Amen
To Catch a Thief
TV Flash files “To Catch a Thief” as hour 36 of 110 in the TV Flash guide — Amen (1986–1991) on NBC, season 2, episode 14, aired 1988-01-23, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E14: listed hour 36 of 110 in the Amen guide, hour 14 of 21 in season 2. It aired 1988-01-23 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Man on a Ledge” (S02E13). Next is “The Widow” (S02E15).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Deacon Frye's granddaughter Jeanette is accused stealing money collected at a fundraiser to start a day care center at the church. After he threatens to resign following the accusation, Ernest and Thelma suspect that Jeanette might actually be guilty when she comes home from the mall with an expensive bottle of perfume.
Viewer FAQ
Where does To Catch a Thief sit in the Amen guide?
S02E14 is listed hour 36 of 110 — hour 14 of 21 in season 2, season 2 episode 14.
When did Amen S02E14 air?
To Catch a Thief aired 1988-01-23 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Is this George Jefferson in church?
Post-Jeffersons strut, different suit. Hemsley as a deacon sparring with a young minister — church-board politics as sitcom warfare, not a spin-off of the dry cleaner.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Sherman Hemsley's post-Jeffersons strut in a deacon's suit: church-board politics as sitcom warfare, Clifton Davis as the young minister, and Anna Maria Horsford holding the office together. NBC's Black multi-cam map needed a pulpit; Hemsley brought the side-eye. Congregation comedy that treats faith as workplace, not sermon.
So about the pulpit: Sherman Hemsley kept the strut and put it in a deacon's suit, and the group chat has been in the board meeting ever since. NBC's Amen (1986–1991) is Ed. Weinberger's church-community sitcom: Ernest Frye sparring with Clifton Davis's young minister Reuben Gregory, Anna Maria Horsford's Thelma holding the office together, Roz Ryan in the mix. Pulpit as workplace. Faith as the job, not a weekly sermon from the writers. (I said spoiler-free. I lied a little — the board fight is the show.) Lana…
Filed against
- Sherman Hemsley as Ernest Frye
Sherman Hemsley’s George Jefferson took Lear’s living-room fight to a deluxe apartment in the sky — Isabel Sanford, Florence’s dignity, a theme that still sells real estate — then strutted Amen in a deacon’s suit as church-board warfare.…
- Clifton Davis as Reuben Gregory
Clifton Davis played Reuben Gregory on Amen — Sherman Hemsley's post-Jeffersons strut in a deacon's suit, church-board politics as sitcom warfare, Anna Maria Horsford holding the office together. NBC's Black multi-cam map needed a pulpit;…
- Anna Maria Horsford as Thelma Frye
Anna Maria Horsford’s Thelma Frye held Amen’s church office together — Sherman Hemsley’s post-Jeffersons strut in a deacon’s suit, Clifton Davis as the young minister, NBC’s Black multi-cam map needing a pulpit. Congregation comedy as…
- Roz Ryan as Amelia Hetebrink
Roz Ryan's Amelia Hetebrink kept Amen's church office from becoming only a deacon's strut — Sherman Hemsley's post-Jeffersons side-eye, Clifton Davis as the young minister, Anna Maria Horsford holding the desk. Congregation comedy as…