Original subtitles

To do this stuff live, honey, this is somethin'...

Hi, how you doin'?

I'm Ella Joyce.

This is "Roc" and we live!

Tonight's episode is somethin' you won't wanna miss.

So if you're scrubbin' the roastin' pan

from tonight's dinner, honey, put it to the side

leave it alone, let it soak.

Tonight's episode is about the presidential election.

Mm-hm, we gonna do what Bush, Clinton and Perot couldn't do

talk about the issues.

Only when we make you laugh, we doin' it on purpose.

And the best part about it is that

we gonna take you, bam

right into the future, alright, everybody?

You ready? Okay, now.

It is now November 3rd. Election day.

And you're about to find out who the Emersons

are gonna vote for.

You might even find out who's gonna be misusing

your taxes over the next four years.

Get well soon, Leo.

Y'all have fun. Happy birthday, Duran.

Love you, Dan. Bye.

♪ Them that's got shall have ♪

♪ Them that's not shall lose ♪

♪ So the Bible says ♪

♪ And it still is news ♪

♪ Mama may have ♪

♪ Papa may have ♪

♪ But God bless the child ♪

♪ That's got his own ♪

♪ That's got his own ♪ Them that's got shall get ♪

♪ God bless the child ♪ Them that's not shall lose ♪

♪ Them that's got shall get ♪

♪ Them that's not shall lose ♪

- Hey, Eleanor. - Hey, Roc baby.

Sit on down, breakfast's almost ready.

You know, baby, since we're finally on the same schedule

what do you say we go upstairs and do some real cookin'?

Roc, I went through a lot of trouble

to fix you this breakfast.

If you want trouble I'll give you some troubles.

You ain't seen no trouble till you seen my trouble, come here.

Stop. Eleanor, now, I know it's conventional.

But if you tried kissin' him on the lips

he might just kiss back.

- Good mornin', daddy. - Hey, pop.

- Hey, son. Uh, Eleanor. - Ah-ha.

Do you still have time to drive me

over to the school so I can vote?

Oh, that's right.

I gotta get to the polls before work.

- It's election day. Sorry, Roc. - Oh, you're sorry.

- Think how Bush feels. - Ah, hey! Tell me about it.

Twenty four hours later we'll be able to say

"President-elect Clinton."

Well, and hopefully you'll be saying it to yourself.

Daddy, don't tell me you still thinkin'

about throwin' away your vote on Perot.

Well, I'm not throwin' it away

I'm votin' for the best man available.

You see, the key to everything is the economy.

And if no one fixes it

then black people will suffer the most.

Now, Perot is the most qualified

because he's got the best business sense.

Yeah, he's got great business sense.

He spent his sixty million dollars for a job

that pays two hundred thousand.

You got it, Roc.

Yeah, well, Clinton's no financial genius either.

I mean the man spent money on marijuana

he didn't even inhale.

Roc, that is no argument.

You know, you against anybody who spends any money.

Well, Clinton said he'll only tax the rich

but he's from Arkansas

where rich is everyone whose tail is paid for.

And Perot got a lot of great ideas, right?

How about that business

about the electronic town meetings?

Who needs Congress when you got Nintendo?

Well, say what you will, Eleanor

but my redneck will beat your redneck.

Now, that's a nice bumper sticker.

♪ Yeah keep on rocking ♪

Hey, Roc baby, I'm so lookin' forward to this.

We can just sit back, kick, relax and watch the election.

Yeah, that sounds good to me.

So, who you wanna watch, Brokaw, Rather or Jennings?

Well, doesn't one of the networks have

a black anchorman who's real good?

You know, what's his name, um, Bernard Shaw.

Roc, Bernard Shaw is on CNN.

That's a cable channel.

You remember cable.

The service that you cancelled

after the introductory free month.

- Hello. - Hey, kids.

Oh, Matty.

What a pleasant surprise?

Yeah, I invited her over

to watch the election results with us.

- I hope you don't mind. - Oh, well, no, Matty.

You know you're always welcome into our house.

- Oh, thanks. - Come on, Matty.

- Let's go get some coffee. - Okay.

Help yourself.

Damn. How am I supposed to relax with my boss in the house?

Well, she maybe your boss, but she's pop's girlfriend.

Yeah, Roc, but she's also company and look at me.

I gotta go change.

Well, Eleanor, we're just watching TV.

What're you gonna change into?

I was thinkin' about the dress I wore

to your cousin's wedding.

Come on, baby, it's just watchin' TV.

You don't have to worry whether or not

Matty's gives you that promotion.

Well, I don't know, Roc.

That promotion come with $10,000 raise.

Eleanor dear, you're out of cream?

- I'll go out and get you some. - No, no.

It's not, it's not for me. I-it's for Andrew.

