The following is an episode list for the American sitcom television series Just Shoot Me!. The series premiered on NBC on March 4, 1997, and ended its seven-season run on August 16, 2003, with three episodes from the final season premiering in syndication during the last week of November 2003. In total, 148 episodes were produced, spanning seven seasons.
Maya Gallo (Laura San Giacomo) reluctantly goes to work for Jack Gallo (her father) (George Segal) at his magazine. When she arrives for work, her new co-workers are resistant to her arrival. Her officemates include Nina Van Horn (fashion editor and former supermodel) (Wendie Malick), Dennis Finch (Jack's secretary and right-hand man) (David Spade), and Elliott DiMauro (head photographer) (Enrico Colantoni).
Maya begins working at her father's magazine. Her father buys her a ton of gifts and gives her a great new office in which to work. Maya is thrilled, until she analyzes her father's motivation.
When everybody starts wishing Finch happy secretary's day, he gets very annoyed. He hates being known as just a secretary. He leaves the office and has a brush with fame when he falls into the gorilla cage at the zoo. Jay Leno appears as himself in The Tonight Show.
When Jack becomes fed up of Maya's and Nina's constant fighting, Jack suggests Maya throw Nina a birthday party; Maya tries her hardest to be nice to Nina, but she is pushed to her limits. Finch claims that Elliott's success with women only comes from his being a powerful photographer, so they make a bet to decide the issue.
Elliott took photos of Maya for her employee badge and Maya later had sex dreams about Elliott. The next day, Maya tried hard to hide about the sex dream at the office.
On a trip to Hong Kong, Jack brings back some tasty treats for his employees. Although unknown to him, they contain a hallucinogenic drug. While under the influence Maya must try and put the magazine back together.
Maya concocts an experiment to prove that good looking people have an unfair advantage in the job market, but she then proves the prejudice when she starts dating the good looking guy. Nina thought she and Elliott were going to play a practical joke on Finch, but in the end Finch and Elliott play one on her. Jack desperately struggles to assemble a baby bungalow for his daughter Hannah.
Maya's new assistant, Cindy (Cheri Oteri), is annoying and incompetent; however, Maya refuses to admit to Jack that she hired the wrong person. As Nina is preparing for a radio debate with a feminist intellectual, Elliott and Finch devise a plan to humiliate her and make a word-a-day calendar with made-up words.
Maya is dating a much older man; when Jack finds out, he struggles to accept it. Nina flashes a window cleaner, who as a result falls off the scaffolding and ends up hospitalized with serious injuries.
Finch is happily surprised by the advances of a supermodel (guest star Stephanie Romanov). They have a fling, despite Elliott (who had a fling with her) warning him that she's crazy. Finch finishes with her, and she takes Elliott back to her place.
Jack has obtained two tickets to the Royal Shakespeare Company production in London. With a lot of flattery, Nina and Elliott are given the tickets much to Maya's annoyance.
Maya writes an article on her hero Woody Allen. She then receives a phone call from Woody. When she meets him, she realizes that he is a Woody Allen impersonator. She spends time with him and they live as though they are in a Woody Allen movie. She cuts contact with him because she finds him weird and scary.
Jack is desperate to get his daughter Hannah into Woodbridge, the best school in the city, but his application is turned down: he forgot that Maya, as a student of the school, burned down one of its wings. Elliott and Nina discover they share a fascination with blues singer/songwriter Cholera Joe Hopper, but cannot agree as to the lyrics of one of the songs. The two try to track down any of the living relatives of Cholera to find out what the correct lyrics are.
Maya convinces Jack to get Blush involved in some charity work. Elliott has a problem when the delivery guy invents a nickname for everyone in the office but him.
Maya suggests that Blush management pool their resources to give a gift to someone less fortunate in place of exchanging gifts. Meanwhile Finch tries to finagle his way onto a photo shoot in the Caribbean.
On finding out about the death of his high school teacher, Elliott intends to take vengeance for being picked on in school and impress his former persecutors with his success and glamor. At the funeral, he realizes however what the real lesson of the late teacher was and abandons the intention. Meanwhile, Jack is giving Finch some tips as to how to exert power over others using psychological techniques. When Finch is drunk with his newly gained power and thinks the pupil has outgrown the master, Jack puts him back in his place.
