Other Doctor Lives: W1A: Series 2, Episode 4 (2015)

*Spoilers from episode 3*

Series 2 finale. The third and final season is a bit longer, but it also has more episodes with Joel Fry, so woohoo for that! As a season ender, this episode leans quite a bit into the awkward humor, which can make it hard to take at times. However, I think they pull it around in the end.

First, a couple updates from the last episode. Ian and Lucy have had an understated will-they-won’t-they thing going on since the start of the series, and they’re seeing even more of each other now that Lucy has been promoted to the newly-created Director of Inclusivity. But things have suddenly gotten more complicated—in episode 3, Anna was panicking before her speech at the BBC Better launch, and when Ian went in to help calm her down, she wound up kissing him.

Okay, onto the finale! Ian is due to make a speech about the BBC’s commitment to inclusivity, so he’s invited Lucy to join his weekly “Way Ahead” meeting. This puts her in the awkward position of trying to talk a bunch of white execs through the BBC’s current inclusivity numbers and setting target goals. Making things even more uncomfortable is Anna. Since they kissed at the BBC Better launch, she’s been talking to Ian in the same brusquely indifferent tone as usual, but she always wants to be around him. Will has been a bit at loose ends since Izzy got moved to a position in development, and he wishes he had a reason to spend more time with her.

Our character of the week is Jack Patterson, played by Jonathan Bailey! Previously, he was Anna’s PA, but since her elevation to Director of Better, she got him a place in development as well. While I know Will has a crush on Izzy, I’m not sure about Jack, but I think he does too. Things could be tense/awkward between these three when they were all working in the PA area together, and that only ramped up after Will’s internship ended. With both Jack and Izzy now in development, I get the feeling that Jack thinks the “proper” balance has been restored, but Will might have something to say about that. 

Poor Lucy in this episode, oof. She’s surrounded by white people who are quick to tout how much they absolutely agree with her about making the BBC look more like the British population but are both clueless and indecisive about taking steps to actually get there. Even getting them through the first, smallest baby step is like herding racially insensitive cats. One exec keeps saying she wants him to fire staff, while Siobhan insists that the answer to all their problems is simply to “viralize” a young South Asian weather forecaster with a beard, exclaiming, “I mean, he’s so BAME, it’s practically coming out of his ears.” (BAME is like the British version of BIPOC.) Later in the episode, Ian’s big speech is heavy on emphasis and light on substance: “Also, we’re going to commit—and we’re absolutely committed to this—we’re going to commit to exceeding those [inclusivity] targets by a minimum of 10% across the board, as soon as we know what they are.”

When it comes to work, Anna’s role as Director of Better still mostly just amounts to her saying, “The fact is, this is about being better,” in meetings. And on a more personal level, she’s no friendlier or more demonstrative to Ian than she was before they kissed, but she’s always there, especially when Ian and Lucy are together. She invites herself along to Ian’s speech (because she strongly feels Better should be represented) and hires a car for the two of them, even though Ian’s told her he invited Lucy to come as well. It’s a tangled web that I imagine will need to get unpacked in series 3.

Here are a few good bits from David Tennant’s narration in the finale:

• More Syncopatico jokes – “The BBC has recently introduced a fully-integrated, cloud-based room booking system in its public commitment to make the technology in Broadcasting House more intelligent than the people who work there.”
• This pretty well sums up the centrist/blandly liberal “commitment” to inclusion (also, if you were wondering what BAME meant, here it is!) – “The world of inclusivity is a world full of acronyms, and both BAME, which stands for Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnics, and LGBT, which stands for something else altogether, are almost perfect examples of how they can work.”

Y tu Luna también: American Dad!: Season 9, Episode 2 – “Poltergasm” (2013)

*Episode premise spoilers.*

I can’t remember when I stopped watching American Dad! I feel like it was after this point, because I think I have vague recollections of this episode, though I can’t say for certain. Compared to animated shows like The Simpsons or BoJack Horseman, which have featured their share of very deliberate guest stars, the old Seth MacFarlane shows on Fox feature prominent film actors showing up in surprisingly small or random roles. Diego Luna’s part in this episode isn’t quite a throwaway, but it’s not something I’d have expected to pop up in his filmography.

