Cougar Town
** I apologize up front for all the Scrubs references, but it can’t be helped. I do, however realize that Cougar Town is “not just Scrubs in Florida with a lot of wine” I swear, I do **
Before I start my review, I want to talk about something related. After last season’s finale episode, “Something Good Coming,” I had a lively debate with my friends about the appearance of Ted in the Cougar Town universe. My friends, who are admitted Scrubs fans like myself, thought it was depressing to hear that Gooch, Ted’s girlfriend on Scrubs, had run off with Hooch, leaving Ted alone and depressed in Hawaii. (Btw, Hooch is crazy). They thought it tarnished the Scrubs universe, but I took a more optimistic view. There are some obvious problems with the Scrubs world crossing over into Cougar Town, most notably with Christa Miller being such a big part of both verses, so I like to think that Ted simply exists in all worlds. It’s a bright thought, if you ask me: Out there right now, in your universe, there’s a Buckland going about its business, living its life, making the world complete. What’s a Buckland, you ask?
Dr. Cox: It is a predominately hairless growth that is never found on women.
Ted: Weird.
Dr. Cox: It’s your last name, Ted.
Ted: Good one!
Ha!! Now, with that theory in mind, let’s get on to the show I’m actually supposed to be talking about here.
If I had died after watching “A One Story Town,” I would have been happy. Giddy. “Laughed so hard I peed a little” ecstatic. This episode of Cougar Town had everything I could have asked for and more, and because of that, it is now my favorite of the whole series.
Why? I talked last week when I reviewed New Girl about how I loved comedies with heart. My favorite episodes of any comedy are usually the least funny ones, the ones where the characters get real and emotional and all exposed. To list a few, there’s “Introduction to Documentary Filmmaking” on Community, “My Screw-Up” on Scrubs, “The One with the Prom Video” on Friends, “Come On” on How I Met Your Mother. Something about these episodes gets me right in the gut, like nothing else does on TV. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good bizarre, wacky, laugh a minute episode too, but the sad ones are my weak spot, just like I have a weak spot for origin stories in dramas.
“A One Story Town” was one of those episodes, not because someone died or someone got his heart broken, but because someone (Bobby) finally had something good happen to him after 21 minutes (and really two seasons) of being ridiculed, relegated and stung by bees. Bobby has always been a little sad. Sure, he’s a funny-loving, slightly dim, lunk of a man, but he’s also the the guy who started to grow up and regret cheating on Jules, the guy who couldn’t keep a girl because he was too immature, the guy who had to watch as his ex-wife found happiness with another man, the guy who had to say goodbye to his only son who went off to college. Last week there was the perfect quote to some up Bobby deep down: “Andy: My heart feels like your sad face. Bobby: And my face feels like your sad eyes.”
All this adds depth to this current episode where the entire town rallys around Bobby to create the perfect date. And boy, does everything go wrong. Complementing Angie on her dress turns into a weird reference to Bobby’s grandmother, driving to the movies turns into driving through a swarm of bees (of which Angie is allergic), going to the beach means watching the soul of manatee leave its eyes. Everything points to Bobby giving up, but he doesn’t because of the people around him support him and love him that much. Everyone, and I mean everyone, including the Worthless Peons, rally so that Bobby can get his confidence and kiss the girl. “That was fun. Wanna do it again?” Collectively, we all awwwed.
(Side note: My friend and I have debated over who is the best character on TV right now. At the moment, it’s a close race between Bobby Cobb and Troy Barnes. I can’t decide. Thoughts?)
The brilliance of this episode was in the little things that they added to make things real and funny. So much of Cougar Town is dependent on subtlety and recurring jokes and callbacks. Here is no exception. I liked that each time Penny Can (Penny Can!!) returns, they add a new rule, like putting a stripe down Travis’s helmet. Of course, if Andy does that, Travis will murder him “Omar-style.” Shout out for The Wire reference!! Also, Jules and Ellie doing the Tom Cruise run was amazing and totally spot on. I especially liked the music in the background, and how the music returned when Jules and the Peons were running. And, can we talk about Bobby eating his bread bowl? Doing this once was a pretty funny joke, but then Jules comes back to find that Bobby has spilled his soup again. The show doesn’t make a big deal out of this, but I thought it was a really nice touch.
Finally, let’s talk about Sarah Chalke. She was pretty great here, right? Different from Elliot, but still very funny. The best part of the whole date was her walk at the end, with her legs splayed because the soup has burned her thighs. All I could think of was this quote from Scrubs when Elliot spills coffee on Molly Clock:
Elliot: How are your thighs?
Molly: They’re very hot and pink.
Elliot: Do you want me to rub ointment on them?
(All the men in the cafeteria lean in to listen)
Molly: It’s okay.
Men: Awww!!
I hope the writers of the show intended this as a reference. If not, I don’t care, I still enjoyed it.
Wait, wait, one more thing! I talked about the appearance of Ted at the beginning, but let’s discuss the tag of this episode. If I had been a man, I would have had to change my pants after watching this. That’s how much I loved it. I’m pretty sure I held my breath through the whole thing and then I let out a little squee at the end. It was absolutely the perfect amount of reference for me, what with “Elliot” blowing her hair out of her face and Ted freaking out at seeing “Kelso” and “Todd” giving a high five. Squee!! And Zach Braff!! I’m freaking out right now just thinking about it. I’m freaking out so much, I have to post it here. Trust me, you’ll love it. (Sorry for the ads)
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Next: The Rest of the Week
Mary the TV Maven 