I’ll keep this one short and sweet. I think this is an episode truly worth watching and I’ll link to it on YouTube here. If you’re not willing to take my directives blindly (ugh, fine) let me take a moment to convince you. Kate & Allie is a sitcom about two divorced women raising their children together. If you’re like “omg no, not Beaches the TV show,” don’t worry. It stars Jane Curtain and her dry wit will take care of you, always.

Another fun fact about Kate & Allie is that it was legit filmed in New York City. A lot of shows in New York film at Astoria Studios or in the Brooklyn Navy Yard or son on and so forth. But this was filmed at Ed Sullivan Theater (which you may be more familiar with as the long time home of The Late Show) and on Teletape Studios’s Second Stage at West 81st and Broadway (where Sesame Street was also filmed at the time). This is of course in addition to the numerous on-location exterior scenes in the series. And believe me. there are a ton of those in this episode.

In short, Allie (Jane Curtain) leaves her wallet in the back of a cab. She’s miles away from home and dressed in dusty old clothes from spending the morning cleaning out her brownstone. As she walks from Washington Heights to the West Village, everyone mistakes her for a homeless woman. This episode was made in conjunction with the New York Coalition for the Homeless, and Jane Curtain certainly does the subject matter justice. The New York Times ran this piece about the episode in 1987. Their description of  Jane Curtain’s experience on location are definitely worth the read.