Travis Gets Too Much Information

Cougar Town, S03E12

The battle for who's sexier revealed some harsh truths about Laurie and Ellie's own sexuality, which Travis unwillingly had to console them about.  Grayson was living at Jules' house while his house was being repaired for hurricane damage, and he and Jules began to project past problems with their ex-spouses on each other.     Bobby and Jules also had a contest to see who could keep their white shirt stain-free the longest.

The only thing I liked about Ellie and Laurie's story was that they were so open about their sexual activities with Travis.  It was funny watching him suffer through his crush talk about how she got her freak on and his mom's best friend talk about the degree in which she got naked during intercourse.  And Ellie just wouldn't stop telling Travis, even when she promised to after he agreed to help her make Andy more sexually satisfied.  It's just really sad that Travis is the best person they could find to help them with sex problems when he isn't exactly an expert himself.

The issues that Grayson and Jules were going through were a little interesting, but the only thing I really liked about their situation was that their therapist warned them they would treat each other like their exes, but neither of them listened to her.  Then in the end, they denied that she ever said it and questioned her credentials.  When the therapist broke a vase in frustration, it made me wish she had thrown it at them.  She seems a little unbalanced herself (though I'm not sure it's not just from dealing with Jules all the time), so perhaps the next time "Julson" wastes her advice, she'll get a little revenge on them.  I think they may need therapy beaten into them because talking seems to do nothing.

I think that the white T-shirt challenge was one of the better contests they've had on this show, but it still wasn't that amusing.  Nor was it surprising when Grayson ended the challenge by tripping and spilling wine onto Jules' shirt.  Just when she finally gave him permission to drink wine on the couch, he blew it by making her lose and staining the couch.  But when you look at the random messes Bobby has made around the house (foremost the mustard on the ceiling), I think I would cut him some slack.

There were two episodes shown this week, but this one was the weaker of the two for me.  There wasn't much to laugh about, but there was a lot to criticize concerning the characters.  It was nice to see that it isn't impossible for Jules and Grayson to live together and see Travis wanting to blow his brains out from all the juicy details he was getting from Laurie and Ellie.  If only they had stepped up that latter part more would this have probably been a funnier episode for me.

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.

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.

You Make Me So Mad I Wanna Murder You!

Cougar Town, S01E02

Of course, this episode was the start of Jules' wedding planning.  I thought she might start with a lot of grand and crazy ideas of her vision, but she needed to accommodate some of her friends' needs first, like Ellie and Andy's need of a place to have sex during the event.  I liked that Grayson asked if he got a say about the wedding because it was his too, and the gang just laughs at him.  Only in a parallel universe would he be able to put his own two cents in.  I forgot that Jules is a people-pleaser and doesn't want anyone unhappy with her.  After all, she pretty much worn down Grayson from an disinterested neighbor to a fiance.

I admire Grayson for trying to fight back in the tiniest way, since his power is basically nonexistent with Jules around, by refusing to accept "Thanks, Babe" as an end to a conversation.  But I like how Ellie and Jules were confused at first why he was still there and hadn't listened  to Jules' command to go to go ask her dad for her hand.  Jules sweet talks him into going, so his little stand is pretty much pointless.

Grayson and Travis visiting Jules' dad was funnier than I expected because he soon asks Grayson to shoot one of his horses.  But in fact, he is just screwing with him and lets Travis in on the joke.  I wondered if it was just because he didn't like Grayson (which I could understand; he's not easily likeable), but it was because he wanted to test how far he'd go for the sake of his daughter.  Bobby had been a bad husband and he didn't want to see her with another unfit guy.  Compared to some other shows I've seen where the dad tested the new husband/boyfriend, I'd say Grayson got off easily.  Not that I wanted to see him shoot a horse, though.  But it was nice to see Travis and Jules' dad bonding together to play around with Grayson.  He got them back by almost shooting the horse.  Who wouldn't when Travis was questioning his manhood by asking how it was possible a grown man such as himself hadn't already killed a horse.  I loved when Travis said that in his monotone voice.

Also, Jules as an eavesdropping ninja, as Travis put it, was a nice joke.  I especially enjoyed her using his powers of stealth to pop up next to Bobby and Andy on the roof.  I would hate to have her as a friend because I feel like I'd want to talk about her, but would feel like I'd always have to check over my shoulder first.

Bobby was trying to express his approval of Jules and Grayson's engagement with the gift of zip-line, but that story was not that interesting to me.  I did think it was kinda cool when Jules finally used it and ended up landing on the hood of Laurie's car.  She took a pretty nice fall.

The best thing of the episode was Ellie and Andy's ritual of expressing murderous anger.  Whenever Ellie got so mad at Andy she wanted to kill him, she would just "do" it.  They would act out the killing moment, complete with blood and murder weapon, and Travis would photograph it.  Then they kept past "murder scenes" on their walls to remember them.  Man, I like that idea!  If only I could do that, but with my friends.  It's a pretty unusual, but entertaining way to channel out your fury.  And later you can laugh about it and realize how silly you were.  I mean, Andy just left the ice cream out too long; did he really need to be bludgeoned to death with a bat?