Maya tries to compete with her old college roommate's (guest star Lisa Edelstein) globetrotting journalistic ventures by spending a night in a sewer in hope of getting her first hard-hitting news story in a year.
Maya develops a crush on a writer she works with and believing that he likes her to she uses some of Nina's tips to lead him on. Elliott dates a fledgling actress and is embarrassed that her initial break comes in the form of doing an ad for hemorrhoid medication.
When Jack loses his temper for no apparent reason Maya, Elliott, Finch and Nina try to find out why. Finch tries to seduce coworker Courtney by following Elliott's advice to think of romance as a tango.
Nina thinks she is the Nina in the song title and regales Maya with the story of her most romantic evening. Maya lets slip at an interview with the singer she knows Nina and arranges a meeting between the two only to find out that Nina's love is not the singer.
Mentoring seems to be going really well for Maya- her protégé; Karey is doing well in her first year of college. However, Karey comes to a crossroads wondering what to do with her life. Meanwhile, Finch replaces Allie as Jack's bridge partner and then becomes jealous when Jack wants to play again with her.
Maya agrees to pose as Elliott's wife in order to get him a great deal on an apartment. Meanwhile, Jack discovers that Finch has been renting out his parking space.
Jack hires a personal assistant when Finch complains about doing petty errands. Meanwhile, Maya's interview is ruined when she thinks a nicotine patch is a band-aid.
While writing his memoirs, Jack is unable to write the chapter where he fires his old business partner, Herb. Believing guilt to be the cause of his writer's block, Jack re-employs Herb, only to remember why he fired him all those years ago. Nina tries to evade an IRS audit, first by hiring Finch, then by using Elliott to romantically distract the auditor.
Jack persuades Maya to go and make a speech to a group neglecting to add that the group want to know why the magazine denigrates women; Maya then defends herself but insults her co-workers. Nina decides she wants to stage a comeback as a model, and Elliott decides to cover her in gold paint for the photo shoot.
Nina decides not to go to a designers party and Maya goes in her place making some very choice comments regarding the designer and losing the magazine advertising revenue. She then tries to redeem the situation. At Jack's suggerstion, Elliott starts dating a certain Meredith Baker; yet, Jack's meddling in their relationship make Elliott look creepy.
Maya's mother visits the magazine and she and Jack get into a fight about a painting. Elliott, Finch, and Nina get nervous when it appears Jack has brought in an efficiency consultant who seems intent on shaking things up.
Nina proposes a double date for her and Maya, and Maya senses trouble. She is then proven right when her date, after throwing his back out in her apartment, is revealed to be a United States Congressman - and a married one. Meanwhile, the magazine staff participates in a paintball match where Finch unwittingly eliminates Jack three minutes into the war.
Jack wants the tenants on the floor above Blush to move. Maya is taken in by Finch's lie that he wants them to move so he can build a free daycare center. Nina meets with Greta (Sharon Wyatt), a former model whom she has not seen for years, and is shocked at Greta's putting on weight.
Finch claims he wasn't scared by Psycho, so Elliott sets out to prove he's lying. Meanwhile, Maya finds a family photo of Jack taking her out trick-or-treating, and discovers a disturbing secret behind it. Finch and Elliott wonder whether Binnie is real or not.
Elliott feels harassed when a photography fan starts mailing photos to Elliott, requesting approval and asking for meetings. After Finch claims women are no good at practical jokes, Maya's attempts to prove him wrong go awry. Jack explores the possibility of getting plastic surgery.
Finch is convinced that a model likes him, only it turns out that she likes Maya instead. He sets out to create the ultimate male fantasy: two women. Jack tries to get Nina and Elliott to treat him as just another staff member.
Elliott helps Finch get back at Courtney, Jack makes another bet with Donald Trump—whoever loses less weight has to wear a dress during their golf game.
Maya dates the host of a children's puppet show, Steven (played by French Stewart). Maya soon begins to suspect that he is using their dates as subject matter for his TV show. Meanwhile, Nina invests in a nightclub.
Nina gets into a catfight with her rival, Vogue's fashion editor, Margo Langhorne, then becomes upset when Margo decides to retire. Having found out that Donald Trump has a sandwich named after him, Jack wants to have something named after him too. Elliott has obtained a pair of designer shoes and even though he is unable to walk in them, he refuses to put them off. Maya meets a good looking guy with chiseled torso, yet she becomes irritated when she realizes that he takes off his shirt at any opportunity.
