The Book of Rannells: The New Normal: Season 1, Episode 11 – “Baby Proofing” (2012)

Another holiday episode, Christmas this time.  It’s decent enough, pretty funny and put together fairly well – although, after a terrific episode like “The XY Factor,” it can’t help but be a bit of a letdown.

The guys are both stressed out by the fearmongering baby-proofer going over their house with a fine-tooth comb, Bryan because he thinks she’s being unreasonable in saying no to everything, David because her scare stories are feeding into the anxieties he already has about the baby’s safety.  As a result, both are overindulging in their bad habits – wine for Bryan, sweets for David – and the excess of the holiday season doesn’t really help them to curb those habits.

This is a little similar to “Unplugged” in that we really haven’t seen any prior evidence of the problem it focuses on, but this episode does a better job of showing why it’s ramped up so much at this particular moment, between all the Christmas goodies and the stress of the coming baby.  The baby proofer (played by Cheri Oteri) does the exact opposite of assuaging worries, and by calling the Christmas tree a death trap when the baby isn’t due for another five months, it’s easy to see why Bryan is annoyed by all her demands.  While the point is definitely belabored at times, the idea of baby-proofing is tied into the larger theme of the story in a pretty good way, and it’s brought together nicely by the all-but-requisite nighttime scene between the guys.

(Side note:  despite the show’s faults, it definitely knows that its greatest strength is the relationship with Bryan and David, which is why those lovely scenes of them wrapping up most episodes as they get ready for bed never feel repetitive – they’re always welcome, because they’re always wonderful.)

Another amusing conceit of the episode is Goldie’s explanation that Jane gets “eggnog nice” around the holidays, mellowed by the combination of rum and cream.  It gives Ellen Barkin a chance to interact positively with the rest of the cast for once, and she and Bryan make surprisingly-good buddies this episode.

Andrew Rannells has some good lines here, my favorite being his exasperated, “Why is the toilet locked?!”  (Easy baby-proofing joke, well delivered.)  I also like the way he and Justin Barta play the way both guys recognize their partner’s bad habit while denying their own.  On both sides, the gentle nudging comes from a place of caring but starts to dip into nagging, especially as each gets defensive about their own indulgence.  It could’ve easily become sniping or bickering, but Rannells and Bartha strike a good tone with it.