Bobby Sees His Racist Side

Cougar Town, S03E10

Jules wanted Andy to run for Mayor so that he could get her a permit to have her wedding on the beach, which wasn't allowed.  Ellie despised the idea of her husband being in public officer since it would force her to interact with people more.  After making a comment to an Asian man, Bobby worried that he was racist, and Laurie put together a panel to help him.  Travis made out with Holly, and he and Grayson tried to teach Jules a lesson about cutting Holly a bit of slack.

Even though Jules suggested Andy run for Mayor for her own selfish reasons, I think she was right that he would be a good candidate (as least out of the people she knows).  I would be interested in seeing him win that position, although I doubt it will be very easy for him.  I'd condemn Jules further for making Ellie unhappy with her plan to get Andy to be mayor, but Ellie's reasons against it were too funny.  She really is a woman after my own heart.  I would be annoyed too by the idea of having to deal with more people than the few I can tolerate.  The best thing about her opposition of Andy running for mayor was when she told Andy in the car about her opinion on the matter.  Andy said he wouldn't be mad, but he purposely ran over a speed bump quickly so that her coffee would splash in her face.  It's great seeing Ellie on the receiving end of a joke at her expense.  I almost wish that she hadn't come to her senses and realized how selfish she was being to her husband.  I would have preferred to see how she could have gotten him back, though.

Bobby's realization of his racist nature was probably the funniest thing in this episode.  I just can't believe how stupid he was to tell that guy he would probably love a giant camera around his neck.  But you knew that he had no malice behind his words--only ignorance.  So when the guy got upset and Laurie looked at him with horror, it was really funny.  He also thought that all black guys could dunk and asked a man if he could in a later scene.  Bobby's too much of a bonehead for anyone to take his racist remarks seriously.  Plus, like Andy said, the fact that he was so bothered by the racial implications of his words and thoughts, made Bobby a decent guy with the potential to one day to realize when he was using stereotypes to make judgments about people.

It was also nice to see that in Laurie's panel she had included her boyfriend, Wade.  I wasn't sure if he would ever be mentioned again.  According to their routine of getting naked for each other on Skype calls, I would say that their relationship is still going on strong.  That means it's still possible he would visit Laurie once he's done with his service in Iraq.  I'm sure that would make for some really entertaining scenes, knowing how hyper Laurie is.

I never pictured Holly getting together with Travis, but when he later explained that he was just taking advantage of a woman, that made a lot of sense.  The only way Travis could go from small talk at a coffee shop to heavy making out had to be due to him being with a vulnerable woman.  Travis is a bit of a loser with no swagger to speak of, so a girl like Holly is probably his best bet.  I'll admit it's a little weird since she has had a baby with his future stepdad, though.  More than the baby, I would think that he would be a little disturbed by locking lips with someone that Grayson had once done the same.  I wouldn't even eat a piece of bread that he had eaten from.  Eww.  But I'm not sure if Travis really has any feelings for Holly or if he was just messing with Jules to make a point.  Someone as self-centered as Jules needed such an extreme measure to teach her to stop judging people.

I liked the Bobby story enough that I think this was a good episode overall.  I definitely laughed more times than I have compared to other episodes.  I hope that next time we get to see some of Andy's campaign ideas.  I could see the possibility of that being funny, especially if Bobby was his manager.  Almost anything that will take away the focus from Jules' wedding is welcome to me.  I already know that it's not going to be the dream wedding she wants, even if she does get to have it on the beach.

Maybe Jules Would Be Better Without Therapy

Cougar Town, S03E09

Grayson and Jules discussed combining their finances and homes and made little progress with how they wanted to handle the changes and decisions they would have to make when they got married.  Jules consulted with her therapist to the point that she was overstepping the boundaries that a therapist and patient should have.  Laurie struggled to keep up with her cake business while doing her job at Jules'.  She hired some unpaid workers to help her, but the staff quickly quit.  Travis convinced her to quit her real estate job and go 100% into her cake business.  Ellie teased Andy that Bobby was too sensitive to handle one of his pranks, so Andy made Bobby go hiking with an empty water bottle that he believed would fill itself on its own.

