Herman

HERMAN WRIGHT has himself quite an appetite. Indeed, if he had his druthers, he'd eat anything and everything he could conceivably get his hands on. His entire life seems to be given over to stuffing himself, occupying his own favorite table at his favorite watering hole of a Queens diner, RUDY'S. As he says while jamming forkfuls of pancakes down his throat in the pilot episode, "Pancake, I wuv-oo." And lovable this fatso of a misfit truly is. Overweight and unemployed, yes. Already in his 30s, yes. But lovable, with an air of cherubic innocence about him. Just ask his doting mother, ADELE, who feels as though her son's gluttony and indolence are simply the result of the trauma experienced when his father ran off with a belly dancer named Wanda to Seattle. The pilot episode acquaints us with the main characters: HERMAN himself, who is stuffing his face with pancakes and eggs at a downstage table; ADELE, his doting mother, who just so happens to be visiting the diner with her friend RUTHIE; MARLENE KANE, a hot little sexpot of a waitress who delights in tormenting HERMAN with her sultry ways; and MACKIE, the counterman and boss of the place. The conflict in the opening episode revolves around the fact that the police claim to have received reports that Herman was seen running naked across a neighbor's lawn, ogling the neighbor's smoking hot daughter. In point of fact, Herman had his eye on a gigantic blueberry pie sitting on the window ledge in the neighbor's kitchen. At any rate, ADELE warns HERMAN that the police are looking for him, and the next thing you know, the police have pulled into the parking lot. They can't let the police grab HERMAN. Now what do they do? T They'll stash him in the men's room. Sorry, Marlene with sadistic glee informs them, it's off limits for renovations. Their only chance is to throw an apron on HERMAN and hide his face, pretending he is one of the counter help. The cops arrive, survey the scene, and suspecting the true identity of the new counterman, decide to stay for lunch, having a bit of sadistic fun, with amusing results. The situation resolves happily with the cops issuing a warning, and after they depart, MARLENE seduces HERMAN with a coconut custard pie, only to gross him out by dangling an insect from it.