The Mailman Cometh

Marvin and Tamika are sick of watching their older cousin Xavier get all the good stuff - late nights at the fair, fancy coffee, scary movies - while they get the vegetable barn. So they take matters into their own hands: a secret double mocha cappuccino that leaves them bouncing off the walls, and a sneak into Revenge of the Raptors that leaves them begging for a night-light. When mailman Wooton innocently returns a jacket from the wrong theater, their cover is blown and Elaine grounds them both. Then Xavier makes his own big mistake, letting the two of them drive the lawn mower - and in seconds they've flattened the tomatoes, smacked the garage door, and nearly landed in the swimming pool. A knock from Wooton panics all three into confessing everything...though he's only come to deliver tomatoes. When the dust settles, Xavier learns that bigger privileges mean bigger responsibility, and Marvin and Tamika stop envying him long enough to make him a cappuccino of his own.

Found on In Hot Pursuit Album 41 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

1 of 3 0523 Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? While a major life decision looms for Mitch and Connie, Whit is pulled into a baffling case of stolen identity that hits closer to home than anyone expects.

2 of 3 0524 Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? With his name off the case but his friend's name on the line, a determined young investigator keeps digging into a fraud scheme - while the biggest question of his life waits for an answer.

3 of 3 0525 Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? With a mysterious warning telling him to stop investigating, Mitch must decide whether solving the warehouse fraud is worth the risk - while Connie weighs an answer that could change both their lives.

0526 Seeing Red When pride threatens three very different relationships in Odyssey, everyone insists the other person should apologize first.

0527 Black Clouds A stormy detour strands Connie and Joanne at a lonely roadside diner, where a runaway girl is convinced she carries bad luck wherever she goes.

0528 The Taming of the Two When two pompous rival actors seize control of a small-town Shakespeare festival, two young friends must decide whether winning is worth more than their partnership.

0529 The Mailman Cometh When two young siblings scheme to prove they deserve the same freedoms as their older cousin, they learn that privileges come with a price.

0530 Silver Lining A stranger's daring river rescue leaves Connie questioning whether the escaped convict everyone has written off might be telling the truth.

0531 Teacher's Pest A prank-loving class clown and the straight-A student he torments are forced to team up on a biology project, and learning to work together may be harder than the assignment itself.

0532 Pink is Not My Color While staying with an FBI agent's family, Connie befriends his tomboy daughter and begins to suspect the girl is hiding who she really is - all while Connie's own long-awaited reunion keeps slipping away.

1 of 2 0533 Something Blue With Mitch's FBI career pulling him toward an elite overseas opportunity, Connie scrambles to prove she has what it takes to share the demanding life of an agent's wife.

2 of 2 0534 Something Blue With her wedding just days away, Connie must scramble to plan a ceremony while nagging doubts - and a bizarre kidnapping - force her to confront what marrying an FBI agent really means.

1 of 2 0535 Living in the Gray While staying in Washington, Connie looks in on an old friend from Odyssey and discovers that his glamorous new life as a big-city reporter may not be everything he claims.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 1 more roles

1 supporting role

Woman at the Fair Actor Unknown

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Torry Martin Writer Marshal Younger Writer · Director · Producer Bob Luttrell Sound Designer · Producer Bob Hoose Producer Paul McCusker Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

At the fair, Marvin and Tamika resent having to visit the vegetable barn with Elaine while their older cousin Xavier may stay late with friends. Elaine explains that Xavier receives more freedom because he is older, but the younger children see only the privileges and not the reason for them.

The next morning, Xavier drinks a double mocha cappuccino and refuses to make one for children their age. Marvin and Tamika secretly attempt to operate the espresso machine themselves. The huge dose of coffee makes them wildly energetic, and they race through laundry, painting, and other activities until Wooton brings back the creamer they left outdoors and accidentally exposes them to Elaine.

Even after being caught, the children insist that they can handle anything Xavier can. When he takes them to the movies, he buys them tickets for a gentle children's romance while he attends a frightening dinosaur movie called Revenge of the Raptors. Marvin and Tamika decide that watching the scarier film without nightmares will prove their maturity, so they sneak into Xavier's theater.

Both children become frightened but refuse to leave. That night each secretly wants a bedroom light left on. Wooton later returns Marvin's jacket, which he found in a different theater from the one they were supposed to attend. His innocent report gives Elaine the clue she needs to discover their deception.

Elaine grounds Marvin and Tamika. She explains that they knew the movie was wrong even though she had never forbidden that particular act by name. She promises that they can have greater freedom when they reach Xavier's age and have shown enough responsibility to deserve it.

While their parents are away and the children are still grounded, Xavier mows the lawn. Marvin and Tamika persuade him to let them ride the lawn mower, and then to drive it. Xavier should know better, but he leaves them in control while he goes for a drink.

The children fight over the steering wheel and lose control. They race across the yard, destroy the tomato plants, strike the garage door, and nearly plunge into the swimming pool. Xavier stops them just in time, then offers to tell Elaine that he caused all the damage himself.

When Wooton appears at the door, the three assume he saw the accident from a neighbor's roof. Marvin, Tamika, and Xavier quickly confess everything before he can speak. Wooton has actually come only to deliver some tomatoes from the neighbor, who noticed that the Washingtons' plants were doing poorly.

Elaine gives Marvin and Tamika a week of punishment, but Xavier receives two weeks. He protests that the younger children were driving, yet Elaine holds him responsible for giving permission he had no right to give and then helping them hide the truth. His greater privileges come with greater responsibility.

When their week ends, Marvin and Tamika no longer envy Xavier. They ask Elaine to help them make him a cappuccino as a kindness while he remains grounded partly because of them. Another knock from Wooton makes Tamika blurt out several unrelated misdeeds before anyone even opens the door, giving Elaine a humorous new reason to appreciate the mailman's visits.