A quick review of last night’s “Cougar Town” coming up just as soon as I channel Vincent D’Onofrio from “Full Metal Jacket”…
That there was some splendid “Cougar Town,” and the sort of episode that makes me bummed that after next week we likely won’t get a new episode til late November. (Even if Bill Lawrence insists he’s okay with the scheduling.)
Lots of Penny Can – along with the return of Lou Diamond Phillips, who seems to have become the show’s token local celebrity – and a really funny subplot about Tom helping Grayson and Ellie deal with the “chalk children,” but what made “Free Fallin'” particularly good was the Jules/Travis storyline.
Their relationship on some level is dysfunctional bordering on creepy, as hilariously demonstrated in the scene where Grayson role-played as Travis and Jules couldn’t resist giving him a long, passionate kiss, and then by the whole one-night stand/note business. But it’s also the heart of the show. Travis is why Jules is having to live out her 20s now that she’s in her 40s, and many of the show’s best episodes – including the season one Thanksgiving show that Lawrence always picks as the creative turning point – revolve around that pair.
I like that they’re taking his doom spiral at least somewhat seriously (even if, again, there are all kinds of jokes about the ick factor), and I thought Courteney Cox and Dan Byrd both got to do some of their best work on the show to date this week.
Looking forward to the finale next week. Also curious to see if this episode marks any kind of significant change in Tom’s role, or if he’ll go back to being an outcast again.
What did everybody else think?