Finch sneaks a look at the office Christmas presents; angered by the trivial gift he'll be receiving, he decides to ruin Christmas for the others. Kelsey Grammer narrates.
Elliott invites Maya to his house to celebrate his 'slow' brother Donny's birthday. But when left alone with Maya, Donny (played by David Cross) reveals a shocking secret. Donnie also debates Jack on mechanics of the pneumatic tube.
Maya's first love, John Kenny, returns to town; while Maya is as happy as ever to be reunited with her old love, Jack and Elliott are not so thrilled. Finch oversees a new group of interns, running things in a manner similar to the bootcamp in "An Officer and a Gentleman".
A visiting United States Senator becomes smitten with Nina, who he falsely believes to be a Christian homemaker. Nina's true personality is revealed after she is asked to prepare a home cooked meal for the Senator. Elliott is ridden by guilt when he recalls that he stole an action figure when a little boy, so he decides to give it back, much to Finch's chagrin.
Finch has been secretly writing Blush's advice column under the name Miss Pretty. When Maya, impressed by Finch's writing, asks to meet Miss Pretty, Finch pays a sleazy friend to pose as the columnist.
Maya's enrollment in a photography class causes problems on multiple levels between her and Elliott when her teacher assigns Maya to do nude self-portraits. Meanwhile, Finch and Nina both feel cast aside when Jack takes a liking to Nina's new assistant on the basis of his ability to do magic tricks.
The nominations for the annual Femmy awards are in and Maya, Nina and Elliott are nominated, while Finch isn't even invited to the ceremony. However, the evening doesn't go exactly as planned for all.
After throwing his back out playing with his daughter, Jack vows to get in shape and hires a personal trainer who used to be a Navy SEAL. Nina can't figure out why she's not attracted to the trainer, despite his good looks and his obvious interest in her. Maya enlists Finch's help to co-write a screenplay about a vampire cop.
A visit from a successful former acquaintance, Barry (played by Bob Odenkirk), causes Finch to try his luck with a depressed model. Finch announces his engagement to Adrienne. Unfortunately for Finch, Adrienne's hockey playing ex-boyfriend arrives to win her back.
The cracks begin to show in Finch and Adrienne's relationship as he repeatedly lies to her so he can attend a cat show. Maya and Elliott attend Nina's cult in order to obtain a divorce.
Elliott is upset to discover that Nina was responsible for a car accident which destroyed his chance of marriage many years before. Finch and his new wife come under scrutiny from immigration officials when her work permit expires.
Kyle, one of Adrienne's model friends (played by Andy Dick) visits intent on stealing Adrienne away from Finch. In order to defend himself from Kyle's accusations, Finch admits that he's been constantly lying. Adrienne decides to try and salvage their marriage by getting to know the real Dennis "Quimby" Finch. Meanwhile, Nina finds joy singing at a home for the elderly.
Nina overhears Jack talking to his therapist through an air conditioning vent. She uses this information to control him. Maya dabbles in gambling and accidentally bets $5,000 on a dog race.
After meeting each other's friends, Finch and Adrienne admit they have nothing in common. At Jack's command, Maya is doing staff evaluations. Elliott overreacts to a minor criticism.
Jack runs into an ex-wife and her lover on a flight to Paris, and tries to convince the pair to marry. Back at the office, Nina enlists Kevin to play a practical joke on Dennis and Elliott.
Jack publishes a fabrication in his memoirs claiming that he once beat up Robert Conrad. An attractive saleswoman tricks Finch into buying expensive clothing he cannot afford. Guest starring Conrad as himself.
Elliott's new girlfriend, a beautiful, intelligent doctor, brings out insecurity in Elliott and jealousy in Maya. Finch and Nina bond after finding themselves temporarily homeless and living in the office.
While visiting Elliott's parents to lecture a group of girl scouts, Nina inspires Elliott's mother to leave her husband in search of adventure. Jack and Maya accidentally kill Finch's cat, Spartacus, and have trouble dealing with the guilt.
Nina's first modelling coach asks Nina to euthanise her, but changes her mind after meeting Finch. Maya discovers her new boyfriend is a fat fetishist intent on making her gain weight.
