Original subtitles

♪ There is more to life than what you're living

♪ So take a chance and face the wind

♪ An open road and a road that's hidden

♪ Brand new life around the bend

♪ There were times I lost a dream or two

♪ Found the trail and at the end was you

♪ There's a path you take and a path not taken

♪ The choice is up to you my friend

♪ Nights are long but you might awaken

♪ To a brand new life

♪ Brand new life

♪ Brand new life around the bend ♪

-Bravo!

Hey, watch out, Baryshnikov. Here comes Micelli-kov.

Yeah, Dad, what does he have that you don't?

-Ooh... -Very tight tights.

Angela, tnanks for taking us. I love the ballet.

Oh, sweetheart, you're so welcome.

I find an evening of culture is always inspiring and uplifting.

Yeah, me, too.

Hey, Sam, I'll sell you my opera tickets.

I'd give anything to be able to dance like that.

Well, honey, why don't you take some lessons?

Oh, I don't know.

It looks so hard.

Are you kidding me? You'd be great at it. You're a natural.

You get that from me.

Dad, you cannot ballet dance and you just proved that.

Are you kidding me?

When I played ball, I slid into second, it was ballet with cleats.

Well, Tony, you know there's a school right here in town.

Yeah, but wait a minute, how good is the instructor?

He has a Russian accent.

Ooh, all rightski!

Angela, is he about five-foot-ten and a-half,

with dark hair and smooth as vodka on the rocks?

Uh, Mother, why do you ask?

Mmm. No reason.

Ooh-ho!

Ooh, Sam... Look at this place, huh?

It reeks of class.

Dad, I think that's sweat.

-It's classy sweat.

Hello.

You must be Mr. Micelli.

And you must be Mr. Riabouchinski.

-Very good. Very good. -Ah!

I've been practicing.

Just call me Sergei.

-Sergei? Ooh, I like that.

And you must be Samantha...

Yeah...

...my lovely new ballerina.

It's an old Russian custom.

I hope you don't mind.

No problem.

When in Moscow...

Now I remember why I defected.

Well, Dad, I guess I better go get changed.

Okay, hon, hey, break a toe.

Okay, I'm gonna sit and watch.

-Okay. -Okay.

You, uh, new here, huh?

Yeah, it's my daughter's first class and is she excited.

Her name is Samantha, she's thirteen...

Oh, my Cindy has it all. Yeah.

Grace, beauty, talent...

See if you can pick her out.

That's a tough one...

Uh, her?

Mmm-hmm, impressive, isn't she?

She's got it all, and then some.

Plie...

Eleve...

Plie...

Eleve...

Port de bra...

Port de corps...

And plie...

Eleve...

Plie...

Eleve...

So, Dad, how was I?

Ahh, you were magnificent, you were wonderful, you were beautiful.

-Just checking.

You have a reason to be proud.

Samantha has come very far in three weeks.

She has, uh, um, she has oodles of talent.

Well, I love "oodles."

Oh...

Perhaps, perhaps,

she'll become a prima ballerina.

No...yeah?

No.

She's getting started too late...isn't she?

Is she?

I mean, you're the expert.

All I can say is she'd be in a good company.

Look at Molodyetz, or Ismailova,

and of course, Kvasnicova.

For someone with Samantha's talent, age is no...um...no...

What's the word?

Uh... "No problem?"

No.

No, no, "Obstacle?"

No, no, no...

Uh, "No sweat?"

Hey, hey, oh, oh, hey, She's a Micelli.

You don't know Samantha.

Well, she would have to come five days a week

and rehearse at home.

We'll do it, we'll do it!

Well, then you've got it!

Thank you, Sergei. Oh, God.

Angela, you're never gonna believe what Sergei told me.

He says Sam has the talent

to become a prima ballerina.

That's wonderful, but isn't she getting started too late?

No, Angela,

lots of famous ballerinas have started much later than Sam.

Ismailova, Molodyetz, and Kvasnicova to name but three.

I'm impressed.

So am I.

Oh, how is Sam taking it? She must be excited.

Oh, she doesn't know about it. I haven't told her yet.

I don't want to tell her till I'm sure I can swing it.