As much as I would hope that therapy would help Jules, it only seems to be making her crazier.  It is funny, though, that she can threaten her friends and family with therapy sessions if they upset her.  This even works on Ellie, who was forced to go after stealing Jules' "thunder"" twice in the episode.  I started to feel bad for the therapist who was allowing Jules to come in any time she felt like, even when she was interrupting other patients' sessions (who seemed more than happy to let Jules take their time).  However, the therapist was an enabler herself--since Jules' bills were affording her boats, she was happy to throw empty advice to her (which Grayson and Jules gladly lapped up).  I think therapy is only letting Jules feel like she can control people even more and rationalize her actions that make no sense to others around her.

As for their discussion about which house they are going to keep, I'm pretty sure that it's going to be Jules'.  Or either they might get another house (which I doubt with their finances).  I liked that Ellie was in favor of the two staying at Jules' house because it was across from her own and she didn't have the energy for the 30 steps to Grayson's.  It's funny how Ellie can be as lazy as I sometimes.

I wasn't too interested in the Laurie story because I knew what was going to happen from the beginning.  Obviously, she couldn't balance having both jobs, and Jules had mentioned that she couldn't afford to pay Laurie anymore.  I just thought it was stupid that Travis didn't tell her sooner that it would have been best for her to just take a leap of faith and go for her cake business for real.  Then again, I could see how she would be afraid that Jules would refuse to let her quit (or just dramatically refuse to speak to her again if she did).  Thankfully, Jules wanted to fire her, so Laurie's quitting was good for both sides.

There also wasn't much to say about the Andy and Bobby story either.  There were two things, however, I liked concerning Ellie in that story.  One was that she challenged Andy to make Bobby believe he had a "magical" self-replenishing water bottle, but when Andy was worried that Bobby could really get into trouble on his hiking trip, Ellie told him she was amazed he could send his friend off to such place where he could die of dehydration.  What a delightfully bitchy thing to say!  Bobby was taken off in an ambulance when Andy and Ellie found him, but he wasn't angry at all his friend had included him in one of his jokes.  However, the second thing that I liked was a conversation a ranger (I guess) and Ellie had while Bobby and Andy hugged:

[Guy] You married to one of those guys?

[Ellie] No.  They're lovers.

Sometimes I wonder if she wouldn't be happy if Andy just ran off with Bobby.

At the end, Ellie tried to get back at Little Stan with a demon mask, but he just thought that she wasn't wearing makeup.  Andy tried to congratulate his burn, but Stan told him to go away.  Ellie also walked away defeated.  That kid is really made of the most evil parts of both his parents.  He's going to be a terror as teenager.

I think that Ellie saved this episode again.  It was a little funny that Jules was abusing her therapist's role in her life, but not so much that it was funnier each time she did it.  If her therapist is smart, she should realize that Jules' psychological problems have increased since she started having the sessions and cut her lose.  No number of boats can possibly compensate being at Jules' beck and call for any unimportant matter that comes along.

Bobby and Angie's Non-Future, Travis' Bleak Future

Cougar Town, S03E07

Bobby imagined that he was going to finally settle down with Angie, only to see that she hadn't considered their relationship to be exclusive nor anything above superficial.  Jules was excited to have her first real set of wedding photos until Travis offered to take them and showed her his horrific style of photography.  She worried further that a career as a photographer was one that would ensure her son would struggle in life.  Ellie teased Laurie with a Simon, but eventually let her know that everyone is stupid about something in life.

I was not expecting Angie to be the one that put a cork in the romance for she and Bobby.  He's such a loveable oaf, you forget that he has a past of numerous affairs while married to Jules.  I guess it's a little karma for him, but I felt bad for him.  He was on top of the world (literally kicking his heels), and Angie showed him in a big way that she was just interested in having fun.  Luckily, Bobby came to his senses and stopped sleeping with her eventually.  He's not made of steel, so it's expected that he would succumb to pleasure a few times, but in the end his heart took over and he ended it with her.  Sad to see Angie go, but she was doing Bobby no good.  Maybe she'll realize that losing him was a mistake one day.

I never thought Travis' photography would amount to more than a class, nor was I thinking that his taste of subjects would be things like open sores and severed body parts.  Although, twisted family begets twisted children, I guess.  I can't believe how much she loves Travis that she couldn't disappoint him right away.  After looking at his portfolio, it's a given that anyone would want proof that he could actually take more elegant and romantic photos.  Instead, Jules lied that she wanted him to do it, and then lied again to tell him she didn't.  Only after Angie talked him about his actual talent did Jules feel comfortable enough to hire him once again.  She's a damn fool.  One random picture that he took that seemed okay (the one of her sleeping) wouldn't be enough to convince me, nor the ramblings of an unbalanced teacher like Angie.  She may win an award for supporting her son in a pointless career of his own choosing, but she's probably going to regret the photos she gets for her wedding later on.

