Episode Report Card Niki: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Kind Of Blue
By Niki | Season 3 | Episode 3 | Aired on 10.11.2001
Cut to an exterior shot of a warehouse at night, in the rain. From inside a truck, we see Sam locking the door to his studio. The truck slides closer, and the passenger window rolls down as Sam turns away from the door. "Oh, god, man!" he exclaims, leaning against the truck. "You scared me." Rick tells him to get inside the truck, and impatiently pulls some papers off the seat to make room for Sam, who sheepishly says, "I was going to call you." Rick rolls his eyes with an exasperated "Ah, Sam!" Sam tries to defuse Rick's temper with a little hash-pipe humor, but Rick's way too lit already. He tells Sam not to be cute, and not to bother apologizing. Rick yells at him about the meeting he missed with Fleisher that afternoon, saying that Fleisher was pissed and had every right to be, and that they're in real danger of losing the job. Sam hangs his head and says he'll call Fleisher and straighten it out. Rick's voice is urgent as he admits how badly he needs this job, and he can't even look at Sam as he reflects on the waste the past eighteen months turned out to be. Sam ponders the seriousness of the situation, as Rick keeps unburdening himself. Rick finally pleads with Sam to "go and do what [he's] good at," and save both their asses. Without a word, Sam slowly climbs out of the truck, leaving Rick to drive off and have his breakdown somewhere else.
Like any bad little boy after a spanking, Sam heads off in search of a cuddle. He shows up abruptly at Judy's door. Surprised to see him, she stands silently in the doorway for a few seconds. He warns her that she has a bag lying on her staircase. Concerned, she asks whether it's paper or plastic. "Does it really matter?" he husks, and then they make out. She mutters something about a billy-goat kiss. Don't ask me. They make out some more. "Oh, my," she whispers, looking into his eyes. More making out. Clothes start coming off, finally, as we fade into the next scene.
Rick's slumped at the kitchen table. He dials the cordless phone, and we cut over to an answering machine, through which we hear him inform Sam that they're meeting with Fleisher later that day, and he has "to ask: is this a good idea?" He sighs and explains, "I don't want our friendship to come untied because you can't come through right now." He clicks off the phone, looking hopeless and worn out.
Sam, meanwhile, is lying face-down and nekkid on Judy's bed while she strokes his back. He looks far from relaxed, however. His eyes are wide open, and he's staring off, no doubt thinking about all the mistakes he's making. "You wouldn't happen to have a sketch pad lying around, would you?" he mumbles into the sheet.