She's got to go five days a week. That's 20 days a month.

That's a lot of bread.

Tony,

let me tell you a little story.

Tell you the truth, Angela, my mind's on this ballet thing.

My story kind of relates to this.

Okay, go ahead.

It's about a little girl who played the cello.

And she was good.

I mean, good!

But, like most little girls, she had other things that she liked to do,

and nobody pushed her to practice and so she gave up the cello

and she became an advertising executive.

Let me just take a wild stab.

Is, uh, her name "Angela?"

Okay, you guessed.

-Unbelievable. -Really.

But the point is, I wasted my talent,

I've regretted it ever since and I'd hate to see that happen to Sam.

Me, too.

Now look, Tony, I know how you feel about me giving you money for things,

but this is so important for Sam

and I'd be thrilled if you'd let me pay for part or even all.

Okay.

Okay "part" or okay "all?"

We'll work something out, okay,

but hey, I'm gonna get you free seats

for Sam when she's dancing Swan Lake at the Met.

-Front row, center? - Oh, you'll be so close,

you'll be swimming in swan sweat.

-Hi, gang. -Oh, Mone...

...get a load of this.

Sam is going to be a prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera House.

You miss Ted Koppel one night and you're out of it.

No, no, Mother, Sam's ballet teacher says she has real talent.

Yean, she could end up dancing at all the major cities of Europe...

-London, Vienna... -Paris!

-Oh, Paris, I love Paris.

I've always thought I'd look great in a beret.

I'm sure you will,

but how does Sam feel about being pushed into a career?

Mona, I'm not pushing her,

I just want her to eat, drink and breathe ballet.

By the way, Mother, what's wrong with pushing?

If you had pushed me,

I'd be at the Philharmonic today.

Doing what?

Playing the cello.

Mona, Mona, Angela's...

I think she's upset about wasting all her talent.

"Talent?" Ha!

Angela, you couldn't even get your legs around the cello.

I was saving myself for the Philharmonic.

-Tony... -Yeah.

Do you realize what a life in ballet means?

It means giving up everything else in life.

Look, no more baseball,

no more junk food, no more boys.

I can live with that.

Yeah, but can Sam?

Don't impose your dreams on her.

Let her decide for herself, huh?

Hey, come on, Mone.

I ain't one of those pushy, stage mothers.

It's her life, it's her choice, huh?

Samantha, could you come out here please?

-Whatever she says, goes. -MONA: Good.

-What, Dad? -Sweetheart...

Would you like to be poor and unknown for the rest of your life...

Or would you rather be the toast of Paris?

Mona, what are you doing, Mona?

Dinner's gonna be ready in an hour.

I'm dieting.

I find if I have two or three of these in the afternoon,

when dinner comes around, I eat like a bird.

Mona, Mona, Mona, Mona, you better take it easy with that whipped cream

-or you'll waste away to nothing.

Uh, where's Sam?

She hasn't come home from ballet yet, buddy.

Oh, she's never around to ignore me anymore.

That's because she no longer has a childhood.

Mona, you're bucking for balcony seats.

All I know, is she's only 13 years old

and she practically lives in a dance studio.

Hey, Mona, when I was her age, I practically lived on a, on a, baseball field.

That's the only way to get to the top.

"No pain, no gain."

Dad, guess what?

Sergei says I have the best rondes des jambes in the whole class.

Oh, see that, Mone?

Ever see any jambes rondier than that?

Hey, Sam, do you want to go ice skating?

Ooh, that sounds like fun...

But, uh, it might shorten my muscles.

What's wrong with short muscles?

That's all I've got.

Oh...

Mona, that looks wonderful.

Want a bite?

No, no, no...

Gotta keep in shape, right, Dad?

Right. That's my baby. Right to the top.

-"No pain, no gain."

Speaking of pain...

It's back.

This is a wonderfully soothing instrument, isn't it?

Angela, where did you get that thing?

Tony found it for me in the attic.

You?

Oh, Mona, come on, it wasn't easy either.

Chad McCann. The cutest boy in the school!

Oh, for me? Oh...

Hello...

♪ Everything's coming up...