Not long after breadwinner Stan’s latest round of scheduled sex with his wife Francine, strange and paranormal things start happening around the house. It becomes clear that the family is being haunted by a ghost of sorts: the ghost of Francine’s long-dormant sexual pleasure. If they’re to escape its wrath, Stan is going to have to satisfy his wife for the first time in years.

Even though it’s been years since I’ve watched American Dad!, I fell back into the swing of the show pretty easily. Blustering alpha Stan. Unchallenged housewife Francine. Boundary-pushing daughter Haley. Nerdy son Steve. Kooky alien in the attic Roger and dryly sarcastic East German spy in the body of a fish Klaus (Stan works for the FBI, just go with it.)

There are some amusing bits in this episode, like Stan putting on the national anthem as mood music—“Ah, Frankie Scott Key, he’s like the white Marvin Gaye”—and a training montage for Stan to get “in shape” for foreplay. This is a fun line: “Stan, just because a Jack-in-the-box doesn’t pop out, it doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy you cranking the handle!”

Maybe it’s because, in the years since I used to watch Seth MacFarlane shows, I’ve seen stuff like Sex Education and Big Mouth, but this definitely feels less “edgy” to me than it once would have. It’s actually kind of nice, the idea that Francine going along with a dissatisfying sex life actually manifests a physical presence to voice its frustrations. She’s been prioritizing Stan’s ego over her own needs for so long that her pent-up energy needs an outlet, while Stan is so impressed with his alleged prowess that he hasn’t stopped to pay any attention to what his wife really wants.

Part of the reason this “poltergasm” is manifesting now is due to Haley’s new hook-up buddy, which is where Luna comes in. As his character Mauricio explains to Francine, he and Haley are “benefits,” a.k.a. friends with benefits, but without the friend part. As they conduct their ongoing sex marathon, Francine’s long-ignored desires are reignited.

Mauricio isn’t a complicated character, or a very original one. His basic function is to be hot and have lots of sex, which he does. As per the animation, he’s hunky, tireless, and inventively acrobatic. Luna gets in a few entertaining line readings, such as when Mauricio carries Haley up the stairs to her bedroom, telling her, “Please, save your legs for spasming.” But there’s nothing special here.

Recommend?

In General – A mild maybe. This is a decent episode of an okay show, and it has its moments.

Diego Luna – Not a must. Luna gets the job done, there just isn’t much to it.

Warnings

Sexual content/references, violence, disturbing images, and language.

Joel Fry-days: Difficult Second Coming: Episode 1 – “Grassroots Shit” (2016)

Joel Fry was in a couple episodes of this short web series. First impressions? Kind of amusing but hasn’t pulled me in yet. We’ll see how it goes.

In the 21st century, the Son of God returns as a stressed London millennial. JC wants to ease the suffering in the world, but He has a hard time wrangling His unruly flatmates/possible disciples(?) to give Him a hand.

That’s basically the bit, modern-day Jesus in a world where no one cares. In this episode, JC tries His hand at feeding the hungry and healing the overdosed, but nothing really goes according to plan. The series leans into awkward humor and the irony of, for instance, someone accusing JC of being a pervert when He lays hands on them to heal them.

Dylan Edwards directs, co-writes, and stars as JC. After a brief opening scene at the flat, we mainly see Him with Matthew Aubrey’s Carl, an annoying disciple who hangs onto JC’s coattails without actually doing much to help the less fortunate.

Joel Fry plays Mark, another of JC’s flatmates. Mark is that friend who doesn’t have it together—all party drugs, bad nutrition habits, and underdeveloped adulting skills. When JC is looking for volunteers to help Him pass out food to the homeless, He looks at Mark and just shakes His head, not even bothering to ask him.

Although Fry only appears briefly in the episode, he’s fun in it. He gives us an immediate picture of Mark when he trudges into the kitchen eating toothpaste after staying up all night (because “peppermint settles the stomach, innit?”) I’m not sold on the series yet, but I enjoy Mark.

First impressions:

Accent Watch

London.

Recommend?

In General – Not necessarily. Mildly amusing, but it doesn’t grab me that much.

Joel Fry – Maybe. I’ll report back once I’ve seen more of him in this role!

Warnings

Language (including the R-word,) drug use, and thematic elements.