks" Michael into firing Sydney. And I use the term "talking" loosely, because although Kimberly uses her tongue and lips, not many words come out. Soon, the two of them hit the floor hard. Looks like they consulted Alycia and Peter for tips on office sex!

[Opening Credits]
Surprise! No picture of Kristen Davis in the opening credits. Instead, an extra shot of a Melrose Pl. street sign. Furthermore, no references to her name at all in the other beginning credits. Despite having to endure those aging stock clips of Melrose Ave and surrounding sections of L.A., could this episode be nirvana?

[D&D Advertising]
Billy tells, not asks, Amanda that he is planning on re-pitching the Madge and Mabel's Ice Cream account, to which she quips, "So you can fail miserably a second time?" I guess if Amanda had her way, she was planning on keeping Billy around sort of like the D&D mascot rather than an advertising exec. Billy blames his previous failure on Brooke, but since she's dead, he requests Alison on his team instead. Amanda gives that "Who gives a sh!t" shrug and agrees. Obviously, something's wrong with her. Not only does she agree to let Billy have his way, again, but she looks terribly peaked, and she's wearing a dress with such a long hemline! So Billy heads over to the office where a guy with tough fingernails is busy scraping "Brooke Armstrong" (name, not body) off the door. It's Alison's office now, probably left to her in Brooke's will. Billy breaks the news to her that the two of them will be working together. Alison is a little ticked about Billy being so arrogant, so Billy pleads, "You begged to be swamped with work after Hilly died. Don't make me beg, just help me." Alison thinks Billy looks so cute saying "Hilly" that she agrees to help.

[Jane's (really Jake's) Garage]
Whenever Richard comes by to see Jane, it seems to be to offer peace. Richard informs Jane that both of them are scheduled to be interviewed by "Fashion News." The deal this time is, if she keeps from doing a hatchet job on him in her interview, Richard promises to give her the same respect. Jane says she'll get back to him about it, but first she'll have to look up "respect" means in the DICKtionary.

[Alycia's Office]
Peter stops by, wondering why Alycia left so early this morning and she admits she saw Peter rifling through her briefs, so she figured she'd do some spying of her own. She knows about his attempted murder, and his possible complicity in the death of Jack Parezi. Peter says he's innocent. Then she screams, "What the hell is going on between you and the Parezis!?" So Peter explains that Don Papa Vince Parezi was solely responsible for destroying his father's business, driving the elder Burns to suicide. Man, poor Peter. First, he loses a sister to the loony bin, something he rescued Kimberly from, and now this with his father? Peter's got years of emotional scars to prove it. Now he wants retribution -- financial ruin with a little humiliation. She apologizes, but doesn't like being used to get to the Parezi family. Peter replies that originally, that was the plan, but a stupid thing like love got in the way. Alycia says she loves him, too, dolled up to look somewhat like a pouting Julia Roberts. Then the music starts and round three of the World Wrestling Federation breaks out, as they "do" each other on the desk, staples firing in perfect rhythm.

[Burns-Mancini-Mancini-Burns Medical Office]
It's lunchtime, and Sydney's busy hanging up the phone on unwanted callers. An irate (admittedly, more of an act than anything else) Michael, who is busy chowing down on some Chinese food, pops out of his office to complain about the lunch Syd got for him. It appears that Sydney must not have been watching her p's and q's, for some of the p's ended up in Michael's lo mein. He can't stand peas in his noodles so he *fires* her. Could it be he just got the Wong order? He's having such a tough time getting those little buggers out of the cardboard carton using just his chopsticks that she lends a hand dumping them out... unfortunately, not onto a plate but onto his head! She heads to the hospital to get Peter's support.

