Best Friend Toilet

Bob's Burgers, S03E15

Gene, after losing his chance to care for a flour baby, happened upon a super-intelligent toilet and befriended it as he began to care for it.  Their friendship was compromised when a dangerous man started stalking Gene, wanting to take the toilet back.  Bob also found that while wearing a suit he had gotten from the funeral home, he was more popular and attractive than he ever was without it.

Gene taking care of a bag of flour was doomed from the start.  An egg would have just been impossible--he has the grace and delicacy of an a drunken ox.  Now, Gene and a toilet are about the best match I could think of, without considered something imaginary.  It having the ability to speak and do things like play music is just a bonus.  It felt very natural for Gene to be out in the middle of the woods talking to a toilet like it was some random kid he had just met.  The only thing I thought was weird was that the toilet was able to work fine without being hooked into anything.  I mean, it was charged and all, but how would one actually use it to relieve fluids?  Where would those go if flushed?  I don't know.  I kept wondering about that the whole the time.  Good thing Gene never used it to pee.

I thought Gene assembling his friends and family to help the toilet escape Max Flush was pretty cute.  It was a nice parody of E.T.  It was definitely thinking outside of the box by replacing the alien with a toilet.  I haven't seen that version yet, so it helped keep my interest throughout.  I also liked how the kids managed to lure Max away with one of their friends dressed as Gene and by leaving a decoy on the ferry.  Those kids are good.  They would have been rid of the guy for good if he hadn't been able to swim back to shore.  You would think that Max would have caught up to them sooner, but they are damn smart.  I like when they band together to do some kind of operation, like when they were selling peeks at the nude beach.  They need to do more projects that involve the kids plus their friends.

It was almost sad when Gene had to part with his new best friend, and when he told it that he loved it, the toilet kept saying "Vomit now."  No matter if you felt a twinge of sentiment for the bond Gene seemed to have formed with the toilet, you couldn't possibly not find the tiniest bit in humor in their final exchange.  It was almost as if the toilet wanted to vomit from Gene getting overly emotional at the end.  I'm glad it happened as it did with Gene yelling futiley to express his feelings and the toilet just thinking he needed to toss his cookies.

I liked Bob's story as much as I did Gene's--that was a pleasant surprise.  Bob isn't the most respected or good-looking guy around, so to see him have people nearly treating him like a celebrity because of a suit was bizarre, but an entertaining story.  It was amazing that he was being given free drinks and women were flirting with him.  The same guy who looks like a hairy bowling pin.  I thought Linda might spoil his fun, but she seemed just as dazzled by Bob in his suit as strangers were.  I felt sadder when he had to part with the suit more than Gene had to with the toilet.  I mean, that suit really improved his life.  It's a shame that police officer recognized the suit--Bob deserved to live in the glory of his clothing a little longer.  I think it's the best thing that's happened to him in a long time.

There was also a line earlier in the story that I liked.  Louise had an amusing reaction to his suit:

Wow, Don Draper's kinda fat this season.

Suggesting that Bob even looks like a fatter version of Don Draper is a pretty damn good compliment.  I mean, Louise isn't known to say very nice things in general, so that's as about as good as he's gonna get.

I liked this episode.  It was one of those rare ones where I wasn't irritated at anyone and the story wasn't centered around events of bad luck.  Gene having a best friend that was a toilet was a surprisingly good match, considering how unusual Gene is.  It was also one of the better E.T. spoofs that I've seen in a while.  I wish that Bob had a little more time with his suit, though.  He's never going to get the money or success to be as respectable and beloved as he was on his own, so it feels like that was his one opportunity to shine.  But I guess since Gene had to say goodbye to something he loved, it was only fair that Bob would have to do the same.

Love Is Saying It On A Toilet

2 Broke Girls, S02E11

Caroline and Max worried that they weren't going to be able to start making profits because their sales were so low.  Since Sophie had invested in their business, Max offered Sophie to be a silent partner after her dream of owing a lake house in Poland had been ruined by shady contractors.  However, Sophie's changes in their business were unwelcome, and Max was unable to tell her to stop interfering so much.  Max also gave Andy advice about how to tell Caroline he loved her.

