[6.3/10] Well, the show hasn’t gotten good yet, but it at least seems to be improving? So that’s something.
I say that because I mostly enjoyed the Mr. McGibblets storyline in this one. Just the comic lunacy of Taco dressing up as a Tickle Me Elmo ripoff to try to scare Ellie away from her favorite toy, only for Ellie to treat it like a visit from Santa Claus is a fun comic premise. Sure, Kevin trying to scare his five year old daughter is kind of despicable, but the inadvertent robbery Taco pulls off in the process, and Ellie’s delight at seeing her toy come to life is a lot of fun. Plus, the setup and payoff with the robbery element is broad but well done.
I also mostly liked Pete’s story where he couldn’t tell whether the front desk attendant was interested in him and just being polite. It’s another sitcom-esque plot, but there’s at least something relatable insecure about it which softens Pete a little, and the payoff with the Benjamin Button-hidden sex tape scaring her off is a funny one that feels of a piece with something The League’s time slot mate, IASIP, would do.
But the rest of the episode is a big mixed bag. I can appreciate what the show’s trying to do with Ruxin and Antonio Gates, and it’s a solid enough idea, but man, we’re only four episodes in and we’ve already had two cameos from folks from the NFL. It’s starting to seem cheesy, and as good a football player as he was, Antonio Gates isn’t much of an actor, even when not asked to do very much. The storyline is funny in concept, but not in execution.
And the other misadventures of the group at the spa are forgettable or regrettable. Again, I feel like a broken record despite only being four episodes in, but the endless dumping on Andre gets tiresome. His whole friend hierarchy situation is dumb, and I don’t even want to get into the can of worms of him being “trade raped.” Plus the group’s interactions at the spa just aren’t that amusing even apart from that.
Overall, the bones of a decent episode are present for what is, perhaps, the first time in the show thus far, but it can’t quite construct them into something legitimately good just yet.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2018-09-18T23:12:41Z
[6.3/10] Well, the show hasn’t gotten good yet, but it at least seems to be improving? So that’s something.
I say that because I mostly enjoyed the Mr. McGibblets storyline in this one. Just the comic lunacy of Taco dressing up as a Tickle Me Elmo ripoff to try to scare Ellie away from her favorite toy, only for Ellie to treat it like a visit from Santa Claus is a fun comic premise. Sure, Kevin trying to scare his five year old daughter is kind of despicable, but the inadvertent robbery Taco pulls off in the process, and Ellie’s delight at seeing her toy come to life is a lot of fun. Plus, the setup and payoff with the robbery element is broad but well done.
I also mostly liked Pete’s story where he couldn’t tell whether the front desk attendant was interested in him and just being polite. It’s another sitcom-esque plot, but there’s at least something relatable insecure about it which softens Pete a little, and the payoff with the Benjamin Button-hidden sex tape scaring her off is a funny one that feels of a piece with something The League’s time slot mate, IASIP, would do.
But the rest of the episode is a big mixed bag. I can appreciate what the show’s trying to do with Ruxin and Antonio Gates, and it’s a solid enough idea, but man, we’re only four episodes in and we’ve already had two cameos from folks from the NFL. It’s starting to seem cheesy, and as good a football player as he was, Antonio Gates isn’t much of an actor, even when not asked to do very much. The storyline is funny in concept, but not in execution.
And the other misadventures of the group at the spa are forgettable or regrettable. Again, I feel like a broken record despite only being four episodes in, but the endless dumping on Andre gets tiresome. His whole friend hierarchy situation is dumb, and I don’t even want to get into the can of worms of him being “trade raped.” Plus the group’s interactions at the spa just aren’t that amusing even apart from that.
Overall, the bones of a decent episode are present for what is, perhaps, the first time in the show thus far, but it can’t quite construct them into something legitimately good just yet.