[Wilshire Memorial Hospital]
It's nighttime. Sydney's been waiting for Peter for 10 hours but can't wait any longer, so she sneaks into the O.R. in full scrubs, where Peter has his hands full playing "Operation." Sydney looks around, but since everybody is wearing those funny little masks she can't tell who's who. So she starts blabbering about getting fired and when Peter realizes who she is, he has Dr. Wilson take over while he and Syd go out to discuss her employment status. Peter is delighted when he learns that Michael fired her, stating that she's always required too much care and feeding anyway. Sydney responds, "Fine! Go back to your needlepoint. But I assure you, if I lose my job, you'll be coming to me to pimp you out for work." Then, in the "Classic Sydney Moment" of the episode, just as she's leaving, she subtlety gives Peter the "finger" as she pulls her mask back onto her face!! Segue way to Matt. He passes a priest and a nun who loitering in the hall, presumably because they know this is Peter's first operation all season. Matt is approached by his social services clone, David, who asks for a minute of his time. Even though it looks like night, Matt says he spent too much time with a patient and now he's late for class. Mid-Night school? David ignores Matt's demeanor, figuring it must be that time of the month, and invites him to a night of frenzied bowling the next eve. Matt snaps that he's involved so leave him alone. When David says he's just trying to be a friend, Matt apologizes but says he's busy tomorrow night. Next, the camera pans to Kimberly and Michael walking briskly down the hallway to the On-Call Room. He is excited to tell her about his firing of Sydney, but she's upset because divorce papers were waiting for her in their mailbox earlier today. Michael forgot that he had filed for divorce back when she was getting her charge in life. To show her how he feels, he grabs the papers and tears them up. But she feels like they skipped a few steps and she's being conned into this relationship; she wants a chance at a *normal* life. Right! At Melrose?

[Parezi Cable Company]
Bobby called Amanda over because he's starting to form his Board of Members and he wants Amanda to be the first member. He explains, "If we do well, we do well together." To which Amanda adds, "And if we *go down*, we *go down* together." This really gets Bobby's blood pumping, and then Amanda tries to push him over the edge purring, "Yessss, I'll be on your *board*!" But just when we think it's going to be the 3rd sex-on-the-desk scene this episode, Bobby surprises us with, "Ah'm gonna make some coffee." Which sends Amanda, not to mention the viewers, into hysterics. So Bobby leaves the room to look for a frying pan to cook the coffee, leaving Amanda alone to look at the financials. Realizing she's going to need more than her ten fingers and toes to count, she decides to look for a calculator. Rather than look in the obvious places, like the desk drawers, she begins by looking in the filing cabinet across the room, where she finds a plain (except for the big "Shooters" logo gracing the front) manila folder . Considering that it's the only folder filed it was hard for Amanda not to notice it. She opens it up and to her surprise, discovers that Jake took out a loan from Bobby.

[MP, Jane's Apartment]
Jo and Jake, with no office desk conveniently available on which to engage in acrobatic sex, decide to throw a bunch of Jane's sketches on the floor and improvise. Jake reaches for one of the wire bound sketch pads that was forming a spiral indentation on his new do and places it on the nearby coffee table. He spends the rest of the scene trying to button his fly and put on a T-shirt, Jake being chosen for the obligatory topless hunk scene. Someone knocks on the door, and it turns out to be Jo, who gasps when greeted by Jake. Of course, he's still fumbling with his clothes as she invites herself in. Jo's arms are full with folders and other paperwork, which she places on top of said coffee table. The reason for her visit is that Jo has a bunch of proofs she wants to give Jane. She took photos of all of Jane's mannequins so Jane would have a record of all of her inventory. When Jo picks up her pile of papers, however, she unknowingly grabs Jane's fashion coloring book along with her own folders. Jo heads for the door as Jake moves out of her way, still concentrating on those 5 darn buttons on his fly. Definitely not a Levi's spokesperson. Then, during the commercial break, we're graced with Josie Bissett's Soft & Dri Clear Gel Deodorant blurb, where she says, "Leaves no messy white stuff behind," which is kind of funny considering what she and Jake just did!

