You Gotta Love Life, Babe

You Gotta Love Life, Babe
Season 1, Episode 4
Air date	28 February, 2011
Written by	Rachel Lang
Directed by	Murray Keane
Episode guide
Previous God's Gift to Zebras	Next This Is Not The Washing Powder, My Friend

You Gotta Love Life, Babe is the fourth episode of Season 1 of The Almighty Johnsons.

Synopsis

Sometimes the line between doing the honourable thing and doing the easy thing, can get very blurred - especially when it comes to gods and their offspring.

Plot

Two very different worlds for two brothers; Axl is starting to enjoy the Quest – going out with Anders, getting drunk and chasing pretty women, while Mike is stressed because Valerie is stressed about the whole IVF thing. And Mike’s stress levels are just about to be ramped up on two fronts, as it turns out a sub-contractor has left him with a leaky home situation to make good; plus Rhiannon, an ex-conquest of Olaf’s, has turned up at his house – pregnant and very keen to sort things out with the father.

Olaf’s response to the news he is a father is to make preparations to shoot through. Axl is appalled – and is doubly appalled when Mike seems to condone Olaf’s behaviour. How come Mike is getting all honourable and shouldering the burden for a leaky home that wasn’t his fault, while at the same time condoning Olaf abandoning this woman?

But Axl is about to learn a lesson about why Olaf’s life sucks: because although he’s fathered children all over the place (because he’s a God, and God’s screw around) he can never be a father to any of them, no matter how much he loves the mother – because they grow old and he doesn’t.

Though this realisation chills out Axl’s attitude towards Olaf, he still wants to be Odin-like and make things right – both for Rhiannon and for Mike – so he starts interfering. He tries to persuade Rhiannon to let Valerie, who is desperate for a kid, to adopt her baby. And he brings Anders’ powers of persuasion to bear on Zimbabwean Pete, Mike’s unhappy house client. On both accounts Axl fails. Mike is determined to do the right thing, and Rhiannon shoots through as well - to terminate the pregnancy.

Anders, meanwhile, is having his own share of problems as Rosie, a TV celebrity client, comes in with tales of woe and sex tape blackmail after she was caught having al fresco sex with Mana, a (married) hunky young actor. But Anders doesn’t seem fussed by Rosie’s problems, and leaves Dawn to deal with it. This appalls Dawn new BFF, Ty, who steps in to help her retrieve the recording from the would-be blackmailer.

Then, when Anders takes the sex tape and uses it not for the good of his client, but for his own business gains, Ty really gets angry on Dawn’s behalf and starts actively trying to get her to free herself from Anders’ power over her. War breaks out between the two brothers for Dawn’s heart and soul. It is a war, however, that Ty’s good intentions can never win, as Anders draws Dawn back in to his world.

And so two Gods, Axl and Ty, learn harsh lessons about how following your heart doesn’t actually always pan out the way you want it to. What we learn from this, however, is that Ty has got the hots for Dawn; and that Axl is starting to grow up, just a little.

Cast

• Emmett Skilton - Axl Johnson / Odin
• Tim Balme - Mike Johnson / Ullr
• Dean O'Gorman - Anders Johnson / Bragi
• Jared Turner - Ty Johnson / Höðr
• Ben Barrington - Olaf Johnson / Baldr
• Alison Bruce - Agnetha / Freyja
• Keisha Castle-Hughes - Gaia
• Hayden Frost - Zeb
• Eve Gordon - Stacey / Fulla
• Michelle Langstone - Michele / Sjöfn
• Rachel Nash - Ingrid / Snotra
• Fern Sutherland - Dawn
• Roz Turnbull - Valerie Johnson
• Ashleigh Rose Keating - Rhiannon
• Jarod Rawiri - Mana
• Jo Crichton - Rosie
• Mike Lowe - Pete
• Jeremy Randerson - Hotel Employee

Crew

• Witter - Rachel Lang
• Director - Murray Keane
• Script Editor - James Griffin
• Storyliners - Rachel Lang & Tim Balme
• Producer - Simon Bennett
• Executive Producers - James Griffin, Rachel Lang, Chris Bailey & John Barnett

Music

• Oh My - Performed by Gin Wigmore (Theme Music)
• Baby Steps - Performed by David Yetton