I won't really mention the whole co-maid of honor (Co-MOH) thing.  Of course, Jules would do that.  I do want to say that Ellie and Jules' relationship is so creepily close, it's funny.  Like how they both keep bags in their cars in preparation of running away together one day.  In a Thelma and Louise fashion?  They're a good match, though.  Someone very self-centered and someone who gets joy from making others happy.  You could easily imagine the two of them married, because they kinda are already (kinda like in Scrubs how Turk and JD were).

Wish there were more jokes that I liked, but that whole murder-pretending thing was good enough to satisfy me this time.  I wonder how ridiculous Jules is going to get soon about planning the wedding.  I hope it's something that even a whipped Grayson will have to fight against (though he won't win).

Good Ol' Predictable Cougar Town

Cougar Town, S03E01

 After much waiting (not for me because I watch enough shows that I don't really notice), Cougar Town returns to ABC.  I think it's relatively funny show, but not as funny as the creator's former show, Scrubs.  That show was great, and had such wonderful chemistry between the cast.  I get the same kind of vibe from Cougar Town, but it doesn't quite strike my funny bone as hard as its elder.  Anyway, I was mildly interested to see it back.

They start off the episode with the aspect that I love the most on the show: the gang's intense need to drink wine all the time.  Jules comes up with idea to make a wine glass neck strap so they don't have to hold wine glasses anymore.  But they decided that they enjoying holding the glasses, so instead of abandoning the straps, they just have two glasses: one for decoration and one for drinking.  Good God, these people are drunks!  But you have to respect how they keep taking "pounding grape" to a new crazy level.  I would only like to join them if it was time to sit around and drink wine like it was going out of style.

The main issue in the episode was that Jules was thought to be predictable by her friends.  I knew that once this was made clear, she would try to show her spontaneous side, but fool no one.  She tells Grayson that she wants them to be a couple that always surprises each other, but with a man who can compose a song about your daily routine to the point that he is singing about you throwing away a mouth piece, there will be few on Jules' end.  Unsurprisingly, she tells off some skater kids who are making noise while she and Grayson chat.  Later, her car is toilet paper "sharked," and she schemes to get back at them.

I thought that Jules would be wrong about the kids that attacked her (since it was a rather large group), and she would end up making an new enemy.  However, after she goes to the house of the "culprit," the police shows up, and she and the reduced gang have to scatter.  Just as Jules is about to get caught, it is revealed that the policeman is in fact Grayson.  How did Grayson get a cop car?  Laurie and Tom were in on it.  Grayson was the one who had sharked her car!  I was confused about why he had done so at first.  Was he just trying to give her a surprise?  Jules is pretty dumb, though.  She didn't notice that the fake address Grayson had given her was an empty house of her own listing.  Wow.  She must be one hell of a realtor.  I finally understood what Grayson's plan was when he proposed!  Whoa!  On a season prieimere?? I didn't see that coming at all!  I mean, I knew that one day he might, but to propose underneath a tp-ed tree?  I've never seen that before.  Besides that this was one of the most original proposals that I've seen on TV, Jules was unusually lip-locked at that time.  She found some words, but it was sweet that they had a moment without her talking so much that she kind of ruined it.

That was the sweet part of the episode, but let me talk about the funny parts.  The best of all was the now toddler Stan, aka the Devil Baby.  Ellie, the toughest character on there, tells him that he should apologize and Stan just casually says, "Doubt it."  I did not have high expectations for this kid, but he instantly got my adoration.  Ellie and Andy are pretty terrified of him and with good reason when he is known to be walking around with a hammer, destroying things in neighbors' yards.  We later see him with hammer in hand, up to no good.  Love it.  Stan also shows that he isn't playing around when Laurie dares to take off his mutant, killer rabbit picture off the fridge.  Upon seeing this he stops in his tracks and turns to stare at his parents with his demonic eyes without a word.  Wow!  Can we just have a whole episode about him??  So creepily cute!

I also enjoyed how the gang kept saying "This should be the gang," when one or more of the other members weren't present.  My favorite version of the gang was Ellie and her wine glass.  She reminds me of myself.  Haha.

The last funny part I want to mention is the green screen at Travis' college house.  I thought it was an insignificant little side story, but it turned out to be a more humorous device than it first appeared.  I loved when Andy and Bobby were using the green screen to pretend they were flying through the clouds.  The only thing was that they couldn't even see what they were doing.  Still, their child-like friendship has always been a point of hilarity for me.  I'm not surprised that Jules later uses it to fashion an overly dramatic re-proposal scene for she and Grayson.  It's nice that he's so whipped that he doesn't even question having to do that for her.

Grayson tells Jules that she's not boring because she's crazy.  I think what he meant to say is that she was predictably crazy.  You may not know what brand of crazy she will be, but you do know that if something goes wrong, she's not going to respond in the same way a normal person would.  I'm glad that we can still count on that with this new season of Cougar Town.  It may prove to be an interesting season after all.