[Richard Hart Designs]
After doing her good deed for the episode, Jo returns to work, only to find Richard with a bad feeling in his stomach. He's extremely worried because he can't find anything to set the tone for the upcoming show. But Jo's hungry, so he drops everything so that they can grab a bite at Dennys! Talk about indigestion. Before they leave, Stephanie, a seamstress with a "sew what" attitude, enters. She's supposed to be sewing from the sketches piled on Richard's desk. They go to lunch, leaving the fate of the show in her hands. Stephanie starts sifting through the pile of horrid fashion designs of Richard's. Whe stumbles upon Jane's notepad with the Wilma Flintstone collection of spotted animal skin outfits she exclaims, "Now we're talking!"

[D&D Advertising]
Madge and Mabel arrive for Alison and Billy's presentation. Alison delivers her ho-hum campaign, complete with a country setting, roosters crowing, a farm hand and a dirt road, which sounds like she's describing an air freshener rather than ice cream. "We've seen that 5 million times," the two Ice Cream Queens squawk. "And that's how we thought you'd react," Billy claims. Then he whips up a crazy campaign where he pictures Madge and Mabel decked out in black leather jackets, straddling a couple of hogs and riding off into the sunset, with the slogan, "Absolutely not your grandmother's ice cream." Billy using advertising lingo, describes it as a "Kick-butt campaign." Despite its lameness, the two women go for the idea. I think it was the leather fetish that did the trick. In any case, the two old hags leave, at which point Alison confronts Billy asking him, "Did you just set me up?" He admits he did, although it was by accident. He leaves and she just sits there, biting her tongue to keep from laughing at his Dumb&Dumber look.

[MP, Jake's Apt]
Jane finally realized that she can't find her sketch pad, the one that was the inspiration for her new line. She looked *everywhere* -- her car, her garage... Excuse me, but aren't they the same place? Jake goes through the motions of acting interested and concerned, but then manages to convince her to stop looking for it until tomorrow and satisfy his manly needs. His mind's in the gutter, and who better to do it with than Jane.

[Bowling Alley]
From one gutter to the next, we find Matt showing up at the bowling alley to meet social worker David. Since Alan had a late rehearsal and had to cancel his plans with Matt for the evening, Matt would like nothing more than to slide around in half-red, half-blue bowling shoes. Matt thanks David for being a friend and they hug. Of course, Alan then shows up just in time to sees this. He chokes when he looks at his lover from behind, maybe because he realizes Matt's but-tocks looks a little big in brown corduroy, or the fact Matt's new haircut emphasizes his small bald spot.

[Peter's Bungalow]
I guess you could label them vegetarians, as Peter and Alycia are up to their usual liquid diet. This time the main course is martinis and olives, the daily staple in Russia, as Peter puts it. Alycia reveals that she looked into Senator Wilcox and confirmed his jurisdiction in the cable industry. She continues by saying she started phase one -- she got Bobby to sign some blank checks, pre-dated them, and then made them out to Senator Wilcox, the . Peter loves it because this could show that "legitimate" Bobby Parezi has been greasing a senator for a cable license. Then she for reassurance from Peter that he's doing this to avenge his family. He nods, then asks her what's in it for her. So she admits there's a rider in the cable contract: In the event of a breach, she would have the option to buy the cable company. But she says, all she really wants is Peter. I didn't see much more of this scene because the martinis they were drinking got the better of me and I had to go make one for myself. But I doubt I missed anything. First of all, their love scenes are BOR-RING! Secondly, they're not in an office so probably nothing happened.

[Beach House]
Michael re-proposes to Kimberly. "A real wedding. I want the whole world to know we've changed." She hesitates, he croons, she swoons, and she finally says "Alright Michael. I'll marry you all over again." He almost seems sincere, but this is why Michael is soooo Michael. Then Kimberly utters something like "God help us both." Where the writers are going with this storyline is beyond me, but at the rate the plots are developing, I'm thinking, "God help all of them!"

[Burns-Mancini-Mancini-Burns Medical Office]
Sydney shows up with Bob, the neighborhood process server. From his acting ability, apparently, he must be related to Ms. Davis, the real estate agent from last week's episode! But I digress. Sydney sues Michael and Peter for sexual harassment. As she explains it, "All those little jokes you told. The inappropriate ways you touched me. You pimped me." She thanks Bob, telling him she couldn't have done it without him and leaves. Bobby to Michael: "Another fine mess, Mancini!"

