Episode Report Card Couch Baron: C+ | 5 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT Tuesday Night Lights
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 3 | Aired on 10.16.2006
Veronica removes the tracking device as VMVO tells us that when you think about it, "No one wants to know what college boys do with themselves in Mexico." I am quite certain that there are some webmasters out there who would disagree with that statement.
In his office, Ed wraps up a phone call, and then is amazed to see his air conditioner kick on. Weevil opens the door and asks, "Better?" Ed: "Much." Weevil smiles and closes the door. I could have done without the ensuing lingering shot of him Smurfily smiling like a buffoon for a hundred years, but it's true his screentime has been awfully limited this season.
Veronica tunes in to the premiere of Piz's show, called "But We Were Just Talking." Ecch. That reminds me of when Homer's barbershop quartet came up with "The Be Sharps" when seeking a name that was "witty at first, but seems less funny every time you hear it." Which is certainly an appropriate enough quote coming from that show. Anyway, I'm disappointed in you, Piz. We learn that Hearst beat Sonoma State, and after a VMVO about Larry and his roommate's plight that's both smug and forgettable, we see Piz announce that the topic is the First Amendment and introduce his guests -- Fern and Nish, billed as the heads of Lilith House, and the two doofuses from the Lampoon. After an awkward silence, Piz announces, "You could actually hear the smiles." That made no sense, but it still made me giggle. Piz flips a coin to see who goes first: "And it's the head of a white slave-owning patriarch, which means we'll go with the gents!" Hee. I kind of wish it had come up the other way, though, if only to see the looks on the women's faces when Piz referred to them as tail(s). One of the dorks says that feminists aren't funny, to which Nish smoothly replies, "Should I wait for the rimshot, or can I respond?" Sorry, kid, but that was clever, hilarious, and deftly skewering all in one. Stick to the fart jokes -- the world needs those, too. (I'm not kidding!) Anyway, Nish is on her way to making verbal mincemeat of the guys, but she's interrupted when Fern gets a text message informing her that Claire, the girl from the doctored picture, was raped. Piz quickly calls a station break ahead of Fern going ballistic on the guys, who do look chastened. Meanwhile, Trish is preparing her speech to Piz: "Breaking on-campus news and a juicy fight right in the booth? Of course we wouldn't want to air that -- good thinking!"
A rather attractive guy interrupts Veronica to ask about Jack London and mercury poisoning. Veronica directs him to the correct aisle off the top of her head, and I admit that I wouldn't have labeled her a slacker if she had to look that one up. Veronica looks shaken, so I guess she heard the part about the rape after all, unless she's chosen an odd time for quiet reflection on civil liberties. Then again, it would be nice if she thought about them sometime. Logan appears and asks if it's the help desk, as he needs help. Veronica: "Let me guess. You have this pathologically suspicious girlfriend, and you hope maybe there's a guidebook?" Geez, Veronica, I am right here. Logan makes with the heavy angst in an effort to fake us out that he's going to dump her right there, which strikes me as cheap and a little mean, frankly, considering I don't think he's guiltless in all this. That's clearly not the idea we're meant to take away, but still. Veronica apologizes: "I spent my formative years watching people while they lied to, cheated on, and betrayed each other." Logan, perhaps because she's in the middle of her shift, does not invite her to pull up a chair and tell him about it. She goes on that trusting doesn't come easy to her, which could run in the newspaper between stories on "Bush Reelected" and "Gas Prices Kind Of High These Days." Attempting to shift the tone, she notes that he's not in Mexico, and he admits that while he usually loves it there, he "was feeling a little reformed." I've seen people in the forums use less flattering words to describe the change in his character. He goes on, "I don't even think Mercer surfs. I always feel bad about those poor donkeys." I love how that reference has become so common that Veronica just takes it in stride. Of course, maybe it's just that she watches The O.C.. (Hey, it was good the first season! Stop judging me!) Logan invites Veronica to a film festival "this weekend" (it's Saturday night already, dude, get it in gear) and Veronica rewards him by blowing some student in need of the help desk off in favor of going to make out with Logan in the stacks. At least last season well established that Veronica isn't too big on financial aid.