Me & Mr. Jones is the fourth episode of the sixth season and 126th episode.
Tony Award-winner James Earl Jones appears as himself on a play with Jack. Will starts to dread living with his mother Marilyn. Grace becomes the first woman to steal exercise.
Synopsis[]
Tony and Tony[]
Jimmy Choo!
Karen watches as Jack rehearses for a production of The Iceman Cometh in which he stars alongside James Earl Jones. The director Gordon Davidson expresses dissatisfaction with James' acting while praising Jack, even though he only has one line.
By Karen's recommendation, James signs up for Jack's acting class and is taught how to "lose the James Earl Jones, and find the James Girl Jones". Jack teaches him to lose his signature basso profondo and do scenes as Carrie Bradshaw from Sex & the City.
Will & Grace at the gym[]
While working out at the gym, Will expresses to Grace how much he has been dreading spending every minute with her mother Marilyn, who was staying with him after his parents' divorce. Later Marilyn also shares with Grace how much Will is driving her crazy and she cannot wait to move out.
Cast[]
Main[]
- Eric McCormack (Will Truman)
- Debra Messing (Grace Adler)
- Sean Hayes (Jack McFarland)
- Megan Mullally (Karen Walker)
Guest[]
- James Earl Jones (Himself)
- Emily Rutherfurd (Joanne)
- Blythe Danner (Marilyn Truman)
- Nathan Anderson (Andrew)
- Susan Leslie (Woman)
- Michael Medico (Josh)
- Jon Fleming (Russell)
- Gordon Davidson (Himself)
Media[]
Notes[]
- Title is a play on the Billy Paul song Mr. and Mrs. Jones (1972).
- James Earl Jones' two Tony Awards were for his roles in The Great White Hope (1969) and Fences (1987), both for Best Actor in a Play.
Cultural references[]
- Many of James Earl Jones' roles were referenced in the episode, including Franklin Stern in one episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman; voicing Darth Vader in the Star Wars films (since 1977), Mufasa in Lion King (1994), and CNN's "This... is CNN" tagline.
- When Will expresses anxiety in even talking about his mother, Grace quips that he sounds like Norman Bates from the Hitchcock film Psycho (1960), whose bizarre relationship with his mother plays a main plot in the story.
- James Earl Jones mentions seating in a bench in between Hollywood legends Marlon Brando and Shelley Winters, who have both gained considerable weight by the late 1990s.
Quotes []
What are you doing here? You're married. You should be at home getting fat. — Will, seeing Grace at the gym
I really can't wait to leave. I mean, if I have to watch one more documentary about an alternative family and pretend to be moved I'm going to jump out the window! — Marilyn
Like I need this crap at my age. I've got Darth Vader money! — James Earl Jones
| James: | I haven't been to a class since Lee Strasberg. I sat between Marlon Brando and Shelley Winters. |
| Karen: | Honey, no offense, but how did that bench not break? |
| James: | Who said it didn't? |
Honey, that's an award they invented to keep gay men off the streets for a night. — Karen, about the Tony Awards
You're a liar. — Jack, his only line in the play