[D&D Advertising]
Amanda congratulates Billy on winning the Madge & Mabel account. She doesn't know what got into him (i.e., Brooke), but she likes it. Before Billy can say anything, thank God, his phone rings. The receptionist says, "Mr. Campbell, there's a call for Ms. Woodward." How that receptionist knows exactly what cubicle Amanda happens to be passing when a phone call comes in is simply amazing. I don't remember Alison ever doing that back in the days when she worked at the front desk. It's Peter calling, inviting Amanda and Bobby to a cocktail party that night at Stratford Arms. It's actually a fund-raiser for Senator Wilcox, and considering that Wilcox is in charge of the entire cable industry, Peter feels it's the sort of club Bobby would want to be a member of. He's calling as a friend, and Amanda notes how nice that is of Peter. Then Peter plunges and twists the Melrosian dagger, explaining to Amanda that when you're as happy as he is, you're more inclined to be magnanimous. Amanda, taking the bait, credits Alycia, saying, "She must be quite a woman." Peter agrees saying, "She is, then again, she isn't you, is she?" They hang up, leaving Amanda, well, hung up.

[MP, Matt's Apt]
In the courtyard, Pool Boy is busy-busy, finally getting to all the leaves, dry ice, extraneous clothing, and blood stains that accumulated in or around the pool while he was on vacation last week. Matt invites Alan to be his date at Michael and Kimberly's wedding. Alan snaps, "Wouldn't you rather ask someone else?" When Matt asks where that remark came from, Alan explains that he had felt guilty for not spending the evening with Matt like planned, so that he went to the alley after all, only to see Matt and David "all over each other." Alan explains he saw the way Matt polished David's bowling ball, and even put his fingers in his holes. Matt tries his darnedest to convince Alan that he is blowing this way out of proportion; the hug was simple and innocent. So Matt turns the tables, mentioning Valerie and kissing. They bickeri like a couple of junior high students. Matt finally can't take anymore and runs out, bringing their behavior down even a few more grade levels.

[MP, Jane's Apt]
Jane and Jake are watching the "Fashion News" interview of Richard. Jane's all ready for some trash talk, but Richard ends up being the perfect gentleman, saying "Jane Mancini is a very gifted and dedicated designer, and I'm grateful for having worked for her." When Jane mentions that she recognizes all of the mannequins in the background, Jake feels maybe she should get out more often. Then she clarifies herself, saying that the material hanging on the mannequins, passing as clothes, are her designs and that Richard must be saying these nice things about her so that she can't turn around and accuse him of fashion theft. So it's off to Richard Hart Designs.

[Richard Hart Designs]
Jane arrives, accusing Richard of stealing her work and Jo of being an accomplice by stealing her sketch pad. Richard is totally clueless, a good position for the head of the company. Jo, meanwhile, is also totally clueless, even though she is the underlying instigator of the whole mess. These two really shouldn't have children. When Richard finds out that Jo took photos for Jane's benefit, he gets mad at Jo. Jo admits she felt guilty after Richard stole the last account from underneath Jane so she did Jane a favor. They continue on this way for a couple more minutes, exchanging feelings of distrust for each other -- something they've done repeatedly since they began this relationship. (Yawn.)

[Cocktail Party, Stratford Arms]
Amanda brings up Jake Hanson's loan document she stumbled upon with Bobby. She says it would be right up Jack's alley, but she can't figure out why Bobby would do it, except as a way of getting something on one of her ex-boyfriends. Bobby explains that he's willing to help anyone who wants to go legit, because no one ever lifted a finger to help him. I know of a finger Peter would lift, anytime. Peter interrupts, in order to steal Bobby away, and introduces him to Senator Wilcox. As Bobby shakes the senator's hand, a photographer snaps a series of photos. Alycia instructs the cameraman, whose motor drive made more noise than he, to send the photos and negatives to her office.

