Checker Game Deadlock

Originally Aired: May 21, 1940

Fibber McGee & Molly #249, "Checker Game Deadlock,"

In this episode, Fibber McGee and his neighbor Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve find themselves in an epic stalemate, locked in a checker game that has now stretched into its seventh day. The two stubborn rivals refuse to concede, camping out in the McGee living room surrounded by cigar stubs, coffee cups, and a week's worth of whiskers. Molly desperately tries to restore order to the chaos, pleading with Fibber to end the ridiculous standoff, but both men's pride keeps them glued to the checkerboard. When Mr. Plummer calls offering Fibber a day's work running his hardware and plumbing business for ten dollars, Molly seizes the opportunity to break the deadlock.

Despite Molly's misgivings about Fibber's qualifications, she accepts the job on his behalf, forcing him to abandon the game. Just as they're about to inform Gildersleeve of their departure, they discover he's fallen asleep from exhaustion. Fibber heads off to Plummer's store, bragging about his days as "Killer Driller McGee" in Peoria, while Molly tags along to supervise, clearly worried about what havoc her overconfident husband might wreak on the unsuspecting hardware business.