Finch attends a sex addicts anonymous meeting and is shocked to see his ex wife there confessing to fantasising about him. Jack bullies his staff into buying cookies to raise money for his daughter's school. Maya's objections to this creates a rift between her and Elliott.
Elliott and Maya try to make new friends as a couple. Due to a misunderstanding, they befriend a couple who believe them to be swingers. Jack is so desperate to buy Donald Trump a better gift than Trump buys for him, he forces Finch to betray a friend.
Jack confronts a man who has been posing as his son (Kadeem Hardison). He takes his fake son on as a protégé, excluding Finch and Maya. Nina and Elliott are judges at the fashion awards, but Elliott is disturbed to find the awards are corrupt and the judges are bribed.
Maya moves in with Elliott, but their domestic bliss is short lived. Jack and Nina both try to avoid their annual anniversary night out. Guest appearance by Elliott Gould as himself.
Nina is contacted by her birth parents. But when a blood test proves that she is not their real daughter, Nina ignores the result. After seeing Finch nude in a sauna, Elliott and Jack are struck by feelings of inadequacy.
Finch's old skating partner returns, and asks him to coach her and her new partner. Just before the skating competition, she twists her ankle, forcing Finch to take her place. Maya has dyed her hair blonde. Nina is thrilled that her A&E biography is airing, but when Ed McMahon is struck by a bus, she fears that his death will lead to the cancellation of her program. Ed McMahon appears as himself.
Nina's exploits are presented on A&E's Biography (The actress playing Van Horn, Wendie Malick would host a series of episodes on the show the week of May 22, 2000.).
80
24
"Fast Times at Finchmont High"
Steven Levitan
Story by : Kell Cahoon & Tom Saunders Teleplay by : Moses Port & David Guarascio and Robert Cohen
Finch returns to high school to research an article for Maya, but is reluctant to leave after becoming popular. Jack discovers Kevin's hidden talent. Nina decides to become celibate. She is then put through a test when a Latino pilot appears. Special Guest: Melissa Joan Hart as Krissy.
Allie leaves Jack for another man. Nina is frustrated after Finch spurns her advances, only to discover that he has been holding a grudge for the past nine years.
Nina begins dating the star of a TV show who has been filming outside Blush's office. She soon discovers that he lives with his mother, who is determined to destroy their relationship. Elliott confesses to Maya that he once spent a month in jail.
Elliott's brother Donnie returns. Since his last appearance, he has made a success of himself selling insurance. However, he is unable to regain Maya's trust until an unfortunate event in the hospital.
Maya's best friend from high school arrives. He confesses to Maya that he is a recovering alcoholic, and got in touch to apologise for spreading rumours about her in high school. Maya's refusal to accept his apology causes him to start drinking again. Jack is having a recurring dream in which Kevin attempts to kill him.
86
6
"Brandi, You're a Fine Girl"
Pamela Fryman
Story by : Brian Reich and Maria A. Brown Teleplay by : Susan Dickes and David Hemingson
Finch discovers that childhood friend, Bert, has had a sex change and is now Brandi (Jenny McCarthy). After seeing Nina abusing her new assistant, Elliott tells her that she is Tommy Hilfiger's daughter.
After yelling at Jack, Finch is transferred to a dingy downtown office where he meets Jack's previous assistant. Elliott spots Maya's gynaecologist in a strip club.
When Maya asks to keep a lost dog, Elliott believes she is testing his suitability as a parent. He pretends to neglect the dog, but when Maya returns him to his rightful owners, Elliott is upset and later kidnaps the dog. Jack wins $50,000 on the lottery, but Finch lied about buying the ticket and must find some way to stop Jack claiming the money.
Nina and Maya are invited to a party, but suspect they were only asked for the presents. Kevin brings his pet spider to work, but after Jack leaves its cage open, it escapes. Elliott must attend a traffic school being taught by Finch, who refuses to renew Elliott's licence after he misbehaves.
Jack's engagement ring is returned as part of his divorce settlement. This inspires Elliott to propose to Maya. He agonises over the perfect proposal, but it is almost ruined when a depressed Nina tags along. Elliott convinces her to leave, only to sabotage the event himself by having a panic attack when she accepts his proposal.
Elliott proposes to Maya a second time, and she accepts again. However, Elliott has another panic attack. Maya later decides that she cannot stay with him, and kicks him out of their apartment. Finch discovers that Nina rented out Jack's office for a porn shoot, and demands she show the director (Penn Jillette) a script he has written. The director loves his work, and wants to shoot the film in Jack's office.
