Episode Report Card Aaron: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Death takes a holiday
By Aaron | Season 1 | Episode 10 | Aired on 08.04.2001
So now we cut to the interviews. For me, the definitive interview-jump-cut scene will always be the roommate selection bit in Shallow Grave, followed closely by that one episode of Star Trek where Picard gets court-martialed. This one, however, would probably make a pretty close third. The first applicant is an earnest young man who gives off a distinct Jehovah's Witness sort of vibe. He's all clean-cut and well mannered, and he offers praise for all of the "gifted restorative artists" he's had the opportunity to study under. So, of course, it's not surprising at all when he turns out to be a lying, profanity-spewing freak. Funny, but not surprising. Apparently there was a problem with an unembalmed arm at his previous job, but before Nate can commiserate with the missing foot story, we cut to the next applicant. This guy has panic attacks, and likes to spend hours in bed chanting until "the dark time passes." Kathy Bates gets in another dig at me by framing the guy's bald head dead center in the shot. The third and final applicant is a nervous but professional young woman who speaks about how she felt "at home" the first time she ever embalmed anyone. Please. Like it even matters what she says in the interview. It's Illeana Douglas, and since she's the only name celebrity who's applied for the job, we know she's getting hired. After she leaves, Nate instantly says he'll wait an hour before calling her so that they don't look desperate. David just wants to be sure she can start the next day.
Nighttime at the Formaldehyde Fortress. David is vacuuming, which, due to my extensive and long-term commitment to this show, instantly clues me in to the fact that wacky hijinks are imminent. And here they are. It's another musical number. Oy. See, I kind of like the David E. Kelley-style moments on this show, because unlike on Ally, they actually seem related to what the characters are thinking. They're not just cheap excuses to bring in some singer or whatever C-list actor the producers have a crush on. This particular musical number, however, seems like they just threw it in because they remembered that Michael C. Hall used to be on Broadway. Although Michael himself is actually pretty good in it, as he dances and sings about "breaking out" and "going wild" while scantily-clad men carry him about the living room. Unfortunately, he seems to have a very distinctive dance-routine hairstyle in all these scenes, and it's really distracting me. Anyway, the song ends when Mom appears and wakes him out of his reverie. She asks why he's just standing there staring off into space, and instead of pointing out that she frequently does the exact same thing, David claims to just have been "thinking." As he walks away, I wonder why they've got Ruth wearing hideous make-up that makes her look vaguely evil.