A sleigh ride? Oh, Saturday?

I have ballet.

Some childhood, huh?

Uh, uh, Sam, um...

Just a minute, Chad.

I think it'd be all right if you, you know, you missed one.

Dad, did you miss many days of practice when you were playing ball?

No. No...

How about you, Angela?

Did you miss practice when you were playing the cello?

All the time.

-See, Dad. -Yeah.

I'm really sorry, Chad, but I have to practice.

Maybe another time...

Yeah, me too...

Okay...bye.

-Honey, you sure this is what you... -Dad...

I want to be a ballerina.

It's what she wants.

And I think she's just determined enough to get it.

Well, I hate to say I was wrong

and you were right, so I won't.

Up with leg...

Back, straight...

Head, high...

Very good, very good.

Up with leg...

Back...

Head...

Never mind.

Oh, beautiful!

Thank you, thank you girls.

You did beautifully today.

You must have a wonderful teacher.

So Dad, am I ready for Paris yet, or what?

Oh, I think I can taste the French fries already.

Uh, good bye ladies.

Oh, wait a second, I forgot my leg warmers.

Oh, let me get them, you wait in the car, alright.

Oh, that was so...

I love the way she dances.

Um, excuse me...

She was exquisite today, wasn't she?

Who?

Oh, Cindy.

She has oodles of talent.

There is just no telling how far she could go.

You mean as a professional dancer?

But, uh, isn't she a little too...

Fat?

-No, big-boned. - Oh...

It runs in our family.

Well, she does weigh less than Baryshnikov.

Of course, she'd have to come five days a week.

Well, that's no problem.

Oh, well, wait till I tell Cindy!

Ooh, thank you, Sergei.

Cindy!

Oh! Hey...

Hello, how are you there, Mr. Micelli?

Her daughter's got oodles of talent?

Well...not a lot of oodles.

Yeah? How many oodles has Samantha got?

A lot more than Cindy, that's for sure.

Yeah, enough to be a professional dancer?

Well...it's a long shot.

How long?

Very long.

Incredibly long...

I'm talking long...

I can't believe I let that guy con me.

I even kissed him. On both cheeks.

Eww.

Tony, I, I feel terrible.

What are you going to tell Sam?

Hey, I have no choice but to just tell the truth...

It's all your fault.

-My fault? -Well, hey, who took us to the ballet in the first place?

And who paid for the extra lessons?

And who tugged at my heartstrings

with that sad story about that little girl and her cello?

Tony, now is not the time to lay blame.

-Ah...look... -And the world-wind tour was your idea.

London, Vienna, Paris...

Paris was yours.

Now, hey, how do I go about telling my kid

that she ain't got what it takes?

Angela, are you still playing that stupid cello.

Give it up. You stink.

so I'm just, I'm just gonna come right out with it, okay, uh...

Paris ain't all it's cracked up to be.

Dad, what are you talking about?

Ahh, the buildings, they're old,

the buildings are old and the people are rude, oh they're rude, the people.

And the food, the food's better in Italy.

I'm not going to Paris, am I?

Not as a ballerina, hon.

But Sergei, he said I had oodles of talent.

The value of the Russian oodle is going down.

I'm not...special?

Now, wait a minute, you're the most special person in the whole world.

But just not a special dancer.

Sweetheart, I know how you feel.

This is just how I felt when they told me I was never gonna play baseball again.

What'd you do?

Well, me and a couple of my friends went out and got...

Honey, it's just that parents, they want so much for their kids...

I guess I just wanted one Micelli to make it to the top.

I hope you're not disappointed in me.

Sweetheart, I, I feel like it's my fault,

like I pushed you into this.

You didn't push me, I jumped.

I wanted it bad.

I wanted it bad enough to turn down a date with Chad McCann.

Gee, are you okay?

I'll live.

Speaking of living,

how about some chocolate ice cream, yeah,

a sundae, a sundae, with, with...with, syrup and nuts?

And oodles and oodles of whip cream?

Oodles and oodles. You got it.

Take a seat, Madame. Think that it's Paris.

TONY: Who's the Boss? will be back in a moment. Stick around.