703/Tragedy Plus Time

Show Outline

In this episode, Alan Tofsky - Jamie's ex-boyfriend and the creator of the comic book bestseller based on Jamie, "Mega-Void" - has died of a bee sting. In his video-taped "last will and testament", Alan leaves everything to Jamie. He tells her that even though he still thinks she's crazy, she was "worth it". That she was his one true love, and the "one that got away". As you might imagine, Paul is just a little jealous of Alan's revelations - especially considering Alan still refers to Paul as "Pete". Also, we learn that Debbie is having cold feet when it comes to "marrying" Joan. And as a result we learn that Debbie has a certain tendancy to "play a little slap and tickle in the kitchen" prior to a commitment. And to deal with all of this Paul and Jamie try to find resolution during sessions with their therapist, Sheila. The moral of the story, forget past boyfriends and don't take a 3-wood to a therapy session.

Commentary

Again, what a funny episode! My god, this season is off to a wonderful start. It's been full of great one-liners, character references, good premises, and. basically, it's been quite funny. I could say that from my point of view (the one being represented on this fan site) that compared to the start of last season, this one has very quickly found it's stride. Or at least it's close. The writing has been funny, the stories have had a reasonable foundation, and there's been plenty to laugh at in each episode. Three episodes don't a seaon make, but this one's off to a great start!

Take tonight's episode. I laughed almost constantly. The video tape of Alan's "last will and testament" was great in the way he anticipated disagreements he knew he'd have with Jamie. That was so funny. And it was even funny to see Paul being a little more jealous than he normally is. Can you blame him, when he states he doesn't want Jamie's dead ex-boyfriend paying for Mabel's way through college? Let me mention the things I didn't like so much - there are two. 1) I still don't care for Paul and Jamie seeing a therapist. I could live without Sheila's character (and Marvin), but they're getting better about how she's used. 2) I still don't get this whole thing between Joan and Debbie. It was handled well in this episode and I wasn't "shocked" by anything. But I couldn't help but hope we'd seen the last of Joan.

Overall, I'm thoroughly impressed with this episode. It was tight, inclusive, and funny. The whole 3rd season is off to a great start. But this review is about only this episode and I give it a fairly solid 8. It wasn't a "knee-slapper" of an episode, but it hummed righteously along. If anyone from the show reads this, keep it up!