I felt Laurie's pain with that Simon.  I could never be as skillful with one as Ellie in a million years.  But I'm glad Ellie didn't just torture her with something she was better at, but also showed her own intellectual weakness (basic math that doesn't go beyond reducing the nanny's pay for damages).  She may have a bitch coating, but in the inside, she's all marshmallow fluff.  I think that she really likes Laurie a lot more than she'd like to admit.

This episode was good, but I wish that we had more scenes of Grayson being a dad and sucking at it or something.  I did like how Jules and Ellie wouldn't listen to him about being a parent as he was too new to put his two cents in about Travis.  I hope that Bobby won't be all depressed in the next episode, but I'm sure that Andy will be there to stroke his hair (most likely literally).  Really hope there will be a better Ellie-centered story in the future--I'm getting tired of her being sort of an afterthought.  When she's not in the spotlight, I can't seem to find the story to be all that entertaining.

So Grayson Has A Kid--So What?

Cougar Town, S03E06

We get reminded of Grayson's former life as a "ho bag" in this episode.  Laurie tries to reconnect with her buddy Travis, but finds that it's not as easy to turn back the clock as she had thought.  Bobby also took the task of teaching Ellie to surf, not taking Andy's advice to hear that it too, like Laurie's endeavor, isn't as easy as he thought it would be.

Jules seemed a little off base about wanting to get counseling with Grayson before they got married to make sure they started things without baggage, but it backfired on her and they discovered that Grayson actually had a daughter through one of his random hookups.  This was less of a shock to me, but it was a convenient way to get around Jules having to conceive another child.  Travis is enough.  I can't imagine her having another kid, especially at her age and with her current lifestyle (all that wine drinking).  I'm not sure how I think Grayson will be as a dad.  I think he might do okay with a girl rather than a boy (as a man, I don't think he would be the best teacher), but I'm sure he can spoil Tampa (I would have never chosen that name) rotten.

I almost felt a little bad for Laurie who couldn't snap her fingers and make Travis follow after her like a puppy.  It only makes sense though; he's in college now and supposedly a grown man.  Of course, he would move on from hanging out with her so much when he knew that she would never like him the way he did.  Thanks to Sig, though, Laurie finds an opening to bring she and Travis back together.  She was incredibly skillful in teaching the two how to do the steps for the "black frat."  I also enjoyed watching all the guys move in rhythm together.  That kind of stuff, no matter for what purpose, is impressive to me.

Also, Travis' attempt to name their house was funny.  I'm glad Laurie was there to give her opinion about Travis' ideas such as the "Phallus Palace" and "Wang Town."  She was right that it sounded like a good name for a gay bar.  Her suggestion of "Panty Graveyard" was a good one.  She's a much better dude than Travis will ever be (though that probably has a lot of do with all the smothering his mother did).

I was expecting more from the surfing lessons from Bobby, seeing as the pupil was Ellie, but there wasn't much to it.  He gave up on her for a moment, than he changed his mind and stuck with her.  I was expecting her to have all these funny failures as she was trying to surf.  I actually liked her idea of just sitting on the board and chilling in the middle of the ocean.  I think that's a genius way to get a little peace from all of the intrusive friends she has where she lives (the place where it's supposed to be like your sanctuary).  But I guess her learning to surf, too, is good since Bobby is going to be out there anyway so solitude is out of the picture.

I'm pretty interested to see Grayson having his first scene acting like a real father.  I wonder how Jules will interact with the little girl.  She shouldn't be too overbearing because it's not her baby boy, so maybe she will treat her like a normal person (as normal as she can act toward anyone on Earth).  There wasn't enough Ellie-isms in this episode to suit my needs and not enough comedy overall for me to like it too much.  If it wasn't for all of the "baby mama drama," I think I could have lived skipping this one.

Ted's Back! And He Brought Friends!

