Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B | 7 USERS: B YOU GRADE IT Art Imitating Life
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 8 | Aired on 11.20.2006
Mr. Rose dismisses Brandt, and asks Keith whether he agrees with Dean Ed's idea that Selma's been kidnapped. Keith says that it's early to make that call, since there's been no ransom demand, and asks Mr. Rose whether Selma had been having any business problems. Mr. Rose says that Selma's had to fight the HearstMart board for every bit of corporate reform she's managed to institute, and adds that her brother, who's flying in later that day, will be taking care of the company in her absence. Keith asks for the brother's contact information, and Mr. Rose says that he'll give Keith the number of the brother's assistant, to whom he refers as his "advance team." Given that they went bazoo with the inside jokes here, they couldn't have gotten Lauren Lane for that role? Mr. Rose adds, "She's worse than Brandt, actually." Keith hilariously makes an "Oh, goody" face. Oh, by the way, Mr. Rose's first name is "Bud." Bud Rose = Rosebud = Citizen Kane = based on William Randolph Hearst = Patty Hearst's publishing-magnate grandfather. Given how many pop-culture references this episode contains, you'll have to forgive the short version.
Outside, Brandt queenily asks Keith to let Brandt know if he needs anything further. Keith's attention is caught by some little dogs in a nearby carriage house, or something, that are barking their heads off. The men then come across a car in the driveway, which belongs to, according to Brandt, "the grossly overpaid dog walker." To be fair, Brandt, I don't really see you being into cleaning up after those things. Cleaning up after Mr. Rose would be an entirely different story. Keith asks for the person's name, and we only hear from Brandt that the walker is female, but we get a close-up of a Hearst College sticker on the back windshield to end the scene.
Lamb's in his office when Sacks comes in and kind of lasciviously asks him to guess who's on the phone for him. Lamb doesn't want to play, so Sacks, with the requisite sex-talk eyebrow-raises, tells him it's "Maria Vasquez." I'm getting the idea that Sacks finds his job easier when Lamb is getting some action. Which probably makes him the only person in the world who's seriously indebted to Madison Sinclair. Lamb helpfully tells us that Maria is "the hottie" from Channel 9. Heh. Sacks, enjoying this far too much for my comfort level, says that Maria has a couple of questions about Selma's disappearance. Lamb says he'll take the call, but first Google/Zowies her and gets to her page on the station's site. He picks up the phone, tells her he's happy to help in any way, and adds -- looking at her list of recent topics -- that he caught her latest piece on the morning-after pill. If only that segment had aired when Meg was still alive, Season 2 might have been a lot better. We cut to the caller, who is not Maria but Veronica, and this makes me unreasonably happy, because I haven't heard Veronica do an accent in some time. You can tell how much I've missed it, because the fact that her Spanish accent sounds more Russian to me is doing nothing to diminish my enjoyment. Anyway, Lamb tells Veronica that there was no incoming call to the room where Selma supposedly talked on the phone, and adds that he'd be happy to keep "Maria" in the loop with "this sort of stuff." At that moment, Keith picks up the line, and Veronica, in her normal voice, tells him she's on the phone. Then, as Lamb blanches, Veronica goes back to the Maria voice: "You were saying you'd be able to keep me in the loop?" Hee. Lamb hangs up, and I can only imagine Sacks is going to have to wash the squad cars and clean out the station's bathrooms today.