You Gotta Be "Ruthless"

2 Broke Girls, S02E09

Caroline and Max hired an intern to help them set up their shop, but Max's reluctance to be a hardass boss made their intern lazy and take advantage of them.

I'm surprised that Caroline and Max have gotten as much done as they have, even when one of them isn't showing up to work on time.  I would have never guessed they would try to hire an intern, but in theory, it was a great idea.  I liked the idea more when Andy suggested it as well, making it seem like he and Caroline are a great match.  I thought they would get a lot of crazy people answering their ads, but it looked more like Caroline and Max were the crazy ones, making young girls work in their rat-infested store.

Speaking of rats, they were quite funny in this episode.  The first one we saw, Caroline beat the hell out of it with a paint roller, to my surprise.  She may be annoying, but at least she can kill a rat.  I need a friend like that because I would have left that store right then and there.  Before Caroline squashed it to the floor, there was a funny line from Max after Caroline asked Max why she thought the rat was male:

He looked at me kind of rapey.

That, along with the rat coming in and of doors made it really creepy!  So much so that you didn't feel that bad when Caroline was murdering it.  I'm really surprised that after that powerful beating she gave it, she didn't have blood and paint on her face.  Go figure.

Later, when they were collecting the chairs from the junkyard it was hilarious to see Max flinging the rats off of Caroline.  Wow.  I'm not sure what I would have done in that situation (besides run for my life), but I'm pretty sure that touch those nasty things would have been at the very bottom of my list.  I have to give Max more credit, even though I give her a lot already.

Ruth (who I guess I recognize because I watch SNL) was a good character just because she made Max so powerless.  I would have expected Max who gives her customers the business for wearing Bill Cobsy-esq sweaters would be able to tell a college girl to get off her damn phone and set up some rat traps.  But I get that Max didn't want to be a tool.  It's a shame that it took her lifting up a heavy object and throwing some rats before she had the conviction to kick Ruth to the curb.  I would have liked to see Max be powerful through ordering around the intern from the beginning.  It's not often we get to see Max in a position above someone else.  Maybe they'll hire someone else (maybe with big boobs Max can identify with, haha) and Max will get a second chance.

I liked this episode.  It somehow feels exciting to see them working in their shop and picking up ghetto chairs that they'll have to restore.  Usually I'd be getting annoyed with the slow process, but I'm enjoying it.  I wonder what they'll have gotten done by the next episode. 

Working Irony

Bob's Burgers, S03E03

Bob realized that his childhood was terrible because he was always working and fired his kids to help them not have the same experience.  Bob hired Mickey, fresh out of jail, to replace them.  The kids failed at having summer fun and got a job unknowingly at a weed farm.

I was surprised that I recognized Bill Hader's voice in this episode, but failed to notice Nick Offerman's.  I'm so used to him talking in that stiff Ron Swanson voice that any other inflection he uses totally throws me off!  I doubt I would have noticed Megan Mullally (although I wondered about her character because she obviously had a good singing voice), but I'm disappointed I didn't pick up on Nick at all.  But still, it was nice to have these guys on the show.  Hader just sounds like someone up to something sketchy so he's a perfect fit for Mickey (who I don't remember if he was actually in earlier episodes).

I wasn't that surprised that Bob didn't have a great childhood.  He does seem a little stiff, but it might explain why he sometimes has some childlike tendencies from time to time (like how he got obsessed with that video game, even if that was partially out of spite).  He never really got time to be a kid, which was evident with his soap dog and spatula plane.   But I thought it was sweet of him to worry about his own kids being warped and giving the opportunity to have fun during their summer.

It's ironic in a good funny way that Louise and the others could not for the life of them figure out how to have fun without working in their dad's restaurant.  Bob thought he was rewarding them, but in fact, they were tortured by the pressure of having fun.  I mean, when they can't even jump rope without an accident, they are doomed.  It's really strange to me because they seem like they could find fun in the most bizarre ways without having being told to do so.  So I was shocked that they stumbled.  But it doesn't surprise me they were able to find an illegal job to replace their other job in no time.  I have to keep reminding myself they are little kids and wouldn't catch on that they were drug mules.  That twist also worked for me.

I also liked when Bob was missing his kids being around the restaurant.  He always seems to be stressed out by their shenanigans, but in reality he really depends on them in his business for support and entertainment.  I liked that he gave Louise credit for coming up with the better names for the burgers, even if they pushed the envelope.  It was nice to see that firing his kids wasn't just hard on them, but Bob as well.

This was a pretty good episode.  I wish it were longer, though.  I would have loved to see more of their drug deliveries before they got busted.  Or see what happened to the kids after the DEA busted the weed farm.  I enjoyed the guest stars, even if I didn't notice who they were at first.  I feel like this story almost made me understand why this show is kinda popular.

Sometimes It Takes A Punch In The Nose

The Mindy Project, S01E02

Mindy, after being frustrated by their incompetent nurse at their practice, asked for Beverly to be fired and to be given the responsibility of finding her replacement.  Although, Dr. Shulman granted her that right, Danny couldn't trust her and made sure that he was part of the hiring process as well.  The two had completely different ideas of who would be a good employee.

Again, I feel like there was a lot of funny things in the episode, but it didn't make me exactly laugh out loud.  For example, I liked how Mindy was narrating her life on the train as if she was in a movie and then later was interested in a scenario Danny had come up with about stepping off a train and being sent into the past.  It's funny that she sort of lives in a fantasy and can look at the world in terms of it leading to her next big romance.  But again, it was exactly laughable, just entertaining at the moment.

