Welcome back to Teeny Bopper TV Breakdown! Today we recap Radio Free Roscoe, episode 5, “Clark Kent.”
Travis and Robbie are watching a group of girls exit their second period gym class, and Robbie has a very obvious crush on one of them, who we learn is named Judy. When she stops at her locker, Travis notices it’s filled with pictures of horses and advises Robbie to talk to her about the animal, but as she passes by, Robbie is unable to speak.
Naturally, that afternoon’s RFR is all about the trials and tribulations of teenage love, and the callers illuminate some things for our DJs. A girl calling herself “Starry Eyes” calls in to ask why guys won’t look past her looks to get to know the real her and wants advice specifically from Question Mark because he always knows what to say, calling him erudite. Another is confused why his female best friend (who he’s pretty sure he likes more than that) has stopped laughing when he makes fun of her, and Lily advises him to show her he’s matured - we can tell Ray is taking notes. Of course, he fumbles immediately the next day in biology class when Lily tells him about a pet frog who jumped into the street and Ray responds, “You must have been crushed.”
In Robbie’s English class (which he shares with Judy), the students are given an assignment to partner up and creatively interpret a chapter of Wuthering Heights. Robbie gets up the courage to talk to Judy, but the only creative thing she knows how to do is tango, so Robbie lies and tells her he knows how, too. Somehow, Mickey is just the guy to help and gives Robbie a lesson. Not sure how well it sticks, though, because Robbie stumbles through a dance attempt with Judy in the English classroom the next day. Though we do get a gratuitous “shake your hair out like a shampoo commercial, complete with glittery sound effect” moment from Judy and Robbie is mesmerized until he zaps back to reality, so that’s fun.
Robbie and Judy chat through their dance practice, which probably doesn’t help his footwork, but she does admit listening to RFR every day even though her friends think it’s weird. She says she listens for a specific DJ who she calls erudite - her voice does sound similar to the caller from earlier. Remember, the aliases mean she’s not supposed to know Robbie is Question Mark…
Robbie spills the beans to Ray and Travis, hoping that if Judy likes Question Mark, then logically she could like him, too. Ray hypes him up, but Travis cautions that while Clark Kent and Superman are the same person, they are different personas. Later, in that afternoon’s RFR, Question Mark and Starry Eyes start a little on-air flirtation, but Lily shuts it down pretty quickly by switching to a song. She tells Robbie that girls like Judy live by a set of unwritten rules that dictate where they shop and even who they date, but Robbie doesn’t believe her, stating Judy’s different. For his sake, I hope he’s right.
The next day, Robbie and Judy continue practicing their tango, and she kisses him at the end! She says she got caught up, so closed her eyes and imagined kissing Question Mark. That point from Travis may be hitting Robbie right about now…
Ray spots Travis reading a book by the Dalai Lama, and asks him what the Dalai Lama’s advice would be about getting a girl’s affection. Travis comes up with “Show her by doing something meaningful,” and Ray takes that to mean he should catch Lily a new frog that looks like the one she had as a kid. Can’t show her yet, though, because it’s time for the show.
Starry Eyes calls in again, and Robbie starts to say he thinks it might be time for them to meet in person, but Lily cuts him off quickly by yet again playing a song, then asking if he really wants to ruin everything they’ve worked for. Travis agrees, saying if he reveals himself as Question Mark, the others will quickly be found out, and it might be the end of Radio Free Roscoe. Robbie argues that he started the show so people would hear them, and someone has now heard him so he wants to show her the man behind the message. Ray is on his side, saying, “If it seems like he might have a chance with Judy, he has to take it, no matter what the cost might be.” Robbie picks the call back up and offers to meet at Mickey’s. Here we go…
It’s time for the English class performances, and Judy confesses she’s nervous - but not about their dance. She’s going to be thinking about Question Mark throughout the routine, because she’s meeting him right after they’re done. They perform flawlessly, even ending this one with a kiss, too, before Judy rushes off for the date.
In the RFR studio, Lily is all for the whole group going to Mickey’s to “stop Robbie from doing something we’ll all regret.” Ray shuts her down, saying Robbie’s already made up his mind. Travis says he’ll take one for the team, as he doesn’t want Robbie to feel like he’s being ambushed, and he was going to stop by Mickey’s anyway. Plus he can tell Ray wants to get Lily alone. Unfortunately, Lily does not react to the gift in the way Ray had hoped, because somehow the frog seems to have died between the time Ray got it and now, so she justifiably wonders if it’s just a sick joke.
Lily catches up with Travis at Mickey’s, where Robbie catches them waiting for him. While Lily might still think Robbie revealing himself would be a mistake on behalf of all of RFR, Travis says the mistake would be Robbie using Question Mark to get a date with Judy. Regardless, Robbie tells them it’s his call to make.
Robbie finds Judy at Mickey’s, but before revealing that he’s Question Mark, he asks her out as himself - what Travis said must have had some impact, then. Judy rejects him, saying he’s sweet but Question Mark is more her type, as he’s almost like a celebrity. She then asks Robbie not to say anything about her and Question Mark, so she’s clearly still ashamed and afraid of not fitting in, and Robbie leaves.
Robbie finds Ray back in the RFR studio, who tells Robbie his present to Lily was DOA, and she’s not ready to see him as someone other than the kid she grew up with. Robbie sympathizes - when he showed Judy the real him, she showed him the real her, and what he saw was ugly, so it seems they were both expecting someone different. Then the frog croaks and seems totally fine - Lily shook the box before opening it, so she may have just stunned it into playing dead. Ray’s not going to try and show her, though - he’ll take the frog back to the pond instead. Time to regroup.
Don’t change that channel! We’ll be right back on Teeny Bopper TV Breakdown.