Blush is holding a charity auction, with Finch as auctioneer. Jack throws away a present given to him by Finch, upsetting Finch and causing him to misbehave at the auction. Maya and Elliott attend the auction with new partners - Elliott with an illiterate prostitute (Lucy Lawless) posing as a surgeon, and Maya with one of her clients.
95
15
"Maya's and Tigers and Dean, Oh My"
Pamela Fryman
Story by : Ross McCall & Aaron Peters Teleplay by : Maria A. Brown and Gabe Sachs & Jeff Judah
Nina is dating a magician who everyone, including her, believes to be gay. Maya mistreats a new intern (Ashton Kutcher) after comparing him to her high school boyfriend.
Finch is working as a DJ at a Bar Mitzvah for Sid. Sid persuades Nina to attend by telling her it will be a glitzy showbiz event. When she arrives and promptly goes to leave, Finch convinces her to stay by telling her Sid is dying.
Nina's "baby" sister, Erlene (Brooke Shields), arrives at Blush and is an instant hit with the staff. Feeling excluded, Nina destroys her chances of a permanent position at the magazine by telling her that she is disliked. When Nina hears that Erlene has started working at a sleazy bar, she and Finch set off to rescue her. The end of this episode breaks the Fourth Wall when Brooke Shields objects to her character sleeping with Finch.
99
19
"Fanny Finch"
Pamela Fryman
Story by : Moses Port & David Guarascio Teleplay by : Susan Dickes and David Hemingson
When Finch is visited by his mother, he spots an opportunity to pair her up with Jack. To do this, he must first break up Jack's current relationship. Elliott tries to convince an iconic photographer who has not worked in years to pick up a camera.
Maya has a one night stand with a man she meets in a bar (Dean Cain), and is surprised to find out the next morning that he is a new employee at Blush. Elliott tries to make the world a better place by doing a good deed to Finch, who however refuses to follow Elliott's example and is intent on proving that evil will always triumph.
Jack's ex-wife Allie returns, asking for a job at the magazine. She confides in Finch that she wants to reunite with Jack. Elliott's new girlfriend, a psychiatrist, dumps him after Nina calls him a commitment phobic womaniser during a session.
Maya's new assistant (Tiffani Thiessen) stirs jealousy in the office with her credentials and her good looks. Meanwhile, Elliott helps Kevin make a good impression on his date.
Amy decides to separately date both Finch and Elliott. Jack and Nina try to tempt Kevin into taking a promotion by getting him to crave risotto and then revealing that risotto is expensive and requires the money a promotion would bring.
Ray Liotta visits the Blush Christmas party, and he and Maya bond over their love of the holiday season. They begin dating, and Maya finds out just how crazy Ray is about Christmas.
112
10
"Nina Van Mom"
Pamela Fryman
Story by : Joe Port & Joe Wiseman Teleplay by : Brian Reich
Nina is tracked down by the child she gave up for adoption. The two have nothing in common, but Nina eventually decides to get to know her daughter, only to be told that she is also a grandmother. Jack takes up darts and challenges Elliott to a game, but reacts badly when he loses.
Maya dates Ray Liotta, but struggles to cope with his celebrity. As a result, Ray quits show business. Jack becomes obsessed with George Washington after buying Washington's desk. Jay Leno makes his second guest appearance.
Finch pretends to be the father of a small child to trick an au pair (Shannon Elizabeth) into sleeping with him. Elliott feels betrayed by Jack after falling victim to a loyalty test.
Finch and Kevin move into the apartment above Maya, much to her annoyance. However, when a space opens up in student accommodation, Finch moves out. Elliott sells Jack his beloved classic Ford Mustang, only to be dismayed when Jack fails to take care of it.
Jack takes some time off to write the "Great American Novel", but after suffering from writer's block, pays someone else to write it for him. Left in charge of Blush, Maya, Elliott and Nina bicker over every decision.
After an argument scares off an important client, Jack hires a corporate therapist (guest star Stephen Root). While Nina, Finch and Maya excel, Elliott feels victimised by the therapist.