Another interesting thing is the amount of guest starts from sketch comedies that appear on this show.  This episode marks the second appearance of an SNL member (this time Seth Meyers) and former MADtv member Ike Barinholtz.  I like this trend and wouldn't mind seeing more people like that.  The appearance of Barinholtz seems to be a possible reoccurring character, as his character Morgan got hired in this episode.

Morgan is about as crazy as the woman they fired, Beverly, so it's kind of dumb that he ended up being her replacement.  However, if he can supply some extra comedy, I'm all for him.  He was pretty funny during his interview, especially when his name "Ransom Tookers" was questioned:

You wouldn’t ask a black woman named "Destiny" if that was really her name. This feels racial.

I also liked when he fixed Mindy's nose and kissed her on the forehead.  He may be a potential loose cannon, but at least he can seem to reset a broken nose.  At that point, I was glad that Mindy hired him just because I felt like maybe the guy just needed to be given a chance and at least Mindy had some heart to give him one.  Plus, I feel like Mindy could have a little power over him, unlike Beverly who seemed to act like her own boss.

Speaking of when her nose got broken, I was really surprised by that.  I figured that Beverly might do something crazy, but I never thought it would be that violent.  Mindy has the worst luck.  But I think I like that the pattern of this show seems to be things going from bad to worse before they end things with slightly better than she started off.

The  last thing that I thought was amusing in this episode was when Mindy was on the train with Danny again and she pretended like he was her husband and was the one responsible for her injured nose.  It was kind of wrong of her to imply that he had hit her, but I liked it because Danny is a jerk and needs to be taught a lesson.

I'm still not a 100 percent on board with this show, but I feel like I'm getting there.  However, I might stop writing about this show and switch to Ben and Kate, which I've also been watching, but hadn't anticipated it being funny as well.  So we'll see which of them ends up being more my favorite, and rather than writing about both, I'll just do one of them.  I'm still rooting for Mindy, though, because there's just something about her that I really like.

Is the Killer Sugar? Or April?

Parks and Recreation, S05E02

Leslie was on the fence about how to vote on a sugar tax after she found out that she might cause some businesses to lay off some employees if it were passed.  Chris and Tom helped Andy train so that he could meet the running requirements to be a cop.  Ben struggled to get the interns at his office in line with little help from April.

There were quite a few good things about Leslie's story.  The first would be the size of the cups, which were ridiculous.  The small was 64 ounces, while the regular size was 128!  They managed to top that with a child size of 512 ounces, which was sized for what a child might weigh if liquified.  I love it because it does echo the insane size of drinks (and pretty much most things) in American fast food.  I also thought the concept of "zero water," was funny because it had 300 calories and the "zero" only referred to the fact there was absolutely no water in it.  I'm pretty sure something like that wouldn't fly in America, but when you think about what is allowed to be sold maybe it could be a real item.  I mean, we do drink and eat a lot of sugar and are the fattest country in the world.  It's nice to see the writers poke at that with humor, but also remind you that it isn't really a joke if you stop and think about it.

Another part of that story that was great was when Leslie was at the forum.  One guy stood up and had a really funny comment:

I think we should tax all bad things.  Like racism and women's vaginas.

I think I really love when she takes an issue to a public forum.  That's when all of the crazies come out to say whatever thing they damn well please.  It's a complete circus.  But unfortunately for Leslie, it made her doubt that she would be doing the right thing by favoring to let the tax pass.  But fortunately for us, it led her to seek counsel from Ron, which is always a recipe for comedy.

No surprise that Ron had tried on numerous occasions to get Leslie fired.  I really liked that he said that one of the reason was because she was bubbly.  Leslie tried to defend herself against Ron's complaints about her going over his head and such:

[Leslie] I was a dedicated public servant.[Ron] Right.  That was the worst thing you were.

You can always depend on Ron to show his dislike of working hard in a government position.  Despite that he was annoyed by her, he respected her conviction and grew to accept her.  Aww.  But something just as funny was when Leslie was talking about how her decision on the sugar tax might have created enemies that could potentially become friends.  Ron's door was open and he shouted:

Let's keep down out there!

before he used a remote to have his door automatically close.  Ron is so freaking cool!  That's on my list of things I would want if I had my own office.  And I would probably be saying the same thing before I shut my door too.

The Chris and Andy story was more sad than it was funny.  I just felt bad for Chris realizing he didn't have what Andy had at all--someone to love him.  But it was great that Tom suggested therapy for him (although, I think Tom could use some too).  Chris, although upbeat and fit, needs to get that mind in check.  Him falling to pieces over something like a fear of dying alone is a serious problem.  I hope that a therapist will actually help him and not make him even crazier than he already is.

The Ben and April story was painful to watch at most times because Ben kept trying to buddy up to all of his young interns.  From the beginning, I wondered why April would help him a little, but she basically had to humiliate him with caricature drawings before she realized what she needed to do.  I like that she tried to negotiate the percentage of effort she would give when 15 was more than a fair amount to ask.  But the best April part was not until the very end when she finally got on Team Ben and told one of the interns what the deal was:

The light kiss and the slap to the face were my favorite part!  Why did they wait until the very end before we got to see April kick a little ass??  But this is a great start to the saga of April working for Ben.  I'm am looking forward to move scenes like this.  April has well established herself as the one in charge there.  Haha.

In the next episode, I wonder if we will see all those lost jobs from the sugar tax.  I can't imagine it just being just an empty threat.  Things don't work out that easily for Leslie.  I'd like to see the results of Chris' first therapy session, as well as April torturing more interns at her job.  However, I don't want to see Ben trying to act like a college student again and quoting decades-old SNL skits.  That's just way to sad to see.