Cougar Town, S03E05

I can't believe how quickly I was over that Bobby and Angie (I finally took the time to learn her name) would get together.  It was definitely because Bobby had no swagger (I guess that's not too surprising) and Jules took it upon herself to set them up on this "perfect" date where he wouldn't have to speak much, yet would have a memorable day with her.  As soon as I saw that overly detailed plan, I knew there was no way it was going to go that smoothly.  I didn't think it would be as much as a disaster as it was, though.  In the end Jules managed to pull it together and Bobby and Angie had a kiss to The Little Mermaid's Kiss the Girl.  It might have been a sweet story to me if I had stopped caring already.  Even for me, that's quick to lose interest.

What I liked about this episode was mainly three things.  The first was when Jules was surprised with Ted's band staying at her house for a week and Ellie and Travis were pumping their arms to the band's Heigh-Ho.  I wouldn't have thought these two would be a funny combo, but last night they proved me wrong.

The second was Tom's ability to repel people.  It's so pathetic that it makes you laugh.  All he had to do was just start shooting the breeze with some people, and they would instantly walk away from him.  I think the last time he had to do this for Jules so that Angie and Bobby would have one more shot was the best time.  As soon as he opened his mouth the crowd magically disappeared around him.  Poor, creepy Tom.

The last thing is one of the best things I have seen on Cougar Town.  It was at the very end where Ted was freaking out because he felt like everyone in town looked like people he used to work with.  Yes!  A direct shout-out to Scrubs!  Ted even pointed out that Ellie and her character from the other show were pretty similar in personalities (I don't mind that at all--she's brilliant as a cold-hearted bitch).  You can watch below:

Loved this!  Scrubs had a really great cast and hilarious stories, despite they were working in a hospital where people often died or had horrible conditions.  I only wish that Turk had been able to make an appearance too.  I miss their bro-mance.  That was one of the best things about that show.

Speaking of bro-mance, I was none too shocked that Ellie and Jules have made out.  I was just surprised that it only happened once.  They're pretty open with the fact that they may one day make their relationship official.  And I can completely buy that she is a better kisser than Grayson.  He just looks like he'd be clumsy and inadequate in most things of a romantic nature.

Overall, I say that the last part of the episode made me like it more than the others.  It was just really nice to see the Scrubs gang back on TV!  Especially because I wasn't expecting them to do that.  I doubt that they will do something like that again, but a girl can dream.  I can be satisfied that at least the makers of Cougar Town will grace us with the cameos of the Scrubs cast from time to time.

Maybe It's Racist, But It's Funny

Cougar Town, S03E04

 I'm trying to remember why I was laughing more than usual at this episode.  I don't think I found the battle for king between Jules and Andy to be that hilarious.  We all knew that in the end Jules would show that she has the most power, but as she loves to make people happy, she'll toss Andy a bone so that he thinks his role in the neighborhood is greater than it is.

What I did like so much that I want to mention it right away is Laurie's love of black people:

[Laurie] I wonder what he looks like. I hope if hes black, he's super black.   Dark black is hot.  Is that racist?

[Grayson and Ellie shortly confer with each other]

[Grayson] No. But it makes us uncomfortable.

That was probably the funniest thing said this season so far.  Laurie is so wonderfully ridiculous sometimes.  I kinda like that it turned out that she and Wade really did have a real relationship.  Maybe he will show up one day.  They certainly could use a black guy on that show.  I don't think Andy brings enough diversity to the show (not to say every show must have an ethnically diverse cast, but it would be nice to represent more minorities on TV).

Another relationship that I'm surprised that I favor is the possible one between Bobby and Travis' professor.  I never thought about him dating again, so it was nice he fell in love in a way that wasn't so predictable.  Also, the lady of interest played a major role on Scrubs and also a reoccurring role on How I Met Your Mother.   I won't say that I love this actress, but she might work well as Bobby's girlfriend if she sticks around, so I'd be interested to see their chemistry.

Lastly, I liked that they turned Tom's fountain into a wine fountain.  I did not see that coming.  They are really creative with new ways to enjoy their alcohol.  I'm not sure how it really fixes the problem of hearing water running all the time and forcing them all to have to pee.  I'd also worry about the freshness of that wine after a while, but with this gang, even a wine fountain wouldn't be enough for them.

I usually don't anticipate this show, but I do want to see what happens with Bobby and the professor.  Baby Stan had a very small role in the episode (which was adorable), and I'd like to see him used more regularly.  And I'll ask for more Ellie lines too, even though Laurie did a pretty good job picking up the slack this time.