A behind the scenes documentary following Finch as he films his class project "The Burning House", the story of a family torn apart by divorce. This episode is unusual in that it is filmed with handheld cameras interspersed with talking head interviews, and there is no studio audience. Guest starring David Hasselhoff.
Elliott feels rejected after his grandmother chooses to spend all her time with Finch. Meanwhile, in order to display his patriotism, Jack has an enormous flag hung from the side of the building, only to regret his decision when it blocks his office window.
124
22
"The Boys in the Band"
Pamela Fryman
Story by : Erica Rothschild Teleplay by : David Finkel & Brett Baer
Nina is embarrassed by her new boyfriend's air guitar band. Jack draws Maya into his personal competition with Alan Thicke. Guest stars Huey Lewis, Alan Thicke, and C.C. Deville.
Jack employs a woman off the street to work at Blush, but the staff think it's just because Jack wants to seduce her. Meanwhile, Finch tries to get an upset female co-worker to take comfort in his arms.
When Jack starts liking Vicki, Finch gets scared, so he sets her up to look bad, but he's not sure if Vicki will try to get him back. Meanwhile, Nina brings in a woman off the street to show Jack that it was wrong to employ Vicki.
Nina starts going out with a British rock star named Simon Leeds. Meanwhile, Maya persuades Vicki to give her details about her divorce. Also, Jack starts showing off his new pocket watch.
Nina throws a party to celebrate Halloween, where Finch and Jack compete for Blush's new model, Kelly. Meanwhile, Elliott tries to keep Vicki from going home with a guy she met at the party.
Rhonda, the beautiful sister of Vicki, immediately falls for Elliott. However, when Elliott tries to use Rhonda to make Vicki jealous, he finds himself in an awkward situation. Meanwhile, Jack sets up cameras to keep an eye on everyone, while he's at home recovering from his foot surgery.
Maya falls in love with a gorgeous fire fighter, but it turns out that he is Vicki's separated husband. Jealousy causes friction between Nina and Simon.
Finch thinks up a scheme to use sad stories from his college life to gain sympathy from Maya. Meanwhile, Nina redoes the pin-up shot that brought her fame.
Finch tries to set up Vicki and Nina telling each of them that the other one is a lesbian. When they find out, they decide to wreak revenge on him. Finch also gets to know that Jack is meeting George Lucas and is desperate to be allowed to be there too. Meanwhile, Elliott feels underappreciated after some magazine publishes a photo that was rejected by Jack and behaves arrogantly, so Jack to teach him a lesson gives him absolute artistic freedom, thinking that Elliott will not cope without having any limits; yet, his plan backfires.
When Finch wants a reserved parking space, Elliott discovers his plan and seeks to make sure that it does not work. Meanwhile, Nina makes Maya's romantic life the subject of office gossip.
Finch's father accepts a job as Jack's chauffeur. Meanwhile, Elliott tries to get revenge against an insult comic who has made Elliott his latest target. A meeting with a past boyfriend of Maya's has her very nervous.
Finch doesn't remember to tell Jack about an important meeting with foreign clients, so he pretends to be Jack, and attempts to make a deal with the clients, without Jack's knowledge.
Finch's old buddy Brandy - a transsexual woman whom Finch knew as Bert - joins Finch at their high school reunion. Meanwhile, Maya and Elliott decide to become intimate, but without any strings attached.
Finch and Jack prepare for a meeting with the publisher of Blush's biggest rival magazine, Tate Gittling, in an attempt to join forces for a charity function.
Simon is about to ask Nina to marry him, but she panics when she has to tell him that she's married to her last husband (Jon Lovitz). Jack is not happy with the environmentalist Maya's dating, when he eventually accepts him the man shows up super-high. After Finch finds out that Jack has left him a million dollars in his will, he has dreams of killing Jack.
Elliott's brother returns, accompanied by his new fiancée, and is now sorry for conning his brother in the past. However, Elliott doesn't trust him and thinks that this is another one of his scams.
Maya tries to curb the overt flirtation between Finch and Rhonda (Gina Gershon); she invites them for dinner so that they could watch Maya and her boyfriend Adam "interact as a couple". Meanwhile, to get the best treatment from Blush's office cleaner Marjorie (Megan Cavanagh), Nina and Jack pretend fondness for her.
After Elliott moves into the building that Jack lives in, he forms a protest against the building association. Meanwhile, Simon's parents leave Nina with an erroneous first impression.