Oh, I'll pick it up tomorrow.

So, Roc, who did you finally vote for

Clinton or Perot?

Well, how do you know it wasn't Bush?

Because no self respects be respecting black person

who'd vote for that man.

- 'Yeah, right.' - Andrew.

Are you saying that I don't respect myself?

Or are you saying that black people

have to automatically vote

for the quote, "Approved candidate?"

Oh, my God, she's a Republican.

I'm proud of it, you got a problem with that?

No, no, you have a right to your opinion.

Matty, I don't think we should see each other anymore.

Andrew, George Bush is an expert on foreign policy.

He's one of the key people responsible

for bringing about the collapse of communism.

All Bill Clinton did was bring about the collapse of Arkansas.

Well, for your information, Matty, I'm not for Clinton.

I voted for Vos... Ross Perot.

- Perot? - Mm-hmm.

What an intelligent use of your vote.

Why didn't you just write in Homer Simpson?

Oh, very funny.

And what's that nonsense about

Bush's, uh, foreign policy expertise?

Oh, that was a brilliant strategic move.

Throwin' up on the Japanese prime minister.

Now, if he can just vomit all over the Germans

he'll have that train problem licked.

- You being awfully quiet. - Well, so are you.

Matty is my boss, what am I supposed to say to her

"Bush is wrecking the country, you ignorant fascist

now, give me that promotion?" What's your excuse?

Well, I can't talk and think of $10,000 at the same time.

Okay, now, just, just think about what you are saying.

Oh, God.

Could you imagine Ross Perot

handling our, our security

our national security, even worse, Bill Clinton?

He can't even be discreet about the women he sleeps with.

At least, someone want to sleep with him.

Bush and Perot are little hard on the eyes, don't you think?

Ten thousand dollars, Eleanor, Ten thousand dollars.

- Hey... everybody. - Hey, Joey.

- Uh, Joey. - Hmm.

I'd like you to meet my lady friend, uh

who's body is possessed by the soul of Richard Nixon.

Andrew, let me be perfectly clear

you don't know what the hell you're talkin' about.

Uh, hi, I'm Joey, um...

Sorry we couldn't meet on a less venomous circumstances.

- Hi, Joey, nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you too.

Uh, pop, Roc, can I, uh, talk to you for a minute?

Sure, but I'm not givin' you any money.

So, Eleanor, dear, who did you vote for?

And please don't say that two-faced liberal, Bill Clinton.

Y'all hurry back now, fellas, hear?

Yeah, so, uh, what's up, Joey?

Well, how can I put this to you mere mortals?

I went to the race track today...

...and...

...the rest is history.

Whoa!

So, I'm here to pay off my debts.

- Startin' with you pop. - Mm.

Twenty, forty, sixty, eighty.

Come on, there you go, pop.

Roc, this is for you. Twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, one.

Twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, two.

Twenty, forty.. Shoot, man. Here, take the whole thing.

Well, thank you, son. But why did you have to drag us in here?

'Cause I didn't have enough money to pay Eleanor back.

You know, she did a lot of things for me, uh

she cooks my meals, she does my laundry, she, uh...

Y-you can see where I'm going with this, can't you?

Well, yeah, Joey, I mean you should give her somethin'.

Yeah, you're right, Roc, uh...

Hey, let me, let me borrow $50, huh?

Nah, pay her back when you can.

Excuse me, fellas, I mean, I don't mean to interrupt

but I was sitting there politely

listening to our republican company

and then it hit me I didn't invite her.

Yeah, uh, we better get back.

- Uh, Roc, baby. - Mm.

- What was that all about? - Ah, the usual, money.

I don't believe Joey, you know he is even

starting to borrow money from me?

What? Well, then, you better stay on top of him.

- Make sure he pays you back. - Okay.

Joey, just what do you think you're doing?

Oh, you guys weren't really watching that, were you?

I mean, it's just a election return stuff.

I mean, come on, come on, "Star Trek's" on.

I like this one, this is the one where Frank Gorshin is black

o-o-on the left side a-and white on the right side.

Joey!

This is going to be a very close race.

Don't you wanna know if your guy won?

My guy was Pepe Alvarado.

He weighs 97 pounds, and he already won his race.

Hey, Joey, she's talkin' about the candidates.

Oh, I didn't think about the candidates.

Besides, I didn't even vote.

- What? - What?

You registered last month.

I did, ha, I did a lot of things last month.

How could you not vote, this is a very important election?

Oh, come on, sis, my one vote's not gonna make that much--

Look, Joey, I can understand if you didn't vote

because you were not sure if the candidates

would really stick through w-with their promises

you know, and i-i-if the problems of country are so big

no one man can solve them.

Then me and you would be on the same page

thinkin' alike, but simply not to vote becau--

Wait, wait, hold it, Roc.

