Synopsis
| Wrong Side of the Tracks | |
|---|---|
| Season No. | 2 |
| Episode No. | 19 |
| Original Airdate | 1995-02-24 |
| Written by | Susan Estelle Jansen |
| Directed by | David Trainer |
| Guest starring | Nancy Kerrigan as herself, Krystee Clark, Rebecca Herbst, Shay Astar, Kenny Johnson as Harley Keiner |
Shawn asks Jill Howager, a girl from a well-to-do family to go out with him and she says yes. He and Cory rejoice as this is a new type of girlfriend for Shawn, and Jason and Eric make fun at them for that. Then Valerie Stevens walks through the corridor and Eric asks her out. She is a skater, and Jason gets Eric to lie that he skates as well and gets ger to agree to go out with him.
Mr. Turner's class have to write a biography on someone they admire. Topanga picks NBC Today Show presenter Katie Couric[1] while Cory and Shawn end up picking each other.
In the cafeteria, Cory starts researching his assignment on Shawn. Jill comes in and dumps Shawn without any explanation. Cory asks Jill's friend for an explanation and is told that Shawn and Jill do not "belong to the same circle" and she is repulsed by where Shawn's family live and what they do. Shawn is downhearted.
Eric and Jason are trying to work out a scheme whereby Eric can pretend that he can skate. Meanwhile Shawn and Cory are in Cory's kitchen working on their assignments and comparing their upbringing. Amy asks Shawn to stay for dinner, but Shawn invites Cory instead. Cory isn't keen as the last time the food was cooked on the engine of his pickup and was "a little oily and anti-freezy". Shawn leaves unhappy.
Back in school, Cory is relieved to find Shawn in the corridor as Shawn has just missed first period. We find out that the way to the library is flooded. Shawn admits to Cory that he did this because he now realizes that he is nothing but trailer trash and aspires to be admitted into Harley Keiner's band of thugs. Harley is not quite impressed enough but puts Shawn on an internship program. The bell rings and Cory tries to persuade Shawn to go to class with him, but Shawn chooses to go and sit in the parking lot with Harley.
Across the fence, Cory asks Mr. Feeny if he can ask him a few questions for his biography assignment. Feeny is flattered, thinking the assignment is on him. When Cory tells him that Shawn is the assignment subject, and asks whether it matters where someone lives or who their parents are, he tells Cory that no matter what your origins are, you can choose where you want your life to lead to.
Jason has made a subliminal "learn to skate in your sleep" tape to solve Eric's problem, by dubbing over his mum's "lose weight in your sleep" tape.
Meanwhile, Joey and Frankie are teaching Shawn to be a thug. They send him off to get bagels. On the way he meets Cory and tells him that as they will sooner or later end up in different places, they should face the facts and stop being friends. They row and this is witnessed by Mr. Turner. Mr. Turner goes up to Harley and threatens him if Shawn doesn't go back to class. This gives Harley an idea for an initiation rite for Shawn.
Eric goes to sleep using Jason's tape and is soon dreaming than Nancy Kerrigan is teaching him to skate, which he does very well.
At breakfast, Cory tells Alan about his quarrels with Shawn and Alan suggests that it is at times like this that Shawn needs him the most.
At school, in the parking lot, Harley, Joey and Frankie are trying to get Shawn to smash Mr. Turner's bike with a baseball bat, but Shawn can't bring himself to do that. Cory comes in and tells Harley to leave his friend alone. As Harley is about to turn on Cory, Mr. Turner comes in, diffuses the situation and teaches Shawn that he doesn't have to be a low-life.
At the ice rink Valerie is impressed by Eric's skating, but when she suggests that they go to Chubbie's afterwards, Eric finds out that a side effect of the tape is that he avoids food.