Shelley with Tom Mason in a pic taken
as they were filming the Jack and Mike
episode "Personal Foul," 1986
Shelley's third foray into series TV was Jack and Mike. It was about a married yuppie couple living in Chicago, trying to find time for each other amidst their busy schedules. Shelley played Jackie Shea, a star columnist at The Mirror, a widely-circulated Chicago paper. Jackie's husband, Mike Brennan, a successful restaurateur, was played by Tom Mason. The other recurring characters were: Nora Adler (Jacqueline Brookes), Jackie’s editor; Anthony Kubecek (Kevin Dunn), Jackie's assistant; Carol (Holly Fulger), the head waitress at Mike's restaurant, Brennan's Grill; and Rick Scotti (Vincent Baggetta), an attorney who appeared occasionally.
Shelley with Tom Mason in a pic taken
as they were filming the Jack and Mike
episode "Personal Foul," 1986
The third episode of the series was called "Personal Foul." The episode was originally aired in September 30, 1986. The guest stars were Anthony Griffin as Andrew Taylor, Marleen Paulette as Prof. Powell, Greg Noonan as Coach Cyril Brock and Jack McLaughlin-Gray as Ben Galloway. The plot went as follows:
Andrew Taylor is the star player of Lincoln University's basketball team, the Lincoln Sentinels. Mike, a Lincoln U alumnus, is a huge fan of Andrew and the team. He holds a party at one of his restaurants for the team as well the school's alumni... which includes Coach Cyril Brock, the team's present coach, and Ben Galloway, a banker friend who helps Mike finance his restaurants (both are relived that the "Powell problem" is over). Jackie is introduced to the team and to Mike's school friends. Later, during one of his weekly basketball games with Mike, Cyril receives a phone call about Andrew Taylor, who is at the police station for missing a detour sign and driving the wrong way down a one way street. He asks for Mike's help with the police and Mike obliges. From the precinct, Mike rushes to meet Jackie to tell her he has to cancel their lunch date; he has to return to the police station immediately to sort out the whole Andrew Taylor thing. Jackie is disappointed but she understands. Mike says goodbye and returns to the precinct. Jackie wonders how Andrew Taylor could have made such a mistake; she had the impression that he's a very responsible boy. Jackie decides to head to Lincoln University. She wants to look into the scholastic life of Andrew Taylor. At the university, from a student, Jackie discovers that one of Andrew's professors, Prof. Powell, had been relieved of all her courses, of all her teaching classes. She goes to see Powell who refuses to talk to Jackie. After some convincing, Powell agrees to talk. She informs Jackie that the university was pressuring her to give Andrew a passing grade so he could play on the basketball team. She adds that the school lowers the entrance requirements to ensure the admission of star-athlete kids, give them full scholarships and passing grades. Unfortunately, many of them don't finish the courses and don't even graduate. She tells Jackie that the goal isn't to educate the kids but to cash in on their athletic prowess. When she flunked Andrew, she was relieved of her courses. Jackie decides to write a series of articles about Powell's predicament, and the first of which, when published, causes friction between her and Mike. Later, Mike is pressured by Cyril and Ben to stop Jackie from writing more articles about Powell (with the latter threatening to pull financing from Mike's restaurants). Jackie and Mike have a serious discussion of what to do about the situation they suddenly find themselves in.
Shelley with Tom Mason in a pic taken
as they were filming the Jack and Mike
episode "Personal Foul," 1986
