CBS Schoolbreak Special (TV Series)

The Fourth Man (1990)

Peter Billingsley: Joey Martelli

Quotes 

• Heidi : So, who do you like in terms of music?

  Joey Martelli : [eager to please]  Oh, U2, Tracy Chapman... Anything but heavy metal.

  Heidi : Yeah; I agree. Lyrics should *mean* something.

• Joey Martelli : ...I just won a prize at the state science fair - third place!

  John Martelli : That's great son. Any money come with it?

• Heidi : ...You've been pretty wired lately. This track-and-field stuff must really mean a lot to you.

  Joey Martelli : You can be the biggest computer genius in the world, make a bundle and a half, and nobody knows your name. But when you're the Fourth Man in a 400-meter relay, when you come around the last corner and grab that baton, they SCREAM your name. It's like they've known you forever; they *love* you. That's what I want: for EVERYBODY to love me.

• Steve Guarino : [Steve visits Joey in the latter's bedroom]  Can we talk?

  Joey Martelli : I'm pretty busy.

  Steve Guarino : You're pretty stupid, for using steroids.

  Joey Martelli : I don't know what you're talking about.

  Steve Guarino : Remember that nosebleed you got in the locker room? We both know steroids caused that. I got to reading about the symptoms.

  Joey Martelli : Oh, right... My neighborhood Greek god-athlete is a physician to boot!

  Steve Guarino : I'd like to think I'm also your best friend, still.

  Joey Martelli : Okay, what's the big deal?

  Steve Guarino : The big deal is, if they find out you're on steroids, you're gonna be disqualified from the meet... and cut from the team. You really wanna take that risk?

  Joey Martelli : Sure; I *dig* risks. Living on the edge, that's the way to go!

  Steve Guarino : You dig your hair falling out? Depression? Liver damage? High blood pressure? Not to mention impotence! Read about it for yourself.

  Joey Martelli : I've *been* reading all my life. Now I start *living*!

  Steve Guarino : Joe. This isn't you.

  Joey Martelli : You're right; it's not. The old Joey wouldn't even have thought about running in that race, let alone setting a new track record!

  Steve Guarino : I'm sure you look good to everybody else, but the changes *I'm* seeing in you are NOT an improvement. You're wired practically all the time, like some junkie. You don't even talk to people anymore! You're scaring me.

  Joey Martelli : You're jealous, aren't you? You're worried about me catching up to you.

  Steve Guarino : I'm giving you an ultimatum here: Either you get off that junk and stay off, or I'm gonna have a chat with Coach James.

  Joey Martelli : I'LL KILL YOU!

  [He attacks Steve in a rage] 

• John Martelli : ...Did I ever tell you about my father wanting to be an opera singer?

  Joey Martelli : The same Grandpa Tony who ran that grocery store?

  John Martelli : That's the one. He had this beautiful tenor voice; but then the Depression came along, and he did what it took to support his family. He used to sing in the car, and he kept wanted me to sing along with him; unfortunately, I did. Well, he kept hoping that there'd be a miracle, that somehow I'd learn to sing like the next Tony Martelli. Instead, I came home with every athletic award my school had to offer. What did Tony care about football? All that mattered to him was making music, and calling me tone-deaf would have been an insult to the tone-deaf.

  Joey Martelli : You mean you could never please him?

  John Martelli : No.

  [chuckles] 

  John Martelli : You'd think I would've learned something from all that, wouldn't you?

• [last lines] 

  Joey Martelli : ...Half the school hasn't been speaking to me since the meet.

  Steve Guarino : Could've been a lot worse. The Board of Education wanted to bar the Matadors from competing, as an example to other schools, but Coach James talked them out of it. He swore on his career that nothing like this would ever happen again.

  Joey Martelli : You mean the Board blames *him* for what I did?

  Steve Guarino : That's putting it mildly; they almost asked him to resign... Still, people forget after a while.

  Joey Martelli : Won't these things go on my college transcripts?

  Steve Guarino : You've still got a 4.0 GPA. You'll get into someplace good.

  [They notice Heidi looking at them from the other side of the courtyard] 

  Joey Martelli : ...How do you tell a girl that you've been a total dweeb, but that you've seen the light and you're sorry?

  Steve Guarino : In English. Go for it, already.

  [Heidi smiles as Joey walks over to her]