Two things that I liked were Max and Caroline insulting people who passed by their shop and Andy's journey to confess his love to Caroline.  The first thing was especially funny when an old woman asked about the price of their cupcakes and said no to the price before leaving right away.  I loved how both Caroline and Max called the lady a whore.  They were so mean, but I can understand their desperation to get customers flowing in.  After all, they have to sell 70 cupcakes a day to stay afloat. 

I thought it was cute that Andy wanted to tell Caroline he loved her, after they haven't been dating that long.  He must really love Caroline (or respect Max's opinion) to not just do things his own way and instead do research via romantic comedies before he told Caroline.  I didn't think that telling her in the diner was a bad idea until Earl had said:

Why, was the dump closed?

When he put it that way, it did make it seem like a pretty gross place to declare your love for someone.  I mean, this is the place that Oleg stands around talking about nasty things that I wish he would only keep in his dirty mind.

Speaking of Earl, I loved how excited Andy was that Earl gave him a personalized greeting when he came to the diner.  Being called "Prince Charming" wasn't that special to me, but it was cute how Andy felt like he had been accepted because of that, even though Max cautioned him that Earl sometimes calls groups of people by the same name, regardless of who it is.

In the end, Andy ended up telling Caroline he loved her on a toilet with his pants down and a tablet in hand while Caroline was in a cupcake costume and stuck in the door.  If anything else, that was definitely a memorable moment that neither of them will ever forget.  I liked that it ended up being like that because it meant that all of Andy's planning and research were for nothing.  It's not the place that matters, but the feeling behind the words.  Haha.

As for Sophie, well, I knew that making her silent about anything wasn't about to happen.  I still didn't expect hoagies and big chandeliers, though.  She outdid herself.  I'm just hoping that by the next episode she'll decide to step back since she felt like she was doing all the work and Caroline and Max weren't doing anything.  I'm just glad Max didn't get a chance to tell Sophie to tone it down because I think that would have exploded into a lot more drama than they needed.

This was a good bonus episode for the week.  It gives you a pretty good sense that the girls won't have people crowding their doors any time soon unless they get some big advertisement.  Sophie may or may not be the one to help them with that, as long as she stops trying to make their upscale shop into a place with pickled eggs on the counter.  Andy looks like he is going to be around for the long run (or at least the season?), the way things are moving.  Hopefully he or Caroline won't do anything to screw things up in the future.

A Toilet, A Pothole, And A Road Trip

Parks and Recreation, S05E03

Leslie tried to get a bill passed by doing things her own way, but saw that sometimes she has to do things the "easier" way.  Ron and Andy went to fix a lady's pothole after being unable to solve the woman's problem over the phone.  April and Ben tried to drive to Pawnee to see their loved ones, but got stopped in the parking lot for several reason until it was too late for them.

I think the best thing about the Leslie story is that all she had to do to get her bill to pass was to pacify her fellow councilman by giving her his office, which he only wanted so he could have his own toilet.  To think that decisions are made over something as simple as a toilet is pretty funny.  But I like that Leslie resisted giving into Jamm's demands, until the very end after winning over Milton had failed.  I can't be mad at her for making some concessions when it came to her own policies, especially when it made a bunch of kids happy.  Plus, she got to shove Jamm into a pool before he told everyone how she got the bill passed.  So all, in all, a victory for her.

There were also some good lines in that story.  My favorite was when Milton was offering Leslie and Tom the salad and Tom didn't want to eat it because Milton had already said some offensive things to him:

[Leslie] Tom, eat some.
[Tom] I’m not eating racist salad.
[Leslie] The more we eat, the faster we talk.
[Tom] You can really taste the ignorance.
[Milton] It’s pronounced “anchovies.”

I'm really glad that Tom is by Leslie's side not just for the support, but for the much needed laughs.

