Mr. Robinson Episode 1.01 Pilot

Life in Chicago for Craig Robinson, leader of popular local funk band Nasty Delicious, is pretty, pretty good. Never mind that he's pushing 40 with no steady income and no girlfriend, and he still lives with his little brother and bass player, Ben. Everything's going great until one night, while playing at his usual spot, Flojack's, Craig spies the girl who got away, Victoria Wavers. Life has been going great in the 15 years since Craig stood up his then-girlfriend Victoria at senior prom. First Princeton, then Victoria went to Wall Street and made a lot of money, and when she decided she wanted to give back, she became the hottest English teacher at their alma mater, Studs Terkel High School. Smitten, Craig mentions that he substitute teaches music when he's broke. Maybe they'll run into each other sometime? After Victoria leaves, Craig tells Ben that he had to ditch his prom date Victoria - it was the band's first paying gig! Ben tells Craig that he's gonna have to do something really big to win Victoria back... like hide under her desk, then pop out like a jack-in-the-box. Surprise, bitch!

Deciding Ben's strategy sucks, Craig gets crafty, securing himself a subbing gig at Studs Terkel High. First thing in the morning, he stops into the teacher's lounge to meet the crew: Samir Panj, science teacher; kooky gym teacher Jimmy Hooper, aka Magnum P.E.; and Ashleigh Fellows, math teacher, moonlighting stripper and an old friend. Craig wastes no time telling Jimmy that he's a man on a mission, and that mission is Victoria. In the classroom, Craig tells his students that he is one of them, and in his class, they make music - even if they don't have instruments. Within minutes, the class is free-styling their original take on "Fancy," and the noise brings an annoyed Victoria running. She rips open the door, stunned to see that Craig's the man making the racket. "Shock and awe, baby!" he croons. "I'm here to ask you out!" Out in the hall, Victoria springs a surprise of her own: she already has a boyfriend! Undeterred, Craig carries on with his verbal seduction until Principal Taylor steps in. Why didn't Craig check in at the office like he was supposed to? With decades of experience as a rock 'n' roll groupie, Principal Taylor makes it clear she has Craig's number, and she's not going to tolerate his cocky music man ways... but her boss, Supervisor Dalton, who's a massive Nasty Delicious fan and amateur bass player, will take whatever chocolate muffins Craig can cook up.

Ben shows up at school with big news: he just booked a gig at the hottest venue in town, The Odeon, at double their rate on Friday - the same night Craig promised to meet Victoria at Back-to-School night. It only takes Ben a minute to talk Craig into forgetting Back-to-So-What night in favor of the gig. Later, when Craig makes his excuses to Principal Taylor, she once again has his number, which is pathetic, but she'll cover for him - this time. But that's when Jimmy the gym teacher passes on the rumor that Victoria broke up with her boyfriend. With only one day left on the job, Craig's students step up with a plan to get Craig some play with Victoria. So when Ben stops by with the set list, Craig tells him he can't make The Odeon gig. That night, when Victoria shows up at Back-to-School night, her all-time favorite song is playing, and Craig's kids have put together a show to lure her to his classroom. Dressed in a baby blue tux, Craig apologizes for standing up Victoria and invites her to dance. Victoria's hot boyfriend, Robert, shows up just in time for the final dip. Has he destroyed Craig's chances with Victoria? After a heartfelt "apology accepted" and a peck on the cheek from Victoria, Craig doesn't think so. Claiming he's never seen the kids so engaged, an emotional Supervisor Dalton offers Craig a full-time job. Then it's off to FloJack's, where Ben's having a hard time holding down the fort. With the brothers back on steady terms, they carry on with funking up the house.