Now, are you sayin' that you didn't vote?

Well, you know, l-let's stay focused here, you know?

We were mad with Joey.

You know, he didn't.

"Roc" live will be right back.

♪ Keep on rocking ♪

'How much damage Perot is..'

Hm, hey, this is a good meatloaf, sis.

Where'd you get that meatloaf?

I found it.

Where?

Between two pieces of bread.

In a bag with your name on it.

That's my lunch for tomorrow.

Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Roc, here.

- I don't want it now. - Roc, forget that meatloaf.

Now, it's a quarter to eight the polls close in 15 minutes.

- You better get going. - Oh, look, Eleanor!

It only takes five minutes to get there, which means

I've got a solid ten minutes to decide who I'm gonna vote for.

Let me think about it.

Why y'all starin' at me?

Son, you got to hurry up and make a choice.

Oh, come on, pop, I know that, you know.

But, it's not a decision I take lightly.

I've been goin' over this for months.

And from my point of view the choices are a president

who didn't wanna sign the Civil Rights Bill

a governor whose state doesn't have a Civil Rights Bill

and a Texas billionaire, who refers to blacks

as "You people."

So, then I think maybe I won't vote at all

but that's not right, I mean...

People have died so we can have the right to vote.

You know, but then I considered the candidates all again.

And when you know it, it just starts all over again, so...

I don't know, I don't know, pop, all I know is...

...I just can't seem to squeeze a paycheck

the same way I used to.

There are more homeless people on the street.

And there are times I'm afraid to let my wife

walk out my front door, and I don't know if any of these

candidates have their solutions.

Roc, you just mad 'cause you don't have anything

to eat for lunch tomorrow.

Joey, be serious, now.

You know, I understand your dilemma, Roc.

But let me explain why millions of voters

are coming back to the president.

Yeah, the polluted air has their brains corroded.

Now, son, Ross Perot is the only candidate

who won't have his presidency

behove into any special interest--

Oh, n-now, pop, look, listen, if you and Matty are gonna

hustle me for my vote, then let me ask the questions.

Fine. I can talk about the president all night long.

- You up for it, Andrew? - "Up for it?"

Huh, when I'm done you'll wish you had, uh, voted for Perot.

I'll take that as a challenge.

It'll be like our own little debate.

Now, you're on, all we need is somebody to be Clinton

I think I left somethin' on in the kitchen.

Eleanor, you're a big Bill Clinton fan.

No, daddy, you misunderstood me.

I said I was a big George Clinton fan.

You know, I understand your reluctance, Eleanor.

Must be very embarrassing having to defend Clinton.

His policies don't make sense.

Neither does four more years with you, Mr. Bush.

Come on, girlfriend, let's debate.

Alright, great, great, great, great.

Joey, you can represent the position of, um, apathy.

Oh, come on, Roc, I don't really feel like it right now.

Alright, perfect, perfect, perfect.

Alright, let's go, the first question to you, Eleanor.

- I mean Governor Clinton. - Alright.

There have always been poor people in this country.

Do you really believe that you can wipe out poverty altogether?

Wow, I'm glad he didn't ask me that.

Yes, I do.

Now, there will always be those who have less than others.

The question is, "how much less?".

Yeah, right. Nice dodge, Eleanor.

Uh, President Bush, you have one minute to respond.

I don't know why, the moderator's surprised

by the governor's awful dodging?

He has a history of dodging, don't you, soldier boy?

You wanna talk history, do you?

Well, history's goin' to show that this country

has gone to hell in a hand basket

since you've been runnin' it.

Although, you've done a very good job

runnin' the nurse's staff.

Uh, Mr. Perot, you have one minute to respond.

Well, I'd like to respond by recounting

an incident from my past.

When I was a little white boy, growin' up in Texas...

...I said to my pappy--

Do we have to listen to this?

Mr. Perot, will you please refrain

from any further references to your pappy?

Well, I don't know what you hope to prove by muzzlin' me.

Mr. Apathy, you have one minute to respond.

I-I'm sorry, I didn't even hear the question I wasn't listenin'.

Would you like me to repeat it?

No, it doesn't matter.

See, who-whoever you vote for

there's still gonna be wars

there's still gonna be corruption.

I mean, on the other hand, there's still gonna be people

having babies and...

...people still be writin' love songs.

I mean, there gonna be good times

and there gonna be bad times.

There'll be highs and there'll be lows.

See, that's why I'm proud to say

I really don't give a damn who wins.

It's frightening how much sense he makes.

Okay, okay, okay, last question.

Uh, President Bush.

Now, our neighborhoods are dying.

Don't you feel any responsibility for that?

Well, of course I do, but things are turning around

the economy grew in the last quarter.