I also thought April and Ben's story was really good just because it involved the "Odd Couple" stranded together in a car.  It's too bad that we didn't get to see more because I think the tension would have been crazy funny.  I especially liked how April made fun of his choice in music and gave him a look when she heard what he had on his "summer jam" CD.  Ben is such a dork, which makes him the best person to showcase April's coolness.  They could make a spin-off of them working in D.C., for real.

What I liked best about the Ron story was, of course, that Ron began to like a woman named Diane, who was played by Lucy Lawless.  That seems like a great match!  It was really sweet how Andy made sure that Diane came to see him by writing a note for her on the fixed pothole.  Otherwise, I think Ron would have been too embarrassed to ever show his face again.  It will be nice to see Ron dating someone who can match him on his powerful level, yet not be crazy like all of his evil ex-wives.

Also, at the beginning of that story when Chris was explaining about starting therapy, I loved how he wouldn't let Jerry share anything about his own therapy, suggesting that it was too much.  But I think I liked best when Chris was sort of talking to himself in an attempt to thank himself and admitted that he sounded insane.  I knew that him starting therapy would make him more insane!  I'm glad that Chris just doesn't disappoint.  And if he has any other crazy ideas like the 311 line, I can continue to be pleased by his new path for mental health.

Great episode.  It could only be better if April and Ben's story were extended, but we simply didn't have enough time.  I'm pretty excited to see how Diane and Ron's relationship goes, especially since it seems like Diane is about his equal.  Looking forward to seeing more of Lucy Lawless next time!

Flush This Story Down The Toilet

The Cleveland Show, S03E20

Junior wanted to write his report about a great American and he chose Cleveland.  After following his father around for a day, Junior realized his mistake and ended up writing a depressing report that suggested that Americans were lazy and unmotivated.  Cleveland wanted desperately to get Junior's respect back after that and decided that he would demand for more toilet safety due to a recent injury from falling off a toilet he had.  The rest of the family ignored his efforts to make a toilet bar and went to Krazy Kingdom where Rallo was excited to ride a roller coaster for the first time, but was denied because he was still too short.  They later saw Cleveland on TV, flying around on the toilet he had been stuck on for the longest time to the capital building.  His "bold" stunt to stand up to the "dangers" of falling off the toilet inspired Junior to write the report about Cleveland again in a much more heroic light.

I have to say that I didn't like much about this episode.  I mean, Cleveland is the last person that Junior should have picked for a topic in the first place, so that was disaster from the start.  Then Cleveland's idea to get his son's respect back is to go around on a toilet hung from a helicopter?  Only Cleveland's real son would be impressed by that stupid stunt.  What makes it gross is that he was flying around with a nearly full bowl and he didn't have any clothes on below his shirt.  Eww!  But I guess Cleveland will do anything for his son.

I have to call Junior a hypocrite when he told Cleveland that he was a "sad weirdo."  Then what does that make Junior??  Maybe he's just a happy weirdo.  But still.  That whole family has little room to judge anyone because they've all acted less than sane.

My favorite line (and I'm reaching a bit) is when Cleveland tried to get himself out of the toilet bar and tried to use a popular commercial jingle:

Like a good neighbor State Farm is there.  [Pause]  Dang.  I'm gonna die.

That was pretty good.  I like those commercials and the ridiculous way State Farm acts as if they can magically make bad situations better by saying that.  I think that if Cleveland had been saved by them, it would have been just as funny.

I think the best moment, though, was when Rallo had made himself a makeshift roller coaster out of clothes and laundry baskets and was sliding it down the bed.  That was so cute!   I don't know what it is about Rallo that is so adorable for a cartoon character.  But he always manages to make me smile with his childish antics.  If I saw a real kid doing that, it would be crazy amazing.

Not one of the worst episodes, but not one that I'll try to remember (or purposely try to watch again).  You would think that a story centered around someone falling off the toilet would be funnier, but instead it was just sad and boring.  Of course, this is much expected when they make a story around Cleveland's problems, which usually tend to be the least funny when he's handling it on his own.  As always, we need to install more Rallo into the mix to make it a better episode.