"The Card" was written by Michael Cassutt, and seems to harken back to the type of stories done in the first season, and in the original series as well. It's not padded out and has actors that we can relate to, with a script that has many neat little touches.

Susan Blakely plays Linda, a woman who has charged way too much in the past and caused her husband many problems. She's really pretty good in the role, and fits the concept of someone who loves to buy with a credit card but never thinks about the consequences. In this scenario, the consequences aren't what anyone would have predicted. I sometimes wonder if having your kids taken away to pay for a debt is such a bad thing. :-)

William Atherton is her husband, and he's really laid back to the point of inertia; it's no wonder she was able to create such havoc with their finances. He's more different in this episode than I've ever seen him, and he's one of the few actors to be in more than one of the NTZ's.