[Sydney's Apt]
Kimberly drops by Sydney's, apologizing for having Michael fire her and asking her to drop the charges. Kimberly makes Sydney an offer saying, "Not only can you have your old job back, but you can be my maid-of-honor." The idea isn't too appealing since she's already been Michael's maid, not to mention Jane's. Instead, she says she'll take Michael and Peter for all their worth, and will credit Kimberly. As she escorts Kimberly to the door, Sydney adds, "Fool me once, it's definitely shame on me. Try and fool me twice -- it's definitely war." By the clothes she's wearing, the costumes department is way past twice. I mean, that black outfit with a BIG red flower on it that she was wearing immediately evoked memories of "The Dating Game" and "Laugh-In." Another minute in this scene and I swear she would've blown a big kiss to the camera and asked Kimberly to "Sock it to me!"

[MP, Alison's Apt]
Billy drops by Alison's under the pretense of signing a card for Madge and Mabel. Alison is still upset that Billy played her for the fool in landing the account. Billy disagrees, saying what he really did was focus, just like he's focusing right now on her bulging breasts in her tight blue sweater (I noticed it goes well with her eyes) as he pins her down on the couch and straddles her. She manages to squeak out a "B-B-Billy, stop it" but he continues, unbuttoning her sweater as he says, "Stop? It's not what you want. The danger excites you. When I walk into the room your heart starts beating fast. You're trembling right now. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it." With that, off goes the sweater and they lock in a very juicy kiss. Even Shue couldn't screw this scene up, although his kissing could use some practice. I think he got too used to kissing Brooke and developed that "this tastes terrible but I gotta eat it" look.

[Beach House]
It's moments before the wedding, and Michael and Peter are discussing the predicament they're in with Sydney. They agree to offer her 10% of the office. Syd overhears their conversation and agrees to the 10% along with voting rights in the partnership and becoming the new office manager. As they sign Sydney's contract, Kimberly enters, demanding to know what's going on, so Michael explains, "When they got you by the shorts, the hearts and minds soon to follow." But now on to the wedding. Everybody is there. Sydney is so happy that she agrees to be Kimberly's maid of honor. Peter is best man. Alan shows up at the very last minute due to his producer, Gloria. Alan apologizes about everything that's transpired during this episode, then immediately follows his apology with news that he and his co-star, Valerie, are getting married. Not on the show, mind you, but in *real* life. Gloria feels it would be good for public consumption. The wedding itself is about as cheesy as their first one, but this time they don't have Las Vegas as an excuse. The flower arrangement behind the minister looks as though it came from the winner's circle at the Kentucky Derby. Anyway, a Buck Henry wanna-be performs a quick and dirty service, so that the attendees don't have to spend too much time outside getting sand in their shoes and being bombarded by seagulls.

[Richard Hart Designs]
I guess Jo and Richard didn't make it to the wedding. Jo would rather spend the rest of the episode digging through trash cans, looking for some kind of evidence, and by show's end, confronts Richard with some drawings she found. She wonders whether she accidentally took them from Jane's apartment or if Dick really drew them. Knowing what kind of trouble this could lead to, he lies and says that he did indeed sketch those fashions himself.

[Beach House]
In the middle of the wedding reception, Billy interrupts the festivities to make a fool of himself, announcing to everyone that he wants Alison to move in with him. The two of them are a spectacle, but at least it's providing some much needed entertainment. When Alison tells him he can't treat her like just another one of his clients, he tells her he loves her. She chokes and sputters, but is interrupted as Kimberly announces the throwing of the bouquet. Billy breaks tradition by standing with the available women vying for the much garnered prize. Kimmy tosses the flowers and Billy, using his soccer skills, out jumps the competition and heads the bouquet to Alison. With the flowers in her arms, he embraces her, lays another juicy one on her lips and says, "I take that as a yes?"
[To Be Continued...]

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Last Modified February 20, 1996