And we would've done even better if the democratic Congress

hadn't tied my hands.

Oh, sure. Blame us.

That is so typical of you Republicans.

You don't take any responsibility

for any of your own actions.

Give Helen the best shift at the hospital

and then say the chief surgeon made you do it.

Wait a sec.. whoa, whoa, wait, are you sayin'

that I'm playing favorites?

If the rubber glove fits, honey.

May I remind Governor Clinton that the president

is also her boss and we need two incomes

to survive his administration.

Apathy.

Apathy, you may respond.

See, this is what happens when y'all get

involved in this process.

You butt heads with each other.

You get angry, you get hateful.

I'm the only one here that everybody still likes.

- Shut up! - No, we don't.

- I don't even know you. - Well, that's alright.

- I'm still like you all. - Alright, okay.

Alright, l-l-let's just stay with the issues.

Well, just a minute, just a minute.

Now, Eleanor, where do you get off

criticizing my professional ethics?

You're the one that set me up with your father-in-law

to get in good with me.

Daddy, did you tell her that?

Uh, at this time

I would like to withdraw from the campaign.

- Andrew. - Alright, look.

This isn't helpin' anyway, I mean

you guys are giving the same pre-packaged answers

we've been hearin' all year, well, Maybe it's me,

maybe I'm just not asking the right questions.

No, baby, ain't nothing wrong with your questions.

It's just that you got to wear 'em tall hip boots

to wade through President Bush's answers.

Alright, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, h-hold.

I got an idea, I got an idea, okay?

I'm gonna ask each of you one last question.

And this could really tell me what you guys are really about.

Okay? Alright. Okay, I get laid off.

I run out of money. I lose my job, I lose everything.

I come up to you on the street and ask you for money.

And you give me the money on the condition

that I use it a certain way.

Now, how do you tell me to use it? Apathy.

Um, I'd say you use it on food, man.

I'd say, "Hey, man, go get yourself a nice steak dinner."

Yeah, real good, Joey, real good, you know

Don't put no thought into it, just go for

the immediate gratification.

Yeah, well, that's my party line.

President Bush.

I would tell you to go out and buy yourself

a new suit of clothes, so you could go to job interviews

get a job and support yourself.

Hm! Governor Clinton.

A new suit's only gonna get you so far

I'd tell you to go get some job re-training.

Education is the key to getting a high skill job.

Okay. Mr. Perot.

Well, I would tell you to invest your money

in apples or roses or somethin' else

that you could sell on the street.

Now, if you worked real hard

eventually, you could build this

into your own small business.

Mm.

Okay.

Okay, I got it. I know who I'm gonna vote for.

Really, that one question answered it for you?

Well, who convinced you? Uh, who you votin' for?

Well, I'm not sayin'. Although, I'll give you one hint.

He's white.

Okay, well, it's five minutes to eight, I gotta go.

Hey, Roc, wait a second, I-I'm gonna go with you.

Oh, you, you gonna vote? Great.

Joey, I'm so proud of you.

Oh, what made you, uh, change your mind?

Well, I was listenin' very carefully to the debate

and I realized that I'd, I'd be

a real knuckle-head if I didn't vote.

Well, the important thing is you're voting.

And you're still a knuckle-head.

Hey, Roc, since you've already made you decision

uh, can I copy off your ballot?

We'll be back with more live "Roc"

right after these messages.

Alright, Eleanor, I'm sorry too.

I guess we just got a little carried away.

Yeah, well, the important thing is that

we can disagree without letting it affect our lives.

Like... just off the top of my head for instance

the promotion.

- Nice try, Eleanor. - Mm-hmm.

Well, one good thing about havin' a fight

you always have fun makin' up.

Oh, Andrew.

And I know how you Republicans love makin' things up.

Shh! Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.

T-t-they're about to announce the winner.

'And now with 97 percent of the precincts'

'around the country reporting, it now appears certain'

'that the next president of the United States, is..'

'Cut. Okay, everybody, that's a wrap.'

- Thank you very very much. - What?

- How do we all know who it is? - I'm sorry.

♪ Keep on rocking on ♪

♪ Oh lord ♪

♪ Ohh yeah yeah yeah ♪

♪ Yeah yeah well well well ♪

♪ Oh good God now ♪

♪ Ohh whoa whoa ♪

♪ Keep on rocking on ♪

♪ Oh good God now ♪

♪ Oh whoa ♪

♪ Ooh ooh ♪

♪ Keep on rocking on ♪

♪ Whoa good God now ♪

♪ Whoa whoa ♪

♪ Whoa whoa whoa ♪

♪ Keep on rocking on ♪

♪ Oh good God now ♪

♪ Whoa whoa ♪

♪ Whoa whoa ♪

♪ Keep on rocking on ♪