Season 7 Episode 18: Peggy and the Pirates

Peggy reads Seven a pirate story called A Ship Called Passion, and the episode becomes it. The bulk of the half-hour plays out as a swashbuckler with the regular cast recast into the book’s roles, which gave the production its most elaborate set of the entire run: Ted McGinley has twice named this his favourite episode on exactly that basis, calling it the best set the show ever built.

It is also a showcase for a returning guest. David Garrison appears as Rubio the Cruel, his second guest turn after “The Egg and I,” and the fantasy format exists partly to let him sing. He had left the series in season four to go back to musical theatre, and this episode hands him the kind of material that departure was about.

The pirate conceit is the series at its most willing to abandon its own format. There is no shoe store, no couch and no neighbours as such; there is a ship, a villain and Peggy as the centre of the adventure, which is a position the show almost never gave her.

It is the final appearance of Shane Sweet as Seven, the character the series had introduced that season and quietly disappeared without explanation. Fan opinion has long held him responsible for the ratings dip, though the scheduling changes of later years did considerably more damage. “Judo” Gene LeBell appears as Black Ben and Frank Lloyd, Al’s friend Norris in the early seasons, as Black Bert. The end credits run over a still of Captain Courage and Peg rather than the usual couch frame.

Episode Facts

• Original air date: February 28, 1993
• Season 7, Episode 18, and the 149th episode of the series
• Written by Richard Gurman
• Directed by Gerry Cohen

Guest Cast

• David Garrison as Steve Rhoades, playing Rubio the Cruel
• Eric Menyuk as Black Bob
• “Judo” Gene LeBell as Black Ben
• Frank Lloyd as Black Bert
• Shane Sweet as Seven

Peggy and the Pirates

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