I keep coming back to this page to see if anyone else noticed the two brassy shiny stands (or whatever they were), that really stuck out like a sore thumb? One was next to the front door and the other one was in the hallway next to the wall where the big rubber plant stood. They were there during the entire episode; the first time I saw it last year, I assumed they would be used for some purpose before the end of the episode, but they weren't. They were never even mentioned by anyone on the show, and this episode is the only one in which they appear. It might have been a private joke of some kind between the cast and crew, but I would love to know why they were there in only this one episode, for seemingly no reason?
Other than that oddity, this is one of the best episodes of the DVD series - not only due to the usual stellar writing, directing, and acting that was present in every episode, but also because of the originality of the surprise party that Rob was so sure he knew everything about all along but then ended up genuinely flabbergasted at Laura's ingenuity to outsmart him.
It's fun to watch these old episodes over again that I saw as a child when they were originally aired back in the 60s, especially because now I can fast-forward, rewind, and slow down certain scenes, like during the "SURPRISE!" part when Buddy's party hat was knocked off and he fooled with trying to get it back on before the scene was over!
