Grid Effect

Well, as the old saying goes, even a broken clock is write twice a day. Usually used to describe something that is always unsettling but occasionally surprises one with its aptitude, the inverse is also true. This episode wasn’t dull or unfunny or anything of the sort. It just lacked the charm of its four predecessors.

Jermaine, now in Bret’s role from the pilot, is feeling left out of the loop now that his roommate is preoccupied with his girlfriend, like, for instance, they never tickle each other anymore. So who should stumble into the laundromat when Jermaine is handling some delicates? Why Sally, of course. Who primarily broke up with Jermaine because he isn’t Australian, and he didn’t have his own place, apparently.

This motivates Jermaine to seek some independence and find a spacious janitors closet at a swank upper east side condominium. Determined to impress Sally, he decides to throw a party but at an awkward an impromptu double-date, Jermaine announces his plans for said party when Bret properly informs him that the day he is planning for is also Sally’s birthday, since they used to date and all. Over the course of dinner, its noticeable that Bret still has a thing for his ex-girlfriend, leaving Coco in a state of insecurity and discontent over this newfound turn her relationship has taken.

Jermaine, attempting to throw the best party he can in a 4 ft. x 5 ft. closet, is flummoxed when Bret does not make an appearance, knowing he is at Sally’s birthday party, he heads over there but before he can leave, Coco gives pulls him aside to relay a message to Bret on her behalf.

At Sally’s party, we come to find out that the allusion Jermaine and Murray made to her being materialistic is indeed true, as we find out she is marrying an Australian millionaire who bought her a BMW. Meanwhile Bret wasted all of his money on art supplies for a picture of her in a Xena type pose with Bret-faced lion waiting subserviently at her side. And Jermaine went through all the trouble of making a glass butterfly, which he broke but offered with a tube of all-purpose industrial strength glue.

As they reflect on their poor judge of character on the way back home, Jermaine informs Bret that Coco has dumped him, and gives verbatim reenactment of her message, including a slap across the face that Jermaine does after the speech that he was supposed to do beforehand.

That, in a nutshell, is last nights episode. It included two songs, one being probably their most popular song here in the states, “Business Time”, which transitions abnormally from Jermaine and his awkward encounter with Sally (”You can’t keep the J-Dog down…Its street talk, you just take the first letter of your name and add ‘dog’ to the end of it”) to him dreaming about being in a marriage with a stale sex life (the premise of the song). It is one of the few times I actually preferred their performance of the song in favor of its depiction of it on the show, might have had something to do with Jermaine being completely naked and very unpixelated during the cover.

The second song just fell flat, it was a dual love ballad to Sally as she danced with her new fiance. An even odder transition precluded this one, from them standing on the street to them sitting at a piano with dry ice floating around them. For a series with an abundance of comedic musical performances, its actually pretty impressive that this was only the second time I felt uncomfortable watching them (the first being the “Boom King” track from episode two).

All in all, still an enjoyable half hour of television. The double date, Murray’s persistent concern for the state of the band, Bret’s absurdly creepy painting all provided virtual laugh out loud moments for me. The highlight of the episode, however, belonged to bit-player Dave, who’s description of Bret and Jermaine’s declarations of love for Sally being the most sensitive things he has ever seen since he was witness to a puppy being born, is probably the raunchiest and therefore most unexpected deliveries this short series has exhibited. Honestly, I have yet to watch a scene where I am not amused by Dave, here’s hoping he gets more camera time before the season ends.

Ultimately, outside of avoiding peculiar musical choices and giving Dave more face time, I am not advocating for any changes in this series. Occasionally I enjoy one episode significantly more or less than its counterparts, this episode’s shortcomings were probably just accentuated because Entourage was actually good this week, so there is really no room for complaint, just a solid hour of television.

Rescue Me recap tomorrow.