Grid Effect

Alright, new plan. Since I need to write something covering last weeks episode and post it with an ample amount of time before tonight’s episode airs, we’re going to forego the general scene-by-scene recap and more or less summarize the entire thing in a couple paragraphs. I know this comes as a major disappointment to the seventeen of you that regularly read this blog.

Essentially, everything in Tommy’s life is falling apart.

The end.

Kidding, though that wouldn’t really be a far-fetched sufficient synopsis. I actually really enjoyed this episode, much like Entourage, this is two weeks in a row where I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

In this episode, Tommy deals with the reality of aging, which reflects on his ability to raise a newborn, poor performance on the ice rink and in the back of Jennifer Esposito’s car. One thing I have always wondered about that, why have their sexual encounters always taken place in her SUV? She can afford the SUV, so does she live in it as well? I know Tommy is and will be reluctant to take a woman back to his place with his ex-wife and kids waiting up there, but is her place in Long Island so inaccessible that they must use a car? Everytime?

But yeah, she throws him around effortlessly and emasculates him about it later. This entire charade is just so extreme in order to compensate for the numerous criticisms about this shows portrayal of women, that its in an unintentional comic tailspin. Honestly, if Leary and Tolan want to wave a white flag with its offended (former) audience, then just have Leary not engage in intercourse with a single female cameo. Because honestly, that hasn’t happened since Susan Sarandon and Diane Farr, who were both plowed by Franco instead.

Sheila is now offering Tommy $400,000 for his (technically Johnny’s, it looks like) and Janet’s son, named by this web site since they have yet to name him on the show, Capernious. Its repulsive on several levels, but admittedly practical. Tommy doesn’t want to afford Capernious now, especially since he is skeptical of who the biological father is, the kid hates Janet, they are financially strapped as is, but between the monetary olive branch and the dumping of Capernious onto Sheila, the future is looking less grim.

Tommy is clearly considering the proposition, though has yet to mention anything to Janet. He certainly looks ready to broach the subject when he comes home to discover Janet left Capernious and Katie home alone to buy a bottle of wine, and that Katie was leaning over Capernious’ crib wishing him dead. One would think living with both parents being non-biological is a better environment than this. And the impression I get from the dream Tommy had about the kid getting ran over by a semi (Note: Between this and the mythic shadowed figure telling Tommy to go to an AA meeting, and the closeup shot of the text, this show has taken enough cues from The Sopranos, it’s time to stop), they certainly be steering towards killing this Capernious off, which is just wholly unnecessary.

The hockey scene was extremely baffling. Out of nowhere Tommy is three steps behind the action and takes an earful from his coach who benches him mid-second quarter, then a cop on the opposing team whom Tommy challenges to a fight, and said cop pities him to the point where he refuses to throw down, which I guess is supposed to be the ultimate form of disrespect amongst these ranks. This is essentially parallel to Tony Soprano’s plight after Junior gunned him down. And while Tony Soprano took out an underling dubbed Muscles Marinara, Tommy is probably going to unleash his wrath on someone nicknamed Brutish Boiled Potato. or Probie.

Other notes:

-Kenny’s dick is fatigued from constant sex with the former nun, who plays Christian’s aids stricken ex-girlfriend on Nip Tuck. He asks for an extended intermission.

-The house has a new chief played by Hesh from The Sopranos. Depending on how much this series wants to (try and) replicate David Chase’s masterpiece, he’ll probably have a thing for black women. Right now he is cannon fodder for every Jewish stereotype anyone has ever known.

-Franco has asked Natalie to marry him and she has accepted. Which means that in four episodes time, something catastrophic is going to happen in the immediate future, or his daughter will come back or Susan Sarandon is going to murder the entire lot of them. In the vein of this series, I’d suspect an almost drops on Natalie’s head, but Richie catches it, saving Natalie, but is eventually crushed under the weight of the thing.

-Still no real mention of Chief, other than a short discussion over where to put his ashes. No explanation as to why his son wouldn’t/doesn’t receive them.

-Franco and Kenny persuaded Larenz Tate (Bart) to play basketball for their fire house by bartering probie work and agreeing to call him Sean. This is unquestionably the funniest scene this season, trumping the one where Garrity admits to fantasizing about Janet.

I know the tone of the recap sounded cynical and disparaging, but that’s just for kicks and because I cannot remember the episode that vividly. All in all, I was satisfied with it and hope they keep up the trend tonight, best solution for that would be to focus on this basketball subplot. If I can get that, between it and the USA scrimmage this past Sunday, it would all but remedy my basketball interest back to full stength after these horrifying NBA ref scandal.