Grid Effect

Well, we’re going to quickly go from overloaded to material-less on the back end of the week here in about ten days. With South Park having one more episode before it goes on hiatus, The Office being plum out of new episodes and being one of the earlier victims of the writer’s strike, and It’s Always Sunny airing its season finale last night … we’re down to Survivor and FNL as the only two series’ we watch at the end of the week, and we have no idea of how much longer the latter will be on board for.

They are expected to have fifteen of the twenty two episodes completed, and their are rumors it might be canceled regardless, but also rumors that ESPN might pick up the series. We’re generally opposed to all of ESPN’s original programming and anything that doesn’t involve PTI and actual sporting events, but we can get on board with the World Wide Leader for this one.

Anyhow, this is neither here nor there. Let’s get to the topic at hand and that’s IASIP third season finale, and a helluva finale it was. Bring back some cameo’s (The waitress, Rickety Cricket), put the bar up for auction on a dance marathon, then see who can withstand the competition and come away with probably the most outstandingly depraved bar on the east coast.

Glenn Howerton was in particularly rare form this episode. From letting the engaged woman drop when she stated she would never sleep with him (after holding her up when Charlie “went limp”), to knocking over The Waitress to dropping the engaged woman’s fiance, it was one of his better performances yet. Especially his response after each person he leveled, particularly the waitress’s:
Waitress: I trusted you Dennis Reynolds!
Dennis: (Smug, amused, self-satisfied expression) Why?
This brief exchange pretty much encompasses their entire relationship.

Actually, all the characters were in rare form last night. Charlie’s psuedo-dance of seduction he rehashed from eighth grade, which actually won him the “dance off” against Dennis, after Dennis beat Mac’s elbow thrusts. Frank was a bit of a side character, but it didn’t stop him from manipulating the contest and determining the winner (after Dee did all the dirty work).

When you see them posed like this, it probably means someone died, and they inadvertently benefited fromit.

And seeing Dee come so close to winning the competition, only to fall short so everyone can disregard everything she says again was almost painful to watch. But, just like her counterparts, it’s hard to feel any sympathy for her with the way she treats Matt (rickety cricket).

There wasn’t really much to the episode other than just putting them in another absurd situation, yet again as a result of Charlie’s illiteracy (It’s ‘prize’, not ‘pride’ Charlie, can’t you see the ‘Z’”?) and have them act it out. Physical comedy played a huge role in this episode, more so than usual, and what would you expect from an episode that revolves around a dance marathon? We probably could have done without the Sklar brothers playing the DJ’s, but they would have just thrown in a couple no names to do the same exact annoying shtick, so either way it doesn’t really matter. We did somewhat enjoy their Entourage cameo though.

Good episode, great season, and they’ve gotten progressively better. which is admittedly somewhat easy, since all they have to do is lower the bar on basic moral standards. The only really bad episode we watched was the hour long special, which in no way needed to be an hour. But this was a great ten episode season and we can only hope the writer’s strike doesn’t knock this series out of commission as well, but we understand if it does.

Back with FNL and Office recaps later.