Whoopi

In the series premiere, former singing diva turned hotel owner Mavis Rae makes room for her brother Courtney after his recent employer, Enron, suffers a small financial setback. However, her new hotel guest is in love and Mavis soon has the pleasure of meeting Rita, Courtney's white girlfriend who talks and dresses like a "sister" -- and is just too much fun for her to ignore. Meanwhile, the hotel's need for a fulltime concierge prompts Mavis to promote her reliable handyman Nasim giving him a shot at this new position.

When the nation's security threat level is elevated to an orange alert, Nasim's paranoia over an abandoned designer briefcase in the hotel lobby and fear of getting SARS from a group of Toronto tourists, carries over to Mavis, who calls the police bomb squad to blow up the attache. But when Mavis discovers that Courtney is missing his expensive new briefcase -- which was a gift from girlfriend, Rita, she scrambles to find an inexpensive knockoff.

Mavis howls when Rita's pet ferret clamps onto her finger, but Mavis' ordeal just begins whens she heads for the emergency room and is ignored for hours while her finger swells -- and she gets too clever for her own good when she tries to sneak inside for treatment. However, Courtney gets better service when he takes the furry ferret to the vet's office while back at the abandoned hotel, Nasim jockeys with Jadwiga for control of the check-in desk.

Frustrated after receiving a ticket for smoking in her hotel, Mavis feels responsible when poor Nasim is also cited for spitting in public after she stuffs a hot pepper in his mouth -- but when she urges him to contest the penalty in court, the naive handyman quits, fearing deportation back to Iran. Meanwhile, Mavis' unemployed brother Courtney loses cash in an ATM and then closes his cool when he is put on phone hold for hours which only makes Rita pout.

Love is blind, but Mavis feels guilty about using a sight-challenged man's interest in her to share in his prized tickets to the New York Rangers' hockey games -- however, Mavis gets mad when she also feels his wandering hands. Meanwhile, Nasim makes himself useful in so many ways when a curvy woman keeps asking him to work for trade as her own personal handyman.

After a chance encounter with President Bush when his motorcade stops at the Lamont Hotel, Mavis cannot mouth off to the Commander in Chief after he recognizes her and pays homage to her singing talents -- but she clashes with Republican Courtney when Bush graciously invites her for a face-to-face meeting. Later, while out of place at a GOP function, a sassy Mavis drinks, smokes and speaks her mind -- and soon gets up-close-and-personal with the Secret Service.