TV Review: Episodes 2.4
After a couple of drama heavy installments, this week the right balance between comedy and drama is found.
rating: 3.5
After a couple of drama heavy installments, this week the right balance between comedy and drama is found. The falling ratings for Pucks, has caused the executives at the network to move focus from Matt LeBlanc to the boys on the ice hockey team. Naturally Matt is not happy to hear this, but after a heartfelt plea from Beverly to remain on the show to give her a chance to win Sean back, Matt agrees but quite how long he will be happy to be benched is anybodys guess. There has been an unexpected sweet side to this second series, occasionally it has danced with being overly sentimental but for the most part this has worked in its favour. The network is a slave to the market research, in an honest conversation Merc reveals to Matt that he can either be in the cast of a show thats on the air, or the star of a series that gets cancelled. Needless to say, after a few drinks Matt wants to tell Merc where he can stick his show. Tamsin Greig is given more to do this week, but she once again partakes in some of Carols herbal remedy and pours her heart out to her only female friend in la La Land. This leads to discovering Seans Facebook page and his relationship status of its complicated adds more sorrow for Beverly. A big part of the appeal of this concept is the fish out of water setting, and following a couple of likeable Brits as they navigate their way through the Hollywood system. So far, their series is barely recognizable, their marriage is hanging on by a thread, and if theyre really lucky Pucks will get cancelled before they get fired. All of this and were only just at the half way mark in this 9 episode run. Episodes isnt a bad series, there is a lot to like about it but the show never pushes the envelope and seems happy to just be a modestly funny sitcom that has Joey from Friends swearing and sleeping with his boss blind wife. Oddly it all seemed to equal a much more consistent episode, and LeBlanc stole the show with his line about his Friends spin-off Joey was solid gold. Much likes its stars, Episodes gets by on the sheer charm and likability of the 3 leads.